Sheraton Moorea – Beautiful hotel that needs to be a little Moore Service Oriented
Written: Jun 05 '02 (Updated Sep 28 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful Location, Excellent rooms, fantastic snorkeling, great spa
Cons: Service is lacking and somewhat defensive, Large amount of rooms.
The Bottom Line: This hotel is worth the stay just to go snorkeling all of the time. Just don't expect the best service.
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| twunschl's Full Review: Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort |
After leaving the Sheraton Tahiti, we hopped on an Air Moorea flight. At the airport, we found the Europcar desk where I had reserved a car. Unfortunately, Europcar does not have an actual office at the airport, just a phone to call their real office at the ferry dock. While we waited for Europcar to pick us up with our car, we hung out at the tiny, tiny airport with the chickens and dogs, got a Hinano (the local beer), and bought a few postcards to send home. Our ride appeared, we were whisked to the ferry dock to sign the papers and then we were off to discover Moorea.
Check In and my silent plea
We arrived at the Sheraton Moorea Lagoon & Spa Resort at around noon. We had been driving around for a few hours and we were getting very tired and hot. All we wanted was to check into our room. We pulled up to the hotel and we were intercepted by a guard at the entrance. He told us that we could pull up to the lobby to drop off our bags but then we would have to drive across the street to park the car. Now I am probably being petty, but I have stayed at other places and paid less than we were paying for this place and we would never of had to drive across the street and then walk back to the hotel. Most places like this would follow you in a cart to drive you back or they would park your car for you. I knew that check in wasn?t until 2pm, but I was hoping that they would have our room ready. When we got to the large open air lobby we were greeted with a very pretty flower lei, juice and another cold towel. ?Things are going good. Please, please have our room ready?, I thought. But my silent plea wasn?t to be heard. ?Since check in isn?t until 2 pm and you are two hours early, your room is not ready. You will have to wait.? Now maybe it was because I was hot and jet lagged or maybe it was because I was mad that I hadn?t made my request a little louder, but I thought that this wasn?t the way that a supposed 5 star hotel would inform us that our room wasn?t ready. She was basically blaming us for arriving early. I immediately felt like she was on the defensive. My husband saw that I wasn?t too happy and immediately made light of the situation by suggesting a drive up to Belvedere Point to see the view.
After seeing the pretty sites, I was hotter and more tired and now I was getting very thirsty and I needed food. Only an hour had passed so I made my pleas again, this time I repeated them over and over again until I got to the desk. ?Please, please, PLEASE have our room ready.? My heart almost sank when we walked up to the lobby (we had to park across the street remember) and I saw our luggage still sitting in the lobby. I was still optimistic and I asked if our room was ready. ?Yes, it is?. Someone must have been looking out for me (or maybe they were looking out for the desk clerk!). She said that the porter was all by himself so he was behind on the bringing the luggage to the room. She gave us our key and said that we could go to our room. ?But, how do we get to our room?? This is a large resort and from the lobby it was very hard to see how to find our way through the maze. ?Oh, you just go to the walkway and you?ll find your room.? ?But how do we get to the walkway?, I asked very confused. Why wasn?t she showing me on the map that I had? Why wasn?t she giving me simple directions to the room? Why weren?t there more porters on duty during check in time? Why was this ?5 Star? hotel acting like a 3 star hotel?
We went to our luggage and picked up our groceries that we had bought and our carry on bags that had our bathing suits and toiletries. We walked through the heat exhausted and found the walkway to the overwaters. About half way there, the porter drove up behind us in a golf cart. ?You didn?t want to wait for me? he asked. I won?t tell you the silent answer that I gave him. We drove up to our bungalow, walked inside and the porter showed us how to work the remote control for the air conditioner. We promptly put it as low as it would go and cranked the fan up as high as it would go. The porter hesitated, obviously waiting for a tip. I had read all about the fact the tipping is not part of the Tahitian culture and I was a little surprised. I gave him a smile and a ?Merci?.
