Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea Beach Resort

This is an older resort but well maintained, the facilities are great and the staff are amazing. Everyone is so friendly and so helpful that I can't fault the service. You can snorkel over the coral reefs in front of the hotel. The fish are small but there are plenty of them and the water is crystal clear. The hotel is also actively restoring the reef by pruning the coral, growing it and replacing it into the lagoon. The grounds are beautiful and the bungalows are well appointed. Would definitely recommend this resort.

Moorea is a really great island with a spectacular landscape which I thought was even better than Bora Bora, and a beautiful coral reef and amazing sea life just off the shore of Sofitel. Unfortunately the hotel is in a state of disrepair such that it isn’t fit to be fit to be called a 5 star hotel, and the service level is extremely low even for French Polynesia. The bad: The rooms are very old and are not air tight. Some of the windows are wooden shutters and during our stay in the overwater bungalow some of the panels were broken so maintenance had to tape them up with packing tape until they could repair fully. Even when they are shut they let the air through which is not very good for insulation with the AC. All the wood flooring is scratched to a level which you wouldn’t even accept in a private home. It reminded me of the state of the wood flooring of a house I bought and fully renovated. The staff are all good natured in a French Polynesia way but they have not been trained to work in a luxury hotel. In English they are too casual (some staff saying “Hi man” to me, well excuse me we are not friends) oh in French just rude (most staff using tu instead of vous). At this price point no one in mainland France would speak to you like this. All the wait staff are absent minded in the restaurant and forget orders etc. The good: The dive centre has very good staff, mainly French from France with good knowledge of sea life and very hospitality minded. They went out of their way to show us a good time and during our dive trip they spent extra time to be on the sea because dolphins were swimming around us. The location of the hotel is great in term of the reef which is just off the beach and it’s the best on the island. Moorea itself has an amazing landscape and worth visiting as much as Bora Bora. All in all the hotel seems to be quite complacent as one of only 2 high end hotels, and the local staff are not well trained to work in hospitality. It’s a shame as we loved Moorea but wouldn’t return to stay in the Sofitel. Maybe try Hilton next time.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Sofitel. We had a garden bungalow and it was perfect but when we return we will upgrade to the over the water bungalow. The hotel, and staff, made us feel very special with gifts and champagne to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. The bungalow we had was spacious and very clean, no complaints at all. With the reef right outside we had some great snorkeling and that is why next time we will do the over the water. We were fortunate to find Venture Tahiti as a travel agent and they booked everything and provided us great recommendations on what to do and where to go.

The resort is amazing and the staff are so helpful and friendly. We had a overwater bungalow and its was perfect with a nice turn down service. The beds and pillows were very comfortable and the room itself was great with amazing views and water

We had a garden bungalow, which was spacious, clean, comfortable, had coffee machine, toiletries, hair-dryer etc. Booked ATV & Jetski tours from the tour desk, both highly recommended. Lovely beach with reef, collect snoorkle, mask and fins from dive shop. Great staff always friendly.

We did a 3 night stay in the OWB. Simply amazing. Breakfast buffet was delicious and the omlete guy was hilarious. Best on shore snorkeling ever. We saw many beautiful fish in the bay, where the water was often calmer. Nice to just jump off the ladder from your room into the water to see so many colors of fish and coral. Make sure you stay here, this is the place.

We were extremely happy with the hotel design, the service, the facilities, the activities and the food. The location can’t be beaten. The water is so clear you see fish even if you don’t go underwater. It is also shallow, which makes it very easy for beginners to snorkelers. We will definitely be back. And don’t miss the pearl store (Pearl Romance).

Two stars because some of the service staff for room cleaning and restaurant are great. Came with 3 families and booked 4 overwater bungalows at the end of the pier. Simply said, this Sofitel resort doesn’t cater to families with younger children. Strike 1: activity booking people are all about money and not about safety. We booked a jet ski excursion. On day of excursion, it started to storm. We asked if we could reschedule and people at Sofitel activity center said we could reschedule and it would be a 100% penalty. When actual tour guide showed up to pick us up, they told us it was a bad idea to go out in the storm and rescheduled us…… Sofitel didn’t even make a call….. Strike 2: we had kids playing in the pool. The staff member working the spa center next to the pool came over and told us to be quiet. Then rolled her eyes at us….. . It’s a pool. It’s supposed to be used. It’s not our fault if they made a design error and put the spa next to the pool. Strike 3: one of the kids got a cut on coral. Staff has been really helpful, but the first aid kits at the resort is underwhelming. This Sofitel may be good for couple trips, but probably want to avoid if you are planning a trip with kids.