Most
secluded of the hotels on the island, the Relais Mahana is a moderate
hotel located on a superb white sand beach at Avea Bay, not far from the
quiet village of Parea, at the southern end of Huahine-Iti ("little
Huahine").
Under a new owner (and Chef) Relais Mahana has recently been renovated and it shows much of an improvement in the quality of the furnishings and amenities, as well as the food.
It has 22 Tahitian-style bungalows, some beachfront and some in the garden bordering the beach.
They are well appointed and spacious, and all have a/c, fans, a fridge
and separate bathroom with shower.
There is a bar and a restaurant serving good local and French fare, a
small swimming pool and a tennis court.
The free activities also include kayaks, snorkeling and bicycling.
Children: One Child under 12 free when sharing room with parents. Children under
12: 50% of meal plans
Published Room Rates: $350 to $450 per night for 2 people.
When you book through TahitiTravel,
you always pay less than the published rate
Hotel Reviews
We then continued to Huahine, my favorite island. It was 2 days after the Hawaiki Nui race had been on Huahine, and the place was just buzzing, we'd never seen the airport and Fare so busy.
The last time we were at the Relais Mahana in Feb. 2006, there was a bit of a desperate feel to it: their chef was moving to France and they were preparing to close for renovation. Now they have beautiful new bungalows and garden rooms (duplex), built from the ground up, and the fabulous Monsieur Chef Michel Prat is back! It was like the RM from our first visits, just with better bungalows. Lucy, our lovely friend and reception manager, had been able to get us a Deluxe Beach Bung.,(we were supposed to have a garden room but were waitlisted for a DBB), our favorite one under the huge overgrown bunch of trees. The new beach bungs have a very cool indoor/outdoor shower that opens to a small fenced backyard. There's a phone, a TV and probably internet - we only used the phone...
With the recent construction we worried about the health of the reef at RM, but surprisingly it was as good as ever. The coral looked good, in fact better than last time, and there was an abundance of fish. That's my favorite thing about the RM: you can roll out of your (fabulous) bungalow to great snorkeling, and then have a gourmet meal, all right there at the hotel! After a few meals there, we WERE rolling... The food is fantastic but heavy!
We arrived in Huahine after 24+ hours of flying from DC. So, we got there in the morning and stayed 3 nights at Relais Mahana. The hotel was very nice. The first day was a blur. The 2nd day, we took a 1/2 day 4x4 tour with Poto? of Huahine Explorer. It was a great trip! (Make sure you use the bathroom before you go and don't drink anything prior to the trip. It's 4 hours and there are no potty breaks except in the woods.)
He was a great tour guide and we learned a lot about Huahine and met some of the local people.
On our last day there, we took the Relais Mahana full day boat excursion. I wouldn't recommend it. We spent most of our time riding around the island on the covered boat. The snorkeling stop was less than 10 minutes, and they didn't put down a ladder until the end. We sat for more than 20 minutes on a dock waiting for lunch to arrive. Then, we went to a motu and waited for the boat driver to cook our lunch. The motu was nice, but I think the trip could have been done in half a day.
No complaints about Relais Mahana. When we checked in, we had reserved a garden bungalow, but they upgraded us to a beach bungalow at no extra cost, since it was available.
We stayed in Relais Mahana in Oct. last year, and it's my all time favorite.This was our 4th time there. We were in a new "deluxe beach bungalow" and it was fabulous. They've kept the old "superior bungalows" on the restaurant side, but I think you get a much better value with any of the new ones. Even the "bungalow rooms" are nice, they are sort of a duplex setting. Our bungalow had a indoor/outdoor shower that opened into a private little backyard. They now have all the modern conveniences, like phones(!), TV and probably internet. I say probably because we never even turn the TV on while on vacation - we try to get away from all that!
The beach there is great, with a new pier and good snorkeling. The place hasn't changed much, which is good because it has a special flair and a small place feel to it. The food is fantastic when the chef is in the house, but can be a little inconsistent on his days off... Lucy runs the reception and she is a sweetheart. The only minus I can think of is the distance to Fare, you do need a car to get there. We hooked up with another couple and rented a car together for a day. If you are there on a Sunday, try to go to the tiny village nearby (Parea) for a church service. The singing there is out of this world.
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Hotel features and amenities subject to change without notice. Prices and rates may vary with foreign exchange rates and are indicative only.
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