The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort — Hotel in Bora-Bora

This place is nothing less than amazing......we stayed here from 7/20-7/27/21 as part of a bday getaway for the wife and I. We do not regret a second of it.

After booking on 7/4, we were contacted on 7/6 and 7/12 by both the Vairupe and Marcelline to confirm details and discuss any options we wanted during the course of our stay. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member they did offer us an upgrade in advance from our booked 1BR Reef Suite Villa w/Pool to an Overwater Superior Suite Villa w/Lagoon View. However we declined as we preferred the privacy of the Suite and our own private pool in outside our doors.

As a former Customer Service Rep of 15 years and a business owner, I must say, Customer Service is World Class across the board.

We arrived at Bora Bora airport on 7/20 and met with the shuttle driver in the airport who whisked us away on the boat to our resort. Upon arrival we met with our butler Diana (who was just spectacular!) to check in, ride to our villa and discuss our stay. She had already strategically arranged dinner reservations at the various onsite restaurants for each night of our stay which was great.

The villa was spacious and wonderful with a beautiful view of the lagoon. We arranged several excursions throughout our stay through the hotel which was very convenient plus we were able to just charge it to our room. All of the exclusions were amazing especially the snorkeling and water excursions with our boy Coco. And the beach boys were everything that the previous reviews everywhere said they were. Very attentive, helpful and always with energy and a smile. They helped with grabbing drinks/food, chairs, umbrellas, towels and best of all, water sports on the beach. The water around the property is beautiful and calm.

All of the restaurants were great and some had a particular theme. The food was also delicious. Breakfast each morning was included with our stay with our Marriott status and was very delicious. Honestly I'm not normally an "I have to make it to breakfast person" but the breakfast was always both healthy and delicious.

The property itself is grand and spacious. I was training for the NYC Marathon and was concerned that I did not have roads to run during the stay, especially since I hate running on treadmills. However I was able to log several 3-5 Mile runs while on property to keep active. There is a loop from the main building which runs down to all of the villas and back and then an alternate loop which runs from the main building to all of the Overwater villas. Unfortunately aside from that, you need a boat to leave the island unless you run along the beach. However some of the properties on the island are private so you can only travel so far.

Not to beat this in the ground, but Diana was amazing. She assisted us with changing or canceling dinner reservations, arranging all excursions, planning out our days, laundry, pressing and pretty much anything and everything. Always proactive and pleasant.

Rooms as expected are pricy at the St. Regis, howevever we had an abundance of Marriot points to make this happen so we indulged which helped. However that aside, expect to spend a bit on food and everything else even if traveling on points. Also keep in mind that you are charged for the shuttle to/from the island.

I have absolutely zero complaints about this resort and look forward to one day visiting again once we exhaust our list of Must Visit Places. We were both very sad to leave (I may have even shed 1-2 tears) Highly Recommend!

Tips: #1: Definitely speak with your butler in advance to plan out your stay! There are lots of excursions to do while here and if you want to try all of the restaurants it will require some planning as some are closed on certain days or may be booked solid.

#2: Join Marriott to gain points. If you can gain status great..Some credit cards offer status such as the Chase or AMEX Bonvoy cards. You can also gain status through AMEX Platinum or if you have status with United Airlines Rewards Plus.

#3: Definitely book an excursion with Coco!...

