Description: After visiting many of the Society Islands, we wanted to try something different, so we decided on the Tuamotus. We had also heard that there was great snorkeling here. This island was like a dream—definitely what you think of a deserted island. It had endless pink sand beaches, beautiful sandbars, motus within wading or swimming distance, and gorgeous waters of every shade of blue and green you could imagine. But once in the water the visibility was not good. We were really disappointed in this because the main reason we visited there was for the snorkeling. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of coral and a wide variety of fish—more and larger than what we saw in the Society Islands- but unless you were up close you couldn’t see them. But the shear beauty of this island made up for that. Luckily we had upgraded to an overwater suite. I enjoyed just sitting on the large deck and taking in the scenery. It was also nice to relax after being very active for the first part of our vacation. We had room #45, the last one on the pontoon. There was a glass coffee table where you could see beneath the bungalow and feed the fish. There was even glass by the tub that you could open up and feed the fish! There was a great horizon view and beautiful sunset views from our deck. The deck was huge with 2 lounge chairs along with a table with a cushioned bench and two chairs. It was very private as we couldn’t see our neighbors until you get on the platform to get into the water. On this platform there was a ladder to get into the water and a shower. The water around the bungalow was about 5-6 feet deep and there was a lot of coral nearby. I don’t know if the visibility is always cloudy, or if it was just the weather conditions before we got there. The water was very calm. We did do some snorkeling and saw some interesting things. I saw my very first eel (but it was small.). I also saw a shark around our room and quite a few fish that I hadn’t seen before. We hardly spent anytime on the beach because we loved just sitting on our deck. My husband also enjoyed kayaking and did it a couple times a day. We did not do any activities offered by the hotel. I am not a fan of birds, so I didn’t want to go to Bird Island, and we had already done plenty of motu visits. Overall, the food was good. We had breakfast and dinner included and were very happy about that. I would not have wanted to pay for the buffet breakfast since I don’t eat enough to justify it. My husband thought that the breakfast was better here than at Manihi, but I thought that Manihi was better. That was mostly because I was not offered a made to order omelet in Tikehau. Lunches were good with a better selection than what I expected. Dinner was also good, except one night I ordered steak medium well and it was cooked medium rare. I could not get anyone’s attention, so I gave up and just ate around the edges. My husband enjoyed all his dinners here. My favorite thing was the chocolate lava cake dessert-mmm. I do have to say that sometimes the service in the restaurant was lacking. We would ask for something, not get it, ask again and still not get it, so we would give up. Overall we had a nice relaxing time in Tikehau and I’m glad that we went.
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