Hotel Kia Ora Resort & Spa

It took only a few days at Kia Ora in Rangiroa for us to decide this deserved all five stars. The price is high, but keeping standards up in such a remote part of the world takes effort, and we could see the value. Excursions were well organized, the pick-ups were easy, and the guides were great. Dinner was delicious, especially the best octopus I've ever had. The Polynesian show was lively and a fantastic end to the evening. The whole place felt relaxed and authentic, balancing comfort with island simplicity. And sipping a Polynesian cocktail as the sun sank into the Pacific, we saw the most beautiful sunset we'd ever seen.

The overwater bungalow and snorkeling were great for our three-night honeymoon in September, but the service and food let the stay down. On arrival, the welcome felt weak for a resort like this. The golf-cart driver showed us to the room and went over some information, but didn't explain breakfast, dinner, or pool hours well. Staff at the front desk either didn't know the answers to general questions, which was odd, or were rude and seemed unwilling to help. There's just one restaurant on site, and the food was mediocre at best. At dinner, the fish arrived frozen in the middle. When we told the waitress, she took it away without apologizing or explaining whether another dish was coming. At breakfast, the ham-and-cheese omelette came with only cheese, and they forgot the two fried eggs. We were repeatedly told the eggs were coming, but waited about 30 minutes. For lunch, we ordered a bar sandwich and they forgot it until we asked after half an hour, when we noticed everyone else was getting theirs. The person who took our order asked if we'd already paid and had forgotten it entirely. Wednesday and Sunday bring a Polynesian buffet and performance. At more than $80 per adult, we felt it was a ripoff for mediocre food. Dinner alternatives are limited: there's no other restaurant on site, no room service, and the bar stops taking sandwich orders at 5 p.m. You could order bar sandwiches before closing or try to get food from elsewhere on the island. The performance was lackluster too, the worst of the few we'd seen. The performers seemed like they didn't want to be there, unlike the energetic performers in other shows we'd watched who seemed proud to share their culture.

We came to Rangiroa for diving and plan to return, and when we do, we'll stay at Kia Ora again. We'd read mixed reviews a few days before arrival and weren't sure what to expect, but our experience turned out top notch. Every staff member was pleasant and the service was great. Our room was in good shape, the AC worked, and we didn't see any mosquitoes or bugs. The food was good if you stick to fish, much like elsewhere in French Polynesia. I skipped the meat because I believe it's shipped in from New Zealand, while the fish is caught locally. For a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, the meals were good.

For my fiancé's birthday, the team made him a whole cake and sang to him. I hadn't expected that much thought, and the attention to detail really stood out. The bungalow was clean and comfortable, with fresh towels and daily housekeeping, and the suites with private pools looked top notch. The air conditioning was great too. We had a wonderful time at Hotel Kia Ora, and I'd highly recommend it.