Pension Mave Mai

Pension Mave Mai is a lovely and humble little place perfectly situated in town. The hosts Kua and Toriki were super kind, friendly, and knowledgeable. We had the best time admiring the view from the patio and walking down to the beach nearby. Staying in a guesthouse like this was a new experience for us, but we found that the friendly people made it easy for us to settle in. Perfect place to slow all the way down and take in the beautiful scenery around you.

Lovely breakfast, fridge for guest use, aircon from 6 p.m. - or in practice whenever you can find the staff to switch it on, maybe an hour or so later. Fridge and use of small kitchen for guests, especially popular with families. Bedrooms fine; Bathrooms a bit small and run down and hot water only occasionally - but cold at 25C isn't too bad for a shower. Good central location. ||||Two local guides pick up from the pension for excellent land based island tours (think about booking in advance - these can get full) and the boat for the waterfall hike (warning: this includes a river crossing where the water comes up over your knees) leaves from the jetty five minutes' walk away. A couple of small supermarkets within a short walk, as are a few basic options for eating out. ||||Free wifi in lounge, good enough for whatsapp video calls home. I stayed three nights which was a little on the short side and not quite long enough to see all the main sights (would recommend four or five for a more relaxed stay; Nuku Hiva is easier for tourists than Hiva Oa). The hour long airport transfer through the high pine forest is a delight - if the weather is good Jean-Claude will make several scenic stops along the way from the airport. If the weather isn't favourable on arrival leave at least half an hour extra for your departure transfer so you have time to make a few stops on the way back to the airport. ||||Tip: If you don't want to wash your clothes in the sink there's a laundry service next to the pier (aimed at visiting sailboats) which will wash, dry and iron a load for 1500 CFP. ||||Nice character, friendly staff, not luxury. I can recommend.

Considering the shortage of accommodation on the island it is likely that this pension is one of your only options in this price range. This makes it considerably harder to review cause you may not have any other choice. However, if you do... I would consider looking elsewhere. The pension is clearly ageing and there are numerous smaller and bigger issues that do not justify the room rate. This was the eight accommodation we stayed at during our trip through French Polynesia (FP) during which we visited seven islands. FP is not cheap and if you want to have your own room/bungalow with bathroom and at least a fan it will easily set you back about a hundred euros at the very least. However, in general we found all accommodation more than lived up to the expectations even if they did not have aircon like this pension does. So here's what's nice about this pension. It has a great location in the middle of town with easy access to some restaurants/snacks. The view of the bay from the balcony is lovely. You will even be able to spot the Aranui when it comes in. There's strong wifi in the lobby and in particular Mate (driver, son of the owner, who lives next door) is very friendly and helpful. Not so great is the following. The rooms are clearly seeing their age. The bathroom is bafflingly small. In our room you could basically sit on the toilet seat and brush your teeth. If you are on the taller side it might be more comfortable using the toilet in the hallway. The beds themselves are old with weirdly cheap pillows that no matter what you do refuse to be comfortable. The terrace outside has some reclining chairs but there's no shade and with the mosquitos around not very comfortable. As mentioned, there is only wifi in the lobby, none in the rooms (even our bungalow on a remote motu in Tikehau had acceptable wifi). The staff speaks virtually no English. My French is passable but it was still a struggle to communicate. The rooms do come with aircon but this is only switched at 18:00 (6pm). If you manage to find a staff member in theory they could be convinced to switch it on earlier but this depends on their mood. We were not always successful. The problem is not so much having no aircon but there is really no other way to cool the rooms. They do not come with a fan which would certainly help. In effect this means that in the afternoon you will not be able to comfortably use your room. The idea probably is that you will be on an excursion but even those often finish around three or four. As mentioned, if you can find a staff member you may be able to get them to switch on the aircon but unfortunately usually there is nobody around. The owners do no live at the property itself and are only around in the morning and briefly in the evening. This brings us to the final issue: if you have some problem with your room or otherwise there may not be anybody to help you resolve this until the staff decides to show up again. For roughly 110 euros per night this is all rather mediocre.

My wife and i visited Nuku Hiva in late may and we were very excited to be in the Marquises.As we looked for some good and affordable accommodation on the island we ended up with the best option which it was Mave Mai. The room was good and we did have our own private bathroom and AC in the room which is a must in the Marquises. The breakfast was standard but they did have cooking facilities which helps a lot.The host was friendly and helpful and the place is a family run business. All in all our stay was good but 5 days on the island was a bit too much.2-3 days are more than enough to see the highlights.

The pension is in an outstanding location above the village, with an excellent view of the Taiohae bay. A communal breakfast is served (fruits, bread, pancakes), which provides an opportunity to meet other travelers and exchange ideas for visiting the island. The staff has taken care of our every need including helping us to make arrangements for activities. Among the activities, we went on a boat/hiking trip to the Vaipo waterfall (~75 USD per person). On another day we rented a small 4x4 (without a driver, 100 USD plus 10 USD for gasoline) to visit the Taipivai Valley, Hatiheu Bay and Anaho Bay (the latter is ~1 hr hr walk from Hatiheu). We spend two days hiking on our own around Taiohae; the first hike was to Colette Bay, the second hike was to some archeological sites and to the top of the mountain with a mobile tower (both locations are in the general direction of the airport road but you need to ask for directions to get there). The room was simple but very clean, with AC starting at 6.00 pm. Overall this is an excellent place to stay for a few days and explore this unique island.

