Hilton Moorea: Everything You Need to Know

Background

After spending time searching for the location of our honeymoon, we settled on Hilton Moorea. I am a Hilton loyalist so it was an easy decision. There are only two Hiltons in French Polynesia. The Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa and the Conrad Bora Bora Nui. We opted for the Hilton Moorea because it was more affordable and we found ourselves gravitating towards Moorea more than Bora Bora.

Our travels are typically busy with a jam packed itinerary. We wanted something slower-paced and tropical for our honeymoon. An overwater bungalow seemed like the ideal type of vacation for a honeymoon. It is a once-in-a-lifetime type of trip with the perfect amount of romance.

Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa

There are two types of rooms you can stay in at the Hilton Moorea – the garden bungalow or overwater bungalow. Both accommodations are nice and offer a different style and vibe.

Garden Bungalow vs Overwater Bungalow

The Garden Bungalow is the cheaper room to stay in. They’re located on the main land, steps away from the water, and most are equipped with their own dipping pool. We didn’t stay in one of the garden bungalows, but we did use one as a changing room on our last day at the resort. The rooms are nice, spacious and the private dipping pool gives you the space you’d want for a romantic getaway.

The other option for a room is the overwater bungalow. The overwater bungalows are completely over the water; although a handful are mostly on sand at a cheaper rate. The sunsets from the bungalows are the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Hart and I slowed down to watch it every single evening.

We stayed in the Overwater Bungalow for the duration of our trip and absolutely loved it. Based on photos, we considered staying in the garden bungalow first and then the overwater bungalow to end the trip as way to save money; however, we opted to splurge on the overwater bungalow for the full time and I’m so glad we did. It really surpassed our expectations.

What to Do

I like relaxation, but I also like to stay active. As crazy it as it may seem, I was nervous that I might get bored on our honeymoon. Would I just be sitting around all day? Absolutely not. We had the perfect balance of relaxation and activity while at the resort. There are plenty of activities off of the resort as well, but I’ll talk about those in a separate blog post.

Free Resort Amenities

The resort has a handful of free amenities at your disposal. The two relaxing choices would be to lay by the community pool in the middle of the resort or on the sand by the lagoon. They have plenty of lounging chairs for you to choose from. I spent a lot of time on the patio of our bungalow reading through three books, lounging and even getting in light workouts.

If you’re like me and searching for something more active to balance your relaxation then you’ll want to check out their free water sports. The resort has kayaks, stand up paddle boards, and snorkeling equipment for you to check at no additional cost. The resort is located in the lagoon and surrounded by plenty of fish and coral.

You’re able to take the equipment as far as out as you’d like to go. We went a little bit further with the kayaks because it was easier to get back. I also loved the paddleboards. We took them out at least once a day. If you are an avid snorkeler, I recommend bringing your own equipment because they weren’t the best quality.

For non-water sport activities, you can check out tennis equipment to play at one of their two courts or head over to the gym. We enjoyed a game of tennis one day and ended up playing doubles with another couple (who completely destroyed us by the way).

Catamaran Ride

We opted to do a morning catamaran boat tour with Voila Moorea, which departed directly from the dock at our resort. We really enjoyed this ride. It included swimming with stingrays and sharks, snorkeling and fresh local fruit and juices. We had a great time seeing more of the island from the water and hearing about the culture from locals throughout our ride. I’d recommend doing a boat tour with this company and the even have a sunset option if you’re looking for something more romantic.

Resort Spa

I’ve mentioned before that we postponed our honeymoon to be on our first anniversary after the pandemic delayed our wedding celebration. Well, we wanted to make our anniversary day special so we started the day with a couples massage at the resort spa followed by a romantic sunset dinner on the beach.

I am extremely ticklish and I don’t particularly enjoy people touching me, so massages are not usually my first idea of relaxation. However, Hart really loves a good massage so I figured if I’m going to get one then it might as well be at the Hilton Moorea.

We loved it. The ambience was romantic, the masseuses were in tune with each of our preferences and we wrapped up our experiences with fresh fruits and champagne. If you’re thinking about heading to the spa, I completely recommend. They have plenty of services and we got the Honey Dream, Spa Ritual for Two package. It was a 100 minute experience with a massage, body wrap, and time to linger while enjoying our champagne.

