Hotel Kia Ora

The Hotel Kia Ora has kept its traditional Polynesian style in the rooms and all the public spaces. Facilities include a spa, an overwater bar, a gastronomic restaurant, a dive centre, and a swimming pool.

For the more Robinson Crusoe minded, there is the even more remote Kia Ora Sauvage where electricity gives way to candlelight and life is stripped back to the bare luxuries. This is a tiny private island about an hour away from the main hotel so a complete getaway. The only downside is you cannot dive here, but for a few days, what better.

When it comes to eating, options are limited but good - the Te Rairoa restaurant serves French and Polynesian cuisine whereas Te Poe Rava serves a more international menu. And there is a bar built on stilts over the lagoon so you can sip cocktails at sunset after a full day diving with sharks (or lying on the beach doing nothing depending on what you prefer!).

There are 63 rooms in total ranging from the beach bungalows which all have their own jacuzzi on the front deck, up to villas with private pools - and it wouldn't be French Polynesia without some lovely overwater bungalows thrown into the mix. There is a good range of different options to suit all tastes.