A review from Guest of Motu Teta

I just returned from a wonderful stay in French Polynesia. I will review my stays in Moorea and Papeete separately but wanted to let everyone know my thoughts on Motu Teta.  For anyone looking for a place to honeymoon in luxury and isolation or looking for a great place to take their family for some quality time with their kids, I highly recommend Motu Teta.  I stayed at Motu Teta for five nights during Christmas/New Years holidays with my wife and three kids. Motu Teta is a private island in the far end of the motu chain surrounding the lagoon in Rangiroa.

The general consensus was that the trip was a hit. And how could it not be. The staff at Motu Teta, particularly Celine and Harry catered to our every need. All food, drink, and activities were included.

Our adventure to Motu Teta started when we were picked up by Harry and another staff at the airport in Rangiroa and given lei's. We immediately went to the boat which was docked at the airport. The boat is very roomy and comfortable which is good because it took almost 1 1/2 hours to reach Motu Teta. But the length of the boat ride was not a problem because it was part of the adventure. The ride is not rough and the scenery is beautiful.

We arrived at the Island to a waiting Celine. Celine had tropical alcoholic (non alcoholic for the kids) drinks waiting. We then had an amazing lunch which was the perfect start to our arrival. As you can probably tell, the Island met or exceeded all of our expectations.

Every morning we woke up to a full breakfast of pancakes, fruit, cereal, meats, cheeses, etc. We then went on a different excursion every morning, whether snorkeling the Aquarium, the Pink Sand beach or visiting an ancient village. We would return to find tropical drinks waiting and a fantastic lunch with wine for the adults and soft drinks for the kids every day. And the fruit was wonderful, we had fresh mango's etc coming right off trees on the Island.

In the afternoons I would go with my son fishing for our dinner with Harry in one of the three Motu Teta boats at our disposal, while my daughters learned how to make lei's and shell necklaces from Celine, or went exploring or kayaking around the Island. Motu Teta also offers wind surfing and even kite surfing to its guests. Celine was going to have someone teach us how to windsurf one day but since my son was having some back problems we did not do it. But it sure looked like it would have been fun…

The meals we had all ranged from good to excellent and none were bad. On New Years Eve, We had wonderful duck prepared by Celine, a bonfire on the beach, champagne at midnight, and fireworks for the kids.

And the housing was comfortable and luxurious. Motu Teta consists of a main house that can sleep up to seven, (five in three bedrooms) and a smaller luxury bungalow built in Bali that can sleep a maximum of three (it is really built as a romantic couple's bungalow).

The main house is very comfortable. The dining room, main sitting area and outside deck with huge bed type lounges, are what you would expect in a luxury island home. We spend a lot of time on the deck. The bedrooms in the main house were fine, although the beds were a little low for my taste.

The bungalow was gorgeous. The only real complaint was that the bungalow is positioned in a way on the Island where it does not get the same ocean breezes as the main house. I understand the owners are considering adding air conditioning so this may not be an issue in the future.
The staff did a good job of never being in the way but always being around when needed. Apparently you have the option to hang a red flag so no staff comes if you are looking for total privacy or want to take advantage of going clothing optional.

I was worried that being so isolated we would be bored or feel unsafe, but far from it. We were so busy we never thought twice about the isolation except for the beauty it provided. We never even took advantage of the huge movie collection and flat screen TV until the last night of our stay.

The amazing part of all this was the value. Don't let the idea of a private island dissuade you in terms of cost or remoteness. Although it is expensive, I thought Motu Teta was a great value for what we paid for a family of five (not the listed fare). The value of having everything included, food, liquor, wine activities, excursions etc, cannot be overstated, especially for a family. I have no doubt that had we stayed in mid luxury hotels for those five nights with the same excursions and meals we would have spent at least as much if not significantly more.

Luxury travelers are really missing out by not considering Motu Teta as part of their traveling plans. I knew when I booked Motu Teta I was taking somewhat of a risk because they are pretty new at renting out to third parties. But boy did it work out. I hope others try it, because having your own Island is really a special experience.

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