PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

This luxury resort shares the blazing white sands of Motu Piti Aau -- an atoll-like island stretching 10km (6 miles) along the southeastern side of the outer reef -- with Le Meridien Bora Bora . It has won environmental awards as the world's first resort to be air-conditioned using seawater pumped from 2,500 feet down in the ocean. The 13°C (55°F) seawater also is used by the Thalasso Spa -- officially the Deep Ocean Spa by Algotherm, the French company that uses seawater in its beauty products and treatments. The spa is the real star here, especially its three treatment rooms extending over the shallow, sand-bottom lagoon (yes, you can watch fish swimming below while getting a massage). You'll also feel like you're floating on air as you go down the glass-floor aisle of the overwater wedding chapel. All of the 80 suite-size guest bungalows also are built over the lagoon. Extending from two pincer-shaped piers, they are identical except for three two-bedroom, two-bathroom "villa suites" that have kitchens and are thus good choices for well-heeled families. In addition to king-size beds, the regular bungalows also have convertible sofas in their living rooms, so families can stay in them, too. The thatched-roof bungalows and central building are furnished in chic, Balinese tropical style, so the resort lacks Polynesian flair. The restaurants, bars, and infinity-edge swimming pool have fine views of Mount Otemanu, whose tombstone is seen from its narrow end out here. The same cannot be said of most bungalows, which face north-south along the lagoon. Guests here can use the facilities at the InterContinental Le Moana Resort . The hotel's launch shuttles to Anau village.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Tahiti & French Polynesia, 2nd Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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