S+S Honeymoon
Part 5: Our Final Days in Paradise
Spa day
Our week in Bora Bora were coming to an end. So sad. We were scheduled to leave on Monday on the 5:55pm flight. Check-out from the Thalasso is regularly 1pm but they were able to give us a later 4pm check-out time. We didn't even have to reserve a day room as we could just hang out in our bungalow like a regular day before our flight. Note: where ever you go in Tahiti remember to always have your flight itineraries on you as all the hotels ask for this upon check in. The Thalasso arranged for our ferry service back to the airport in time for our flight.
The Sunday before we left, we decided to treat ourselves to the spa in the evening. We had booked a couples Deep Blue Massage a few days earlier and I booked myself a facial for Monday morning. Steve also booked himself a rainbath massage for Monday. The night before our first treatment, we received a flyer for discount packages at the spa, I guess when occupancy is low they try and fill up spots by offering discounts and packages. We only got the flyer after we booked so we went back to the spa and were able to rebook a package with the Deep Blue couples massage at 25% off regular price. Yay!
During the day on Sunday, we enjoyed our last full day at the pool and on our deck before heading over for our treatments in the evening.
View of the spa rooms, they are glass-bottom so when you get a massage you see the fishies!
The spa itself is not cheap, a regular massage is about 150 and a facial is 200 USD. The spa uses products from the Algotherm spa in France which smell good and feel even better. The spa itself has facilities which only spa-goers can use. You can purchase a day pass for 45 USD. With the pass you get to use the Jacuzzis, steam baths, rain showers, cold plunge and lounge facilities.
Once you check into the spa they give you a bag with flip flops and and a pareo. They advise you to bring or wear your bathing suit if you intend on using the facilities like the jacuzzi and steam bath. We got to the spa about an hour earlier just to do this.
The rain showers were my favorite...there were 2 shower stalls, each with different options. You go in (it's big enough for 2) and press a button and you experience different combinations of spray showers, lights and smells. I remember they had options for Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Carribean, Cold Spray, etc. I guess each one was meant to mimic a storm in a particular area. I don't know how accurate it is, but it was loads of fun nonetheless. In addition to the rain showers, they had a freezing cold plunge pool. I could only dip one foot in before scrambling out, it was freezing! They had a deep sea water jacuzzi, and "tired legs" walk which is essentially is a long jacuzzi which you walk through, and an exercise pool, which basically has different currents which you can swim against. They also had two steam rooms.
After all the fun, we waited for our treatments in the Ocean Fare, which is a beautiful waiting area overlooking the ocean. The waiting area serves tea, water, and fruit. They also have cold towels in the fridge.
Our Deep Blue Massage package included a jacuzzi bath with essential oils. It's basically a giant jacuzzi in the same room as the couples massage tables. You choose the oil from a selection. We chose "toning" because it smelled nice and minty, and there is nothing wrong with a bit of "toning" =) We sat in the tub for about 30 minutes and they brought us some champagne, and snacks (Staxx, which is expensive there)
We then launched into our 90 minute massage. It was really wonderful. The oils they used smelled really nice. After they massage you, they apply a coat of their Divine Deep Sea Cream, which is awesome, It leaves a light shimmer on your skin, smells good, and it leaves it extremely soft. It was wonderful since our skin was dried out after all the sun and sea exposure. I do regret not buying this Divine cream before we left. Even though it was expensive, it actually isn't sold in the US (at least from my last google search) so I wished I purchased this before we left.
We enjoyed a last dinner at Sands restaurant which was very good. Steve had the Tuna Brochettes and I had the Pasta Special of the day, Fresh Spaghetti with mushrooms, spinach and tomato in a cream sauce. It was delicious and so were the fresh strawberry margaritas.
Delicious food at Sands restaurant
Look at how tan and moisturized we are after the spa!
Tahitian Delicacy: Poisson Cru
On the morning of our last day, Monday, after breakfast we headed back to the spa for our second treatments and enjoyed the facilities the second time around. Those rain showers are a lot of fun! My high-performance facial was great, and it really helped my sun-ravaged skin. Steve really enjoyed his rain bath massage which was a massage given the same time as rain shower heads douse you with warm water.
Look how glowy my skin looked after the spa - no makeup too!
For the rest of the afternoon we hung out by the pool, they were having a raw fish tasting that day, poolside. What it basically is, they were making Poisson Cru, Tahiti's famous dish of raw fish, veggies, lime juice and fresh coconut milk. The tasting was delayed because the fisherman hadn't come in with his catch yet...now that is FRESH!!
The presentation began with a demonstration of opening and juicing a coconut. We got to each taste the fresh coconut juice. Then he hand shredded the coconut on a stick, put the pulp in between what looked like a cheesecloth or sack, and squeezed the fresh milk out unto a plate of raw tuna, carrots, and tomatoes and fresh lime juice. We then got to each taste a bit of the poission cru in a leaf plate. It was probably one of the best things we've had on any vacation. It rivals the fresh-from-the-sea conch salad in the Bahamas we had one year and raved about.
Cracking the coconut
Steve enjoying the fresh coconut juice.
Squeezing the coconut milk out - there's nothing like fresh coconut milk!
The tasty final result = Poisson Cru
Sadly after our delicious poisson cru, it was time to pack and leave paradise. We went back to our bungalow to enjoy some room service while we packed up. A porter came to pick us and our bags in a golf cart. Those carts are awesome. You are always welcome to wave one down if you're going in the same direction and they are more than happy to take you to your destination.
