Relais Royale Tikehau

This pension was absolutely beautiful. The bungalow on the beach felt very private and the motu has pink sand beaches! The ladies running the pension were very professional and performed traditional songs one of the evenings. The food was fantastic and the best out of all the pensions we stayed at.

We are still in wonder of the beautiful experience we had at this small and exciting Motu at Tikehau! The bungalow gave us the feeling of living in a Gauguin painting, by its warm colors and curtains made of snail houses! As marine biologists -and nature lovers, we loved to watch and swim with the numerous black-tip sharks and the loads of colourful fishes in the sound just outside the restaurant. The food was simple but splendid, the beach and palms are stunning, and it was lovely to go kayaking along the Motu(s) and their sounds. -It was also a great experience to walk around the Motu to explore this amazing and exotic landscape! The hosts were very friendly and gave us a warm welcome and goodbye ceremony, with traditional music. If ever going to Tikehau, this is the best place to stay!

The location on the motu is amazing! ||Transport from the motu to shops is difficult. You have to cross to passes in the water and walk about 30 min.||We were told there were bikes, when we had crossed, but we did not know where they where. Later on, we discovered we could rent bicycles on a daily basis from the nearby pensions. Instead, we just stayed at the hotel.||There was not much food. The starters were strange eg. samosa with boiled egg. The green salad was expensive and extremely boring (cabbage and carrot). ||But we were entertained with music, song and dance by the staff and got to try Polynesian dance. They even sang on the pier, when we left. And we got necklaces :-)||We went on a great tour to a motu for wonderful lunch, snorkelled and saw a manta ray. It took all day (too long) because the staff fished and ate mussels, while we just waited. The tour could have been finished after lunch.

I have now been travelling for over 6 months across the South Pacific islands and this is top of my list for ‘must return’. It is not a fancy resort with over water bungalows and spas. This tiny motu has very comfortable bungalows where you step out onto white sand beach, hammocks are strung between the palms for the post diving siesta, snorkelling with the baby black tips in the small channel by the dining room is such a privilege. Basic diet here is fish - red tuna (or other large white fish)... Red tuna sashimi is such an expensive thing at home...such a treat! If you don’t eat fish you must tell them. Remember this is a sandbar on which only palm trees can survive so everything else must come in by boat / plane. Monique is a ukulele player extraordinaire and was so kind and patient to teach me how to play some chords... I loved it so much that I now travel with my own uke! It is also pretty good value considering the price of the flashier resort further along the atoll. There is excellent diving with tikehau plongee and if you get a chance go to the main motu and visit the bell rocks / lagoon. I just fell in love with this atoll. Thank you so much to Mon, Patrick and all the staff who work so hard to provide such amazing food and service. I miss you!

This place is a dream. The location, the beach and the wonderful staff. They all taking care that you can relax and enjoy this small paradise. Leo is also a very competent and supporting manager. She helps us so much with troubles which we had with our travel agency. Thanks again for this. The only issue is with the desalination which causes unfortunately a heavy smell in the water. So hopefully the owners will take care of this quickly so that everyone can enjoy this experience completely.

Our first exposure to the Tuamotu Islands was in Tikehau. We were really pleased with the Royal Tikehau. The staff was friendly- thank you Heina, Jean Yves, Iza, Leo, Henry, Antoine and the owners Monque and Jean Claude. ||||The property hugs the ocean and the lagoon, so we enjoyed the different vantage points. Our room was quite spacious and well-maintained. The daily breakfast was sufficient, and eggs were offered. The dinner was the real star- fresh fish every night. ||||Obviously, French Polynesia isn't for the budget-minded traveler, but we felt that considering the other comparative lodging options, that their pricing was fair and a good value.

We shall never stop appreciating the incredible time we had at Relais Royale.||The staff made it unforgettable and the scuba diving at the pass was wonderful with manta rays, sharks and it's entire eco-system.||Don't go if you're looking for Bora Bora luxury and could potentially spoil this incredible experience for others or the staff. You need to relax and appreciate the special qualities of such a place..

When you arrive, your first tought is "wow, this is the Island of my dream". A few nice bungalows, scattered around a white beach of a private inland. People is nice, welcoming and smiling. At the end of the day you can easily forgive them for the food, good but surely not abundant.