We took a family vacation to Mo’orea, one of the most beautiful islands of French Polynesia, with our children and my mom. Since there were five of us, we decided to rent a guesthouse property so we’d have more space, comfort, and privacy than at a hotel. The majority of hotel rooms and even suites in French Polynesia only sleep a maximum of 3 people, so it was much more affordable to rent an entire private beach villa than 2 separate hotel rooms, which can cost $1,000 per room per night or more in high season for even the most basic room. Plus having a kitchen and being able to cook some meals ourselves saved us even more! For families visiting Moorea, this is the way to go if you’re seeking the best value!
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Booking Robinson’s Cove Villas
We made our reservation online and it was a quick and easy process. Once we reserved the villa, we received an email with a link to their customized website called Tiki Tips with suggestions on what to do, where to eat, where to shop, what to bring, etc. It was very helpful during our trip planning process and had great suggestions on activities, like the snorkeling lagoon tour we booked with Corallina Tours and lunch at Coco Beach which are both near the villa.
We booked Villa Cook, a rental car, and a private transfer through Robinson’s Cove Villas. This made our arrival and departure much easier, as a driver was waiting for us with our name on a sign when we stepped off the ferry dock. She transported us in comfort to our villa, where Alix the property manager was waiting for us with fresh flower leis to welcome us and show us around the villa.
Use our discount affiliate code – WTA-ROBINSONCOVE-D10– to save 10% on bookings through Robinson’s Cove Villas. If you book this guesthouse property with a card such as Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, or Capital One Venture X Business you can erase the purchase with your Capital One miles. When using Capital One miles to cover travel purchases, each mile is worth one cent. This is a great option to cover travel expenses with points/miles that are not bookable through loyalty programs. Just make sure to “erase” the travel purchase with miles within 90 days of the transaction.
Villa Cook’s Location
Villa Cook is located on Opunohu Bay on the northern side of the island. This is arguably the most beautiful place to stay on Mo’orea, with sublime mountain views framed by palm trees and a sandy beach. If you’ve seen the 1984 film The Bounty starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins about the infamous mutiny on the HMS Bounty, you may remember this scenery as the movie was filmed in Opunohu Bay. The sailors revolted because they didn’t want to leave this paradise, and we can completely relate! Today yachts and cruise ships anchor in Opunohu Bay because of its stunning setting and emerald waters. Dolphins swim in the bay, and we spotted the fin of a black tipped reef shark from our lanai.
We had debated before we found this villa whether we wanted to stay inland at a higher elevation to have views of the turquoise lagoon, or spend more money to stay on the beach. We were so glad with our decision to stay on the water. We were able to snorkel right off the beach and the kids spent hours playing with crabs and searching for shells. Just listening to the waves lap the shore was so incredibly relaxing. It’s the perfect place to stay if you want a lazy trip and don’t feel like you have to go anywhere to have fun. Yet it’s conveniently located for when you decide to explore Mo’orea.
The northern side of the island is the best place to stay for proximity to the best restaurants, shopping, snorkeling, hiking, and best beaches on Mo’orea. In fact, our favorite beach on the entire island is just a few minutes away. Ta’ahiumanu Beach is where we captured stunning photos from our Flytographer photo shoot with Steve. We highly recommend booking a photoshoot to remember your vacation. Use code “WORLDTRAVEL50” for $50 off your first Flytographer photoshoot or gift card.
Tour of Villa Cook
This villa has 2 air conditioned bedrooms, one with a garden view, and one with a view of the bay. There’s also a loft with 3 beds where children could sleep, but keep in mind that there’s no air conditioning up there or in the main areas of the villa. There’s a fan, but it gets hot during the rainy season that runs from November to April.
We visited in mid March when the heat and humidity were higher than usual. Our son slept up in the loft just fine with the fan pointing at his bed. We’ve visited French Polynesia previously in August, when temperatures are much more comfortable. If you don’t like heat and humidity, we recommend visiting during French Polynesia’s winter, which runs from June to August. Plus you can swim with whales from August to November in French Polynesia, one of the few places left in the world where it is legal to swim with whales.