The services at the hotel and my cool down
As soon as the porter left and the air conditioner finally started to kick in, I realized that I had a headache and that I was probably dehydrated. I grabbed a bottle of water and lay down on the bed. While I lay there, I realized that I was surrounded by little pamphlets from the hotel. The first one that I found was the service menu for the Mandara Spa. I hadn?t planned on getting a massage while I was here. I had heard mixed reviews about the spa, but I had heard that the moonlight massage was a nice treatment. Since I couldn?t get relaxed, I decided to book a moonlight massage in our bungalow for that night. It ends up that you can have this massage at any number of locations; in the spa, in your bungalow, at the end of the boat dock or in the water at the water?s edge.
The next pamphlet that I found was for the Pillow Menu. Yes you read right, Pillow Menu. There were 16 different pillows that you could order from room service for your use while at the hotel. There were body pillows, neck pillows, large pillows, TV pillow, down pillows. The list went on and on. I called room service and they brought out our pillows right away. OK. Maybe I was hard on the Sheraton Moorea at the beginning. How bad could a hotel be that had a pillow menu?! Now that I was cooled off, I started to go through our room to check it out.
Our Horizon Over Water Bungalow and the View
Something that I noticed immediately was the overall beauty of the bungalow. All of the wood in the bungalow was a beautiful dark red wood. The floor, bed, furniture, trim and ceiling beams all matched. The ceiling/roof was made out of the same material that we saw all over the islands. It was the dried leaves of a tree that were folded over and then stacked almost like the shingles of a roof. It was so intricate and we found it amazing that it was so waterproof. The king size bed had a muted color spread and at the foot of the bed was a cabinet that held 3 drawers for clothing. Each side of the bed had a table and lamp and there was a small desk in the opposite corner. Underneath the desk there was a 220 volt and 120 volt plug. In the other corner, there was a television that had about 6 channels. Two were English, CNN World and ESPN. There was also HBO and every once in awhile, there would be a movie that would be broadcast in English.
In the center of the room, is one of the features of the overwater bungalows, the glass panel in the floor to view the fish. At the Sheraton Moorea, the glass panel was rectangular and there was a glass top coffee table positioned over it. You could slide the table out of the way so you could have a better view of the fish. There was even a light that you could turn on at night that lit up the water under the bungalow to attract the fish.
Next, I entered the bathroom. On your immediate right, there was a fairly large shower that had a shower curtain. I had heard many complaints that the showers leaked all over the bathroom when there were doors on the shower. You could see the holes on the floor where the doors and been removed and the curtain put up in its place. We only had a small amount of water leak onto the floor. Just make sure that the curtain is pulled across the entire opening and put the floor mat right up to the shower. On your left upon entering the bathroom, there was a nice set of shelves. I ended up keeping most of our clothes on these shelves. On the top shelf there were two big blue beach towels that you could take out with you when you snorkeled or when you went on excursions. The next thing that you come to in the bathroom is the large white porcelain tub with brass claw feet. The tub is positioned directly in front of a large opening in the wall that when open, you can luxuriate in the tub why viewing the lagoon. For privacy, there is a large wood venetian blind. The privacy is only for sight, since a large wall opening means that you can hear everything that you are doing in the bathroom throughout the entire bungalow. Across from the tub, there is a small counter with one sink. Since the counter is small, there are four shelves that lined the wall on each side of the counter. This was so nice to have a place to put all of your toiletries and it kept the counter top clean. Behind the sink there was a section of the counter that was glass. Although at that angle, it was hard to see fish in the lagoon, it was very pretty to see the turquoise water while brushing your teeth. There was a large mirror over the sink and one of my favorite features, a lighted makeup mirror. There was a 220 and 120 Volt outlet near the sink. Under the cabinet, there was also a hair dryer for use during your stay. The last feature in the bathroom is the water closet. Not only is there a toilet, but there is also a bidet. The problem that I had with the bathroom was the water closet ?door?. It was a swinging door, like a bar salon door. It provided no privacy at all and since everything was open, it was very apparent to anyone that was in your bungalow exactly what you were doing in the bathroom and how long you were taking to do it.
