Te Mao

We had the front room at the beach. Was great. Owner was super helpful, picked us up from the airport and dropped us off gain as well. Gave us a lot of recommendations and offered help. We could check in way early and check out late as well.

No TV in the room so be aware. Would be nice to have some dishwashing soap and bowls as well for cleaning dishes after use.

I loved the outlook of my hotel room which had Rangiroa’s fabulous lagoon in front of my balcony. (I had the “deluxe double room with balcony & sea view”). Absolutely stunning spot. Note that some of Te Mao’s rooms are on the other side of the road (on the airport side, not the lagoon side), and if you stay in one of those, there’s a walkway down alongside Te Mao’s private driveway to the lagoon where swimming is sensational. Very friendly and helpful manager/organiser Natua, who can’t speak a lot of English but took time to speak with me to translate with my app. She gave me lots of helpful info about taxis, supermarkets, places to eat, rental bikes & scooters, ATMs etc, even drove me to the ATM when I asked her where I could get cash for a tour. The location of Te Mao was a great fit for me as it is in-between the two townships on this main section of Rangiroa’s land. The location made it easy to go to Tepua Pass one night for dinner & to watch the sunset and Avatoru Pass the next afternoon to see the markets & eat there. Tours pick you up from this section of Rangiroa too. And taxis are easy until about 8pm when there are less of them.

Nothing - it was wonderful - but to clarify some other reviews, here’s some more info: I had read some bad reviews about brown water from the bathroom tap, rusty bikes, & no water on arrival, but: - the water from my room ran clear (although tap water in Rangiroa is not drinkable); - I’d bought water from the airport before departing from BoraBora to Rangiroa, and then bought more on arrival from the shop 500 meters away from Te Mao. - the rental bikes & scooters from the place behind the motel were fine - not exactly racing bikes but fine for the flat terrain. I also read that there is no curtain/door between the bathroom & the bedroom, which is true but the position of the bathroom door still meant there was privacy anyway when you use the toilet, sink or shower - you could hang a sarong or towel in the doorway anyway if it worried you. I also read about roaming dogs on Rangiroa, that are generally placid when you’re walking or riding a bike but do bark at scooters/motor bikes - this is the case in every other island I went to. I carried my day-bag in case I needed to shoo any away, and I didn’t.

Great location by the lagoon, comfortable bed, air conditioning, clean bathroom and large shower…

gorgeous outside area to the lagoon, ac works well

no door between the bathroom and bedroom, found 3 coackroaches that the lady helped us removed once we asked, hair on the ‘clean bed’, bin not emptied on arrival, not the most welcoming host

Good location close to the airport and grocery store. Own beach

They were friendly and helped us out, even for a scooter rental. The place is near the dive centers (about 4km).

The wifi was very good and the location handy to the airport and the shop. There were two outside armchairs and a little table overlooking the garden but the airport run-way was behind the garden. The owner has a property across the road right on the lagoon and has built a platform for guests to sit on but access to swimming in the lagoon from there is over coral and not easy. There were bikes to use but they were very old, rusty and needed repairs. Chain kept coming off and the wheel was loose. The owner was very obliging if we asked for stuff but some of the things you shouldn't have to ask for.

Almost everything could be better. There were none of the extras you get with most accommodations these days like tea, coffee, milk, toiletries etc. Only two towels for a week's stay until we made a fuss. No beach towels. The maid came in once during the week. There was a third of a toilet roll on arrival. Had to ask for more. Our place was just a room with only one chair and an ensuite bathroom. Air-con only came on at night. Hand- held shower. No pool or easy access to swimming. No meals. No list of activities or places to go to. Had to rely on his original welcome email.

Kind owner accommodating our requests. We had a roof over our head. Free bikes (super rusty and one broke). Nice little garden.

Cleaning lady came once during the week. Everything is basic/primitive, and small. Location is in the middle of the island, and everything you want is not in the middle (but it's a small island).