Maison Magnolia

Fare Oaoa · 4 bedrooms, private pool, sleeps 8

Maison Magnolia, a 125 m² beachfront house for eight at Haapiti, Moorea: four bedrooms, four real beds, a pool nobody else uses. Breakfast, 2 pm check-in. Two king and two queen beds, so nobody is on a sofa. One bathroom inside the house, plus a second in the common area. One of the four bedrooms is a separate building in the garden.

The main house: 125 m², three and a half times the size of a fare, and the only accommodation here with a pool of its own. Four bedrooms, four real beds, two king and two queen, so a group of eight sleeps behind four doors and nobody takes a sofa. Read that with two things in mind. There is one bathroom inside the house, with a second bathroom in the common area a few steps away, which suits one family group better than eight unrelated adults. And one of the four bedrooms is a separate building in the garden rather than a room off the corridor, which is either exactly what you want for teenagers or grandparents, or not what you want at all. There is a dining room, a room set up as a workspace, and a pool table. The kitchen is the reason to cook here. It has the only oven and the only dishwasher on the property, so this is where a long dinner for eight actually happens rather than a reheated one. The grocery store is directly across the road for the daily shop, and the pizza truck two minutes away delivers. On the night nobody wants to cook at all, Kathy will: Tahitian home cooking, ordered by 4pm, served at a table on the sand or brought up to the house. Snorkelling gear and free kayaks are provided. Check-in is from 2 pm, an hour later than the fare, because the house takes longer to turn around.

The grocery store is directly across the road and opens early. A smoothie stand and a pizza truck are two minutes away, and the pizza truck delivers. Every fare has its own kitchen, so cooking is easy if that is the evening you want. Kathy also cooks: Tahitian home cooking, ordered by 4pm, served at a table on the sand or brought to your fare. And there are very good restaurants a short drive away, fifteen minutes north at Hauru, which we will book for you and tell you how to find. Straight in front of the property, the Haapiti pass breaks all year and draws surfers from across the world. Dolphins are usually out in the lagoon in the morning. Tiahura beach is about fifteen minutes away by car, and humpback whales pass between August and October.

Rent a car. It is the honest answer for Moorea: the beaches, the restaurants and the viewpoints are spread right around the island, and there is free parking for you inside the property. Rental desks are at the airport and beside the ferry terminal. A scooter costs less and works well if you are travelling light. If you would rather not drive, a tour operator can plan each day and collect you here. Tell us and we will put you in touch. We do not recommend relying on the local bus: it runs, but not to a timetable you can build a day around. We are about 25 minutes from the Vaiare ferry port and 30 minutes from Moorea airport. If you land in Tahiti after the last ferry you will need a night in Papeete before crossing, and we are happy to recommend somewhere.

The lagoon

Outside

Kitchen

Comfort

For families

Practical