I had dreamt about traveling to French Polynesia for over a decade, and last fall Nick and I embarked on our bucket-list honeymoon in the South Pacific island chain. Tahiti was the third island Nick and I visited during our trip and is arguably the most well-known island in the chain. It’s home to Faa’a International Airport and serves as a gateway to all the other islands, including Bora Bora. Currently, you can’t fly into Bora Bora without a layover in Tahiti first.
To be completely transparent, I tried not to get my hopes up for the Tahiti leg of our trip. Most of the forum posts and articles I read online said Tahiti is just a “stopover island” and that’s about all it’s good for. I can now confidently say that those reviews are SO wrong! All three islands we visited were very different from each other and unique in their own ways, but I loved all of them, including Tahiti.
WHERE WE STAYED: THE INTERCONTINENTAL TAHITI RESORT
You might have guessed from the title of this post – we stayed at the beautiful InterContinental Tahiti Resort, a luxury 4-star hotel. We knew our experience at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa was going to be amazing (read more about that here), so we were thrilled to see that they had a sister hotel on the island of Tahiti. We booked the InterContinental Tahiti without even searching for other hotels on the island. We wanted the luxurious InterContinental experience we know and love for the last night of our honeymoon!
As our plane descended into Faa’a International Airport, we immediately spotted the gorgeous InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa on the coastline with overwater bungalows sitting atop the water. The InterContinental Tahiti is conveniently located only minutes from the airport in Papeete, Tahiti. We took a taxi from the airport to the resort for around $20! It’s also very close to the ferry terminal, which is how we got to and from Moorea. The central location makes the InterContinental Tahiti perfect for one-night stop overs as well as longer stays.
The resort sits on a stunning 32 acre peninsula with lush tropical gardens, and the amenities are perfectly spread out amongst it. The grounds feature 222 rooms in the main hotel portion, 15 Lagoon Bungalows, and 9 Overwater Motu Bungalows (where we stayed).
We arrived at the InterContinental Tahiti around noon and walked into a beautiful open-air lobby with a traditional Polynesian feel. Check in begins at 3 o’clock, so our bungalow wasn’t quite ready yet. We had just gotten off a plane from Bora Bora and we were pretty tired and hungry. Luckily, the front desk stored our bags in their luggage room, which had a person securely watching the door 24/7. Then we were free to explore for a little bit while our room was prepared.
Our first stop was the gift shop; the InterContinental Tahiti‘s was one of the best I’ve ever been to! It had tons of t-shirts, hats, books, postcards, and little trinkets. We got shirts for my entire family (and a few for us), some cute little enamel pins, an InterContinental Tahiti baseball hat, and a flower hair clip. On our trip I fell in love with how French Polynesian locals wear a flower behind their ears, and I wore one behind my ear almost every day of our honeymoon. I wanted to have one I could wear that wouldn’t die, so I was really excited to find a fake flower hair clip in their gift shop!
After we shopped a little, we hung out in the lobby and took in the beautiful views of the ocean and Moorea. There was a ton of comfy seating in the lobby, so it was a great place to relax for a while. Soon our bungalow was ready, and the front desk loaded up our bags and drove us through the resort to our room!
OVERWATER MOTU BUNGALOW
Overwater bungalows are the essence of French Polynesia. You can’t visit the islands without staying in at least one! We were fortunate enough to stay in overwater villas/bungalows on all three islands we visited, and they were all amazing.
Nick and I were both in absolute awe the first time we walked into our Overwater Bungalow at the InterContinental Tahiti. After we swiped our room key, the first door opened up to a beautiful wrap around porch with another door leading into the bungalow.
Inside, the bungalow was decorated with Polynesian elements that made us feel right at home. From the king size bed, there was a panoramic view of the ocean and the island of Moorea, which is about 11 miles from Tahiti. The patio door was the entire length of the wall and it opened up all the way, making it easy to enjoy the Tahitian ocean breeze. Outside was the spacious porch with several comfy seating options and a private dock, shower, and ladder into the ocean. I loved jumping off the dock into the warm crystal clear water! You can’t get any closer to the water than an overwater bungalow, and there’s nowhere else we would have rather spent the last night of our honeymoon.
The bathroom in our bungalow was very spacious and luxurious. It had double sinks, a waterfall shower, a separate toilet room, and a large tub. The coolest part of the bathroom was the picture window above the tub that gave views through the bungalow right out to the ocean (it’s far enough back in the bungalow that people on the water couldn’t see in). I was in love with the bathroom here, and I definitely will be using it as inspiration when we are designing our custom home later this year!
WHAT WE ATE
The first meal we ate in Tahiti was room service from the resort’s Te Tiare restaurant. The room service menu is available on the tv welcome screen in the bungalow (it took me a little while to find it), and food can be ordered from 6am to midnight every day. We were so excited about the bungalow that we weren’t quite ready to leave it, so we decided to order in. We had a late lunch/early dinner on our patio while enjoying the beautiful view! Nick and I both had cheeseburgers and fries and were quite impressed with how good everything tasted.
Similar to the InterContinental Thalasso in Bora Bora, the InterContinental Tahiti also had a Nespresso machine and coffee pods in each bungalow. There’s nothing quite like enjoying a morning coffee on the porch overlooking the beautiful blue Tahitian water. After our morning coffee on the porch, we headed to breakfast.
