Tahiti Airport Motel

Great for a short stay!

I stayed at this motel/hotel for 2 nights, after coming off a flight from Auckland. The flight arrived late at night, and this hotel is literally across the road from the airport, so that's pretty handy.

Despite some pretty terrible reviews on Tripadvisor and the likes, we stayed there anyway, and I couldn't have been happier.

OK, it's not the Sofitel, but you also don't pay that much. This one is conveniently located. It's a bit out of town, but there's a bus stop right in front with buses going every 15 minutes in either direction. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the centre of Papeete on the bus.

The hotel is exceptionally clean, rooms are just beautiful, and they are air conditioned. What more can you ask for? Breakfast is included in the room price and consists of French baguette with jam, a pastry (croissant or chocolate bread), cereal and coffee/tea/juice. More than enough to feel satisfied, I think. Again if you are after a huge cooked breakfast, this is not the place to stay.

The rooms are spacious (I stayed in a family room). Our room had a bathroom bigger than any bathroom I have ever seen in similar accommodation. It had 2 showers (!), 3 basins and a toilet, all very clean. There was also a separate toilet on the other side of the room; very handy if the bathroom is busy.

There are coffee/tea making facilities, a small fridge, a small tv, and air conditioning - which is great in the Polynesian climate!

One minor point about this hotel is the lack of elevators. It's pretty annoying if you are staying on the 3rd floor (which some people in my group did) and having to lug your suitcase up the narrow staircase. Then again, the reception staff was exceptionally obliging to help out.

Another minor point is that, despite the short distance to the airport, you really cannot walk to or from there if you have luggage to cart around as well. It's kind of uphill, which isn't that simple in those temperatures if you have to cart luggage with you. In our case we also had 2 young children, not a great idea to walk that distance with them at 10pm... (this was after coming off the flight). If you contact the hotel beforehand, they are very happy to organise a shuttle for you. Ask for "Sylvie", she's the cheapest taxi driver around and offers great service! Other taxis charge you a heck of a lot more for the 2-3 minute trip from the airport to the hotel.

Despite this hotel being so close to the airport, there is really only minimal noise in the rooms. There are not that many flights arriving and departing Papeete (it's hardly comparable to Sydney or Los Angeles!), and the noise levels are low most of the time. In fact, a few nights later I stayed in a hotel in the centre of Papeete, and the noise there was incredible, despite the hotel being a lot more expensive!

Lastly one more thing: if you rely on public transport, forget about it at night. There's no buses after about 5pm, which is annoying. A taxi from Papeete centre to the hotel costs about 2000 francs, which isn't terribly expensive but not cheap either. It's the only way to get back from town at night nevertheless, unless of course you have your own car.

Overall, I would highly recommend it!

Unique Quality: The views are quite ok. You see straight onto the airport, but if you ignore that, you actually have a wonderful view over the island of Moorea - which is beautiful in the mornings and at night.

The rooms are fantastic, clean and comfortable and the staff is incredibly helpful.

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Related to: Backpacking, Budget Travel, Family Travel
• Written October 28, 2011

Tahiti Airport Motel Photo: Tahiti Airport Motel

4 more images

---

Was this Tahiti Airport Motel review helpful?