- Introduction: Dreamlining To Tahiti
- Review: Air Tahiti Nui Business Class 787-9 Los Angeles To Papeete
- Review: Air Tahiti ATR 72 Economy Papeete To Bora Bora
- Review: St. Regis Bora Bora Reefside Garden Villa
- Review: St. Regis Bora Bora Overwater Superior Villa
- Review: St. Regis Bora Bora Resort
- Review: Conrad Bora Bora Overwater Villa
- Review: Conrad Bora Bora Nui Resort
- Review: Air Tahiti Nui Lounge Papeete Airport
- Review: United Business Class 787-8 Papeete To San Francisco
- Review: United Polaris Lounge San Francisco Airport
- Bora Bora Vs. Maldives: Which Should You Visit?
Welcome to my last installment about our four night stay at the St. Regis Bora Bora. In previous installments I covered the three night stay in our nice Reefside Garden Villa, and our one night stay in a disappointing Overwater Superior Villa. Now let’s talk about the rest of the resort.
Getting to the St. Regis Bora Bora
To get to the St. Regis you first have to fly to Bora Bora. Once you arrive, all the hotels have welcome desks, so we quickly found the St. Regis welcome desk.
St. Regis Bora Bora airport welcome desk
We had arranged our transfer through the hotel in advance. They charge $130 per person roundtrip for the transfer, though since we were switching to the Conrad, we had to pay just half that amount, since we were only using their services one-way.
Once all the passengers heading to our resort arrived (there were two other couples), we started the 20 minute boat ride to the resort.
St. Regis Bora Bora boat transfer
It goes without saying that the views on the boat ride were breathtaking.
St. Regis Bora Bora boat transfer
As we arrived at the resort we were welcomed by the butler who would be looking after us for the first couple of days. He was a French guy who moved from continental France to Bora Bora many years ago, and ended up never leaving.
St. Regis Bora Bora welcome
St. Regis Bora Bora lobby & concierge
As you might expect, a vast majority of the public areas of the hotel are outdoors, both given Polynesian design, and also just generally given the beautiful surroundings. When we arrived at the dock there was a pathway leading up towards reception.
St. Regis Bora Bora entryway
The lobby was a mixed indoor/outdoor space, and was fairly small. There was a traditional check-in desk, though in reality the only time you’ll really come here is when you’re checking in or out, as the lobby isn’t otherwise the focal point of the hotel.
St. Regis Bora Bora lobby
St. Regis Bora Bora lobby
There was also some seating just outside reception.
St. Regis Bora Bora lobby
We were informed that our room wasn’t quite ready, but generously the hotel invited us to enjoy breakfast on the house. That seems like something they do as a standard feature for those arriving early, which is very kind, since they don’t have to do that.
We first explored the hotel a bit. For reference, here’s a map of the hotel:
Just outside the lobby were a few shops with souvenirs and jewelry.
St. Regis Bora Bora shops
Nearby is the exploration room, which is where you can arrange activities with the concierge. There’s also a pool table here, and frankly it’s a nice place to go once in a while if you just want to cool off without returning to your room.
St. Regis Bora Bora concierge
St. Regis Bora Bora concierge
St. Regis Bora Bora pools
The St. Regis Bora Bora has two pools. There’s the main pool, located near the beach. It’s quite large, though in my opinion feels kind of outdated and uninspiring, and not very St. Regis-esque.
St. Regis Bora Bora main pool
The greenery around the pool is cool, and I also appreciate that there’s a swim-up bar, as well as some lounge chairs in the water.
St. Regis Bora Bora main pool
Then there’s a second pool, which is over near the land villas. This pool is for adults only, and was always extremely quiet when we walked past.
St. Regis Bora Bora second pool
St. Regis Bora Bora second pool
St. Regis Bora Bora beach, ocean, and lagoon
The real reason you come to Bora Bora is for the beach and ocean, and that’s one area where this hotel most definitely doesn’t disappoint. The beach is gorgeous, and the water is crystal clear. I’ll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves.
St. Regis Bora Bora beach
St. Regis Bora Bora beach
St. Regis Bora Bora beach
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater bungalows
I loved the hammock in the water.
