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Hotels 

With many hotels in the luxury category, French Polynesia is often called an "  expensive destination"  … But alternative forms of lodging have been developed in the past ten years, which now make Polynesia affordable to all budgets:  hotels of "grand tourisme" and "tourisme" categories, small family-owned hotels and pensions (guest houses) with the inhabitants, not to mention a few campground which, sometimes offer you to trade you tent for a small private fare (cabin) right on the beach for 60 or 70 Euros per night. An offer difficult to pass.

There is no official hotel classification in French Polynesia, but here are the various categories recorded:  

• Hotels in the category "Luxe" = correspond to 4 or 5 stars.
• Hotels in the category "Grand Tourisme" = correspond to 3 stars.
• Hotels in the category "Tourisme" = correspond to 2 stars.
  
• Small family-owned hotels = correspond to 1star More
• Guest Houses (Pensions de famille) = lodging with the inhabitant More
  
• Campings = some pensions also feature campgrounds, but beware of tropical rain showers which could make the experience very wet!  

Our advice

My Vacation A free service to plan your vacation "a la carte"...

If you wish to best manage your budget, a solution consists in combining these various lodging options as you visit the islands:   pensions or small family-owned hotels where you'll enjoy the legendary hospitality of the islanders and even, in many cases at a small extra cost, enjoy a private bungalow right on the beach. Somewhere else, choose Polynesian style hotels, often located inside exotic gardens, where you will be welcome in comfort in accordance to their category ranking.

And to finish on a high note: it is hard to resist (if only for one night if you're really tight) the delights of a luxury hotel offering you a bungalow with all the refined comfort and a staff particularly eager to please. Cuddled up in your voluptuous cocoon, near a turquoise color lagoon, Western comfort mixed with island lifestyle will quickly make you forget a few over budget extravagances. At least paradise will not have been lost for everybody…

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