Our only morning at the InterContinental Tahiti started off with an amazing American-style breakfast buffet similar to the one we had in Bora Bora. We walked from our bungalow over to the Te Tiare Restaurant and headed up to the buffet after we were seated. Breakfast is served from 6:30am to 10:30am daily. I was in awe of how many food choices the buffet had: loads of local fresh fruit, hand squeezed juices, pancakes, crepes, pastries, baked goods, toast, bagels, eggs, cereal, sausage, bacon, and so much more! In Bora Bora, I became obsessed with the InterContinental’s apple turnovers that were served at breakfast. I was so happy to see that the InterContinental Tahiti had the same delicious apple turnovers! The Te Tiare Restaurant had a beautiful views that we loved taking in while eating breakfast. It had indoor and outdoor seating and is located right next to one of the infinity pools and the Lagoonarium. In the distance are the beautiful mountain peaks of Moorea.
WHAT WE DID
From the time we checked in until check-out at 11am the following day, we spent most of our time enjoying our private Overwater Bungalow. We took a nice sunset swim the evening we arrived and also spent a lot of time sitting out on our patio. The following day, we explored the grounds and spent lots of time at the InterContinental’s two pools after we checked out of our bungalow.
THE POOLS + LAGOONARIUM
The swimming areas on the resort ground are the star of the show. The InterContinental Tahiti has two amazing infinity pools with views of the ocean and Moorea. A few floors down from the lobby is the 12,000-square-foot Te Tiare Pool. The dining areas surround the pool on one side, and on the other side is the Lagoonarium with over 200 species of sea creatures. It’s a great place for snorkeling!
A short walk from the main pool is the 8,000-square-foot Le Lotus Pool. It’s truly unique because it is a sandy-bottom infinity pool! Nick and I both thought this was so cool – it felt like we were swimming in the ocean. This pool also has a swim-up bar and Jacuzzi. Both pools have plenty of chairs to lounge in, and towels are available for guests to use for free.
After checking out and grabbing breakfast, we dropped off our luggage at the front desk and headed to the Le Lotus pool. I hate sitting in direct sunlight all day, so we waited around for a little while until chairs with an umbrella opened up and planted ourselves there. We spent our departure day lounging around the pool and enjoying tropical drinks at the swim-up bar. Our flight wasn’t until 10pm, so it was great to be able to spend a whole day exploring the resort.
There is not direct beach access at this resort, but the overwater bungalows, pools and Lagoonarium more than make up for it. Every inch of the InterContinental Tahiti feels like a slice of Polynesian paradise. Aside from the two infinity pools and Lagoonarium, the InterContinental Tahiti offers tons of other activities.
Similar to the InterContinental Bora Bora & Thalasso Spa, the InterContinental Tahiti has daily free cultural activities for guests to enjoy. They also have a wide range of sports and water activities available like snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, water skiing, and jet skiing. There is a Topdive center right on the resort grounds, so it’s easy to book any activities you might want to try! Whether you like to pack your vacation days full of activities or lay low and go with the flow, the InterContinental Tahiti is the perfect place for you.
DAY ROOM + GETTING TO THE AIRPORT
Sadly, Tahiti was the last leg of our 14-day honeymoon adventure. We unfortunately only got to enjoy the resort for 1.5 days and 1 night. It was so hard to leave! We knew we had to get to the airport a few hours early because we had to be Covid tested before checking in for our flight, so we planned to leave the resort around 6pm. We were so glad that the front desk securely stored our luggage all day so we didn’t have to sit by the pool with our suitcases.
After a day of drinking and lounging at the pool, we both desperately needed to shower. The InterContinental Tahiti has day rooms available where you can shower and change if you are already checked out of your room. It was so nice to take a warm shower before getting on a 10 hour flight! Even though it was only a day and a half, the InterContinental Tahiti really took care of us throughout our entire stay. We felt right at home and truly felt like the staff cared about us and valued us as guests. When it was time for us to say our goodbyes, the front desk helped us quickly get a taxi to take us to the airport. We did our Covid testing in the airport and the rest of our trip home was relatively seamless. It was heartbreaking to leave the beautiful islands of French Polynesia, but I know we will be back one day!
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READY TO BOOK YOUR STAY AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL TAHITI?!
The French Polynesian InterContinental Resorts made our entire honeymoon experience a dream. My favorite thing about the resorts is how unique each location is while still having small similarities that gave us the InterContinental experience we know and love. The InterContinental Tahiti Resort is consistently voted the top hotel in Tahiti, and it’s clear why. The luxury amenities and amazing service that is synonymous with the InterContinental brand is evident across all of their French Polynesian resorts. The InterContinental Tahiti blew our expectations out of the water. We were beyond impressed with the well-kept grounds, amenities, food, bungalow, and staff.
Our experience here definitely left us wishing we had stayed a little longer. Next time, we plan to stay for at least 3-4 days! I’m not sure where the advice to not stay in Tahiti for more than one night came from or why everybody seems to feel that way, but I majorly disagree. Here’s to giving Tahiti the attention it deserves and encouraging longer stays there. Here it is one more time from me – Tahiti is well worth your time, so you’ll want to stay for a minimum of three nights. Be sure to visit the can’t-miss InterContinental Tahiti Resort to kick off your French Polynesian adventure!
Check out the InterContinental Tahiti HERE and my Bora Bora Travel Guide with the InterContinental Bora Bora & Thalasso Spa HERE!