The last part of the bungalow is the deck and it?s view. The deck was a very large wooden structure. There was enough room for two large lounge chairs, a small table in between them, a round table and two chairs. Down the left side of the deck, stairs led down to a lower deck that provided access to snorkel in the lagoon. A small ladder made it easy to get into and out of the water. Once you were done swimming in the lagoon, there was a fresh water shower on your deck to wash off. The deck was surprisingly private considering how many bungalows that there were. There was lattice at just the right places to provide privacy on your deck. If you ask my husband and I about the view, you will get two completely different answers:
Me ? We had a nice view of the horizon. You could see and hear the ocean crashing on the reef in the distance. Since we were not near the ends of the walkways, we had a view of many of the bungalows. If you leaned to the right, you could see the mountain ridge that lines Cook?s Bay. We could not see the sunrise or sunset from the bungalow.
My husband ? The view was amazing! There were three topless girls next door and they had so much fun laughing and paddling their canoe. Reef? There was a reef? The girls weren?t out at sunrise and sunset.
The Freebies
In the bathroom, there was one of my favorite freebies of the entire trip. Each day, the hotel would leave two bottles of coconut scented monoi oil. This coconut oil and scent mixture has been a beauty secret of Tahitian woman for centuries. You can use it on your skin and in your hair. You were also given Monoi Oil soap, shampoo, conditioner and bath gel each day. The only other freebie that showed up in our room was two small bottles of water. They were a great size for carrying in your bag when you left the hotel and we kept these bottles throughout our trip and just filled them up each day from the large bottles of water that we would buy.
Other things in our room
One of my favorite things to find in a hotel room is a big fluffy bathrobe. I wasn?t disappointed with the robes I found in the closet. There is just something about taking a shower, wrapping up in a robe and then sitting out on the deck watching the ?view?. There was also an iron and ironing board, umbrella and safe. There was of course a mini bar with overpriced items. The refrigerator was completely filled. You can remove items and put in your own things that you purchased. Just make sure to check your bill closely as I found that they billed us for an item that was sitting outside of the refrigerator.
The Kids and the Noise
Two things that completely shocked me about this resort was the amount of screaming children and the general noise. There were kids that would run up and down the overwater walkways all day long. The pool was also always filled with children. We were there on a holiday weekend, so maybe this was part of the problem. The other noise that we heard all of the time was the golf carts speeding past on bungalows. Room service and maid service all had golf carts. I understand the need for them but the annoying noise that the carts made as they traveled over the wooden walkway was hard to take at 6 in the morning.
The Activities ? Free and Otherwise
My favorite activities didn?t cost anything; relaxing, feeding bread to the fish and snorkeling in the lagoon. The snorkeling was amazing. A tour guide that I had during our stay told me that the best snorkeling on the island is at the Sheraton. There were so many coral heads you were almost afraid to put your feet down. Much of the coral was alive and there was always a zillion fish hoping to get fed. When we weren?t snorkeling, we were generally feeding the fish bread that we had taken from our dinner basket the night before.
The activities desk at the Sheraton Moorea is very helpful. When you arrive, there is a list of the activities available through the hotel. You just tell them what you want to do, from stingray feeding, circle island tours, circle lagoon tour, sunset cruise to snorkeling, diving and jet skiing. All of these activities will be cheaper if you book the excursion directly with the tour operator. But if you don?t know who to call, don?t feel like calling or are just to relaxed to bother, the activities desk charges about 10%, so it isn?t that bad. It can be charged to your room and you will be given a voucher to turn over to the tour operator.
The Spa
As I mentioned, I needed a way to get myself relaxed and a massage seemed like the perfect way. The massage was wonderful. The masseuse was very experienced. She arrived at 7 o?clock with a table that she set up outside on our deck. The oils smelled very tropical and since it soaked right into my skin, I assume that it was at least partially monoi oil. Once my back was done, I flipped over and had a view of the stars over head. What a great way to get into vacation mode.
Later during our stay, I visited the Spa since that is where the internet is located. The spa is beautiful and it smells just like a spa; clean, incense and scented oils all combined. The list of services is short but there are a nice variety of massages and body treatments. I have heard rumors over the last year that there has been two for one specials during the day hours. If it is raining, that would be a great way to pass the time.
