Tahiti’s Hotel Hot Spot

Arriving in Tahiti around four in the morning, my husband and I were praying it wouldn’t be a long drive to our hotel. We exited the airport in the pre-dawn darkness, sleepily found our transfer and climbed into a waiting mini-van, nearly falling asleep the moment our buns hit the seat. Even after our relaxing first-class Air Tahiti Nui flight, we were so exhausted from months of wedding planning that we couldn’t keep our eyes open. But we barely had time to drift into REM before we were parked in front of the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti, which is a mere three miles from the Faaa International Airport.

After check-in, we were whisked up to a Deluxe Lagoon View room and the two of us collapsed onto the king-size bed while it was still dark.

Although close in proximity to the airport, the Hotel Tahiti isn’t an “airport hotel.” Located on a beautiful lagoon, the hotel is the perfect jumping-off place for the start of a honeymoon, the end of a romantic getaway, for business travelers passing through or incentive groups visiting for a week-long meeting. In fact, there aren’t many types of clients the hotel wouldn’t appeal to.

In 2006, the hotel underwent a $10 million renovation that updated the resort’s 200 guestrooms in an island-colonial style, with coconut-tree floors, wooden plantation shutters, mahogany and cane furnishings and marble bathrooms with dark wood accents.

During the renovation, the lobby also underwent an extensive makeover and reemerged with one of the hotel’s most stunning features. Hanging over the lobby staircase is a magnificent chandelier made of 8,000 mother-of-pearl shells, adding a truly Tahitian flavor to the resort’s ambience. Also greeting visitors upon arrival is a hand-carved reception desk made of South Seas teak.