Hotel Royal Bora Bora — Hotel in Bora-Bora

Fire Ants!!!

The worst hotel experience in our life. The hotel itself is fine. Decent sized rooms, good breakfast. Nice beach, small pool. The service is mediocre initially. We were having a wonderful Tahiti trip until the 3rd day at this hotel.

We came back from a snorkeling excursion and took turns taking showers. My wife first, my 10 year old daughter, and then me. My wife grabbed the clean brown towel off the counter, dried herself, and immediately started screaming that she was being electrocuted. She started freaking out – when I went to see what was the matter, I discovered the towel had at least 100 ants crawling all over it. It bit my wife in 100 different places. These were no ordinary ants, these were most likely fire ants from the pain. She nearly passed out. The bites over the days grew to be giant bulges (see pictures). It turns out the ants had crawled into the window and climbed all over the towel (would never have happened if the towels were white). There were hundreds of them on the sink counter underneath the towel. And when we dropped the towel to the floor, it was covered in ants (see pic).

What followed next was absolutely unacceptable. We asked for first aid and demanded the hotel do something – the front desk offered nothing. They finally gave in and said they’d relocate us to another room. We wanted nothing to do with this hotel anymore and wanted reimbursement for at least the remaining 2 days so we could go down the street to another hotel. They absolutely refused, kept claiming it was a “3 star hotel” etc. Are you serious? We’ve been in many 3 star hotels and have never been bitten. They kept claiming the manager ‘went home” and was unable to speak with us. The next day, the manager was “on vacation. “ After refusing to leave the front desk, they finally had the manager call us. Guess what she offered us – a drink at the bar! A drink at the bar = ruining our entire vacation???

My wife was crazy itchy the remaining 5 days of our trip and even 3 days after we got back. Spent $400 on a dermatologist after.

Being bitten by 100 ants at a hotel is completely unacceptable. But what made it 10x worse was the horrid service and “I don’t care” attitude of the workers.

If you’re like me and want to book an average hotel without paying the crazy rates of the Four Seasons, St Regis, etc., book something else. It is not worth saving your money for this kind of indifference.

I will be posting this review on all the hotel sites as well as requesting Amex and Expedia refund my money for the worst experience ever.

No doubt the hotel will post a response saying it was our fault or something. They said at the desk “you’re in a tropical area, what do you expect” and “this is a 3 star hotel, what do you expect?” I expect not to be bitten 100x by fire ants,...

I recently had the pleasure of staying at a great hotel that offered a unique setup. What stood out was that the rooms were located across the street from the front lobby, restaurant, pool, and beach. This arrangement provided a sense of privacy while still being close to all the amenities.

One of the highlights of the hotel was the beautiful garden area surrounding the rooms. It created a tranquil atmosphere and added to the overall aesthetic appeal. The location was also quite convenient, with several restaurants and a grocery store within walking distance. This made it easy to explore the local dining options and stock up on essentials.

The room itself was impressive. It stayed cool even in the warm weather and was impeccably clean and spacious. As a solo traveler with my son, safety was a priority for me, and I'm pleased to say that I felt very secure throughout our stay.

The beach, accessible from the hotel, was a pleasant surprise. It offered a nice stretch of sand and the added bonus of snorkeling right off the shore. It was a fantastic opportunity to explore the underwater world without having to venture too far.

Breakfast at the hotel was buffet style and exceeded my expectations. The variety and quality of the food were impressive, ensuring a satisfying start to the day. I would highly recommend taking advantage of this culinary delight.

I must commend the hotel for accommodating us last minute when our previous hotel turned out to be horrible. Their willingness to assist us in a time of need was greatly appreciated. The only minor setback was that our room was supposed to have two twin beds but ended up having a king-sized bed. However, the staff helped us find a solution, and we managed just fine.

Transportation was made easy as the hotel arranged taxis for us whenever needed. It's important to note that there are no elevators on the property, and you'll have to take your luggage across the street. However, this was a minor inconvenience and didn't detract from the overall positive experience.

The activities desk at the hotel was quite helpful, providing valuable information and assistance. They even had snorkels available for guest use, and for those seeking a more adventurous experience, kayaks and paddleboards were available for rent.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this hotel. It offers a unique setup, excellent room conditions, beautiful surroundings, and a convenient location. The staff's attentiveness, safety measures, and the availability of recreational activities all contribute to a memorable stay. Don't hesitate to consider this hotel for your...

Affordable price but unethical hotel staff

If you want to go to Bora Bora but can’t afford the thousand dollar a night over water villas, this hotel just under $300 a night is the most affordable room you can find. It’s close by the beach, the room was decently nice, and had an ok breakfast. We did find several black centipedes in our room throughout our stay - which I think can be poisonous so be careful if you see them.

Here’s the issue - the hotel offers a “shuttle service” but doesn’t tell you until checkout that this is around $30 each way. Our “shuttle service” was a beaten down, old bus that was over an hour late to the airport pickup stop and picked up 10 other people. I called the hotel probably 5-6 times asking where the bus was and they kept saying it was coming. Unfortunately, we missed our last hour of daylight on our first night in bora bora waiting for the hotel shuttle as opposed to getting a taxi because the hotel implied it was free. Turns out that a taxi is much cheaper than the shuttle.

When we argued with the staff at checkout about the hidden shuttle fee, they said that the plane was early and that’s why the driver was late. This was a lie. When we told the hotel this was untrue, they then argued that we booked the shuttle the day of and it was inconvenient for the driver to come last minute. This was also a lie as the bus picked up around 10 other people who were on our flight and they told us they arranged a pickup at that time in advance. The hotel staff argued with my boyfriend and me for about 30 mins over this and I just found it abrasive and unpleasant.

We were in Tahiti for about 10 days and every single day of our trip, someone in Tahiti scammed us in some way. Most of the scams involve implying something is free or included, never disclosing a fee, and then coming up with a lie or absurd justification as to why the hidden fee is ok. I think people in Tahiti feel that they are justified stealing from the hotel guests who they assume are much wealthier and won’t miss the money. It’s actually illegal, even in Tahiti, to not disclose fees before charging them (I’m an attorney).

Beyond being illegal, it’s just unethical and lacking common decency. I think my free time is valuable and I don’t want to spend it around unethical people. I would not recommend this hotel or Bora Bora generally to someone looking to vacation. If you want a tropical oasis, try the Maldives or Hawaii where people won’t scam you like French...