St. Regis Bora Bora ocean hammock
On top of that, there were all kinds of complimentary non-motorized water sports, so we kayaked several times, which was fun.
St. Regis Bora Bora activities
St. Regis Bora Bora kayaks
One day we also went on a jet ski tour. It was my first ever time on a jet ski (my oldest brother died on one when I was very young, and it’s something that has always stuck with me).
Nonetheless I decided to get over that “fear,” so we did a lunch tour that left at 11:30AM and returned at 2PM. We had a really great time, as we first took the jet ski for about an hour, then stopped somewhere for lunch, and then returned again.
St. Regis Bora Bora jet ski
Our guide was great, though the downside was that the only other people on the “tour” were hotel interns, and they acted like complete morons. They were “driving” like crazy the whole time, and the guide had to repeatedly tell them that they needed to follow instructions.
If you’re an employee of the hotel and presumably getting this as some sort of benefit or significant discount, you could at least not act like a moron. Still, we had a nice time, and I’d highly recommend it, in spite of the high cost.
In addition to the beautiful beach, the St. Regis has a lagoon that goes through parts of the resort. I can’t emphasize enough that the St. Regis really has the most beautiful location and setting in Bora Bora. The resort is 44 acres, it’s right across from Mount Otemanu, and it has these beautiful lagoons, so the hotel has that going for them.
St. Regis Bora Bora lagoon
St. Regis Bora Bora lagoon
St. Regis Bora Bora shark
St. Regis Bora Bora gym
The hotel has a sufficient 24/7 gym, which is located near the land villas.
St. Regis Bora Bora gym
St. Regis Bora Bora gym
St. Regis Bora Bora spa
As you’d expect, the St. Regis Bora Bora has a spa, which is operated by Clarins. We didn’t get any treatments while here (goodness knows we were spending enough already), though here’s the spa menu:
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast
Our rate at the St. Regis Bora Bora included breakfast, though otherwise we could have gotten breakfast due to my Marriott elite status.
Breakfast is served at Te Pahu, which is open for breakfast and dinner. The restaurant has outdoor seating, and is a large space.
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast restaurant
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast restaurant
Breakfast is served from 6:30AM until 10:30AM, and consists of a buffet. The buffet was good, though I wouldn’t say it was spectacular.
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast buffet
In addition to the buffet, you could supplement that with eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc. The menu for that read as follows:
Over the course of our stay we tried the omelet, poached eggs, and waffles.
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast
St. Regis Bora Bora breakfast
The first morning I ordered a cappuccino, which was watery and disappointing.
St. Regis Bora Bora cappuccino
So on subsequent mornings I just ordered an iced Americano, which hit the spot.
St. Regis Bora Bora iced coffee
Now let’s talk about some of the other food at the hotel.
St. Regis Bora Bora Te Pahu Restaurant
Te Pahu is otherwise just open for dinner two days a week, when they do an international buffet. The selling point is that there’s a live performance, so we figured we should go there one night.
St. Regis Bora Bora Te Pahu Restaurant
St. Regis Bora Bora Te Pahu Restaurant
The performance was good, but otherwise I thought the buffet was just meh.
St. Regis Bora Bora Te Pahu Restaurant
St. Regis Bora Bora Te Pahu Restaurant
St. Regis Bora Bora Aparima Bar
Okay, now this is where my confusion with food at this hotel starts. The hotel has five restaurants, yet only one is open for lunch. I understand people mostly want to be at the beach during the day, but couldn’t they open at least one more restaurant for lunch?
Anyway, the lunch restaurant was Aparima Bar, which was right next to the pool.
St. Regis Bora Bora Aparima Bar
St. Regis Bora Bora Aparima Bar
St. Regis Bora Bora Aparima Bar
The swim-up bar is also part of this.
St. Regis Bora Bora pool bar
The menu read as follows:
And I appreciated this disclaimer on the menu:
We ate here a couple of times for lunch, and ordered the vegetarian pizza, the butter chicken, and the Indian vegetable curry. The food wasn’t good at all, especially the pizza, which was vile.
Before anyone says “I wouldn’t expect a good pizza in Bora Bora,” there are plenty of good luxury hotels outside of Italy that can make a decent pizza (including the St. Regis Maldives, which had some of the best pizza I’ve had outside of Italy).
