When we booked our trip to French Polynesia we knew without a doubt that we’d stay in a overwater bungalow on Bora Bora, but we weren’t sure if an overwater room would be worth the price on Moorea. After tons of research, we’re so happy we decided on a luxury overwater suite at the Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora.
The room had the type of amenities we expected in a four-star hotel in French Polynesia: a queen size bed with luxurious bedding, a seating area around a glass floor viewing panel, remote-controlled air conditioning, a dual-sink bathroom, combination indoor-outdoor waterfall shower, Lanvin-brand toiletries, and a sundeck with two beach chairs, a freshwater shower, and direct access to the snorkeling reef.
Other amenities were more basic, like a simple television with European channels, a small closet with only a handful of hangers, and white curtains that didn’t quite block all of the sunlight.
The centerpiece of the room was a queen bed with a huge canopy-style mosquito net surrounding it. Although a mosquito net doesn’t sound very glamorous, given that it extended all the way to the ceiling it was actually a really beautiful feature. We didn’t notice many bugs in the room, but it was nice to have a cover around the bed just in case (especially because the windows and sliding doors didn’t shut completely, and we could also hear a small lizard in the room at night). You can see our room tour in the video above.
We also loved the super pillowy and comfortable seats around the glass floor viewing panel. Our room at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui didn’t have a viewing panel, so we were really excited to watch the fish from our seating area at the Sofitel.
We loved the high ceilings and outdoor rain shower, which we thought was a great touch, but we were disappointed there wasn’t a standard dresser for our clothes; instead we used the credenza which we found a bit awkward.
The sundeck was a favorite feature of ours, and we spent a lot of time on the deck enjoying the spectacular vista. The snorkeling from our deck was fantastic—we’ll be writing more about that in another post. The sunrises were gorgeous, as were the views of Tahiti during the day and especially at night (as you can see from our photos below). The Sofitel Moorea is truly an ideal place to find serenity, especially as there was very little boat traffic to disturb the peacefulness outside (unlike some of the other luxury resorts on the island).
The ambiance of our suite was fun, fresh and colorful: perfect for a stay on one of the most vibrant and exciting islands in the Pacific. Overall, we would absolutely recommend a Sofitel superior overwater bungalow to anyone staying on Moorea.
Adventures for two 