Vahine Private Island Resort

When we were looking for a resort to experience post cruise from our recent Cooks Island cruise, I was looking for a unique experience. We first focused on the Hilton in Moorea as it gets such good reviews on this board. I am sure this would have been a great experience, but we ended up settling on Vahine Private Island Resort.

Now, to find this resort on the PG extension page you have to scroll to the very end of their options, even beyond the Fiji options. You would think this resort would be up there with the other Society Island options, not at the very end. I did bring this up with the general manager at Vahine, who was unaware of where they show up on the PG page.

If you check on TripAdvisor, you will see that this resort gets pretty much all 5's from travelers. So, when I compared the cost of the quote I got from PG for a 4 night stay that included an OWB(they only have 3), breakfast and dinner each day, airline cost each way, boat ride transfer from Raitea each way, transfers to and from Tahiti, day room at the IC, beach boy excursions daily, use of all facilities water toys versus the cost of doing the same thing at the Hilton, I think it comes out about the same. We spent about 1k per night for the two of us or around $4,000 for this 4 night experience. Our only additional cost was alcohol and my Wife's massage at their outdoor spa. Btw, the cost for a tropical drink like a Mai Tai at the IC in Tahiti was $20 versus $15 at Vahine. The cost of the 80 minute massage at Vahine was about $50 less than if she had taken it on the PG.

All for now, I will add detail about our days at Vahine and the fantastic food on my next post.

Doug

Wow, thanks, this is all good to know! Glad you had such a great time.

Wow, thanks, this is all good to know! Glad you had such a great time.

The best resort we have experienced. And, we have stayed at several high end resorts in California, Arizona, Hawaii and Mexico. And, the exclusivity, ambiance, gourmet food, bungalow, and staff make this place one of a kind.

I am sure The Brando would beat it, but only if I come up with an extra several thousand dollars a night ;):D.

Doug

Continuing on. So what did we do while we were there? Not much. After all the excursions and activities on the PG, we were ready to relax. We settled into our room, very Polynesian, nice size, very comfortable bed. Large veranda with chairs, a table, and lounge chairs. Oh, and a hammock. And, of course, stairs down to the water, where we would get in regularly to cool off or snorkel around the bungalow.

Of course, the room had an acrylic coffee table to see through to the ocean. But, unlike most other OWB's this one tilts up so you can feed the fish right from inside your room.

On our second day, we joined the beach boy for a private tour(no one else signed up) of a snorkeling area that he reached by boat in about 15 minutes.

He got in the water with us for the entire 90 minutes we were at this snorkel spot, showing us various fish and corals. One of the highlights was an anemone, where he dove down and brushed upwards and all the clown fish came out(finding Nemo fish). Apparently if you brush upwards on the anemone you do not get stung by it. Very good coral and a drift snorkel opportunity. This excursion was provided at no additional cost.

Our third day we went over to the main island of Tahaa and visited a Vanilla Plantation for a tour. Normally there is a small charge for the transfer by their boat to do this excursion, but Elizabeth(the general manager) organized this transfer with a couple that was leaving and going to the airport. Since they were going anyway, they did not even charge us for this excursion.

Our last day, we did our own snorkeling at two locations they show you when you first get there that are within walking distance from Vahine, or kayak if you desire. We did both of these, and one of them was as good a coral reef as we saw anywhere on this entire vacation.

There were several other activities each day provided by the resort, but as I said earlier we mainly wanted to relax.

Of course, they have a spa and since we were there shortly after Mother's Day, I had secured an 80 minute Polynesian massage for my Wife as her Mother's Day present. She loved it. The spa is on an adjoining island reached by a small bridge and the massage table is open to the nearby water but is still secluded from anyone.

Our after dinner evening activities were simple yet wonderful. I would get one of their approximately 20 infused home made rums by the chef, go back to our bungalow. and after feeding the fish(the light underneath attracts many fish and a few sharks), we would sit outside looking at all the stars, drinking rum, me smoking a cigar and playing music. I brought a small portable speaker. We pretty much did this all 4 nights.

Next, the food....

Doug

Sounds wonderful Doug! A fabulous way to end your holiday.

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Before I get to the food, let me say that the couple that run Vahine are consummate hosts . Elizabeth is the general manager, assisted by Landry, and she greets you as you arrive and is ever present throughout the day.

Her husband, Pierre, is the classically trained chef and he is superb.

The food, so with Vahine being on its own island, there are no other restaurants available and they include breakfast and dinner in the PG package. They also have lunch, but this is an extra cost and is really not necessary based on the breakfast. However, we did have lunch twice, splitting an entree just to experience it.

