InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa — Hotel in Faʻaʻā

I stayed at the InterContinental Tahiti August 24-25, 2024. I was originally scheduled to stay overnight on August 25th only. One week before my arrival, my flight was cancelled. I went to Tahiti to take a cruise, so I moved to a flight which arrived on August 24th thus adding a night to my stay at the InterContinental. The cruise package included one night at the hotel for $199 US Dollars. When I added one night to my stay, the hotel charged us three times that rate for the added night.

Our flight was a red eye. We arrived at the hotel around 7:00-7:30 am. The person who checked us in was pleasant. She linked our reservations so we would not have to change rooms. Since we arrived too early to check-in to our room, she offered us a changing room to shower and freshen up. We were very appreciative.

We found a spot near the pool and relaxed while we waited for our room to be ready. The property is pretty although there is not much of a beach. Our room was ready early. The room itself was sufficient but not worth the cost but the cruise line is the one who has a relationship with this hotel. It was not our choice.

The next day we got up and explored the island. We had a full day, but the travel caught up with us and we went to bed early. At 8:00 PM the phone rang. I work up and answered the phone. It was Tiare from the front desk. He was abrupt and rude. He said they needed me to come to the front desk to sign something. I asked what and why. He said I needed to sign off on my extremely high bill. I told him I was in bed sleeping and already did sign the paperwork when I checked in. When I checked in, the front desk had me sign off on two different bills and they ran my credit card. None of that mattered to Tiare and he demanded I come to the front desk immediately.

I knew that my husband and I had only charged a couple of beverages to our room, so I was concerned something had gone awry with our account since Tiare said it was “extremely high”. When I arrived at the front desk Tiare, knowing he woke me up was not waiting for me. He was in the back office. He did not have the paperwork he needed me to sign signed ready. He did not thank me for getting out of bed to come down immediately. He did not apologize for waking me up. His response was that they had been trying to reach me all day. I asked why I did not have one single message from them. No message was left on the phone or TV in my room. I did not have an email from them. Although I received a letter, delivered to my hotel room thanking me for signing up with their rewards program, there was nothing regarding my extremely high bill.

I signed the bill, but the pen ripped the paper. He demanded I sign a new one. I did and asked if that was all and went back to bed. Again, no thank you or apology from Tiare.

The next morning, we were scheduled to board the cruise ship. Before I left, I went to the front desk to be sure there was nothing more they needed from me. They printed out the same bill from the night before and asked me to sign it, again. I asked why I was signing the same bill that I was dragged out of bed to sign the night before. He said they tried to run my credit card, but it did not go through. I asked him why and he very smugly said he did not know why. I handed him the exact same credit card I presented when I checked in, he ran it, and it went right through with no problems.

I signed the bill for the fourth time and asked him if he needed anything else. He said no. He also could not be bothered with saying thank you. He did not apologize for any inconvenience. Nothing!

As soon as I left the front desk, I called my credit card company who confirmed no one had attempted to run any charges on my card including the InterContinental Tahiti. The front desk staff behaved as if I was trying to run out on my “extremely high” bill without paying yet they never ran my card at all.

By the way, the “extremely high” charge on my bill was for the room which they charged me three times more for at the last minute when my flight was cancelled. The other charges represented less than 10% of the overall bill. It was a...

