Sofitel Tahiti

[gdoyle]

We arrive late (9:00 PM) day before 7/2 TP cruise. Looking for decent accomodations to rest prior to embarkation. Sofitel seems to meet our needs. Any feedback on the Sofitel? The rates are cheaper than Sheraton, Radisson and IC.

[maryevelyn]

We are booked in September for the Sofitel. You can read some mixed reviews on cheaptickets.com. Some of the complaints are so petty. I really researched before booking and it sounded like the best choice in that price range. This vacation is already waaay more than we would normally spend, so there was no way we could afford to stay at IC for the two nights prior to the cruise.

The Sofitel is considered a 5 star hotel on cheap tickets; also, it was recently renovated, so the rooms should be in nice shape.

[Hulagirl]

Gdoyle: We have a roll call going on this cruise, so come and join us!

 

We have 2 nights booked at the IC before the July 2 cruise, but I think it is all ready full now, so looking at this hotel would be a good choice I think. I know when we first booked we reserved a room at the Radisson, but read some less that shining reviews on it, so changed to the IC. Glad we did as it filled pretty quickly after that. I'm sure you will do good for one night no matter what.

 

Hopefully you come and joint the roll call. We just had someone join us the other day for this cruise. It is getting close now!

[southwestgal]

gdoyle - Since you are coming in late and checking out in the morning, the Sofitel should be okay. You are really only looking for a place to sleep. There is also a hotel directly across the street from the ship. I can't remember the name, but I'll try to find it for you. Basic, cheap accomodations. That might be all you would want.

 

maryevelyn - The Sofitel is definitely not a 5 star hotel. There was a couple on our cruise (January 2006) that had reservations for this hotel. When they arrived, they took one look and headed for the Radisson. And, this was not some stuck up, fancy schmancy couple. This was a very nice retired couple from the UK. Since you are there for 2 days, you might want to reconsider. The Radisson is a brand new property. We drove by and it was quite beautiful. We talked with a couple that stayed there and they enjoyed it very much. The IC is a bit pricey, but you might want to look into the Ambassador Club membership. It costs $150, but you get a free weekend night with a minimum stay of 2 nights. Depending on your budget, you could stay for 2 nights in the OWB (or any other room) and one night would effectively only cost you $150. There are other perks with the membership as well. The IC is part of the Holiday Inn group and the Ambassador Club membership gets you some perks at Holiday Inns as well. Just giving you some things to consider. But I will say, that if you expect the Sofitel to be 5 stars, you will be disappointed. Go in without any expectations and it will be a lot better.

[Lynnees]

The Sofitel is not a bad hotel as far as the rooms go. We stayed there in March. The problem for us was that they ripped us off royally. It has taken from the day we returned, April 1 to now to get a refund on the money they owe us and, although they admit they owe us, it still hasn't shown up on my cc.

 

It's certainly not a hotel I would recommend for that reason, but just so you know the room are clean - the service is poor.

[maryevelyn]

gdoyle, after reading the comments others have listed, I did some more research regading Sofitel, and since the renovation, the reviews look good. We are locked into the hotel at this point, but I don't think we will be disappointed. I read a couple more recent reviews and they rated the hotel very highly. The reviews said, clean, friendly staff, delicious food.

Sounds like that will work for us!

[Lynnees]

Just to let everyone know, it took two months for them to admit they overcharged us by a full night and that they should have transferred the other night as they said they would.

 

Now they tell me it will take a month for them to post the refund back to my cc.

 

Certainly not be be recommended by me.

[Ms Jo UK]

We stayed 1 night pre cruise and 1 night post cruise for our May 9th cruise. We should have known not to return for the post cruise night except it was pre-paid.

 

On our first night everything was OK. Hotel was fine for one night stay. However on check-out they insisted that the hotel wasn't paid for even though I had my confirmation email to hand. They took the money. We then asked them to check that our return night was pre-paid and Olga did confirm this after much reluctance to even look it up.

 

On our return even though we checked in at 3.00pm the room wasn't ready. After 40 mins wait they gave us a room. It no toilet tissue first call to reception. Then no coffee in the room second call to reception. That night we got ready to go dinner and found that all the towels in the room where rolled up as if fresh but were in fact dirty more calls to reception. No dinner available, it was Friday and they were having their polynesian buffett at $50 per head. Having just got off the ship we really didn't want that so headed to pool bar for a snack - no snacks available as polynesian night on, only answer was horrible expensive burger from room service. We then tried to go to bed, pulled back the cover and the sheets appeared to be covered in excrement, we had to wait for housekeeping to come and remake the bed.

On check out I was advised by Olga that the room was not pre-paid, I showed her the email and told her she had confirmed that it was prepaid. This time I did not allow them to charge my card I refused and Olga gave in, which leads me to believe they had received payment.

 

I would have said it was Ok for a night but I really can't advise this and I personally would never stay there again. Although other people seemed relatively happy.

 

Jo

[Lynnees]

I have to certainly agree with you about the charges. The credit was finally posted to my cc yesterday - that's after 2 months of arguing. The only reason I got my money back was because I emailed the head office of Sofitel. I would definitely suggest you do the same. Don't let them rip you off.........

 

Marilyn