They call breakfast continental, but it is a full breakfast. They start with a plate of fruit, very fresh. With the fruit they bring each of you a cup of their homemade vanilla yogurt that is the best I have ever had. There is a cereal station with granola that goes perfectly with this yogurt. They also bring a fresh juice they have prepared that morning which changes daily. And, of course, a basket of various pastries, croissants, and toasts that you can choose from.

Your waitress comes up at this point and asks whether you want eggs prepared how you want them including an omelet with various fillings. And, you can have bacon with your eggs. Excellent omelet prepared by the chef.

And, also they will bring a platter of cheeses and meets to complement this small breakfast;):D.

As you are eating, the waitress brings the chef's dinner menu for you to review and make substitutes if something is not to your liking. We never tried this, as we just went with the chef's menu for every dinner.

So, here is the first menu we reviewed our first morning:

Appetizer:

Smoked Marlin and Eggplant Caviar served with fresh goat cheese

Entree:

MahiMahi crusted with parsley and garlic with

Provencal ratatouille and baby squid tempura

Dessert:

Home made coconut sorbet with

chocolate brownie with walnuts, pecans and confit cherry

Now, what was not on this menu and what was provided each night was an amuse bouche, that was always more than one bite. In fact, it was like having an appetizer in front of the appetizer.

This meal was incredible, everything made to order of course, for the ten of us that were there our first night. The dessert surprised me, as it came out on a long plate and was three separate items- the sorbet, the brownie, and the confit cherry. All three were wonderful.

I had brought two bottles of 2005 French Bordeaux and we enjoyed half of one of these bottles with each meal. Perfect for these French themed meals.

Ok, I am not done, I will return with the rest of the menus, but it is time for tennis. Got to work out just thinking about this meal :p.

Doug

This resort sounds amazing! Would you consider just doing the resort and not the cruise?

This resort sounds amazing! Would you consider just doing the resort and not the cruise?

We did talk about this. That a good vacation could be several days on Bora Bora in a land bungalow to control the cost somewhat, and then somehow get to Vahine for the last several days. I know they have helicopter transportation between BB and Vahine available, possibly you could even get there by boat, the two islands are fairly close. You have a nice sunset view of the BB mountain from the OWB on Vahine.

Of course, there are also flights from BB to Raitea and then the boat transfer from Raitea to Vahine that the resort provides at an additional cost unless you are booking it as a PG extension.

However, we also loved PG, so I could also see doing a 7 day Society Island cruise and then 7 days at Vahine. Four nights was very nice, but we could have easily stayed a few more.

Doug

Thank you!

Thoroughly enjoying reading your review Doug. Wondering if you found it challenging with Air Tahiti baggage carry on allowance as from my reading it is different from ATN ? What time did you have to disembark PG to catch your flight ? was there any flexibility as to which flight or did PG assign ? Your review is much appreciated as we are considering the Vahine combined with a 7night PG for our second trip to F.P. First was 10 night PG with a 3 night Hilton OWB.

Thoroughly enjoying reading your review Doug. Wondering if you found it challenging with Air Tahiti baggage carry on allowance as from my reading it is different from ATN ? What time did you have to disembark PG to catch your flight ? was there any flexibility as to which flight or did PG assign ? Your review is much appreciated as we are considering the Vahine combined with a 7night PG for our second trip to F.P. First was 10 night PG with a 3 night Hilton OWB.

We were slightly over our baggage allowance on the flight from Tahiti to Raitea. I think I had to pay an extra $24 for our overage. However, when we returned, we were fine. Of course, we no longer had the two bottles of wine that was in our luggage. Air Tahit restricted our one carry on bag, we had to check that one with the other two larger suitcases.

We disembarked at around 7:30, right after a quick breakfast at Le Grill. Our flight was at 8:45am and we landed in Raitea at around 10 am and by around 11 am we were arriving by boat to Vahine. Our room was ready and our relaxation began.

Since we had an early breakfast, we did decide to try lunch at Vahine that first day. We had a wonderful shrimp spring roll appetizer that we shared and an entree salad that we also easily shared that was great.

Back to your questions, we just went with what PG assigned to us, which as you can see worked out well since we were in our room in Vahine around 11:30 after the short sit down meeting they give you to go over the resort and a quick tour of the grounds.

Glad you are enjoying the review, more to come on the food.

Doug

So, take a look at our day two menu the waitress provided to us that morning:

Appetizer: The Chef's Asian Selection comprised of

Sushis, Makis and Sashimis

Entree: Beef filet with pan fry Foie Gras with mushrooms

and baby pasta "Riso" and his thyme infused sauce

Dessert: Lemon Tart with Meringue

And of course there was an amuse bouche, I just don't remember what it was. The Asian selection came with 5 different Sushi's, including tuna, salmon and eel.

The beef was excellent especially complemented by the foie gras on top of it and the risotto style pasta below it with very savory mushrooms.