I stayed at the InterContinental Tahiti August 24-25, 2024. I was originally scheduled to stay overnight on August 25th only. One week before my arrival, my flight was cancelled. I went to Tahiti to take a cruise, so I moved to a flight which arrived on August 24th thus adding a night to my stay at the InterContinental. The cruise package included one night at the hotel for $199 US Dollars. When I added one night to my stay, the hotel charged us three times that rate for the added night. When we arrived, our room was ready early. The room itself was sufficient but not worth the cost but the cruise line is the one who has a relationship with this hotel. It was not our choice. The next day we got up and explored the island. We had a full day, but the travel caught up with us and we went to bed early. At 8:00 PM the phone rang. I woke up and answered the phone. It was Tiare from the front desk. He was abrupt and rude. He said they needed me to come to the front desk to sign something. I asked what and why. He said I needed to sign off on my extremely high bill. I told him I was in bed sleeping and already did sign the paperwork when I checked in. When I checked in, the front desk had me sign off on two different bills and they ran my credit card. None of that mattered to Tiare and he demanded I come to the front desk immediately. I knew that my husband and I had only charged a couple of beverages to our room, so I was concerned something had gone awry with our account since Tiare said it was “extremely high”. When I arrived at the front desk Tiare, knowing he woke me up was not waiting for me. He was in the back office. He did not have the paperwork he needed me to sign signed ready. He did not thank me for getting out of bed to come down immediately. He did not apologize for waking me up. His response was that they had been trying to reach me all day. I asked why I did not have one single message from them. No message was left on the phone or TV in my room. I did not have an email from them. Although I received a letter, delivered to my hotel room thanking me for signing up with their rewards program, there was nothing regarding my extremely high bill. I signed the bill, but the pen ripped the paper. He demanded I sign a new one. I did and asked if that was all and went back to bed. Again, no thank you or apology from Tiare. The next morning, we were scheduled to board the cruise ship. Before I left, I went to the front desk to be sure there was nothing more they needed from me. They printed out the same bill from the night before and asked me to sign it, again. I asked why I was signing the same bill that I was dragged out of bed to sign the night before. He said they tried to run my credit card, but it did not go through. I asked him why and he very smugly said he did not know why. I handed him the exact same credit card I presented when I checked in, he ran it, and it went right through with no problems. I signed the bill for the fourth time and asked him if he needed anything else. He said no. He also could not be bothered with saying thank you. He did not apologize for any inconvenience. Nothing! As soon as I left the front desk, I called my credit card company who confirmed no one had attempted to run any charges on my card including the InterContinental Tahiti. The front desk staff behaved as if I was trying to run out on my “extremely high” bill without paying yet they never ran my card at all.

By the way, the “extremely high” charge on my bill was for the room which they charged me three times more for at the last minute when my flight was cancelled. The other charges represented less than 10% of the overall bill. It was a...

Warning: This is review IS LONG. It is coming from someone who spends an average of 10 months of her year in hotels, from 3 star hotels all the way up to the occasional 6 star luxury hotel. Read at your discretion, especially if you are considering the overwater bungalows here.

The Intercontinental Tahiti is and will never be a hotel that I recommend to anyone that I like, especially when it comes to the overwater bungalows.

I had the chance to stay here twice, once in their overwater bunaglow around the motu and a second time in a base room.

My issues:

When you spend over $1000 a night on a room you expect things like AC and Wifi. The AC and Wifi just simply were awful in our overwater bungalow. We booked for 2 nights and it was extremely difficult to do anything online (I need wifi for my work) while in the room. There are no real indoor relaxation areas with AC to work in otherwise so the room IS my spot to focus and without functioning wifi I struggled.

Now to the AC - we called because it was absurdly hot, I dont run hot - I actually get cold more often then not. The AC was not functioning, even after they sent out someone to "fix it" and the front desk was quite aggressive when I asked about turning it down. Its "locked at 23 degrees". Well Ma'am it wasn't 23 degrees in my room. How do I know?

I then came back a week later and spent 1 night in their base room to get a different perspective. The AC? Perfectly cold. The Wifi? Strong and I got so much work done.

The overwater bungalows at this hotel are NOT worth the money. There are others that are MUCH better only a 20 minute ferry ride away on Moorea. With better staff if I might add.

The food is average, Lotus restaurant is probably the best you'll find on property. THe salmon bowl at the lobby restaurant is pretty good, they have sriracha too if you like it spicy. The drinks across the property are $22 or more and some bars pour stronger then others. The Tiki bar theming is cute and the staff there is nice.

The Hotel Pools are nice, there is no beach, the fake lagoon area with fish is just OK if you have kids... Its a great "resort" if you need a day pass before/after a cruise trip. Actually its a big starting point for cruises already so it stays quite busy. Its not what I think of when I want a relaxing start or end to a vacation in Tahiti.

There are so many hotels with true overwater bungalows that you actually can swim from. This hotel has too much boat traffic & the water is too choppy to enjoy your deck/swimming area from the bungalows whereas other hotels are situated on actual lagoons where its very calm.

Would I come back? In a bungalow? No. I'll stay elsewhere where I can get more value for my money at this price point. Where I dont get told that my AC is working just fine at $1500 a night. I'll go to a place where they dont charge $200 for early check in (after giving it to my friend for free), where I am told about late check out and then when I call to get it I'm told its not available until I have to assert myself over the phone. I'll go to a hotel that doesnt nickle and dime for things like kayak usage and the mini bar. If I happen back in Tahiti and want a day pass - I'd come back for that but otherwise I'll head to Moorea for a true overwater...