Le Méridien Ile des Pins

My wife and I had a very nice 4 night stay at Le Meridien Isle of Pines. The hotel is just a little bit tired, it has a bit of the patina of being used. Some broken tiles, a few gaps in the joins etc. But overall it is quite lovely and daily maintenance is very good. The cleanliness was faultless. I'd read of ants and cockroaches in some reviews. Absolute rubbish. It is very well kept. The location is superb. The facilities like kayaks, snorkelling gear, pool and restaurant were very good indeed. Our cabin on the river was lovely and the bed superbly comfortable. The natural pool had some of the best snorkelling, the variety of marine life and some of the corals were amazing. Fantastic. Swimming, kayaking and snorkelling off the beach was also great. My only disappointment was the evening meals. Our first night I had a tateless over cooked fish dish. The next two nights were very good. On the last night, a Saturday, they have a buffet or you eat in your room. The buffet was 4950 francs ($75 Australian $) each. We don't eat that much and with drinks it was a pretty expensive meal. The quality of the food was very good but it wasn't what we wanted and there is no choice. The staff were lovely. Some can't converse in English but they and we tried and many are fluent in both.

You can read prior reviews - dated hotel, poor shower drainage, limited food choices, bad pool condition etc. it is what it is for a very remote location. Of course the hotel could and should spend the money and give the whole place a much needed facelift. The point of visiting here is for the location - the magic of IDP. The hotel is on Oro Bay - the surrounding beaches are all lagoons - so amazing waters that are calm and without ocean currents. You can kayak or paddle board (or walk during low tide) for quite a far distance out from the beach. It is serene and calm and other-worldly. The main advantage of this hotel over the others is the accessibility to La Piscine Naturelle (Natural Lagoon) which is a 20 minute walk away. You do need to wade along the river banks at some points so low tide (mid morning) is easier. The Piscine is just like a large swimming pool. Snorkelling is average here in New Caledonia. The hotel’s snorkelling equipment is old and the goggles leaked. But the experience is again magical and serene. There will be lots of people though but it is big enough. I do highly recommend the day tour to Brush Island - which can be booked through the hotel. Please see my review on that. So yes - the luxury hotel experience could have been better - but it was definitely worth visiting IDP and experiencing its beauty and magic. And kudos to the staff - they were are friendly and helpful.

Resort is at a beautiful location and the staff are excellent and attentive. The food menu can be expanded and more varied for a 5 star resort. My wife also does not eat seafood so a limited menu became even more limited.