St. Regis Bora Bora Aparima Bar — lunch
St. Regis Bora Bora Aparima Bar — lunch
St. Regis Bora Bora Aparima Bar — lunch
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant
The hotel’s signature restaurant is Lagoon Restaurant by Jean-Georges, which is open six days per week from 6:30PM until 10:30PM. This restaurant is right near the hotel’s dock, and has views of Mount Otemanu.
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant
The real reason to come here is for cocktails, since the restaurant has a huge outdoor area with the best views afforded by the hotel. It’s too bad that this is only open in the evenings — you’d think they could turn the outside area into a lunch restaurant, or something.
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant view
We came here a couple of times for cocktails. Personally I found the drink list to be uninspiring, as they only had eight options (in addition to being able to order “regular” drinks), and none of them really appealed to me.
The drink list read as follows:
Nonetheless it was worth it for the views.
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant drinks
One night we also had dinner at Lagoon Restaurant, which is the only fully indoor restaurant.
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant
The restaurant has glass panels on the floor so you can look into the water while enjoying your dinner (there’s an area that’s netted, so there are a few sharks there).
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant view
The menu read as follows:
The food here was very good, definitely the highlight of the food at the hotel. Furthermore, given the generally crazy food prices at the hotel, I didn’t find the markup here to be too bad.
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant — dinner
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant — dinner
St. Regis Bora Bora Lagoon Restaurant — dinner
St. Regis Bora Bora Far Niente Restaurant
One night we had dinner at Far Niente, the hotel’s Italian restaurant. Next to that is the Chinese restaurant, which we didn’t have a chance to check out.
St. Regis Bora Bora Far Niente Restaurant
St. Regis Bora Bora Far Niente Restaurant
The menu read as follows:
The food here was very good as well.
St. Regis Bora Bora Far Niente Restaurant — dinner
St. Regis Bora Bora Far Niente Restaurant — dinner
St. Regis Bora Bora Far Niente Restaurant — dinner
St. Regis Bora Bora room service
A couple of times we also ordered room service, given that there was only one restaurant open for lunch. The room service menu read as follows:
While we had generally good experience with the restaurant food, I found most of the room service to be pretty lousy. The mahi mahi was good…
St. Regis Bora Bora room service
Unfortunately the burger, tostadas with chicken, and ceviche, were all disgusting.
St. Regis Bora Bora room service
St. Regis Bora Bora room service
Yes, this is actually how it was presented…
St. Regis Bora Bora room service
St. Regis Bora Bora service
In general we found the service at the St. Regis to be good, but not great. A majority of the employees are locals, and I’d say they were friendly and well intentioned, but also on island time. Things were often forgotten, we often had to ask for things a couple of times, but not problematically so.
So yeah, service was good, but not amazing.
St. Regis Bora Bora terrible condition
I really ripped into the St. Regis Bora Bora in my review of the overwater villa, which I thought was in horrible condition. Unfortunately the same was true in so many of the public areas.
Yes, the hotel in general just feels a bit outdated, and I’m fine with that, since I sort of expected that going in. But what disappointed me so much was the very simple ways in which they chose to not invest in the upkeep of the resort.
For example, virtually every single golf cart on the island looked like it had just come back from a war zone. Is this really what you should expect from a St. Regis charging $1,000+ per night?
St. Regis Bora Bora golf carts
The pool deck and pool tiles also just looked sort of disgusting.
St. Regis Bora Bora bad maintenance
Then every room has two bikes you can use to get around the resort, though I didn’t take a single bike that didn’t have serious issues, some of which were dangerous. We’re talking about problems ranging from kickstands not working to brakes not working.
About two days into my stay I just started to feel bad for the hotel. How on earth is it possible for hotel management to just care so little about the condition of their hotel? Take some pride…
In case you’re wondering how this is possible, reader DavidF had some interesting insights on a post a while back:
But the St Regis was sold on a couple of years ago to the Chinese HNA group. A company whose CEO fell to his death from a cliff in France five months ago as creditors began to circle.
I’m just not certain that the owners have the capital to maintain a hotel whose size and level of luxury – combined with a very high French Polynesian minimum wage – give it such a high cost base.
