Tahiti Beachcomber Inter-Continental – A Large Resort with a Polynesian feel
Written: Jun 15 '02 (Updated Sep 28 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful Pools, Great Dicor, Nice View, Big Resort
Cons: Expensive Restaurants, Roosters, Scavenger Birds, Big Resort
The Bottom Line: A nice place to stay while staying on the island of Tahiti.
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| twunschl's Full Review: Tahiti Beachcomber I C Resort |
For the last two nights of our French Polynesian vacation, I had made reservations at the Beachcomber. I had read so many nice things about this resort and I was looking forward to the nice rooms, the horizon pool and the view from our panoramic room. All of this existed at the hotel, but much to my surprise, I wasn't impressed.
Getting There
We arrived at the airport after a short flight from Rangiroa. After collecting our bags, we walked outside to the taxi queue and found a taxi. We knew that the ride would be expensive, since he had already taken a taxi at the beginning of our trip. I handed over the 1200CFP (about $10) for our short two minute trip to the Beachcomber.
Check-In
The lobby of the Beachcomber is like most of the hotels in French Polynesia, it was completely open. There was a large wall of windows that showed the spectacular view of Moorea across the bay. I walked up to the desk and gave my name. Check-in was fast and efficient. I double-checked and in order to stay there the following night and check out at midnight that I would have to pay the full room rate. I was disappointed that the answer was yes, but it was better than hanging out at the airport until midnight. A porter was waiting and when I received our room key, he placed our bags into a small truck/trolley to take us to our room.
Our Room
The hotel was much bigger than I had imagined. There were eight three story buildings of rooms and this did not include the overwater bungalows. Since we had just come from the Sauvage where there were 5 bungalows, this was hard to get used to so many people and rooms. We walked inside and were very pleased with the decor of this hotel room. There was a king size bed covered in a white bedspread. On the bed, was a grass mat that had a pretty arrangement of flowers. Over the bed, there was a dark wood shelf with two pretty lamps and then a small canopy over the shelf with a white cloth romantically draped over it. At the foot of the bed, there was a small table. Across from the bed, there was a desk with a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. I am not sure if this is a normal gift in the room or if we received it because I am a Priority Club Member. Across the room, there was a small table and a TV stand. On the table, there was a small basket of fruit as a thank you and welcome gift. Since we hadn't seen TV in five days, we immediately turned it on and found that there were only 7 channels. Two were in English, CNN World and ESPN.
In the bathroom, there were three rooms. The main room had a pretty white porcelain tub next to a window that looked into the bedroom. There was a double vanity with a green granite countertop. Each sink had a pretty dark wood mirror and a bright wall fixture. The toilet was in its own separate room with a door that locked and closed! (If you read my Sauvage review, you know why this was so special.) Next to the water closet, there was a large walk in shower. All of the tile in the bathroom was a beautiful clean white. Across from the bathroom, there was a large closet and safe.
Out on the balcony, the panoramic view rooms give you a view of Moorea. As the sun set behind the volcanic island, we watched the colors of the sky and water change. There was a table for eating and two chairs. We sat at on the balcony and watched our video through our video camera to relive some of our very special moments.
Freebies
As I already mentioned, there was a fruit basket and bottle of champagne in the room. In the bathroom, there was very nice shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and moisturizer.
Our big decision
There were chickens and roosters walking around outside and I just knew that they were quiet now, but they wouldn?t be in the morning. Just as I thought this, there was a rooster that kept flying up into a palm tree and screaming his head off. At any one time, we could see at least 30 people walking by. All of this would not have bothered me if we hadn?t just spent an amazing two weeks at quiet hotels. This hotel was much nicer than the Sheraton that we had stayed at when we arrived on Tahiti. But the Sheraton was quieter and almost half the price. We decided to cancel our reservation for the next half night at the Beachcomber and switch back to the Sheraton. We only need a room for a shower and a place to hang out at until our flight left and it seemed silly to stay at the Beachcomber for an extra $180. I called the Sheraton and they had a room available. I called the front desk and cancelled our reservation for the next night and it was no problem. Since we would be leaving in the morning and I had read good things about the upscale restaurant Le Lotus we decided to eat at the hotel?s restaurant.
Le Lotus
We followed the signs to the overwater restaurant Le Lotus. We were seated at a table next to the railing that over looked the water. The menu was a little odd. There were only three set prices. You could have your choice of any Dinner and Dessert, any Appetizer, Dinner and Dessert or any Cold Appetizer, Hot Appetizer, Dinner and Dessert. They were all expensive. If my memory serves me right, it was like $50, $60 and $70 respectively. We both opted for the Appetizer, Dinner and Dessert plate.
First, we were served a mini appetizer, a warm mixture of caviar and fish and bread. Then they brought out a pre-appetizer of salmon pate. Next came our appetizers and we were both disappointed with them. My husband had ordered a raw salmon dish. We both like raw salmon, but this was completely frozen. It was like salmon sorbet, DISGUSTING. I had a mushroom truffle dish that wasn?t that great either. Both of our dinners were good, but the portions were small. For dessert, I had the chef?s pastry plate that was a small portion of all five of their desserts. I wish that I could have had the dish and then ordered the dessert that I wanted because I only liked about two and a half of them and the portions were very small. I really enjoy gourmet dining. I love presentation and I enjoy food turned into art. I love different knives and forks for each course and I like little touches such as a fruit cocktail to cleanse your palette. But this restaurant did not impress me. The food was just too mediocre and it cost so much. I wish that we had gotten a taxi and gone to Le Coco?s down the road.
Tiare Restaurant
The main dining room is open from 5:30am to 10pm. All meals are served here. I only went to the restaurant for breakfast and I was disappointed with breakfast again. The American Breakfast Buffet was the only choice for breakfast. There are no a la carte items. You had your choice of a cold buffet, hot buffet and buffet with eggs and bacon. I opted for the cold buffet as everything that was warm did not look appealing, but then, I do not like buffets. My Polynesian "American" breakfast consisted of toast with strawberry jelly, a raisin crescent and pineapple. I am pretty sure that the prices were $17, $20 and $25 for each type of buffet. There were dozens of brown birds that reminded me of small pigeons and small crows. If you were to get up and leave your dish, the birds dive-bombed your plate and started eating away. I ate as fast as I could just so I didn't have to watch unsuspecting people eat off their plates the birds had just nibbled on.
The Pools
We did not go swimming, but since the pools are so beautiful, they deserve a special note. There are two pools. One pool is the main pool and is quite large. There is a large waterfall at one end that spills into the pool. When we were there, the pool was filled with children. The other pool is the horizon pool and is spectacular. The bottom is sand and it looks like the water flows right into the ocean. There is actually a wall separating the two, but the illusion is great. The other nice feature about this pool is the swim up bar. It appeared as though this pool was for adults only.
Overall
It is a real toss up between which hotel I would recommend to someone, the Sheraton or the Beachcomber. They both had their good and bad points and I don?t think that you can go wrong with either one. I enjoyed staying at both of them since they were both so different.
Things that you should know
Le Lotus restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday.
The hotel has internet access in their front lobby. You will need a phone card to insert into the computer. You can buy a phone card at the gift shop.
You will do a lot of walking at the hotel. It is so large, everything is a long walk away.
For pictures 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
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
Trusted by: 68 members
About Me:
Our Tahiti pictures and video are on-line. Go to www.tahiti.wunschl.com
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