French speaking, but English understanding, the islands feature idyllic lagoons replete with abundant life. Whereas Hawaii’s coasts are almost all exposed to the open ocean, French Polynesia’s are predominantly reef protected. As a result, FP features fine snorkeling and scuba diving, beyond anything available in Hawaii.

The Islands I’ve Been To.

Papeete, on the island of Tahiti, is the center of all business activity and international flights. Much like with Honolulu, Tahiti island is all about Papeete. In addition to business, Papeete has many resorts, great shopping and dining. The atmosphere to me is somewhat more reminiscent of a Mexican city, rather than a Hawaiian one.

If you choose to stay on Tahiti (which I typically do not for very long), there is much to explore. A favorite of mine is “Le Marche,” Papeete’s large and vibrant traditional daily market. By far the best day to go is Sunday. It is a feast of food and other Tahitian products, flowers, bright colors and sounds. Le Marche opens at 5am and I suggest getting there very early for every reason.

Moorea, Tahiti’s bedroom neighbor, is only 30 minutes away by Catamaran or 10 minutes by plane. With far fewer cars, it is a better vacation choice for Tahiti travelers with limited time or budget to explore further afield. It features a gorgeous wide, shallow lagoon surrounding the island’s verdant tall mountains. Due to its proximity to Papeete, Moorea has a distinct bedroom community feel, unlike the other islands of French Polynesia.

Bora Bora. An idyllic island, which in the past quarter century has been largely overrun by tourism and massive development. Nonetheless, it has Mount Otemanu at the island’s center, tropical slopes and valleys, gorgeous white sand beaches and an exquisite emerald-colored lagoon teaming with fish and rays. I’m glad that I got there in the early 1980’s, before the explosion of resorts.

Huahine is far and away my favorite island in French Polynesia.

Still less than an (expensive) hour away from Papeete by air, Huahine remains the best kept secret hideaway in the South Pacific. It is smaller and more friendly than either Bora Bora or Moorea, and is far less developed. Huahine features unequalled beauty in its lagoons, beaches, bays, and a half dozen charming and quaint villages. It is heavily agricultural in nature, and is somewhat reminiscent of Kauai, as it was many decades ago.

There are many other neighbor islands to explore. These include the Marquesas, Astrals and Gambier groups as well as Raitea, Taha’a, Rangiroa, Manihi, Tikehau and Fakarava.

I look forward to hearing from others who have been to French Polynesia or plan to visit.

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When Aloha stopped flying to Rarotonga and subsequently went out of business, our ability to get from Hawaii to the Cook Islands virtually ceased.  Airfares from Honolulu start at over $1,200 each way, and require an 8 hour connecting flight each way to Auckland. From Los Angeles, you typically spend at least twice this much to get to the beautiful, remote and Hawaii-reminiscent Cook Islands.

The still relatively undiscovered Cook Islands are small in all regards when compared with Hawaii.  Like French Polynesia, they have amazing lagoons and sea life. Fifteen islands comprise the country that is often likened to being much like Hawaii was fifty years ago. There are no traffic lights and like Kauai, no buildings higher than a coconut tree.

I’m thinking of flying to LA on one of today’s super-cheap Hawaii airfares, just to take advantage of this Cook Island travel deal that’s too good to pass up.

Details:

• Airline:  Air New Zealand
• Book: Now through August 23
• Travel:  Now through October 31
• Availability:  excellent
• Days:  This is once weekly service that departs Los Angeles on Sundays and returns on Saturdays

Comments.

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My recommendation is to skip Manly Beach (which I didn’t find attractive although easy to reach on a 30 minute ferry) and head directly to Bondi (you’ll need a bus or combination bus/subway to get there). I opted for hiking a five beach coastal path (after shopping of course) from Bondi to Coogee.

The guidebooks said the walk was 6km and would take two hours. I’m not sure if the writers actually went on the hike or not. I’m in good shape and it took 4-5 hours to cover what I believe to be 10+km in distance.

The walk takes you up and down staircases, and along the coast the entire distance.  I carried my shopping bag with a plaster fish (from a Bondi thrift shop) thinking it was a short hike. I was glad to reach Coogee Beach and finally get a swim. The water was bracing in late November but felt great to cool down after the hike.

Bondi, the largest and most famous of the lot, features beautiful sand, and a picturesque crescent fringed with homes on one end and the famous Bondi Iceberg Club, an ocean-front swimming pool that dates back to the 1880′s, on the side where the hike begins.  Near there you’ll also find aboriginal rock carvings.

Of the next three beaches, Tamarama, Bronte and Clovelly, I liked Bronte the best. It was popular and had a nice park area for families. Clovelly, however, had a sheltered swimming area that might work well with children.

After reaching Coogee Beach and having a swim, I hopped on the bus for a 45 minute ride back to Circular Quay. The plaster fish by the way made the journey in one piece.

The reason I found this news especially noteworthy, is that the company plans on flying the new 500+ seat A-380′s and 300+ seat A-350′s between the United States and Vietnam!

Vietnam and Hawaii have a number of similarities.  Sun, sand, sea and surf among them.  Water sports and marine life are two additional Vietnam features. Vietnam has a long coastline, with its best year round beaches primarily in the southern half.  There are also many tropical islands.  Among its most famous beaches are:

• Nha Trang:  The vietnamese Riviera.
• Mui Ne Beach, Phan Thiet.  Beautiful white sand beach.
• Phu Quoc Island.  Vietnam’s largest island and national park.

In addition to its beaches, Vietnam is said to offer fascinating cities that combine classic with modern, otherwise incredible scenery, a rich history, culture and wonderful food.