To put it in perspective, at the St Regis Maldives the staff probably each earn 20% of what the staff at St Regis Princeville did. And the staff at St Regis Bora Bora probably earn 40% more than the Princeville staff did.
It’s not just the cost of imports. It’s labor costs too.
St. Regis Bora Bora bottom line
Unfortunately I wouldn’t return to the St. Regis Bora Bora, and unless you’re Marriott-points-rich, I wouldn’t recommend it.
Let’s start with the positive. I truly believe the St. Regis has the best property and location of any hotel in Bora Bora. It’s a massive property, it has a beautiful view of Mount Otemanu, and it has lagoons you won’t find anywhere else. This hotel should be the best of the major ones in Bora Bora.
Beautiful views from St. Regis Bora Bora
But unfortunately the rest of the hotel just disappointed me. Worst of all is the condition of the hotel. I found the lack of upkeep and basic maintenance in so many areas to just be shocking. It made me sad to think I was in a place where people cared so little about taking pride in their product.
The food was also a mixed bag. There were five restaurants, but I just found everything a bit strange, yet only one was open for lunch, and the food ranged from quite good to awful.
Please don’t get me wrong — we still had such a lovely time here, as Bora Bora is stunning and we loved enjoying a leisurely breakfast, swimming, sitting on the beach, etc.
But in terms of food, service, and facilities, this hotel in no way compares to the nearby Conrad Bora Bora. For that matter, it’s shocking that this is branded as a St. Regis, as this in no way compares to the St. Regis Maldives.
If you’ve stayed at the St. Regis Bora Bora, what was your experience like?
Ash, we did 2 nights at LM and 4 nights at StR. LM was very nice got upgraded to OWB for free from a points booking. The room was smallish and definitely tired. But it was still very nice and comfy. The people were excellent and the food was great. You can definitely see the upgrade coming over to StR as far as looks and modern style plus the size of the rooms at StR...
Ash, we did 2 nights at LM and 4 nights at StR. LM was very nice got upgraded to OWB for free from a points booking. The room was smallish and definitely tired. But it was still very nice and comfy. The people were excellent and the food was great. You can definitely see the upgrade coming over to StR as far as looks and modern style plus the size of the rooms at StR are much bigger. We have a land villa here at Regis. But I really enjoyed our stay at LM because of how out of the way everyone went for us there. First dinner night they gave us a special table and brought us free champagne because we're Silver Elite (imagine that). Breakfast buffet was great. You should definitely do half board there as it's well worth it. Meal plan at StR is no good, better to just buy what you want. Plenty of toys for free at LM. Pools are both small and kind of bland but the ocean is right there. StR pools are better and they have the swim up which LM does not. I would come back and stay at both resorts.
To use the words vile and disgusting about the food makes your review a joke. We're here right now and everything has been great. This is one of the most pretentious, douchiest written articles I've ever seen from a points guy and that's saying a lot. I have said some things need to he better (bikes for sure) but you nit picked to death here. I mean really, vile? Disgusting decking? Haha, wow. The deck...
To use the words vile and disgusting about the food makes your review a joke. We're here right now and everything has been great. This is one of the most pretentious, douchiest written articles I've ever seen from a points guy and that's saying a lot. I have said some things need to he better (bikes for sure) but you nit picked to death here. I mean really, vile? Disgusting decking? Haha, wow. The deck looks fine, the food is good, very expensive, but it's fine at the pool bar. Now, Lagoon was phenomenal. Prices are crazy but that's the cost at all the high-end resorts. For you points people to whine so much is sad especially since you're likely using miles to fly here and points to stay. Live a little.
Friendly alert:
Made a PA + cash upgrade reservation before Mar 5th on this hotel then cancelled mid-March, the deposits never get refunded back to my card account after a month!!! The reservation manager responds email very very slowly and was reluctant to admit it's their issue. I am disputing the charge now.... will see how it goes... and never stay at this hotel in my life!
I was booked at the SR for 10 nights when this review came out so I was a bit worried honestly. But our experience was the opposite. We opted to bring food for lunch (to save money, but it ended up being nice to just eat whenever vs going out/dealing with room service), but we enjoyed all our dinners at Far Niente, Bamboo and Lagoon. Some food was basic but other dishes had really good...