My experience:||1) I arrive from 5 hours fly and went to the pension for two nights. When I arrive they said me that is already booked. They gave me money (less than one night that I pay 2 months ago) and send me to another pension. They make me lost one day with this trouble.||2) The second day, they let me in TATA MAVE MAI to pass my night there. The night was ok but I dont like that one guy of the staff that was totaly drunk and make me feel unfortable. But the problem were in the morning that I had to go to airport and they said me that I have to paid the transfer when they never said me nothing about that.. so I said: ok goodby, and found another taxi. ||3) The people are always with bad face, they dont care the client and were not profesional. Horrible atencion. The owner talk with me by phone totally unpolite with revenge words, they are evils persons.||4) Breakfast its not enought. A bit of fruit and bread.

In my two months' travel in South Pacific, I stayed in at least a dozen different accommodations. Most are good (I did read reviews carefully before I made booking) but this is the only place give me a feeling like "home away from home," even I was only there for 3 nights.||||It is a small guesthouse and family-owned. Aside from one luxurious resort at the western end of Taiohae, all accommodation on Nuku Hiva are small guesthouses. Most are not listed on online booking websites. Have Mai are also not listed on booking.com (yet) and just started to cooperate and list on agoda.com. Actually, the owner told me that I was the first of their guest booking through agoda :)||||Location:||It is at the eastern part of Taiohae. It is near a small harbor, on the hill (yes, you do need to walk uphills a bit from the main road, along the waterfront). Just next to the harbor, there is a craft market and a small restaurant, which opens for both lunch and dinner. It is also near supermarkets and some government offices, including post office.||||Facilities:||The room is actually quite basic. There is no TV and the bedsheets are thin. However, they do have air-condition and all rooms on 2nd floor do have a small balcony. All rooms (I think there are only 8 or 10 rooms) face Taiohae Bay, which is really beautiful, on both sunny and rainy days.||||The breakfast is included and usually is only served between 7am and 8am. You sit with other guests in a huge rectangular table at the terrace on ground floor. Usually there are fresh tropical fruits, like papaya, mangoes, guavas, and banana. The main course changes, sometimes it is pancake and sometimes it is crepes. I think breakfast is especially a good time to meet other guests and exchange what to see and do in French Polynesia. Most guests here are from metropolitan France (or other parts of French Polynesia), so it is good chance to practice and polish your French!||||They do offer free Wi Fi here at Mave Mai, though it generally is only available in public area, mainly at the ground floor terrace. The speed is okay but not super-fast (so it is better not watching YouTube videos here). I tried to make Skype phone calls and it was all right.||||However, I think the best asset of this place is the husband and wife owners - Jean-Claude and Regina! They treat you just like a guest, not just a customer. Though both say their English is not that good, they actually speak English quite fluently (Of course, they do speak French, Tahitian, and Marquesan fluently). Both of them take turns picking up guests at the Airport. Jean-Claude also takes guests to do excursion around the island of Nuku Hiva. I found both of them well traveled and enjoyed sharing tip about traveling in Europe, Japan and Canada! ||||Excursion and Airport Pick-up:||Airport pickup is 4000 Pacific Francs per person. Though it seems not cheap, it is comparable to taxi fare on the island. The Airport is on the opposite side of the island and it takes about one hour to travel from the guesthouse to the Airport. On my trip from the Airport, Regina even made quite a few stops to take pictures at different viewing points. The road trip between the Airport and the town of Taiohae is a unique experience into itself.||||The excursion that Jean-Claude offers is about 5000 Pacific Francs (We have 3 people). It is all day trip that we visited northeastern side and eastern coast of Nuku Hiva. We also visited several impressive archaeological sites. Jean-Claude even took us on a trail to a view point for majestic Anaho Bay.||||Overall, it is a very memorable stay for me. I really wish that I have had chosen to stay here for at least 5 days and did more excursion offered by Jean-Claude. Anyway, I do hope I will have a return visit, someday!

The owner, Jean Claude, picked us up at the airport and it was a scenic 1-hour drive to Taiohae, with lots of commentary - all in French, of course, as no one there (or just about anywhere else in the Marquesas) speaks English - lucky I speak French! The rooms are simple and clean, with either a balcony or lanai, and even have AC and a fan. We never saw a mosquito the 3 days we were there (in Jan.) Breakfast is family-style on the spacious open-air lanai, and there is a communal refrigerator in the sitting area where you can keep drinks or snacks. Wi-fi reception was good in the dining/sitting areas. Jean Claude or his wife arranged both all-day tours which we took (one with his oldest son, Maté, which was very informative) - this is a truly family business. The pension is in the middle of town, which is very convenient, but the only drawback is the steep driveway up the hill, which is in terrible condition even for walking (4WD for trucks) - we had to use our hiking poles just to get up and down it. Not a location for someone who is not a hiker. Jean Claude said that they had been trying to get it fixed, burt there was some problem with the government bureaucracy (what else is new?).