The Hilton Moorea offers a few different types of rooms on property: Garden rooms with pools, partial overwater bungalows facing out to the lagoon and overwater villas. They do also have a garden view room, but it seems to be primarily used as transit rooms. The garden rooms with pools will be the most private, but will not offer any exterior views. Many people split their stay between garden rooms with pools and then overwater bungalows. If you go this route, be sure to book the overwater for the second half of your trip :).
We were in an overwater bungalow with direct access to the beautiful lagoon. The room sits at about 650 square feet and features a king bed, sitting area, mini bar, large bathroom with a separate tub and an outdoor patio with a swim platform. The only truly private overwater bungalow will be the end caps, or Panoramic View bungalows.
The room is certainly dated, with large, heavy furniture inside that’s actually supposed to be outdoor furniture, and the outdoor furniture no longer has cushions, making it uncomfortable to lounge on for longer periods of time. While they did paint the furniture inside grey to “modernize” it, it was a bit like putting lipstick on a pig to be honest.
That being said, the room is very spacious and the complimentary mini bar is stocked daily with beer, water and soft drinks. There is a nespresso-esque machine that makes excellent coffee and pods are refilled daily (you can always ask for more without charge).
The bathroom has a wonderful oversized rain shower, standalone claw-foot tub and Crabtree & Evelyn products. There is a pass-through from the bathroom to the bedroom, but you can close a roller blind if you would like some privacy in the bathroom.
The access to the lagoon is excellent and most guests we saw spent all day lounging on their swim platforms and snorkeling around the lagoon. We took others’ leads and brought our chaise loungers down to the swim platform for the day to relax in the sun.
Overall, the rooms could use a big refresh to re-enter the luxury accommodation market, but they are comfortable, perfectly air-conditioned and quiet.