I was booked at the SR for 10 nights when this review came out so I was a bit worried honestly. But our experience was the opposite. We opted to bring food for lunch (to save money, but it ended up being nice to just eat whenever vs going out/dealing with room service), but we enjoyed all our dinners at Far Niente, Bamboo and Lagoon. Some food was basic but other dishes had really good flavors! We usually stuck with seafood or vegetarian items though. I didn't dislike anything or find anything inedible. There was some wear and tear in our bungalow but nothing as extreme as in the review. Cleanliness is most important to me so nicks here and there are fine and somewhat suit the vibe of an island getaway (vs a modern looking room in a big city - if that makes sense). The bikes we chose were in working order but I am sure some were not as well off (at one point we saw a big on the grass missing a pedal). At the end of the day if you're spending a lot you want perfection, but in reality there is no such thing. The biggest con for us was the the time to wait after we called for some services (such as house keeping or ice), most times it took 5-15min, but a couple times it took 45min to hours and multiple add'al calls. Not ideal but we dubbed it 'island time.' Bora Bora is magical and I think the SR is a great way to experience it if you go in not expecting perfection is every aspect.
So glad I was able to visit Bora Bora and the Hotel Bora Bora in an overwater Bungalow back in 1983 when it still was worthwhile, now it appears to be an overpriced tourist trap
Thanks for the great review. I wonder if there is any such in depth review for the Le Meridien. Cannot find anything good enough from google search. Thanks.
So sorry about your brother, dude - that's awful.
@Fio @RON
Thanks, I've stayed at St Regis Mauritius (part of Honeymoon), so was using that as a relative comp. I had great time (other than some Rain). Property and staff were mostly great... had one issue when we made dinner reservations at one of the property's five restaurants and were told they were full and we couldn't be seated (despite our reservations)... It shouldnt happen at a place charging that kinda price per night, but its not a trip ruiner either.
Those food and drink prices are truly insane and the reason we would never ever stay at a hotel that isn't in a city/town with other options.
Serious question, though: what do you do at these kind of resorts if you're vegetarian? I noticed a quinoa salad for lunch and a vegeburger option. I saw nothing else with vegetarian protein. Is it simply understood that if you have any sort of dietary requirements you just don't go to resorts?
@ Ron and @ Evan - my stay at StR Mauritius was a disaster. It’s a beautiful property but service was truly lacking. A few examples: I got a serious case of food poisoning and allergic reaction to their stale lobster dish. As an ambassador elite was not even given one hour of extra check out time with the excuse that housekeeping needs time to prepare my room (I was told they need 3 hrs...
@ Ron and @ Evan - my stay at StR Mauritius was a disaster. It’s a beautiful property but service was truly lacking. A few examples: I got a serious case of food poisoning and allergic reaction to their stale lobster dish. As an ambassador elite was not even given one hour of extra check out time with the excuse that housekeeping needs time to prepare my room (I was told they need 3 hrs to do this). I asked my housekeeper on the way out of my room and he told me he needs 10 minutes. I get you don’t have one room checking out but a flat no and no flexibility is not cool especially given that we waited for ages when we arrived (we were checking after 3pm). This really left a bad taste in our mouths.
Please tell me that you tried the $52 “Devil Sexy Beast”......?
Just so you know, EVERY hotel/pension/camping bike in French Polynesia is downright sh** (and I'm mincing my words).
I have pretty low standards in general when travelling, and I loved my stay in FP, but since biking is usually the best option for easy access to pretty much everything there, I was appalled by the general conditions of the bikes every where I went, as most of them are downright dangerous as you're stating.
...Just so you know, EVERY hotel/pension/camping bike in French Polynesia is downright sh** (and I'm mincing my words).
I have pretty low standards in general when travelling, and I loved my stay in FP, but since biking is usually the best option for easy access to pretty much everything there, I was appalled by the general conditions of the bikes every where I went, as most of them are downright dangerous as you're stating.
Other than that, great review. I am interested in the Conrad one since I'm planning a trip to Bora-Bora in 2020 !
And I agree with you that the St Regis might have the best spot on the island, though all hotels on the eastern side might as well (Le Meridien, Four Seasons...) since that means a sunset on Otemanu.
