I did make the trip, and to sum it up, it was OK.
Diving is all about the "big animals". During a total of 5 dives, I saw a couple of turtles, some sharks at a distance, and on two occasions played with dolphins for about 10 minutes. The problem is that the dive operators focus on finding the big ones in open water and all-to-often ignore the reef. And while the reef itself is not much to brag about, the fish are spectacular - and better than nothing if the big ones aren't around. Another issue is that all the dive operators use Zodiacs, and my legs, arms, and chest were badly bruised for a week from getting back into the boat at the end of the dive.
The Novotel is advertised as a "budget" resort, and while less expensive than the Kia Ora was not inexpensive. It was clean and comfortable, but there was no beach - just a small rocky area along the water's edge. The snorkling was very good here, probably because of the constant feeding of stale bread that they get. We had more trouble than expected with staff that did not speak English, and the food was marginal at best.
My wife is also not a diver, and got to read a lot of books. There's really nothing else to do on the island besides water sports.
The bottom line - it was not the spectacular diving, nor the spectacular resort we were expecting it to be, and would find other islands to go to before going back to Rangiroa.
