In the last installment I reviewed the Reefside Garden Villa in which we spent our first three nights at the St. Regis Bora Bora. I thought that was nice, though unfortunately it’s all downhill from here.
Upgrading to an overwater villa at the St. Regis Bora Bora
I only contacted the hotel about the possibility of upgrading to an overwater villa a couple months in advance. We were staying in low season, so I figured availability would be no issue.
To my surprise, the hotel was basically sold out, and they informed me that they could only offer paid upgrade for our last night (little did I realize they were doing me a favor by not letting me upgrade for longer).
The cost to upgrade to an overwater villa was 39,900XPF, or ~380USD. For what it’s worth, ordinarily you can upgrade to an overwater villa with a view, though that wasn’t available for our date. It’s significantly more expensive though — like, nearly 500USD more per night, on top of the 380USD.
We later found out why the hotel was sold out, and why no upgrade opportunities were available:
- The hotel apparently closes many of their overwater villas for the low season, so only about 60% of the villas were operational
- There was a sizable group of travel agents doing a fam trip, and they were all in overwater villas based on what I overheard
So yeah, reserve upgrades here in advance… or don’t, because it’s not worth it.
St. Regis Bora Bora Overwater Superior Villa review
The overwater villas at the St. Regis Bora Bora are spread out over a few wings, in a triangular-ish shape. Here’s a map of the resort, for context:
The best overwater villas are those facing Mount Otemanu, which is the highest point in Bora Bora, and probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the place. Sadly taking a picture of the outside of a villa is as close as I got to being in that type of villa. 😉
St. Regis Bora Bora Otemanu view villa
We were in one of the other wings, described as having a lagoon view (which is probably the least inspiring view you can get in Bora Bora, though it’s still very nice).
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villas
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villas
Specifically, we were in villa 312.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater superior villa exterior
Now, I know I’ll only be reviewing the resort in the next installment, but here’s a spoiler – -the resort is run down. Like, it doesn’t bother me that the hotel is past its prime or could use a renovation, but I couldn’t help but constantly feel like no one even wanted to perform basic maintenance. It was sad.
There was zero pride taken in this resort. And it makes me question if the resort should even be renovated, because I’m sure it will be in terrible condition in no time, since seemingly no one cares to maintain the place.
So, along those lines, I can’t say my first impression of the room was especially good.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater superior villa entryway
This was the storage compartment right across from the door of the room. It couldn’t be expensive or take a long time to not make this look terrible, yet…
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa terrible condition
Now, the good news — the hotel says that they have the largest standard overwater villas in the South Pacific, and I believe that. Every overwater villa is a legitimate suite. They’re advertised as being 1,550 square feet, though that no doubt includes outdoor space. I’d say the indoor space is maybe 800-1,000 square feet, which is impressive.
At the entrance was a table, a mirror, and two lamps, as well as a small area with some see-through flooring so you could look into the water.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater superior villa entry
There was then a long hallway with the bedroom and bathroom to the right, and the living room straight ahead.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater superior villa entry
The living room was a good size, but felt decidedly not luxurious or St. Regis like. There was a couch, then there was a dining table, and then there was a desk in the opposite corner.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa living area
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa living area
I did like the big area with see-through flooring, so you could look into the water.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa dining table
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa living area
There was also a minibar, with drinks, refrigerated Doritos, etc.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa minibar
The sad thing is what stood out to me most — the complete lack of TLC the hotel seems to take with everything. This is what our dining table looked like in a $1,000+ per night overwater villa.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa terrible condition
The coffee table by the couch wasn’t in much better condition, and could use some paint as well.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa terrible condition
Throughout the villa the floors were just horribly scratched.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa terrible condition
The bedroom was off to the side, and featured a king size bed, as well as a chair with ottoman in the corner.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa bedroom
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa bedroom
|St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa bedroom
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa chair
The bedroom was largely better maintained than the living room, but not well maintained either. For example, this is what the panel behind the bed looked like.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa maintenance issues
By comparison the bathroom was the best maintained part of the room. There were double sinks, each with their own mirror.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa bathroom
Then there was a shower and tub — I didn’t like that the shower was just sort of on a “platform,” with no glass partition or anything.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa shower & tub
Then there was a separate room with a toilet.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa toilet
In general the best part of an overwater villa is the outdoor space.
Our overwater villa had two lounging chairs.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa deck
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa outdoor area
Then there was a dining table with three chairs underneath a gazebo.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa outdoor area
All of the patio furniture just seemed very cheap.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa dining table
There were also stairs leading down to a deck, in case you wanted to go for a dip directly from your villa.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa deck
One thing that’s fairly poorly designed here is that you don’t have much privacy from each villa. There are many hotels that design overwater villas so that you’re not looking out over any other decks from your deck, but that wasn’t the case here.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa view
As mentioned above, the room faced the lagoon, which is in the opposite direction of Mount Otemanu. Obviously this was still a gorgeous view, though I think it’s probably the most underwhelming overwater villa view I’ve ever had. In general it’s nice to either look at a cool landmark, or to just look out into the ocean, and feel like you’re on a boat. You got neither of those things here.
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa view
St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villa view
On the plus side, the sunset view was really, really pretty from our villa.
St. Regis Bora Bora sunset view
St. Regis Bora Bora sunset view
St. Regis Bora Bora sunset view
My feedback to the hotel
As you guys will see in the next installment, I was extremely disappointed by the condition of the hotel. At check-out I mentioned this to the front desk agent. “I’m sorry about that,” she said.
I also filled out the survey I was sent after my stay, and the general manager responded 24 hours later with the following message, which I feel it’s appropriate to share:
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your feedback regarding your recent stay at the St. Regis Bora Bora Resort.
We are sorry to read that your experience did not meet your expectations and that you did not appreciate our Resort.
We agree that our villas are in need of renovation. Our Engineering team has been working hard for the last several weeks to redo more than 30 wooden floors that need immediate attention.
We are working diligently to improve the quality of our bungalows.
Thank you for highlighting the quality of the staff service. We are glad to hear that everyone took good care of you.Please accept our most sincere apologies.
Bottom line
On the plus side, the St. Regis Bora Bora overwater villas are big. That’s about the only good thing I have to say.
I can deal with the fact that the villas are in need of renovation. But there are hotels that are past their prime and well maintained, and then there’s the St. Regis Bora Bora, which doesn’t seem to take any pride in the upkeep of their property. I’m not sure if they had to lay off their entire maintenance team, or what, but I couldn’t believe the condition the hotel was in.
I thought to myself “oh, maybe everything in Bora Bora is just a bit past its prime,” as the design of many hotels in the South Pacific isn’t so modern. But then we stayed at the Conrad Bora Bora next, which made the St. Regis look like a Motel 6 by comparison.
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.