Fair review. We really enjoyed our week there but it did seem worn a bit.
Pro tip: their achohol drinks are insanely expensive. Like $25/glass of wine or drink.
Buy your alcohol at duty free before you fly in. We did and it saved us a lot of money.
That said, this was still the most expensive free trip we’ve ever been on.
Overall, knowing all that - we loved the vibe and the ocean and I recommend it.
Since HNA group was mentioned as a reason SR is poorly maintained, and HNA is the parent company of Hainan Airlines. Has anyone noticed service degradation on Hainan flights?
I have read your reviews over the past week or so and am in complete disagreement with the review. My wife and I spent the last week of January 2019 at the St. Regis Bora Bora (7 night stay). Our villa was amazing, not a single thing wrong and all in great condition. We’re recently retired but when I was working I spent well over a hundred nights a year in travel status across the...
I have read your reviews over the past week or so and am in complete disagreement with the review. My wife and I spent the last week of January 2019 at the St. Regis Bora Bora (7 night stay). Our villa was amazing, not a single thing wrong and all in great condition. We’re recently retired but when I was working I spent well over a hundred nights a year in travel status across the globe over a 30+ year time period. Primarily in Hilton or Marriott associated properties, thus I feel we have a good sense of what to expect with a high end property. Yes, this is not a cheap place to stay but you absolutely get value for that expense. Yes, many of the staff are local. We took the time to ask them about themselves, their lives and experiences being in Bora Bora, etc.; we found them to be excellent, caring, and attentive. Food was expensive but very good. We loved the Lagoon, Italian, and Asian restaurants. I could go on and on but feel the picture you’ve painted is biased and not representative of our experience. I highly, highly recommend this establishment based on our experience that is barely a month ago. We can’t wait to return.
@jack you do realize St. Regis Maldives is 48000 per night too, right.
The lack of lunch options are easily understandable - I imagine many guests, and even beyond Chinese guests - will eat a late brunch, and only have dinner to save cost.
@Dylan Come to St. Regis Chengdu, they’ll let you know what a truly VILE burger is. (Still a very lovely and cheap property, do come and stay though.)
Is there a way to get to St Regis Bora Bora without paying that crazy transfer fee?
I have a their solution!
Four Points Resort Bora Bora
2 scoops of ice cream cost more that 1 scoop X 2.
From start to near the end (before you gave your overall) I thought the same...the whole place looks dated and boring. I would not be happy to have flown there and paid those rates: points or rev. So many amazing hotels in the world and that does not look even close to a destination resort with a supposed luxury tag. I feel bad for honeymooners who head there expecting the best experience of their life...
From start to near the end (before you gave your overall) I thought the same...the whole place looks dated and boring. I would not be happy to have flown there and paid those rates: points or rev. So many amazing hotels in the world and that does not look even close to a destination resort with a supposed luxury tag. I feel bad for honeymooners who head there expecting the best experience of their life and getting just, meh.
This is my problem with St. Regis and why I never trust their properties: inconsistent and uninspired. The owners should sell. New owners should invest millions and rebrand as a Mandarin or whatever. It's a great spot. It just needs inspired and caring owners.
Lucky! How did you get from SR bora bora to the Conrad? We’ll be there this summer and also split stays between the two.
My best meals were taking the boat/shuttle to town and they had a really great restaurant there. I'll have to look for the name but it was really incredible. None of the meals at the hotel were anything special. Very expensive but I wouldn't agree with those that say it was "touristy". When I stayed at the Le Meridian we had the furthest overwater bungalow facing the mountains and it was really quiet and peaceful....
My best meals were taking the boat/shuttle to town and they had a really great restaurant there. I'll have to look for the name but it was really incredible. None of the meals at the hotel were anything special. Very expensive but I wouldn't agree with those that say it was "touristy". When I stayed at the Le Meridian we had the furthest overwater bungalow facing the mountains and it was really quiet and peaceful. There weren't too many people there and it really had a peaceful feel to it.
One of the most beautiful and special places we went. We did a lot of activities including snorkeling that was just incredible. I'd highly recommend a trip to Bora Bora.
Four seasons next door has exact same view but property is in much better shape. With that said, it’s not cheap and I rather go to the Brando when all said and done.
