Following construction delays that pushed back the opening date
more than a year, the long-awaited Hotel Maitai Dream Fakarava
opened last month on the French Polynesian island of Fakarava.
The property’s owner originally planned to include only 15 units
but later decided to increase the room count to 30, according to
Christophe Gomet, general director of Hotel Management &
Services, the French Polynesia-based firm that manages the
property. Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts is working with HMS
to market the property in the United States, Gomet added.
Despite doubling the room count, the property won’t leave
travelers feeling very crowded on Fakarava, an atoll island in the
Tuamotu island chain with a population of just 700. The atoll about
an hour’s flight from Papeete is the Tuamotus’ second largest in
size, after the better-known island of Rangiroa.
And because the 7-acre resort lies in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
area, the property’s management plans to keep the impact on the
surrounding environment to a minimum. That means no overwater
bungalows, the presence of which would affect the ecosystem living
within the lagoon, Gomet said.
The property divides its bungalows, each measuring approximately
160 square feet, into three categories beach premium, beach and
tiare depending on their proximity to the water. Room decor and
amenities are typical of most resorts in the region coconut wood
furnishings, a king-size bed, overhead fans and an in-room safe
grace each unit.
Activities include world-class scuba diving, as well as
snorkeling, sea kayaking and deep-sea fishing. The property also
arranges motu picnics, taking guests to a nearby uninhabited island
for the day.
The hotel rack rates, which start at approximately $363 per
room, per night, include full board and roundtrip airport
transfers.
Several U.S. wholesalers, including Tahiti Legends, Happy
Vacations, Newmans South Pacific Vacations, Pleasant Holidays,
Sunspots International and Pacific Escapes, feature the Hotel
Maitai Dream Fakarava in packages.
This is the second Maitai property to open in French Polynesia;
the other is located on Bora Bora.
Web site: www.hotel maitai.com.
