Tahiti

"We stayed for 8 days. This house is well-equipped for a family or small group of friends. Everything you need for cooking, relaxing, etc.. It is a short kayak to Les Tipaniers beach and restaurant or short drive/ bike ride to Le Petit Village where there are a few touristy shops and eateries, and also the Intercontinental is close by if you want to go for a special meal or to watch Polynesian dancing. You can also walk to a small shop just outside the entrance to the neighbourhood (Magasin Tiahura), which has fresh baguettes twice a day, a small range of items, and very friendly and helpful owners. The neighbourhood was not as luxurious as we expected, and some work was being done on the house which made the first impression a bit scruffy. However, the house was bigger than we expected and comfortable. If you are not interested in making the most of the kayaks, I'm not sure if this would be the house for you, as for us that is what made it special. So wonderful to be able to kayak out to the lagoon and swim with sharks and rays! In other respects the house feels a bit cut off. It is in a small, sleepy residential neighbourhood. We could not find the walking track to the lagoon that is featured on the house info, but did see a similar looking track which had been gated - I wonder if that was it? Perhaps the owner can clarify. You will also need to be prepared with earplugs for the roosters and the sound of the wind blowing through the thatch roof. We really wanted to sleep upstairs (beautiful Polynesian/ Robinson Crusoe style room) but even with earplugs found it too noisy if there was any wind (plus the roosters!). The mosquito nets over the beds were useful and necessary. Our daughter loved her 'princess bed' with nets hanging over her. All the beds were really comfortable too. Everything worked fine in the bathrooms and kitchen and the dining/kitchen area was really cute. The garden area was pretty, and we enjoyed spending time on the patio area. It just needs to be tidied up at the front where there was a pile of rocks and building material. The wifi and internet connection worked great and was really handy. Overall we had a really enjoyable stay."