PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

One of Moorea's best values, this friendly French-owned establishment sits in a coconut grove beside the sandy beach that wraps around the island's northwestern corner. The widely spaced bungalows stand back in the trees, giving the small complex an open, airy atmosphere. They're also far enough from the road to be quiet. Each \"standard superior\" bungalow has an L-shaped settee facing a sliding-glass door to a covered porch. Behind the settee, a raised sleeping area supports a queen-size bed, and behind that, a fully tiled bathroom has a sizable shower and vanity space. To the rear of the property, other bungalows are equipped with kitchens and can sleep up to five persons. Also back here is a building that houses four small hotel-style rooms equipped with twin beds (you can push them together), reading lights, and ample tiled bathrooms with showers. Okay for couples, these rooms are the least expensive yet still a comfortable place to stay on Moorea. Unlike the others, however, they do not have phones, fridges, or safes. All units here have ceiling fans but not air-conditioners.

Les Tipaniers Restaurant de la Plage (Restaurant by the Beach), with a deck over the white sands, is open during the day, while the hotel's very good Restaurant Les Tipaniers serves Italian cuisine at dinner. Guests can make free use of canoes and bicycles, or pay Tip Nautic for kayaking, water-skiing, motu trips, and diving with Scubapiti, which is based here.

If you'd like to have a bungalow without the hotel accoutrements, consider Les Tapaniers Iti, a five-unit annex near Papetoai village. A shuttle will bring you to the main hotel, where you can make use of its facilities. Rates at the annex are lower than at the main property, and discounts are given for longer stays.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Tahiti & French Polynesia, 1st Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Find Hotel Deals on Yahoo Travel»