We are in the process of booking an 8 night pre PG trip to French Polynesia. Has anyone stayed at the Moorea Pearl resort? The overwater bungalows look really nice and we are planning on 5 nights there. The other 3 nights will be at Le Meridien in Tahiti- 2 after our long flight and 1 just prior to the cruise. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers, Pam

Pam, there's a older thread over at tahiti-explorer.com on the boards, comparing 3 of the main hotels. If you poke around in the Accommodation in Moorea forum, you should find lots of information.

All I know is that Pearl is a smaller chain, owned or at least run by Polynesians. We stayed at the Manihi Pearl a few years back and loved it.

Wendy,

Thanks for the information. The tahiti-explorer website has tons of good information. We are still considering options since we have the 14 night cruise that includes nearly 2 days in Moorea. I can't wait to catch the Polynesian flu like so many others on this board. :D

Cheers, Pam

And you're *so* lucky to have the pre-cruise in Moorea. We keep trying to engineer this, but it just hasn't worked out for us.

Wendy,

I am having such difficulty dealing with the AMEX travel agent....so i am going to ask a few more questions since you are the resident PG expert!

We will need a dayroom post cruise. Do you know which hotels Regent offers and which would you recommend? I would like to book this now with the rest of our cruise package.

Do you suggest using Regent transport to get to the dayroom and the airport the day we disembark? I am not opposed to a cab if it will be tedious doing the Regent transfers.

I am sure I have more things to ask, but for now, I need to get the dayroom sorted. Our cruise is heavily booked.

Thanks, Pam

just get a cab to the InterContinental hang out at the pool during the day, then at about 7pm ask to use the shower/change room (really nice) and get ready to go to the airport. The IC is realy close to the airport. I wish we could have done this after ICE vs 12 hours at the airport in Chile.

Does Regent only provide dayrooms for people who book their air?

Hi Pam,

I'm not really an expert, merely an enthusiast!

Regent only provides dayrooms at the Radisson to those who book Regent Air, but I believe you may be able to pay for this package as an add-on extra if you are independent. Not sure, ask your TA.

For those with this package, you get to stay on the PG until lunch time, then you have the option of going straight to the Radisson , or taking a bus tour, then going to the hotel. The rooms aren't ready until about 3 as I remember, but you can laze around the pool and go for a walk on the beach if you like. You get the room for about 3 hours, enough time for a nap or a shower.

The Regent transport is fine, although I would suggest taking a cab to the airport from the hotel--it's worth the money, especially if you can beat the throng. There's lots of sitting around and waiting otherwise, until everybody is on the bus, you know how it is. It's probably about $30.

Wendy, are all day rooms now at the Radisson? Isn't that a hotel that is on a "black sand" beach? (Very hot on the feet!) When I was there several years ago (on RSSC air plan), my son was taken to Beachcomber (with the non-balcony people) and we were taken to the Intercontinental, I think it was. Our room was available upon arrival in the morning. Nice that they now allow you to stay on the PG until lunch time. 3 hours would be enough for me after such a great cruise!

Hi, well it depends how long ago--I believe it's just the Radisson they use exclusively, but that could have changed again.

The "Beachcomber" and the "Intercontinental" are the same hotel--the name has changed several times, but is commonly referred to as the "ICB" (Intercontinental Beachcomber.)

We did a pre-cruise night at the Radisson in 2005, plus the post-cruise day room. We liked the hotel quite a lot. Although it gets mixed reviews for cleanliness (and certainly service). A bonus is a spectacular sunset, I've got some great shots of that over at my smugmug account, in this gallery--one in daylight on page 1, and several sunset shots on page 7:

http://rancher504.smugmug.com/gallery/603712_3wDze#25446881_cNZFT

Wendy,

Thanks for the replies (and others- Olivia and Grant). I am wasting time in the lounge at Amsterdam waiting to go home for a few weeks!

Grant, We were lucky in Santiago....Regent booked the hotel room for us at the airport Holiday Inn and we never saw a bill. I am not sure why since we used miles for our flights. Yannie or one of his staff members took care of this while we were on the Explorer II.

I can't seem to get answers from the Amex girl, but Regent told me I need to prebook a dayroom. Perhaps we should do what Grant suggested and just take a cab to one of the hotels. We have such a long trip home (and in coach- OUCH!, but free :) ) so I really think we need a shower etc prior to heading to the airport.

We finally decided on three nights at the Intercontinental followed by five nights at the Moorea Pearl prior to the 2 week cruise. This should be a very relaxing vacation.

Cheers, Pam