Holy crap those food prices are utterly ludicrous.
@Evan
St Regis Mauritius is extraordinary. Spent there 10 days and got upgraded to the presidential suite. It was very very good.
@John
Same here. I will not go there even though I was close to booking. And those prices are criminal.
^$43 sorry, even worse
$34 for a club sandwich jesus christ
Do you have to pay tax and service charge on top of the prices listed on the menu? If the prices are all inclusive and you don't have to tip in addition to it, then it makes it a little better. Still high no matter what.
@Lucky, I really enjoy reading your reviews and find your style to be easy to read at that. Just wondering if you ever venture in to w/e area you are staying and try local restaurants? It seems it is always just a review of what the resort you are staying at provides.
So happy that i saved my Bonvoy points!
I went to the Le Meridian Bora Bora a few years ago and it was REALLY great. The St. Regis was more expensive and almost upgraded to this property but glad I didn't. My Premium Overwater Bungalow was really great and super modern. Looked much nicer than the photos you posted. I don't know how it is these days but when I go back I'll book the Le Meridian again based on your review.
Just came back, awsome place specially if you use 48,000 points. You seem to be just neat picking on little things that most people don't even notice nor care. Its bargain deal at one of the most expensive properties. I had nothing to complain about whatsoever. Definitely a steal with the points.
I visited StR Bora Bora in 2016 and found it to be immaculate. The maintenance was not an issue (although the bikes bad) and the food was delicious (once you got over sticker shock). I was impressed. It has obviously gone seriously downhill. It is going down the path of the StR Kauai which I thought was a trainwreck last year.
The prices!!!!
Good lord, I don't know what I find more sad. The fact people charge such prices or the fact there are suckers who will pay them.
I've never seen such a critical review of a St. Regis property before the Bora Bora property. Now that Lucky has posted all three parts of the review I would love to give my opinion.
For some people, lunch is the biggest meal of the day. I would be outraged if I could not enjoy more than 1 restaurant for lunch on a stay. How can a St. Regis not cook a delicious room...
I've never seen such a critical review of a St. Regis property before the Bora Bora property. Now that Lucky has posted all three parts of the review I would love to give my opinion.
For some people, lunch is the biggest meal of the day. I would be outraged if I could not enjoy more than 1 restaurant for lunch on a stay. How can a St. Regis not cook a delicious room service burger? The adult-only pool looked pretty nice. That first pool did not look five star at all. The poor maintenance is just sad. How can villas have scratched hardwood floors that would drive me. I really don't care about what the golf carts look like. However, I want my villa to be in good shape.
I can't wait to see what to read your review of the Conrad! Will cross off this property off my list (not like I'll ever have enough points to go to Bora Bora)
You have really cured me of any particular itch to want to go to Bora Bora...the name conjures up exotic images. Your review, and pictures, conjures up pedestrian tourist trap.
What is your overall impression of Tahiti? The reason I ask is that it feels like there is much more hype and thus investments in places like Bali and Maldives and in my view Tahiti, Seychelles and Fiji are kind of left behind in terms of new hotels or improvements into existing ones. Am I wrong?
Have you guys stayed at the LM Bora Bora or the Four Seasons? Curious how they compare. Thanks for this review. Will definitely avoid!
How would you contrast this with St Regis Mauritius?
The pictures of Bora Bora seem to show nicer beaches but I dont think SRMauritius was anywhere near as rundown as Bora Bora looks.
death by no kickstand!
lol
Or, be a contrarian, and save oodles. Book an Air BnB, get around on bikes, book tours like Lagoon Services ($100 for 4 hr killer snorkel tour) and grab food at the markets. Yeah, it's not going to be an "over the water" bungalow experience, but it really rocks. I'm on Bora Bora now and can vouch that BB can be done on the cheap.
I just ate there, traveling by boat from the IC Thallasso.
The food at Lagoon was disappointing , but not bad. The boat t for the transfer had motor exhaust coming into the cabin, made me queasy it was so much. I complained, they refunded the $60 transfer fee.
I thought the view at the Thallasso was amazing and similar to the one at that the St Regis. What made you think the StRegis was better?
Thank you for posting this review! :)