Manava Beach Resort and Spa Moorea

Overall the island is amazing and this resort has great potential. We had two rooms for our family and both seemed a bit dated. Our overwater bungalow was very disappointing as it was the first interior bungalow with a view of.... the resort and other bungalows. Not what you want at this price point. The water is about 2 feet deep outside this unit, so much for a nice dip or sitting out looking at the sea. It appeared others were available so I could not believe we were put here. It was explained the over water bungalows with a view and exterior are at first request and none available so I guess our travel agent should have none to not book an overwater bungalow that is pretty much over the beach. Food was good but nothing outstanding. Great local entertainment that was a very nice touch (loved it). The biggest downside was the lack of a poolside snack menu and poolside service. You pretty much have to get up and go to the bar for everything and if you want anything off the happy hour menu to eat it is not available until 5. Relaxing by a pool with some snacks is just a given but not here. Staff seems VERY over worked and tired. Easily this place could become a 5 star resort with a bit of a face lift and leadership but overall it was a 3-4 star as everything was just mediocre and tired.

We spent the week of thanks giving at the Manava Beach Resort; the hotel is OK although it would need to be refreshed; the surroundings are not super appealing; However, there is a gem hidden in the resort - the Spa where Bella and her twin sister are officiating. They learned their craft from their grand father and the massage is simply sublime, so sublime that I went back 3 times in 5 days which had never happened to me before; This is not just a marvelous Polynesian massage, it is a wonderful healing experience. You feel Bella’s energy throughout your body as she pours her kindness and care through her magical hands. You come out with not only a relaxed body but a clean heart and soul. I have done hundred of massages over many years in many places; this is by far the best I ever experienced.

Beautiful & clean hotel. Very friendly staff, but I wish they had more restaurants. Very repetitive food & overpriced, especially for breakfast. They also had a very strict 10am checkout, which was very inconvenient. The swimming pool could use a remodel. Broken tiles around the pool & 3 broken lounge chairs that were in the pool.

We are budget travelers but this time we decided to use Costco Travel. We visited 4 islands. For Moorea, Costco selected the Manava Beach Resort. We read a bunch of reviews on various sites and felt good about it. And then we checked in. A staff member gave us a tour of the property and advised us not to leave any food out as it would attract ants. She showed us to our room, and the first thing we noticed was all the ants … attracted by the welcome flowers. On the bed, the day bed, bathroom counter, and dresser. We spent the next 30 minutes killing ants. At that time we decided to check out the mini bar. It was completely empty. Odd. It also wasn’t cold. We had leftover drinks from Taha’a so we put them in the minibar. We went for a swim and returned a few hours later and the minibar still wasn’t cold. We went to reception, explained the minibar was empty and also not cold. We got that says “You Americans are so clueless …”. The lovely lady explained that it was a minibar, not a refrigerator. At this point my wife and I looked at each other and thought we both missed something. The woman clarified that a minibar is for cold drinks you buy to keep cold, but it is not a refrigerator. We were so confused. We went back to the room, dazed and confused, but proud that there were very few ants. We laid on the bed and my wife screamed … a gecko just dashed out of her pillow case. She was so ready to check out. After she settled down I had to use the loo. The toilet was in a small closet with an inward facing door that passed 2-3” in front of the toilet. You could not close the door unless you straddled the toilet and shut it. I thought it was funny but my wife wasn’t amused. The room had an electric kettle. Good. I wanted to make some coffee but noted there were no outlets close by. I had to move the dresser to use the outlet. We went to the buffet breakfast, included in the Costco price. It was interesting. Not much variety compared to the other hotels, and there were a lot more birds than people eating there. Seriously. Birds munching on a bunch of the food items. If you were eating at a table and turned away or went to get something, your plate was fair game. We saw croissants being carried away. I love to snorkel but the area surrounding the hotel was mediocre. Not the clear blue sea associated with Moorea but murky, and with a lot of seaweed. On the side of the overwater bungalows the depth went from about 5 feet to about 30 feet. We stayed 5 days and survived but I doubt we would go back. On the plus side, everyone we dealt with was great!

Service was absolutely terrible. Staff was not attentive, entirely unresponsive and essentially non existent. We stayed here for our HONEYMOON. We paid for a villa with a private pool. We had ants on our pillow and by the coffee machine and the outside door was “locked” by a rock because it didn’t close properly. The hotel does not offer transportation from the airport or port so you have to organize your own car or try to get a taxi (there are only 42 on the entire island). The check in process has you waiting around in the lobby until 2pm by yourself. Room service did not replace towels, throw out trash or provide new water. As someone who is very conscious of conserving towels when I can and only asking for replacements when necessary this was extreme irritating. When we asked the front desk if we could have a bottle of water they told they only provide one free bottle of water PER STAY. Not per night. Not per person. One bottle of water per stay. Trying to order more than one drink at happy hour (which goes from 5pm-7pm) is impossible because the staff never comes to your table. And when my *new* husband went to ask concierge about a specific lotion for sun burn, they told him concierge was closed… even though they were literally sitting at the concierge desk. After pleading with them, they wound up giving him the wrong information anyway and he had to go to the store twice to buy a different cream. The only positives about this place are the dive shop located on the premise and the random show we had at dinner one night (it was not on the schedule in the lobby). If you’re looking to spend a decent amount of money on a cheap stay then this is your place. But if you’re looking for quality service, then stay anywhere else.