While we’re dyed in the woof Hawaii-files, Beat of Hawaii plans to visit Vietnam in the near future and report on it personally. Do you plan to visit Vietnam?

Here’s my update on how a negative hotel experience turned out to be something positive.

The Millenium UN Plaza Hotel refunded 50 percent of our recent six night stay due to the incorrect room category we were given.

Would we consider Millenium UN Plaza for our next trip to the island of Manahattan?

Definitely yes.

Mostly because we liked being in a neighborhood of embassies and the views can be spectacular. It also feels good to know the hotel wants their guests to be satisfied. That personal touch means a lot to us.

Last month we wrote two posts about our experiences there and gave advice on how to handle a bad hotel room. In our case the room wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t the right category for what we were promised.

We communicated honestly with the hotel manager and their corporate office. Neither of us had a particular outcome in mind. The way they dealt with the issue, however, at both the management and the corporate level, was courteous, professional and far exceeded our expectations.

Yesterday I gave you my advice on what to do when your hotel room does not live up to expectations. Normally I complain immediately if I’m unhappy. On my recent trip to New York I was stuck with a bad room for 6 nights.

Here’s what happened at New York’s Millennium UN Plaza Hotel:

I booked a “superior room” through a Travelzoo promotion for $199 per night. This did not include the unbelievable daily charge of $12.95 for Internet.

At check-in I had just flown eleven hours through six time zones and was not feeling on top of my game. All I wanted was a bed. It was 9am and I was told the room would not be ready until 3pm.

By the time I got to the room I was completely wasted and had actually fallen asleep sitting in the lobby. It was not until the next day that I realized the room was not what I had been promised.  Even then, I was too tired with jet lag to deal with it.  I knew I’d been taken, but couldn’t deal with repacking and changing rooms.  Damn.

Here’s what I’ve subsequently done about it:

1. Soon after checking out, I received an online questionnaire from the hotel, inquiring about my stay. Had I not received that, I was prepared to contact the management directly.

2. The hotel’s general manager responded as follows:

…I had a chance to review the survey that you recently completed. We are sorry to learn that you encountered some service inconsistencies during this visit. In particular, your remarks concerning your accommodations. We also regret that you did not receive any assistance by Front Service and have addressed the poor performance with the appropriate managers and staff so that measures may be taken to prevent deficiencies such as you experienced. In the meantime, please accept our sincere apologies for having caused you disappointment and inconvenience….

Sincerely,
Mark Irgang
General Manager

3. I responded to the General Manager:

…When we checked out, the gentleman at the desk asked how things had gone and I told him about our dissatisfaction with the room and the misrepresentation compared with the photographs of our room type on your website. He said that we were in an old and unrenovated section (however that would not account for the window discrepancy).

Superior room on website photo:

Our “superior” room:

Under the circumstances, I think something more than I’m sorry would be appropriate….

Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. It’s important to know when to let go so your vacation is not ruined.

One of the best comments I read recently is saying this to the Front Desk agent at check-in:

“Give me the room you were going to give me after the one I came downstairs and complained about. ”

PS:  If we hear back from the hotel, we’ll let you know.

THIS IS THE SUPERIOR ROOM I WAS GIVEN:

I was expecting multiple windows, a corner room, and updated furnishings, based on the superior category I reserved.

This is the first of two parts on what to do if your hotel room does not meet expectations. Tomorrow I’ll tell you what happened recently in NYC when I was not able to change the above room. Today’s segment offers my suggestions on getting the best room for the price paid.

Here’s what I do:

1. Research the hotel’s site, and reviews before arriving.

I find what people have said about renovations and construction, corner rooms, views, noise, and areas important to me. Descriptions and photographs on review sites and the hotel’s site can be helpful in setting my expectations.

2. At check-in, I ask about the type of room I’ve been assigned.

If it seems appropriate, I may request a room upgrade at the same price. It doesn’t hurt to be members of the hotels’ frequent guest program before making special requests.

3. Proceed to the assigned room without making assumptions.

I may not even schlep the luggage. Before I unpack or use the bathroom, I assess the room in relation to what I expected.

4. Return to the front desk if not satisfied.

If the room isn’t everything I’d hoped for, seen and read about on the hotel’s site and in the various forums, then I go back to the front desk.

Normally the second room will be significantly better. If it isn’t, however, I don’t t hesitate to go back yet again.

If necessary, I ask to speak with the manager. By this point I may have been offered a major upgrade for a small amount of money. If the offer is reasonable, and there was no misrepresentation in terms of the prior room, then I might just say yes and pay up.

Suggestions:

• Ask for what you want based on reasonable expectations given what you reserved and are paying for.
• Realize that all rooms in the same price category are not created equal.
• Don’t be shy, but remain calm and polite. Room change requests are very common and not unexpected by the hotel.
• Consider checking a site like Tripkick, a website which offers room by room hotel guides.
• Sometimes tipping at the front desk doesn’t hurt. In my own experience, however, it usually isn’t necessary in order to get a better room.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s description of what happened in the photos above and what we are doing about it.

Beat of Hawaii landed in New York early Wednesday morning. After a staggering 5,000 plus mile, two flight journey in coach on United, we arrived Newark at 6 am. We love islands and they don’t come any more culturally different or geographically remote than Kauai and Manhattan.

Once we’re back home we’ll tell you about the best money saving strategies we found for entertainment, food, lodging and transportation. And we’ve got a surprising report on United Airlines.

We’re really excited and looking forward to a great week in the Big Apple. Stay tuned for more posts.