The Food
I, unfortunately, cannot report much about the restaurants. I was always too lazy to go to breakfast and the menu was nothing special so I ate Oreo cookies on our deck each morning. For dinner, there are so many restaurant options on the island, that we went out every night. I can tell you though that the restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner. For lunch, you can eat at the pool or have the food delivered to your room. This is what I did each day. I liked snorkeling and then eating on the deck. The pool and bar were always crowded and noisy. The food was good and high priced like most hotels. A cheeseburger was about $16. The poisson crue (raw fish in coconut milk with vegetables) was excellent and was a little under $10 for a large portion. Room service was always timely and they returned without asking to pick up the plates.
Checking Out and our broken suitcase
The service since our first day had been just so, so. Nothing special or outstanding, just typical. I needed a transfer from the hotel to the airport the day that we were leaving so I booked this through the hotel. They told me what time to be at the front lobby in order to check out and to get on the transfer. Now, since they booked it for me, you would think that they would know that I needed to check out. But I wasn?t going to trust anything. We had to be at the lobby by 8:20, so I called the front desk to ask for a porter. 8:15 comes, 8:20 comes and then it is 8:25. We now have only 5 minutes to get to the lobby, check out and get our transfer to the airport. Since we had a view of the entire walkway, we could see that there was no porter coming. We decided that we had better start walking. Once we got close to the lobby, there were about 10 steps up from the pool to the desk. Lugging my very overstuffed luggage up the stairs, my husband slammed one of the wheels on the suitcase into the rock steps and it broke. I got to the desk at 8:30. The front desk asked how we were. ?Fine, except the porter never showed up? we said. ?Well, I called him? the defensive response came again. Now it may sound like I am being picky but for the rest of our stay at 5 other hotels, we were told what time to check out and we never once had to touch our bags. It is little things like this that set this hotel far behind other hotels in the islands. They may be a new hotel, but after a year and half, they need to get their act together. On Bora Bora, we were told that the hotels are like the islands, they all have different personalities. So maybe, this hotel is great compared to the other hotels on Moorea.
Things you should know
Moorea hotels have agreed to not provide transfers for their guests so that the taxis and transfer service have a job. Taxis are expensive. We paid 550CFP per person for a 15 minute ride to the airport. When you get to the airport, there are transfer companies there. You can arrange for your round trip transfer when you arrive and you will pay 500CFP. If you booked your trip with an agency, you will most likely have a voucher.
Local phone calls are 75CFP from the hotel room. There is no pay phone at the hotel.
There is a very slow internet service that worked only half the time while we were there. The charge is 500CFP for 15 minutes.
There are only 3 major resorts on the island. This summer, a Pearl Resort will be opening. If I were to return to Moorea, I would probably try this hotel. As I mentioned, the service problems could possibly be just a quirk of Moorea, but I would like to compare to see if this true.
My recommendation
Of all of the hotels that we stayed at during this vacation (it totals 7 hotels), this was my least favorite. I am going to recommend the hotel as at this time, it may be the best option on the island. Just go expecting that things aren?t as polished as they should be, that it is a large resort and that you are just another guest that will be gone soon.
For pictures and video of our trip, visit my website
www.tahiti.wunschl.com
Read my other reviews from our French Polynesia Trip
Moorea
http://www.epinions.com/content_70580276868
Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort
http://www.epinions.com/content_66105675396
Bora Bora
http://www.epinions.com/content_66986806916
Sofitel Motu
http://www.epinions.com/content_66291601028
Rangiroa
http://www.epinions.com/content_66400063108
Kia Ora Village
http://www.epinions.com/content_2687869060
Kia Ora Sauvage
http://www.epinions.com/content_2691276932
Tahiti
http://www.epinions.com/content_66968260228
Tahiti Beachcomber Inter-Continental
http://www.epinions.com/content_66996309636
Sheraton Tahiti
http://www.epinions.com/content_66102398596
And for more great reviews, read LordBalfor's reviews and visit his website at
http://community.webshots.com/user/lordbalfor
Recommended:
Yes
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twunschl
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Location: Wishing I was back in Tahiti
Reviews written: 40
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Our Tahiti pictures and video are on-line. Go to www.tahiti.wunschl.com
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