Romantic Dinner on the Beach for Two

I mentioned above that we did a romantic sunset dinner as the final stop on our romantic anniversary day. We sat a private table on the beach set out for just the two of us and treated to a 3-course meal that we chose in advance. The dinner also included a welcome cocktail and a bottle of wine.

To be honest, the meal wasn’t the best meal we had on our tip, but the experience was romantic and it was nice to have dinner with just the two of us. There was another couple doing a similar thing on the other side of the dock who looked to be newly engaged.

Where to Eat

There are plenty of restaurants to eat at on and off the resort. Below I’ll talk about where to eat on the resort. We ate most of our meals on site and were impressed at the quality of the food. If you’re looking for a happy hour location before dinner, be sure to check out the Eimeo Bar. They do a two-for-one drink special every day between 5 and 6.

Air Vahine

Breakfast Buffet

The package we bought for our honeymoon included breakfast for two at the buffet each morning. This was well worth it. We loved having our daily breakfasts at the buffet. There were traditional French and French Polynesian items like baguettes and raw fish; but there were also more Americanized breakfast items too. It was quite the spread. We often got an omelet with fresh fruit. After breakfast, I always took a a plate of fruit with me to eat as a snack before lunch as a money saving hack.

Dinner Buffet with a Show

On one of our first nights at the resort, we signed up to do the dinner buffet with a show. I think this is typically outdoors, but it rained a little bit that night so we did it mostly inside. The dinner buffet was extensive just like the breakfast buffet. There was something for everyone from traditional French Polynesia cuisine to American items. I bet even the pickiest eaters would have found something to enjoy.

While we ate, we watched a traditional French Polynesian dancing performance followed by an outdoor fire show. I was thoroughly impressed by all of it, especially the fire. At the end, we got picture with the performers before heading back to our own room. I recommend doing this show one night while you’re on the resort because we had a fun time. There aren’t many kids at the resort, but it looks like for the kids that were there, they enjoyed it as well!

Toatea Bar & Creperie

Toateia is the creperie on the resort and was hands down my favorite place to eat. We probably ate here at least 4 times. It’s situated in the middle of the overwater bungalows right above a coral reef. The restaurant is only open for dinner likely because sharks swim around underneath the docks waiting for food droppings. We loved watching the sharks while we ate.

The creperie is an experience, but the food is amazing as well. They have a collection of sweet and savory crepes for you to enjoy. We loved the XX and the XX crepe the most. If you’re staying at the Hilton Moorea, make sure you stop by this restaurant to eat.

Rotui Bar & Grill

The third restaurant is centrally located and right in front of the resort pool. You can find your typical lunch affair here during the day like salads and sandwiches. For dinner, they also had items like tuna steak. The tuna steak was amazing and Hart couldn’t get enough of it. The portion sizes are fairly large. For lunch, we got to the point where we would split a meal and it was more than enough for both of us. This was a great option for saving money because the restaurants are not cheap.

Lilikoi Garden Café

Getting off the resort to eat is another great option saving money. This is a Hilton Moorea review, but I figured I’d at least mention the restaurant directly across the street to the resort. It’s right next to the tennis courts. We didn’t have a chance to eat here because it was closed, likely due to the pandemic, and we were bummed about it. The reviews online are great and the restaurant has local French Polynesian cuisine.

The Bottom Line

The Hilton Moorea is an excellent choice for a hotel if you’re looking to stay in Mo’orea. It has ample amenities, romance and luxury. It’s also a great option if you’re looking for a Hilton hotel, but don’t necessarily want to splurge on the Conrad.

We loved our stay and would recommend it to anyone who asked!

Tips & Tricks

• Bring floaties to use in the lagoon. The water is deep and you won’t want to just hold yourself up. We packed two inflatable pool floats and something to blow them up with. The one thing we wished we had brought was a rope to tie them together to our bungalow patio, but we made due without it.
• Check your bills after each meal. They’ll charge the meal to your room, but you’ll want to make sure everything on the bill is right. We weren’t always as diligent as we should have been and ended up paying for a bottle of wine we didn’t drink.
• If your flight is at the end of the day, you can continue to use the resort amenities throughout the day. The front desk will give you a garden bungalow room to shower and change before you leave.
• Bring your own goggles for snorkeling. The resort equipment let water in easily and it’s very salty!