margarita girl

I too am looking to redeem my 4 free nights at LM Bora Bora probably in March 2009.

I am thinking of flying to Papeete (PPT) from LAX on AA/Air Tahiti Nui, but I see that Bora Bora is a few islands over and the flight gets in at 11 p.m. so should probably start our vacation there. Just wondering what others are doing, or if anyone has any recommendations as to the best logistics. I would like to use Starpoints for a 4-5 night stay at one resort and then my 4 free nights in Bora Bora. Should I spend my first 4-5 nights right on Tahiti? Hotel recommendation? I only have 80K Starpoints in my account at this time and I have Gold status though might reach Platinum by end of year. (Not bad since I only started collecting with SPG last fall.)

I see that Air Tahiti flies between the islands, but I presume they are not associated with Air Tahiti Nui? (Would be great if I could do everything on one reward ticket with a stopover in PPT continuing on to Bora Bora.)

Thoughts/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

SanDiego1K

magarita girl, I broke your post out from the Le Meridien free nights thread and made it its own thread. I think it will get broader readership here. I know that many FTers have gone to Tahiti, so hopefully many will chime in with good advice.

I have yet to go, but I have talked a lot to someone who has gone. Here is what I have been told:

1. The first night you will have to stay in Papeete. You have two choices of Starwood properties, the LM Tahiti and the Sheraton Tahiti. LM Tahiti has a better reputation. I'm told Papeete is not attractive, and not the place you want to spend four nights.

2. There are several flights a day to Bora Bora. I believe it will cost roughly $400 for a RT ticket. You can fly from Papeete to Bora Bora to Moorea to Papeete.

3. The 2nd property where you'd most likely want to spend four nights is Sheraton Moorea. If you redeem points, you might want to spend five nights there as you get the fifth night free.

4. It's only a 10 minute flight back to Papeete from Moorea. In this case, you'd fly Papeete - Bora Bora - Moorea - Papeete. Be aware that the island airlines have a max weight on your luggage of 44 lbs, including your hand carry.

There should be threads on each of these properties.

I'm unaware of any of the island carriers participating with US airline mileage programs.

mikeyyz

Great idea SD! I think it will be great for all of us planning to go to organize what we find in a thread.

I am just looking into booking the first night at the LM Tahiti, and found this tidbit:

Getting there: Hotels in Tahiti are forbidden by law from picking guests up at the airport. However, guests of Le Meridien Tahiti are asked to advise flight arrival times/numbers in the Special Request section when making a booking via this Web site so that the staff will be prepared for their arrival.

Funny enough, I found the Sheraton Moorea available for C&P but not paid or points-only reservations It seems to be a good deals for 8,000 Points + $150 vs. paid rates of $500-600 as 'deals'...

I like ferries and it's only an hour from Moorea to PPT - here's the ferry schedule:

http://www.clubbalihai.com/ferry_sch...to_moorea.html

mikeyyz

Hmm, after reading a bunch of reviews on TripAdvisor, it seems like the Sheraton Tahiti might be newer/nicer than the LM. Not that it should taken at face value, but anyway It's hard not to be influenced!

So right now our trip looks like:

Sheraton Tahiti (1 night, C&P - $80 + 4,000 miles)
LM Bora Bora (4 nights, LMFN)
Sheraton Moorea (2 nights, C&P - $300 + 16,000 miles)

So MG, might be worth C&P in Moorea - you pay $150 each night and save 17,000 miles (vs. 25,000) - but I guess if you stay for 5 nights, you pay $750 and only save 40,000 points (because you get one night free) - so depends if you think you could otherwise get $750 of value for 40,000 (I usually redeem for room rates ~$200 / 10,000 so it's close)

SanDiego1K

Here are some links that might be useful:
There doesn't seem to be a thread devoted to Le Meridien Tahiti. Hopefully someone will see this and be inspired to start one. While there is a thread to compare the Sheraton Tahiti and Le Meridien Tahiti, it is very short. No one has posted in it who has stayed at Le Meridien.

kjw

margarita girl,

First of all, great choice for a vacation! My wife and I were lucky enough to spend our honeymoon in French Polynesia last August, and we loved every minute of it. We had a similar amount of time as you did, so let me tell you how we spent it - 5 nights at the Sheraton Moorea (on points), 4 nights at the Bora Bora Nui (half on points, half paid), and 2 nights at the Le Meridien Tahiti (on points).

Five points:
1. The Sheraton Moorea technically has the best value - take advantage of the 5 nights for 4 on points. However, I would highly recommend spending as much time on Bora Bora as possible. The price and point redemption rates are outrageous - approx. 7 times the Moorea property - but my wife and I both agreed at the end our trip that we would've rather spent one more night in Bora Bora than 7 more nights in Moorea, hands down. It's really that much better.

2. As far as SPG properties on Bora Bora, I would do the St. Regis if you can get it, but between the LM and Bora Bora Nui, I would choose the Nui. The property faces the ocean, the rooms are bigger, the property is huge (e.g. beach is not crowded). The over-water bungalows at the Nui are truly serene, especially at sunset.

