french polynesia

Sail French Polynesia with Paul Gauguin Cruises

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing

I hold large cruise ships in a certain amount of disdain -- floating shopping malls, the all-inclusive resorts of the sea, which seem to me to feature at their heart everything I dislike about vacation activities, the forced gaiety fueled by buckets of alcohol, the faux celebrity of being stalked by cruise photographer and videographer, food more about quantity than quality, casinos.

On these pages, I have speculated that I would likely enjoy myself more on a smaller ship and so I put it to the test a few weeks ago, joining a sailing of the m/s Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia. I found ever so much more pleasant, so much so that I would even go out of my way to repeat the experience. The ship has a maximum capacity of 332 passengers, and one crew member for every 1.5 guests. I'll refrain from a joke about the half-guests, and instead more usefully say that while I was thoughtfully catered to, I never felt hassled, as is possible when there's a profusion of help available. I also found an amazing amount of solitude on the ship's public areas, which I think is absolutely necessary for proper contemplation of French Polynesia, for example, the mountains of Moorea, which were once worshiped by the ancient Tahitians, and seem to be worth the worship.

I also had the agreeable sense that the ship was miniaturized from a larger cruise vessel -- there were three restaurants aboard, although smaller, there was a bar with a teeny tiny dance floor and even the embarrass yourself -- karaoke night provided the opportunity -- and even a small, easily-avoided casino for people that require that.

I think this ship is aimed at an older demographic although I am at the precise mid-point of my 30s, I do consider myself prematurely old, and so enjoyed the Elderhostel-esque programming, a top-notch anthropologist provided fascinating lectures and also the opportunity for a hike in Moorea, nightly entertainment to be taken or left as you prefer, a small boutique that had all the essentials, including kamani oil, a local treatment for sunburn which I really needed after a snorkel with the sharks and stingrays excursion that despite the burn ranks among my favorite experiences ever. The only part of the ship that I found dissatisfying was the fitness center, which could use better ventilation -- although I don't really mind getting a good look at the lifeboats while I'm running on the treadmill.

Paul Gauguin was until recently owned by Regent Seven Seas Cruises and is now owned by Pacific Beachcomber, the largest luxury hotel and cruise operator in the country, and the same group that owns InterContinentals throughout French Polynesia. In fact, I was on the first sail under the new management.

Gallery: Aboard the Paul Gauguin

Tags: cruise, cruise ship, cruises, CruiseShip, french polynesia, FrenchPolynesia

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Sleep Over Ocean Water in Bora Bora

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

When you visit Bora Bora, in French Polynesia, the thing to do is to book a stay in an over-water bungalow.

Now, no ancient Tahitian lived in an over-water bungalow -- it would have been the height of stupidity, with the problems of the occasional and at that point in history, entirely unpredictable tsunami and cyclones. (Besides, the ocean was considered a God and if you polluted the water you'd be messing with something that might introduce your midsection to a spear, although a person of status could likely get away with it. This I learned from anthropologist Mark Eddowes, aboard the m/s Paul Gauguin, but that's a story for a different day.)

Interim conclusion: Ancient Tahitians preferred to live on higher ground.

Historically accurate in location they may not be -- in fact, over-water bungalows were an import from Southeast Asia some years ago -- but the style of house, called a fare, with its distinctive thatched roof, is definitely traditional. In any event, it's definitely what you want to book, and the InterContinental Bora Bora & Thalasso Spa has rooms of this sort that are so lovely that it's wrenching to leave.

The bungalows are arrayed in two horseshoes, to maintain some privacy while affording a view of the steep greenly mysterious Mount Otemanu, which defines Bora Bora's geography.

Gallery: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort

Tags: awards-main, bora bora, BoraBora, french polynesia, FrenchPolynesia, hotels, intercontinental, luxist-awards, winter-travel-awards, winter-travel-main

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InterContinental Resort and Thalasso-Spa Bora Bora To Open Next Month

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

A while back I mentioned the St. Regis in Bora Bora which was supposed to open this month but now is opening in late June. Another idyllic getaway in this remote location will be the InterContinental Resort and Thalasso-Spa Bora Bora. The $70 million resort should open in May. It has a great feature, an eco-friendly air-conditioning system which uses a 7,874 foot pipe (the deepest ocean pipe in the world) to pump deep sea water through a titanium heat exchanger, which transfers the cold from the sea water into the fresh water circuit that powers the air conditioning throughout the hotel. The water is then returned to the ocean (rerouted to avoid hurting the ocean ecosystem). The resort has 80 over water bungalows. The resort’s Thalassotherapy Deep Ocean Spa which will open in September will use mineral-rich deep seawater extracted from 2,500 feet below sea level in its treatments. It will also have what may be one of the most romantic settings for a wedding, an over water chapel with a glass bottom floor.

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Tags: bora bora, BoraBora, french polynesia, getaway, hotel, intercontinental, resort, vacation