Keeping Tabs on Tahiti

Elizabeth Wasserman’s “Tahiti: Paradise on a Budget” (May 22), was right on the mark in regards to how expensive everything is. My husband and I spent a week in the South Pacific last August, visiting both Tahiti and Moorea. French Polynesia is very beautiful; however, the natives are not hospitable to tourists. Never once were we made to feel welcome; rather, we were treated like intruders. The accommodations also leave much to be desired. We stayed at the four-star Sofitel Maeva Beach in Papeete. Motel 6 would have been cleaner and with friendlier staff!

My suggestion to anyone wishing to visit the South Pacific would be to forgo French Polynesia and to visit Fiji. We stayed at the Regent of Fiji in Nadi. That was true paradise. The rooms are beautifully decorated and the hotel staff could not have been more accommodating. Upon our departure, the entire reception staff, including the porter and concierge, gathered on the hotel steps and waved goodby as we drove away. I literally had tears in my eyes. There’s truly no place like Fiji!

SHERRY ANN GOODMAN

Los Angeles

Elizabeth Wasserman’s article was of great interest to my wife and me since we took a similar trip in January with the same company. We chose the basic package, however, and stayed at the Cook’s Bay Hotel, also on Moorea Island, instead of the more famous Bali Hai a couple of miles up the road.

The Cook’s Bay Hotel turned out to be an excellent choice, primarily because of its location at the entrance to Cook’s Bay and its proximity to the picturesque village of Pao Pao. This turned out to be one of the best vacations that we’ve ever taken and we hope to return before the end of the year. Why not? At $700 for round-trip air fare plus seven-day hotel, it can’t get much better.

J. STEININGER

Santa Barbara