Here are some additional pictures of our trip:
Yes, that is a copy of Twilight, which I found at the complimentary library at Le Moana. LOL
(self-timer pic)
Goodbye Mt. Otemanu, goodbye Bora Bora, goodbye French Polynesia...we hope to be back one day....
Thank you for reading! We had the most amazing honeymoon and hope to be back again one day!
Notes and Tips for those planning a trip:
I tried to pepper my trip report with little helpful notes but here are some additional tips just in case:
Bring LOTS of sunscreen, they are not kidding when they say the sun is really strong there. I wore at least SPF 55 everyday and when I did watersports like kayaking or jet skiing I wore SPF 85. Steve got a little sunburned on his shoulders. Remember to protect your lips too! Sunscreen is REALLY expensive there so make sure you bring your own (think 32 dollars a bottle!)
At the Faa'a Airport in Tahiti, the duty-free after you pass the security gates is cheaper than the stores outside. It is small though but it looks like they are in the process of expanding.
Intercontinental Hotels - we cannot say enough about the amazing staff at the Beachcomber, Moana and especially the Thalasso. We felt like royalty when we went there. They greeted us by name each time, and were very accomodating to any of our requests. If you do decide to go with IC hotels, I recommend you become a priority club member, which is free, and pay for the Ambassador club membership, it's 150 dollars but it gives you 1 free weekend night (worth about 800 dollars at the Thalasso, whoopee!) and guaranteed upgrades. We were upgraded without even asking because their computers had a record of my membership. Make sure to give them the free night certificate when you check in though as I've heard they do not honor it if you present it after. We gave it to the guy who drove us in the golf cart from the dock to our room and he already knew we were going to use it...so funny! The Thalasso is such a new resort that it wasn't even our Tahiti travel book we brought along.
Bring your own snacks/alcohol.- you are allowed to bring in pre-packaged snacks as long as it's not fresh fruit or meat. We brought in chips and corn nuts. Oh and remeber to buy something to drink before you head to the hotel as the mini-bar is seriously overpriced.
Try local snacks - Ask around for the nearest convenience stores and try some local brands. There is something called Tahiti Drink which tastes like pineapple-orange juice mixed with vodka. It comes in a large carton, like milk, and is really strong, but cheap and good. You can also get this duty free on the way out of Tahiti. Also make sure to try the Hinano beer, which is a local beer, it's good and cheaper than other brands. We also tried some local/European brands of chips, cheese, juice, pate, etc. It was a lot of fun to try new things and these items are fairly inexpensive too.
A lot of restaurants don't open early so if you go to the mainland try to find out if you can eat at certain places. We wanted to try a few places in Matira Beach but we got there too early and most places weren't open yet so we had breakfast at Le Moana and caught the ferry back to Thalasso. It would have been a long wait until lunch.
Tipping - We didn't know whether to tip or not, but we heard that tipping is not customary there, so we didn't do it a lot. However restaurants do have a "tip" line on the bill so if service was good we definitely left something extra.
Booking flights and hotels - I did a lot of research before booking our honeymoon. I pride myself on being my own travel agent for the most part, always looking for the best deals, however since I was unfamiliar with French Polynesia, I got a few quotes from travel agents online. The prices they quoted were not that great. They were able to provide something within our budget but not at the hotels we wanted to stay. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I'm glad I did so! I found great flights through www.orbitz.com it was easy and quick, and they were at the times that I preferred too. I was even able to book the inter-island flight through orbitz, which I couldn't do at other travel websites. I booked our hotels directly through the Intercontinental website. Because I had the ambassador club membership, I was able to save ourselves over a thousand dollars than what the travel agents quoted me. Yay! I'm sure if we asked a few more agents we'd have found something eventually. Also I hear that Costco has good package deals as well. And also check Air Tahiti Nui's website for some deals.
Weather in November - November is the beginning of their "summer" or rainy season, as it is the southern hemisphere after all. However, it only rained twice our entire stay, once on our first full day in Tahiti for about 3 hours, and then another time for 15 minutes while we were kayaking. I swear that little rain cloud followed our boat! I guess we were lucky as we were blessed with beautiful weather for the most part. Sometimes it looked like it was going to rain as the clouds rolled in but often the sky would clear up and it would get sunny again. I'm sure everyone would have fun no matter what the weather is like. As I say, it's better to be rainy on vacation than sunny and working.
The spa at the Thalasso sometimes has last minute specials which they don't let you know about until the day before. They will usually put a notice in your room or outside your hut. We booked appointments in advance but we wanted to use the coupons but they were amenable to honoring the discount when we told them. Not sure if this means to wait until the last minute to book spa treatments, but just so you know.
Monoi oil - Pure coconut oil scented with flowers or vanilla, this stuff comes in bottles all over the place. This is literally what saved my skin and hair after all that swimming and sunbathing (well the spa helped too). Since the Intercontinental conditioner didn't do anything for my hair, I bought a bottle for about 7 dollars at Faa'a airport before our flight to Bora Bora. I used it on my skin after every shower and put a little in my hair to give it shine. I smelled like the tiare flower all week! I also put a little in my bathwater so my skin was super soft. I bought another bottle of vanilla monoi oil on my way back. They are not well packaged though, so sometimes it leaked so be sure to put it in a ziploc bag.
Check your hotel to see if your room has a DVD player and/or ipod speaker hookup. The Thalasso had the DVD player so we knew to bring our own DVDs to watch, which was great to do at night. They did not have ipod hookups so I brought along portable speakers and they were awesome. The music doesn't drift that much and no one could really hear our music (we weren't blasting it though).
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C'est moi, Su-Lynn. I want a baguette!
all pictures taken by me. please ask permission before using. Thanks!
- Su-Lynn