And, totally unexpectedly when we arrived for our meal we were escorted to an intimate table separate from all the others with fresh flowers strewn all over the table as a special welcome since this was our first time at Vahine. Many of the other guests were repeat guests, several from France.

We were also treated that night to one of the Chef's rums, he came out and asked us which one we wanted to try and we each got a full snifter.

The Chef came out several times most nights and described his dish as he presented it to each table.

Another superb meal.

Doug

My tummy is growling Doug reading your review. So glad you enjoyed your stay and had such a lovely time. Was the mosquitos an issue staying at the resort or maybe they spray ? How did it work on your return flying back from Vahine and connecting to ATN ? Did you have a long wait at the airport ? Was there a day room you were able to use at Vahine if you had to check out ?

Thanks so much, Donna

My tummy is growling Doug reading your review. So glad you enjoyed your stay and had such a lovely time. Was the mosquitos an issue staying at the resort or maybe they spray ? How did it work on your return flying back from Vahine and connecting to ATN ? Did you have a long wait at the airport ? Was there a day room you were able to use at Vahine if you had to check out ?

Thanks so much, Donna

I had read about the mosquitoes as well so I had purchased and brought repellents and also a table side repellent and never used any of it. We left our windows and both sliders open all night to enjoy the fabulous ocean breezes and the sound of the distant surf and I never got any bites. Now, it may have been more of an issue if we had stayed in one of the beach cottages instead of an OWB.

The real advantage of using PG to coordinate is everything is taken care of. We checked out of Vahine about 9 am or so after breakfast. They took us by boat to the Raitea airport( I was a little concerned as we got there only about 45 minutes prior to boarding). No line at Raitea, when we landed in Tahiti, PG picked us up and transferred us to the IC, we checked into an ocean view day room at around 1 pm, and had over 6 hours to use the facilities. And the room had been recently remodeled so it was just as nice as our room before the cruise, just somewhat smaller.

Had a great late lunch of burgers and fries(we needed a comfort food lunch after Vahine) in their restaurant and just enjoyed our last hours at the IC. Transfer from IC to the airport was very well organized by IC and PG.

They do get you to the airport early, as it is a little frantic at that airport. But once through checking in and security, we had about 2 hours til we boarded. And then the miserable red eye flight back to LAX.

Doug

Thanks so much Doug

Thanks so much Doug

You're welcome!

Ok, let me finish out the dinners we had at Vahine.

Day 3 dinner, another fabulous meal.

Amuse bouche;

As I may have said already, these were just an extra appetizer and not on the menu that I photographed and retained. But, I remember this one:

Bruschetta with olive tapenade and Serrano ham. Delicious and large for an amuse bouche.

Appetizer:

Red Tuna Tataki with a salad of

crunchy vegetables and wakame seaweed, honey and soya sauce

This was lightly seared tuna, very fresh.

Entree:

Scallops and roasted prawns

sublimed with a coco curry emulsion and

fennel clafouti

Excellent, with an unusual presentation. The shrimp were standing up surrounding the scallops with a wonderful flavor. To picture this presentation, think of the dish looking like a teepee with the shrimp on the outside, and the scallops on the inside.

Dessert:

Baked Alaska, flavored with lime and coconut

OMG, we have had baked Alaska several times on cruise ships, and my thought is ehhhh.

Well, this baked Alaska compared to a cruise ship baked Alaska is like saying a Rolls Royce and a Ford Pinto are both cars, so what's the difference.

Day 4 dinner,

Appetizer:

Crispy and soft farm egg with creamy tomato risotto

with smoked Marlin

I know this sounds weird, but it was my favorite appetizer. I don't know how he did it,

but the egg was crispy, yet soft and opened like a poached egg with the rice and fish it was

spectacular.

Entree:

Parrot fish filet roasted Polynesian style with

mashed potatoes in a garlic and ginger sauce and roasted zuchini

Living in California, we have had alot of fish, first time for Parrot fish. Very nice white fish in a

fabulous sauce, served over the mashed.

Dessert:

Chocolate "Moelleux", sparkles of coconuts and hazelnuts with

The Vahine Island homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

The chef actually threw in a third part of this dessert in a small glass. I forget what we thought it

was, but we had no trouble eating all three.

To sum up the food. These four dinners represented some of the best meals we have ever had, and to have one after another each day, and not have to worry about the cost as it was all included, really makes this place stand out.

I do recommend that if you decide to go here, go after the PG if for no other reason than doing the cruise first the food on PG was not a let down, as it came before Vahine.

I am really sorry we did not stay one more night as when we had our last breakfast, I asked the waitress to let me see the menu for that night. The appetizer was lobster with their local vanilla sauce. I had been hoping for lobster each night,:loudcry::loudcry: will just have to go back and stay longer.

Any questions about Vahine, I will be happy to try and answer. Quite a place.

Doug