After several previous trips to French Polynesia with stays in resorts, we decided to try a house rental for three weeks this August 2013. We read loads of reviews and selected the Tahiti Beach House crossing our fingers that it would be close to our expectations. And it was much, much more! First, it is a real home filled with interesting art pieces, books and a fully equipped kitchen. With six of us staying there we all had space to spread out to read, relax, cook, eat together, swim and snorkel. The lagoon there is quiet and stretches out to a beautiful reef in the distance. If you venture out you’ll see varieties of fish, rays and small sharks. The house comes with Tonga, one of the sweetest dogs any of us had ever met. He spends part of his day sitting in the water hoping to catch fish (which apparently has never happened). He has such a gentle nature and was a pleasure to share the house with. Our host, Tepapa, checked in on us periodically, answering any questions we had. She was very ready to share knowledge of her culture and community and we were so glad to also meet some of her very interesting family. She could give specific recommendations when we asked. One morning she called early to encourage us to get to the local fish market asap. Some fresh tuna had just come in and was likely to sell out fast. We raced over and selected the type she recommended. Then later that day she came and prepared it for us: a beautiful platter of sashimi and huge bowl of poisson cru (you can never eat too much of this!) Organizing food was easy with a small market across the street and another a few minutes by car. The largest supermarket is in Vaiare past the ferry dock. If we didn't want to cook, we'd find the Chicken Man roulotte for a wonderful chicken with rosemary potatoes! We could also cross the street and eat at Le Mahogany for very good lunch or dinner. But the best was to make a meal together, sit on the deck and watch the most exquisite sunsets over the lagoon. Moorea is a particularly beautiful island and invites you to enjoy yourself whether you like to be in the water, reading and relaxing on land or gazing out over the lagoon. It offers a pace and calm that is so appreciated and needed by many of us. After three weeks it becomes hard to leave but the experiences and images are so vivid that they become truly valued memories. It was great!