Fare Maheata

My last night on Moorea and I wondered into Fare Maheata for dinner. I arrived before dinner but Mahe made me feel comfortable and made me his signature cocktail. He also arranged for me to have dinner on the small beach fronting the restaurant. The meal was fantastic but the sunset was the highlight of the evening. The hospitality is what brings me back to Polynesia and the food and atmosphere is what will bring me back to Fare Maheata. I am planning 2 visits next year and will visit this place several times. Mauruuru Mahe

This is a family run pension with friendly staff, set on a picturesque private beach. The fish swim right up to the shore, there are comfortable chairs and tables on the beach and a stunning view of the sunset each night. The accomodation is basic but clean. The restaurant has wonderful platters/tapas and an excellent drink selection. You need a vehicle to access the supermarket and ATM. We would return again.

When the best thing about a hotel is "eating with your feet in the water", you really need to wonder. How about the restaurant being open for lunches and dinners for the brothers and their wives and friends, but not for the patrons of the hotel? The restaurant was closed more than half of the 14 days I was there. Suddenly the "closed" sign goes up, for obviously bogus reasons. How about the fact that there is a spate of thefts, all perfectly timed for snatching shoes off patios at night or entering locked doors during the day, during the only hour a person was known to be out of the room? And the day after the maintenance man was given the job of cleaning that person's room? And suddenly security is too expensive for them to pay for, so some dude goes around a few times a night with a flahlight. And the police don't come even if they say they will because this island is a rotational job, they come from France and it is a vacation more than a job. Of course you need cash, because they don't accept credit cards, and banks are few and are all in the town 30 minutes away, as are the markets. So if you don't want to rent a car or scooter for exorbitant fees, you need to hitchhike to town ot take intermittent busses that may not operate that day. And the fish and coral in the lagoon are third-rate; the lagoon and its coral are degraded from too many tourists and too many boats zooming back and forth to bother the whales or the turtles or the sharks or the rays, and the coral id covered with sediment, no soft corals, not a great variety of marine species. Mildly fun, as were the kayaks, but not worth the transactional costs of being at a mediocre hotel with proprietors who couldn't care less about the comfort, security, or wellbeing of their guests! Do yourselves a favor: skip the bad vibes here, do diligent research and try to find a place that represents what Moorea should be and used to be, the one that exists in your mind. You will find it, it exists, but not at Fare Maheata!

Great 3 night stay in a bungalow with our 7 year old son. The place was perfect with plenty of space inside bungalow that came with 3 beds, kitchen and bathroom. AC and wifi were very strong. The breakfast was simple with freshly baked bread, cheese, jam and coffee. What made our stay special was the host and the beach. This is the family run place and we got to talk to the son who was very chill and helpful. The beach was excellent with the view of Hilton’s overwater bungalows. The highlight was when the resident stingrays visited the beach. We got to pat them and learned about them. Apparently it was a mother stingray named Maheata and her two daughters. The mother had injury near the eye and short tail. Unfortunately, we missed the restaurant food because they are closed on Wed and Thursday. Definitely need a car and get the grocery ahead. There were 3 local restaurants we tried to go to during our stay in April and all 3 were closed. Overall, would love to stay here again.

WOW. WOW. WOW. This was our best meal in Moorea. The food, the people and the scenery was perfect. Eating with your feet in the water and a beautiful tree providing shade takes you to paradise. We had the fried tuna with yummy greens beans that never tasted as good. The tuna was so fresh. Simple seasoning and very good flavor. The lobster was so tender and fresh. You could taste the ocean with every bite. The possion cru was soft and the sauce they used was delicious. And the homemade crème brulée was perfect. This restaurant is within walking distance from the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort. The best part if you visit during mango season you can pick up mangoes on the side of the road as you walk to Fare Meheata. Our server JULIEN was very friendly. He made us feel like family and was a really genuine guy. Learned so much about FP during our meal.

A huge warm thank you to the cool, wise and wonder-filled family who run the Fare Maheata. This is not your usual Tahitian retreat. Its not a four star, or over the water luxury locale, but the Fare Maheata is the real deal. It's somewhere in-between home and a Moorea dream. Beach side, swim-able, bike-able, lounge-able. With sumptuous local food and great vibes, Maheata wins! The little porch adorned cottages, with the basics for cooking, or eating in, hanging out ( in a rain storm) and getting tropically homey, it's all there. A pet lover's bonus are the sweet 'lender pets' on the property, Lata the cat and her old pal, the dog are sweet additions to this arty, on point and authentic, Moorean Fare. Thanks everybody, we will be back!