Helene Spa

I met others here and we were able to book an exploratory tour of this island.

We loved the hotel itself, the view, the pool, and our room was lovely (nicer that the photos suggested). It is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the sun and overall I would recommend it, although I think it is a bit expensive (but I guess that's French Polynesia in general). We did, however, have a couple of gripes; mainly the friendliness of the staff. There were a handful of lovely, smiley, professional staff members but in general they were neither welcoming nor polite. They made us feel like our being there was an inconvenience to them or that they were having a bad day (everyday!). The concierge stood out as one of the least helpful, which is odd when they are being employed to sell you things and enthuse you. The Miti bar has some reasonable cocktails but the food is very average and overpriced - 5000XPF for a rubbish caesar salad and some seared tuna. We went to the Tereva evening (dinner and a cultural show) which was 8500XPF each and it turns out we could have watched the show from the bar area for free, and probably with a better view. I would not recommend paying for this unless you particularly enjoy mediocre buffet food. The other annoyance I had was that the view of the sunset is blocked by the over-water villas, so you can't enjoy it from the poolside. There is one grill restaurant opposite the hotel which was very good but otherwise you really need a car if you don't want to eat at the resort every night as the roads have pavements or street lighting.

Beyond the property itself, which is great, the Hilton footbridge to the shopping center across the street is very convenient. Having easy access to Carrefour and dining options other than those offered by the hotel was something we appreciated.