SD › Tahiti › Fare D’hôtes Tutehau Review
Updated: January 18, 2021
By Santorini Dave
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The lovely garden with outdoor seating at Fare D’hôtes Tutehau hotel.
Fare D’hôtes Tutehau – The best budget-priced option in the city.
For anyone wishing to avoid impersonal and overpriced hotels, this is the finest of the many family-run homestays around the capital. The heavy security gates (an indication of the unsavory neighborhood) open to an enchanting garden of palms and chairs. The affable hostess provides a handful of rooms clustered around the communal kitchen, dining room, and lounge area. Two rooms have shared bathrooms which are clean, spacious, and modern, while a couple feature private facilities as impressive as a three-star hotel double the price. But it is inconvenient: more than a kilometer from downtown via a suburban area that could become unsavory at night (so take a bus or taxi after dark). Otherwise, value is guaranteed and the vibe is very agreeable.
Fare D’Hôtes Tutehau – The Basics
- Location: 186 Avenue du Chef Vaira’atoa in the Fari’ipiti suburb of Pape’ete, the Tahitian capital. About 1 km from the ferry terminal for services to Moorea, 1.5 km from downtown, and 8 km from the airport.
- Guests: Ideal for anyone traveling on a budget and wishing to avoid overpriced hotels.
- Beach: No beach in downtown Pape’ete. The nearest is at Pīra’e, another suburb about 2 km away. Ask reception about local buses, or organize a taxi (unmetered).
- Views: The cheaper rooms look straight into a wall, while the better ones feature views of the garden.
- Wi-Fi: Free for all guests throughout the rooms and grounds.
- Parking: Enough free parking spots in a secured area behind the gates.
- Nice perks: Free rental of bicycles.
- How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
- Phone: (689) 40 82 65 56
- Email: fare.tutehau@gmail.com
- Website: faredhotestutehau.com
Fare D’Hôtes Tutehau – Amenities
- Pool, Spa, & Fitness Center: Not expected or provided at this type of budget-priced lodge.
- Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Not expected or provided.
Fare D’Hôtes Tutehau – Food and Drink
- Restaurant & Bar: A budget-priced lodge like this will not have a restaurant or bar.
- Breakfast: Unusually, breakfast is included in all rates. A communal kitchen is also available for guests.
- Room Service: Not expected or provided.
Fare D’Hôtes Tutehau – Rooms
- Room Types: 1 Double Room with private bathroom • 2 Double Rooms with shared facilities 8 1 Family Room for up to 5 people, with a private bathroom. (Using the air-conditioning rather than just the ceiling fan costs extra.)
- Smoking Rooms: Not permitted in the rooms, but guests can smoke away in the gardens.
- Best Room: The Family Room is the best position: spacious, lovingly decorated, and a little distant from the shared bathroom and lounge area.
Fare D’Hôtes Tutehau – What’s Nearby?
Best Nearby Restaurants & Bars
A poor choice because of its suburban location, but from about 5 pm every afternoon a few roulottes (food carts) are set up in nearby streets.
- Henriette Molinaro – Patisserie and bistro with fine-dining almost next to the lodge.
- Le Jasmin – Authentic and casual Chinese café. On a corner about 600m down the road.
- Tahiti Nui hotel – Home to Le Velvet Restaurant, for fine-dining, silver service, and French cuisine, and the Chocco Latte Lounge Bar, for imported beers and unique cocktails. On Avenue du Prince Hīnoi, about 800m towards the esplanade.
- Les 3 Brasseurs – Microbrewery, street-side seating, and pub-style meals. Very popular for sports on TV, tapas, burgers, and pizzas. On the other side of the roundabout from the Bora Bora.
- Bora Bora Lounge – At the start of a delightful alley of Parisienne-style bistros and bars almost opposite the ferry terminal, about 1 km away. Happy hours, daily specials, and pleasingly affordable considering the perfect setting.
- Le Rétro – Likable bistro midway along the esplanade, 1.5 km from the lodge. Very French and très popular for coffee, shakes, and light meals. Ideal for people-watching, and live music late into the night.
Nearby Market or Grocery
- Two huge supermarkets are along Avenue du Prince Hīnoi, a block south of the lodge.
Local Transport
Ask the amiable hostess about buses to downtown. Don’t walk along the suburban streets near the lodge at night. Take a taxi or perhaps, try a rented bicycle from the lodge.
Fare D’Hôtes Tutehau – The Hotel
The lodge is hard to find, almost hidden behind secure gates in a suburban street of Pape’ete.
It’s along a quietish road that leads to the esplanade through an area that could become unsavory at night.
The lovely gardens at the lodge are packed with palms and chairs, and guests can also use the barbecue area.
The gardens are immaculately maintained, with plenty of shade.
The communal lounge area is a congenial place to meet other guests.
The colorful lounge area is filled with contemporary local arts and crafts.
Attached to the lounge area is a dining room where guests can eat food cooked in the communal kitchen.
Each of the four rooms is different in layout and facilities, but all are colorful and spacious.
Even the private bathroom attached to two of the rooms feature colorful local art.
The private bathrooms are nice considering it’s a three-star resort.
Two rooms share a bathroom which is spacious and spotless.
The more basic rooms with a shared bathroom are also comfortable, colorful, and spacious.
The general area around the hotel is residential, but there are rows of shops within 100m.
Unmissable, and almost next to the lodge, Henriette Molinaro is a patisserie that also offers fine-dining.
One of the best places for people-watching and affordable meals is Bora Bora Lounge, along the esplanade about 1 km from the lodge.
At the Tahiti Nui hotel, on Avenue du Prince Hīnoi about 800m towards the esplanade, Le Velvet Restaurant is classy.
Le Rétro is a likable street-side bistro along the esplanade, about 1.5 km away.
The streets just off the esplanade in downtown are packed with shops.
A shady pathway offering harbor views starts from the ferry terminal, about 1 km from the lodge, and extends south through the city center.
Much of the coastline through the center of Pape’ete is lined with boats and marinas.
The city center is dotted with shady gardens.
One must-see is the massive daily market in downtown, which sells an extraordinary range of fresh produce, food, and souvenirs.
One of several attractive colonial-era buildings in the city center is the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
One attraction of staying at the hotel is the proximity (about 1 km) to the ferry terminal for services to Moorea Island.
All Tahiti Hotel Reviews
- Aimeo Lodge – Closed
- Hôtel Fenua Mata’i’oa
- Hotel Hibiscus
- Hotel Kaveka
- Hotel Les Tipaniers
- Hotel Sarah Nui
- Hotel Tahiti Nui
- InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa – Closed
- InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa
- Manava Beach Resort & Spa Moorea
- Moorea Beach Lodge
- Moorea Fare Miti – Closed
- Moorea Island Beach Hotel
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- Royal Tahitien
- Sofitel Tahiti Ia Ora Beach Resort
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- Te Ora Hau Ecolodge
About Santorini Dave