Fodor's Expert Review Legends Resort Moorea

This 50-apartment complex, high on the hill overlooking the InterContinental Resort and the lagoon, opened in July 2008. It's a new concept for Moorea and will be interesting to see if hillside self-catering apartments, with no beach access, take off in an island resort where the lagoon reigns supreme. A regular shuttle takes guests to a private island for swimming and snorkeling. The two- and three-bedroom apartments have terraces with hot tubs and views over the lagoon or to the lofty cloud-swathed mountain ranges. There's a choice of daily or weekly housekeeping (which keeps rates down) and Legends Gourmet, a delicatessen that sells groceries and other items for self-catering and also serves breakfast and lunch by the pool. The onsite restaurant La Villa Des Sens is open Wednesday to Sunday for dinner only. A new onsite spa offers massages and a range of body scrubs.