Our stay at this resort was absolutely spectacular! There were so many incredible experiences that it’s hard to capture it all. We stayed in an overwater bungalow, and to our surprise, they upgraded our kids (ages 22 and 19) from a Royal Villa to an Overwater Bungalow right next to ours. However, our kids wanted their own pool and the chance to experience both the overwater bungalow and their own pool, so we declined the upgrade. In the end, it was the best of both worlds! We spent many days floating off our overwater bungalow, then swam in their pool, which worked out perfectly.||We brought some floaties that we purchased from Amazon along with rope, but the resort had rope available if needed. Our butler, Florina, was an absolute gem. She checked in on us daily (sometimes more) and gave us a warm welcome upon arrival. She took the time to tour us around the entire property and explain everything we needed to know, which was such a thoughtful touch. One of the best things she did was make dinner reservations for us in advance, saving us the stress of figuring out where to eat. The staff, across the board, were amazing—so friendly, attentive, and genuinely eager to make our stay memorable.||A pleasant surprise was the complimentary pressing service, which allowed us to have two items pressed per person, per day, with everything returned within an hour.||The property itself is beyond beautiful—paradise in every sense. One of the highlights for us was the bikes available for each room. We spent a lot of time biking around the property, exploring the Royal Villa, lagoon, restaurants, and just enjoying the peaceful surroundings. It felt like a true adventure every time we hopped on the bikes.||What truly impressed me was how the staff seemed to know our names, even when we didn’t remember meeting them! Everywhere we went, we were greeted with our last name—it really made us feel like VIPs.||As for the food, it was mostly fantastic. Our only disappointment came from the Lagoon Restaurant. Three of us ordered the filet, and it seemed like they had taken one 10 oz filet and split it between us. We each got two small pieces, around 3–4 oz on each plate. For nearly $80 a plate, that was a bit of a letdown, especially since my 19-year-old son, who’s 6'3", was still hungry afterward. However, the mashed potatoes there were absolutely incredible!||One of the most unforgettable moments happened when we were walking to the bar, and the live music just happened to be playing our wedding song—Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing at All.” It was so special, especially since we had recently celebrated our 24th anniversary.||The Christmas Eve buffet dinner was another highlight. It was a lavish seafood and shellfish spread along with other meats and dishes, with champagne included. For those of us who don’t drink champagne, wine would have been a welcome substitute, but the food was still outstanding.||We also did a 2.5-hour jet ski tour with Marine, which was an absolute blast! My son was initially hesitant, thinking we’d be cruising at just 15 mph, but we were going nearly 50 mph! It was so much fun! The tour around the island was stunning, and the lunch we had was delicious. This was definitely a trip highlight.||We also enjoyed snorkeling in the lagoon, where we saw Moana and a variety of colorful fish—such an easy and fun experience.||We took the complimentary boat ride to the main island of Bora Bora, which only took about ten minutes. From there, it was a 25-minute bus ride into town. A total of about four hours being away from the resort.||Aside from the Christmas Eve dinner, it felt like we had the place to ourselves! We never had trouble finding seats at the pool, and the resort never felt crowded, which made the whole experience incredibly peaceful and relaxing.||We travel to tropical destinations every year, and as a family, we all agreed that this resort was by far our favorite. It offered the perfect mix of relaxation, adventure, and luxury, and we’re already dreaming...

We stayed at the St. Regis Bora Bora for 6 nights in September 2014.

Pros: Our stay was great, I booked directly through SPG site, and we received a complimentary bottle of champagne and a free couples massage. you can't beat the overwater bungalows, and the rooms are just magnificent, very spacious, bathrooms are enormous, and decor is very nice. Staff, for the most part, were very friendly at all times, including the butlers, beach and restaurant staff. Lagoon restaurant is unbelievable, including views and food. Spa is also great.

Cons: we paid for breakfast package, breakfast food was average at best, needs improvement. Overall food at resort is extremely expensive in USD prices, and does not reflect the overall mediocrity of the food quality. Lagoon food is exquisite, but expect to pay $55-65 USD or more for fish plates. They also need new bikes, the ones they have are all rusted out and some don't even work. I'm also an SPG Gold member and was expecting a bit more for my Gold Status. We did received complimentary wifi, and a late 4pm checkout. However, we were paying $1300+ per night for 6 nights. I requested a room upgrade (room far along on the pontoon) prior to arriving as were booked in a Standard Overwater Villa. They did upgrade us to a Superior Overwater Villa but it was the first villa in the pontoon and we specifically had requested beforehand a villa far along on the pontoon. You would think that for a 6 night stay (most people only stay 4-5 nights) they could have given us a better room. I spoke to Frede**, the front office manager on several occasions and I explained that we would like to obtain an upgrade as it was our honeymoon and I was an SPG Gold member. First he explained that everyone was there on their honeymoon, and that we had already been given an upgrade as a Gold member (though the first villa on the pontoon is hardly an upgrade). He then explained that all the villas farther along on the pontoon were already reserved, but that we could obtain a Deluxe Overwater Villa for an additional $400 USD per night, but we would not receive the complimentary 4pm checkout which we currently had, we would likely need to pay an additional amount for the late checkout. He was very rude about the whole thing and went on to ask us whether we like the resort facilities (in a condescending tone) and that we wouldn't need the late checkout as we could change in the pool or spa facilities prior to leaving. For our high room rate plus our Gold status, I thought this was very rude. We decided to not go with the upgrade to the Deluxe room as we did not want to spend another $400 USD on top of the $1300 per night we were already spending. Why would we ever pay an extra $400 per night and then not even get a late checkout? It gets even more frustrating as we later found out that most guests book through travel agents and not through the SPG website (the Bora Bora St. Regis travel agents have close affiliations with the Hotel) and the agents obtain deep discounts and they reserve the best rooms on the pontoon (we learned this by speaking to other hotel guests). Example, if your looking to stay at the end of the pontoon, your best shot is to book through a travel agent affiliated with the hotel, you will pay a lot less than the SPG published rates and you will get a much better located room on the pontoon.

Conclusion, great facilities and hotel, staff was very friendly for the most part, with the exception for Frede**, the front office manager, who was not very accommodating. As an SPG Gold member, don't expect to get the most for your money, if you're looking for a great room (either far along on the pontoon or with a view of the mountain) you won't get it through the SPG website, you should book through a travel agent. I have stayed at SPG resorts throughout the world, and we routinely get upgraded to suites and great rooms at no additional cost. Don't expect to get this...