Review of InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa (Copy)

The Gateway to The Archipelago

As the largest of the French Polynesian islands, Tahiti is about an eight-hour flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to this South Pacific oasis. From the moment you touch down at Faa’a Airport in the downtown area, you instantly feel like you’ve entered a bustling yet tropical paradise in the middle of the ocean. When visiting InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, we were welcomed onto the property grounds by lush green gardens, a friendly and helpful staff, and a tropical jungle atmosphere unique to the island of Tahiti. Oh, and I almost forgot—when landing at the airport we were welcomed to the island with a lei of fresh and colorful flowers!

Although it seems like many tourists use Tahiti as a “stop-over” destination when traveling to some of the other islands like Bora Bora or Moorea, we found Tahiti to be just as beautiful with no shortage of activities for families traveling with kids.

Where is InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa Located?

Located just two miles from Faa’a International Airport, InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa overlooks the stretching lagoon with views of volcanic peaks rising up in the distance. Described as the gateway to the beautiful Society Islands, IC Tahiti Resort & Spa is where travelers will typically begin their vacation in French Polynesia. While Bora Bora gets most of the fame, we found Tahiti to be a beautiful and relaxing destination with several things to do for families traveling with young children. Not to mention you’re getting most of the Bora Bora vibe without the higher cost.

IC Tahiti Resort & Spa covers roughly 25 hectares of tropical gardens and has incredible sweeping views of both the clear blue lagoon as well as the island of Moorea. With two infinity pools, three bars, two restaurants, and an electric-blue Lagoonarium, InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa pleasantly surprised us in more than a few ways.

It’s a quick trip to Faa’a airport from the grounds of InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, and taxis are available 24 hours a day to give guests peace of mind when dealing with transportation. This was incredibly important for us as our flight arrived from LAX to Tahiti around 10 PM local time and departed Tahiti back to LAX close to midnight. Before we began our trip, we were slightly worried about transportation, especially with children, but everything was incredibly simple and straightforward.

The Room

As we entered our room for the next few nights, we were pleasantly surprised with what we found. Our garden view room at IC Tahiti Resort & Spa was more than spacious and staged with traditional Polynesian-inspired furniture. The floors show beautiful natural timber and the room is decorated with patterned fabrics and original paintings to create a welcoming and island-inspired atmosphere.

Our garden view room came with a comfortable queen-sized bed and a cot in the corner of the room so we could sleep all four of us. Because our youngest son, Crew, was still so small, it was easy to lay him on the cot with one of us while the other two slept in the bed with more space than needed.

InterContinental Tahiti Garden View Room

Our room also had a large sliding door that led onto a big wooden deck overlooking the lagoon and lush tropical vegetation. Both of our kids spent quite a bit of time hanging out on our private deck playing with their sand toys while Cas and I would generally unwind in the evening sipping wine and watching the sun set on paradise.

Amenities

As far as amenities are concerned, InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa has so many things to do for families traveling with kids. The picture below shows the incredible Lagoonarium where you can swim or snorkel in clear blue water and watch all sorts of colorful fish as they swim by. While we didn’t do too much snorkeling because Cash and Crew aren’t of age to be able to enjoy something like that just yet, we did have a ton of fun exploring the area around the Lagoonarium, taking pictures, and collecting rocks.

The boys were also able to find a little wooden boat on the sand near the Lagoonarium that was great for playing pirates or posing for a few quick pictures for mom and dad. For some reason, Cash looks like he’s a little freaked out as he saw a spider crawling on the tree just above him. No biggie!

Parents—this is the perfect place to capture incredible moments (with or without a camera) with your kids that you will never forget!

Cash and Crew at InterContinental Tahiti

In addition to the Lagoonarium, there are also two amazing infinity pools on the property where you can relax or sip a cocktail in the water, and so many great views to catch as you walk around. The boys had an amazing time checking out the sights of InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, and Cas and I just enjoyed the incredible weather in a place we were so happy to be visiting.

Aside from relaxing under the South Pacific sun, we found guests participating in basket weaving, shell and flower necklace making, and there was even an original Tahitian dance show during breakfast that we were able to catch. This was probably one of the best things we saw during our stay at IC Tahiti Resort & Spa. Our kids couldn’t look away! For a full list of current activities, check out the resort activities page as this will change with the development of COVID-19.

Dining Options

IC Tahiti Resort & Spa has several incredible restaurants that infuse authentic Polynesian culture and ingredients to provide an exceptional dining experience. To start, the breakfast buffet at Te Tiare (open as early as 6 AM local time) is out of this world with a number of options that extend into the stratosphere. This was so great to see as COVID ultimately destroyed the possibility of breakfast buffets in hotels around the world, but I will say InterContinental Tahiti did a great job of making sure people felt comfortable without the risk of getting sick. Everyone had their own pair of tongs to get their food and each person was responsible for disposing of their tongs after exiting the buffet. Here’s Crew getting ready for a few chocolate croissants, fruit, and some eggys. Cheeeeeeeese!

For brunch and dinner options, Te Tiare also has a lunch buffet and serves tasty Polynesia dishes for dinner. It’s fairly easy to walk right in without any sort of reservation—we did this several times. For a more formal and exclusive dining experience at IC Tahiti Resort & Spa, Le Lotus Restaurant is the place to go. We were super bummed that we didn’t get to try this one out (they were fully booked with reservations when we discovered it) but we heard many great things from other guests that tried the food here. For gourmet-style food at a stunning overwater restaurant, Le Lotus is definitely worth making a reservation in advance.

Overall Experience

Overall, our experience at InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa was all-around excellent. After spending quite a few hours researching different hotels in Tahiti before visiting, it became clear that this was by far the best option for a taste of luxury and superior ambiance. The food was delightfully incredible, there are activities for small children in spades, the weather is just as you would expect (balmy and tasteful), and you really feel like you’re in paradise. We would absolutely recommend InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa to friends, relatives, and any other family travelers headed to the South Pacific. See you out there!