3. We were happy with the sequence of our trip, as Moorea offers more adventure around the island (good shows, biking, jeep tours), and Bora Bora is the pre-eminent place to just relax. We just added the two nights in Tahiti to fit our flight schedule, but found little time value there.

4. Since you're flying into Papeete in the evening, you'll need to stay the night. The Le Meridien Tahiti is likely the best option on the main island, and they treat Plats well. However, it's about a 20 minute cab ride from the airport. If I were you, I'd book the Sheraton for 1 night and get out of town as early as you can the next day. Papeete is nothing special.

5. Inter-island flights are operated by Air Tahiti (NOT the same as Air Tahiti Nui). You'll have to book these flights separately, and they can be quite expensive. Air Tahiti Nui does not fly inter-island.

Hope this helps!

yoshapman

Was looking at Tripadvisor pics at the Sheraton Moorea, looks soooo nice so jealous, would def go if it wasnt so expensive

margarita girl

Thank you all for the suggestions!

I'll probably aim for:

• 1 night at Sheraton Tahiti (on our first night due to late arrival)
• 4 nights at LM Bora Bora (LM free nights)
• 5 nights on points at Sheraton Moorea (4 nights on points + 1 free, based on recommendations here!)

I love how much you can learn on FT. Heck, I wouldn't even have known about the Le Meridien 4 Free Nights promo had it not been for FT. I never received an e-mail asking me to sign up! So William, you can pat yourself on the back for bringing in new business to SPG by giving me an incentive to stay as much as possible with LM. Wish they were in more locations, but I did get 6 out of my 7 stays at the Montreal location.

THANKS ALL!

Minx

Hi Margarita Girl -

I just got back 2 weeks ago from my honeymoon in French Polynesia. We were there from March 10th - March 22nd.

Not to scare you off - but March is end of rainy season..That said - I think it only rained 1/2 day the whole trip. We had excellent weather.

Our itinerary was as follows (my husband is a Platnium).

We did one night at the Sheraton Tahiti (I don't recommend it - it's an older property and not very impressive at all).

5 nights in an overwater bungalow in the Sheraton Moorea. We used the 4 nights, get 1 free and because it was offseason we paid for an upgrade to an OWB. You need to contact the hotel directly. The reason we paid is because I wanted the guarantee of the Over Water Bungalow. That said - we got the one we wanted (107 - at the end of the pier) because the resort was pretty deserted. I would have to say that we probably would have gotten an upgrade but like I said - I wanted the guarantee.

Nice hotel/staff and General Manager are great! You must eat at the Creperie that is on the pier of the overwater bungalows. At night they feed the fish and the sharks.

Next stop was Le Meridien Bora Bora for 3 nights. We did get the upgrade to the OWB which was great. Personally I liked the interior of the OWB in Bora Bora but the coral/snorkelling was better in Moorea.

Last but not least - we went to Rangiroa for 3 nights. No Starwood properties there but great diving.

Here's a website that was really helpful to me to get information.
http://www.tahiti-explorer.com/forum...s.php?ubb=cfrm

SQFAN

I am sorry I cannot contribute to your answers but just want to say a word of thanks for the information. ^ It will be useful when my time comes.

JBauer

wife and I stayed at Sheraton Moorea in January for points plus $ upgrade- the OWB bungalows are incredible...in fact, I would suggest it's not worth staying at this resort unless you are in an OWB - they are breathtaking...the service was not very good for this type of hotel, but the views are unbeatable...the 8 minute flight to the island can be interesting...good luck...

psyflyer

i redeemed for a stay in June/July at St Regis BOB and W MLE. It was painless, other than picking the phone up and make the rezy... but when they subtract 680,000 starpoints from your account, it hurts...

As far as reccomendations, I would probably steer you to either St Regis in BOB or if you can check out Taha'a it is imo the best place in FP by far. Check out Le Tahaa (not SPG unfortunately). If you can avoid the Sheraton and Meridien properties I would at all costs.

ajnaro

The ferries are great, but it can be difficult getting a taxi on the Papeete landing.

margarita girl

Unfortunately, free nights promo ends at the end of March 2009, so will have to live with tail end of rainy season. Since we would be arriving late one night and departing early the next morning for Bora Bora, wouldn't Sheraton Tahiti be OK just to sleep? Thank you for the great link for more info on Tahiti.

Given that I will be there in low season, I was thinking of not booking an OWB and hope for an upgrade. There's a good chance that I will reach Platinum level with a little concerted effort. Has this strategy ever worked for anyone? I figure that if I don't get the upgrade, I can always pay for it when I get there, presuming OWBs will be available. I was thinking of doing this for both LM Bora Bora and Sheraton Moorea.

I'm in awe of anyone who has (or had) 680K points in their account! ^


Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

DownUnderFlyer

I think this is a good strategy and in March you should be fine. The Sheraton Moorea just became a Cat6 hotel so you will need 20k points a night for the most basic room or 40k a night for a suite. I booked my points stay when it was still a Cat5.

I have never stayed at the Sheraton Tahiti, but from what I heard it is an okay hotel. It is just not the super amazing place you hope for when going to French Polynesia.