The villa has a living room with large sliding glass doors that open up to showcase the view and let in the ocean breeze. There’s a small kitchen and laundry room off the living room. We appreciated having a washing machine and dryer during our stay since we wanted to wash some of our clothes to wear later on the trip. The kitchen has all the amenities you’d need, including a dishwasher, microwave, stove, oven, stainless steel refrigerator, coffee maker, electric tea kettle, and toaster. Laundry detergent, dish soap, trash bags, and toilet paper are provided, but be prepared to buy extra toilet paper if needed. There are also mosquito coils, an electric bug zapper, and mosquito repellant plug-ins provided since mosquitos are prevalent during the rainy season.
The villa has a half bathroom inside, one outdoor shower and sink, and an open air bathroom with a toilet and shower. Bottles of Tahitian tiare-scented shampoo, body wash, body oil, and tanning oil are provided, so there’s no need to pack your own. The outdoor showers feel very exotic and are convenient for showering off after spending time at the beach without tracking sand into the villa. The owner requested to not wear shoes in the villa, so we recommend bringing some slippers to wear inside. There are several foot baths outside to wash your feet to avoid tracking sand into the villa.
Our favorite part of the villa, and where we spent the majority of our time, is the outdoor living space on the covered lanai. There’s a large wooden dining table, outdoor couch, lounge chairs with cushions, and hammock. The kids loved the hammock, and we spent a lot of time relaxing in the lounge chairs enjoying the view while sipping cocktails. There are 4 additional plastic lounge chairs on the beach and 2 Adirondack chairs, which the kids enjoyed sitting on in the water. Check out our Instagram stories saved to Mo’orea highlights for a video tour of Villa Cook.
Extra amenities at our Mo’orea villa
There are 2 double seat kayaks available to use for free, as well as snorkeling gear, sand toys, and boogie boards in a shed in the yard. There are also life jackets for use when kayaking or snorkeling.
It’s possible to have breakfast prepared for you at an extra charge, but we opted to prepare our own. You can also hire a cleaning service during your stay at an extra charge. Alix is available to answer any questions, help out with any problems, or assist with booking reservations during your visit 6 days per week (not on Sundays). She was responsive to all our requests. She has 2 dogs that occasionally wander over for some love, which our kids enjoyed. The villa is equipped with high speed wifi.
Last thoughts on our Mo’orea villa
Villa Cook is a great option for families looking for the best place to stay on Mo’orea with kids. We paid about the same amount of money for 6 nights as it would have cost for one night at a hotel for our family of five, and we had so much more space and privacy!
Even if you normally use points for a hotel stay, (like we did at Conrad Bora Bora Nui on our first trip to French Polynesia) it can be difficult to find award availability on Mo’orea, especially for families . You would need double the points for 2 hotel rooms, which would be required for a family of four or more. Booking a villa and then erasing the travel puchase with miles is a much easier option. Our favorite card to do this is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card which comes with a $300 annual travel credit and lounge access, making the journey much more enjoyable!
Villa Cook offers an excellent value, with even greater savings if you prepare any of your meals since eating out in French Polynesia is very expensive. It can sleep up to 8 people, with four in the loft. There are 2 other villas nearby managed by Robinson’s Cove Villas if you are traveling with a large group and want to stay close to each other. Villa Wallis sleeps 6 and Lagoon Bouganvilla sleeps 2. There’s also the option to book a 3-night catamaran cruise departing from Raiatea, Huahine, or Bora Bora- which we’d love to do next time! Don’t forget to use our affiliate discount code WTA-ROBINSONCOVE-D10– to save 10% on bookings through Robinson’s Cove Villas.
Let us know if you book and what you thought! Happy travels, or Bon Voyage as they say in French Polynesia!
*Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
