Review: Hilton Tahiti delivered a great experience for our extended stay

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Planning a trip to French Polynesia

Planning a trip to French Polynesia often involves an unavoidable layover in Tahiti as most flights from the U.S. arrive in Papeete, Tahiti (PPT) in the early evening—too late to catch onward connections to Bora Bora or the ferry to Moorea. Even if arriving on one of the few early morning flights, spending a day or two in Tahiti is a good idea – if time allows – to catch up on rest and adjust to the time zone before continuing on to your final destination. This is what we did for both of our trips, and we certainly recommend the same to anyone considering it.

Of course, Tahiti itself is a fantastic destination and well worth dedicating a couple of days to on its own. Whether it’s your final stop or a jumping-off point to one of French Polynesia’s many other treasures, the Hilton Hotel Tahiti is a worthy option to consider staying at. Ideally situated close to the airport, port and city center, it also offers stunning views of the neighbouring island of Moorea to the east, though it does afford some unsightly views of the adjacent Port of Papeete to the west. Overall, the hotel does well to combine modern accommodations with Polynesian influences to offer a comfortable and convenient stay for layovers of any duration, with Hilton Honours elites well looked after.

Hilton Tahiti Review: Location

Located close to Faa’a International Airport in the capital city of Papeete, the resort is a short commute to the city center and also connected via a skybridge to an adjacent shopping plaza which has a large Carrefour grocery store where travelers can pick up all sorts of supplies that they didn’t want to lug with them across the pacific (swimming apparel/ toiletries/ consumables/ yummy strawberry tarts etc).

The resort is a short 10-15 minute drive away from the airport and approximately the same to the Port of Papeete (where you would catch the ferry to Moorea), the city center and the waterfront promenade. Flagging a taxi at the airport was quite straightforward, and the rides usually came to ~USD $20 (USD widely accepted, though some taxis also accept credit card payment).

Hilton Tahiti Review – Booking

For the most part, standard rooms at the Hilton Hotel Tahiti usually range between USD $320-$520/night for most of the year, whilst points redemptions for standard rooms will set you back 80,000 Hilton Honours points at the time of writing. Award space is decent – though by no means will it have daily points availability in the close-in months.

For our cumulative three stays, cash bookings represented the better value for me as each was booked for between USD $340-$380/night. The first of our stays in 2023 was booked using TD First Class Travel points through the ExpediaForTD portal, and as expected, there was no elite recognition to be had. At the time, I didn’t mind foregoing elite status as I was treating it no differently than I would a quick one-night stay at an airport hotel. However, after having been impressed with how pleasant the property was, the following two stays were booked through Hilton’s direct channels – and accordingly received generous upgraded rooms as a result of elite status.

Hilton Tahiti – Elite & Brand Benefits

Elite recognition at the Hilton Tahiti is unsurprisingly more generous than your standard North American Hilton. Following are what we received as Hilton Diamond members:

• Welcome Gift: None. I had read in prior trip reports from recent years that Diamond members received $20 F&B vouchers, but neither of my stays in 2023 or 2024 was I offered that and nor did I inquire.
• Breakfast: Full buffet breakfast (including non-alcoholic beverages) was included for guests at the Moevai breakfast buffet, which is housed in the hotel’s main dining outlet that becomes La Strada for dinner.
• Early Check-in/Late check-out: We never arrived earlier than the check-in time at any point, so we can not comment on that. Late check-out, however, was proactively offered on our last two visits, which we accepted given our late afternoon departures on the checkout dates.
• Suite Upgrade? For our first stay, no upgrade was given (nor did we ask), which was expected given the OTA booking. For our two subsequent stays, we were proactively upgraded both times prior to check-in to a King Bed Ocean View Suite and a King Bed Residence Suite.
• Executive Lounge: There is no executive/Diamond lounge; however, they do have what they refer to as a transit lounge, which I presume all guests would have keycard access to and is a large space with multiple seating configurations. I only ventured in one time to pick up cold bottles of water and didn’t notice any elaborate F&B options.

All hotel guests get the following:

• Parking: Free self-parking in the hotel’s parking lot.
• Turndown Service: No
• Daily Destination Fee: USD ~$13 per room per night, though it is waived on points/ free night certificate bookings.

Hilton Tahiti – Arrival and Check-in

Arriving at the Hilton Hotel Tahiti, you are dropped right in front of the check-in desks at the entrance in what is an open-air lobby. Check-in lines can at times be on the longer side, especially at times when multiple international flights arrive close together; however, it’s never been too bad.

Past this reception area, guests are greeted by a grand and spacious lobby that gives off a friendly yet classy vibe. The Polynesian-inspired decor, featuring rich wooden elements and vibrant tropical touches, creates an inviting atmosphere, and the oversized lobby area is dotted with comfortable seating areas providing ample space to relax, connect to your devices or simply enjoy a beverage at the cozy bar located right in the lobby.

