Midrange
Club Bali Hai
Motel rooms and overwater bungalows. Very scenic location. There is only a small artificial beach here. The water is fine for swimming, warm and deep. It's not very good snorkeling though, it's not so clear and there isn't much coral. Good snorkeling can be found nearby though. There is a decent restaurant and a pool. Rooms are in good condition and have AC and some have kitchenette. Within walking distance there's only one other restaurant Italian and a small bodega. There's no night life. If you get an over-water bungalow, beware of the one closest to the road, it's not over very much water and it's quite close to the road. Friendly staff, decent poisson cru.
Pensions
Meaning "boarding house" in French, these are very small no frills lodging facilities. Typically less than 10 rooms or bungalows. Family operated along with a few extra employees. Accommodations will vary among the different pensions. Highly discouraged by travel agents as travel agents do not receive any percentage of the booking fees. Traveler's must book their room directly with the pension. Contact info is very difficult to find. And what little information is available on the internet is not the most reliable. Traveler opinions about pensions will vary. But most will agree that their stay was very personalized and a memorable experience.
High end
The Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa
This is the cheapest of the high end resorts. Room types range from motel rooms to overwater bungalows. The views, along with the beach, are not spectacularly and thus the most you should splurge on is the garden bungalow. This is an 80+ room resort and crowds will frequent the common areas. Mainly the pool, bar, and restaurant areas. The resort guest list is a mix of families and couples only. Snorkeling at the resort's beach is not very good. The big buffet dinners are Wednesday and Saturday nights. Wednesday appx $63 + service fees per person with song and dance by a local dance troupe. The Saturday buffet $76 + service fees per person concludes with a fire dance. Better non-entertainment dining options are available within walking distance of the resort for half the price. Within walking distance of the resort is a small village. Exit the resort to the main road, turn right, and proceed for five minutes. You will arrive at a market, bank, snack bar, and a pizza restaurant. Exit the resort to the main road, this time turn left, and proceed for ten minutes, and you will arrive at another market with better prices and greater selection. There's also a neighboring Japanese and seafood restaurants as well.
The Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort
TP Michigan 8/2008: Is quite pricey =>$700 USD for 2 people in OW bungalow but is a pristine, beautiful resort with fantastic staff and facilities. They had the best bungalows we saw on the islands. Reefs and coral were not as spectacular off the bungalows as they were at Le Meridien on Tahiti, but Ia Ora's has the bonus of having individual stairways to the water at each bungalow, a big plus.
There are some really fancy hotels and resorts here although no super-resorts like on Tahiti. Club-med used to have an outfit here but it's abandoned now.
Budget accommodations
There are only two really cheap places on Moorea and they are almost next door on the northwest corner of the island. Well there are a couple other cheap places that aren't on the beach and where you might get carried away by the mosquitoes.
Chez Nelson
[email protected] The other cheap place. Definitely second best beach-wise, and definitely cleaner than Moorea Camping.
Moorea Camping
Cheap and right on the beach. It's a nice beach too, good sand, in the lagoon, palm trees, the whole megilla. Great reef snorkeling. Nice grounds with trees and flowers. Tent camping is available, as are dorm style, and motel style rooms. Kitchen facilities. Shared bathrooms, cold water you won't want hot water anyway. Very basic accommodations, bring your own soap, TP, etc. No mosquitoes. Very social. Definitely the backpacker spot.