The seating options extend onto an oversized patio that overlooks the resort’s pool and relaxation areas on the lower level, all with the magnificent backdrop of Moorea on the horizon.

Hilton Tahiti Review – Rooms

The hotel has 170+ rooms and 30 suites, and over the course of our stays, we had been assigned the base King Bed Garden View room for our stay booked through the OTA, followed by more generous upgrades to a King Bed Ocean View Suite and a King Bed Residence Suite. The property does have multiple styles of suites, some more traditional, whilst others have full-sized kitchens and mini fridges. I unfortunately seem to have not taken any photos of the King Bed Residence Suite, though will include a quick description of it below.

Despite the resort having reopened in November 2021 following some lengthy renovations, the hotel corridors felt a little sparse and worse for wear – but likely a function of the space mostly being outdoors and exposed to the elements. The rooms at the Hilton Tahiti, though, clearly look like they have been refreshed, and it shows as across all three of our stays, the rooms felt clean, modern and stylish. Furniture felt new and well-appointed, and the rooms had plenty of updated touches such as electronic shades, ample electronic outlets, accent lighting and an on-theme room design.

King Bed Ocean View Suite

The suite is listed as 926 sq ft and is located at a corner, which affords some wonderful wrap-around views right by the edge of the water. While the property is located by the water, there is no actual beach – instead, it gets cut off at the edge with rock barriers – and this is where this particular suite lies.

The suite opens into a spacious rectangular living area featuring warm wooden flooring and expansive windows allowing for plenty of natural sunlight and furnished with a plush white sofa, coffee table and reading chair. The living area is partially separated into a living room with access to both a patio and panoramic views overlooking the water. Adjacent to the lounge area is a cozy dining nook with a round table with four chairs and the minibar, providing for a great place to enjoy a meal.

Parallel to the living area are the suite’s bathroom and bedroom. The bedroom features a comfortable king-sized bed in front of a backlit, leaf-patterned headboard. Some wicker furnishings round out the furnishings in the room, which also has access to another private ground-level patio overlooking the property grounds.

Unlike standard Kind Bed rooms, the bathroom in this suite featured dual sinks and a bathtub in addition to the walk-in shower. Crabtree and Evelyn bath amenities are used throughout the property.

King Bed Garden View

The standard King Bedroom is listed as having 409 sq ft of space and provides many of the same thoughtful design elements and touches as the bedroom in the larger Ocean View suite. Again, the room features an illuminated headboard at the head of the bed, flanked with floating nightstands, pendant lighting fixtures and a seating area with a sofa and some coffee tables. Floor-to-ceiling windows open to a semi-private patio and easy access to the resort grounds.

King Bed Residence Suite

The resort also offers a different style of suite that would be ideal for families or somewhat extended stays. These Residence-style suites not only benefit from a separate living room area (as you would expect in a proper suite), but also come with a kitchenette, microwave, mini refrigerator and an ensuite washer/dryer in select rooms.

Hilton Tahiti – Resort, Dining & Amenities

The property is laid out overlooking the water with rooms sprawled across a number of interconnected buildings. In the below map of the resort, my prior point that there is no beach is illustrated.

Hilton Tahiti offers a selection of on-property F&B outlets that offer a decent variety to keep you interested over a couple of meals at least. As mentioned earlier in the post, the Hilton Honors breakfast is served in the overwater restaurant Moevai, before transforming in the evening to the resort’s signature Italian restaurant – La Strada. San Sushi Bar is the other outlet that only opens for dinner and consistently gets solid reviews from diners.

Taitea Brasserie is located on the same level as the swimming pool and serves casual French Polynesian and international fare in an all-day, relaxed indoor-outdoor setting. Rounding out the F&B options at the Hilton are Vaipuna Pool Bar, which offers swim-up cocktails and snacks by the pool, while Heiva Lounge Bar features small plates and cocktails with scenic views of Moorea from the adjacent patio.

Although the Hilton Tahiti’s dining options often get strong reviews, we opted to explore the island’s budding food scene instead. From local food trucks to a very serious pizza culture in Papeete, the island’s culinary landscape offered too many delicious, authentic alternatives to forego. Having said that, we did have daily breakfast at Moevai across all three of our stays and thoroughly enjoyed our breakfasts, where the Polynesian and French influences were front and center in the breakfast offerings and offered more traditional breakfast fare like made-to-order eggs and crepe station, cheese, charcuterie, scrambled eggs, etc. The countless iced lattes I had to start my mornings were a particularly refreshing way to start the day in the refreshing heat.

Hilton Tahiti – Final Word

Whether you’re in Tahiti for a quick stopover or an extended escape, Hilton Tahiti delivers a great experience, all things considered. With its panoramic ocean views, refreshing breezes, and prime location near both downtown Papeete and the international airport, this thoughtfully renovated resort offers itself as a great choice for travellers seeking comfort and convenience in Tahiti. I certainly would not hesitate to stay here again.