InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa

we were staying elsewhere and popped in for a evening meal- great choice of foods and service very prompt. Food was great. Hotel seemed to offer a lot of options for entertainment and facilities. would pop in again.

We just returned from our honeymoon in French Polynesia where we spent 5 nights in Bora Bora. We stayed at an Intercontinental (IC) in Moorea, which was absolutely great, but the Thalasso was on a whole other level. We had breakfast and dinner included in our stay - minimum decision fatigue. I highly recommend booking meals with your rate as it makes for a more relaxed vacation. We never ventured off the resort (nor did we want to) since the food and services were excellent. That one extra star makes a difference, and we felt it from the moment we arrived at the Bora Bora airport and met our hosts from the IC, who took care of our luggage and escorted us to the boat to the hotel. After a smooth check-in, we had a tour of the resort and were taken to our bungalow. The bungalow was pristine, with fresh fruit and a bottle of wine waiting. We really enjoyed our digs and didn't do much on this island - that was our goal. We did land and water activities in Moorea but our goal in Bora Bora was to enjoy the water and the resort. We rented kayaks and paddle boats each day from the pool house but that was the extent of our activities. We bought a giant float which we enjoyed immensely out by our bungalow. The pool boys helped us inflate it. Spa: we enjoyed the spa on two separate days. On our first day we did the Bora Bora bliss couples massage (amazing!) and it was a great way to kick-off our stay. We booked the last treatment so we could enjoy the daylight hours for as long as possible. On our check-out day we did another couples massage and I also did a body scrub. We aused the steam room, jacuzzi and cold river bath prior to our treatments (spa facilities included when you book). I highly recommend at least one, or multiple treatments at the Thalasso. My husband and I love massages and the Thalasso lived up to our expectations! Dining: we loved breakfast every morning and it was ample. My only comment is that having stayed at other 5 star hotels across the world, (including Asia), I was expecting a little but more. I haven't stayed at a 5 star IC property so not sure if their breakfast game maybe just isn't as good as JW, Hilton, Shangri-La, etc. For example, the fruit, dried fruit and cheese always had fruit flies and the cheese was always "sweating." So I didn't touch the cheese till our third day when it looked like it hadn't been sitting there all morning. To be fair, the breakfast area isn't "closed" and the open air arrangement may make flies and warm food unavoidable (we ARE in the tropics). However, maybe a five star resort should be able to troubleshoot fruit flies, at least where food is served? Dinner was great, 3 courses each night, with options for all diets. I loved the coconut ice cream, had it every night and it was the best thing I ate there. Between bfast and dinner we had yummy cocktails and food at the Bubbles Bar (they also have a happy hour). If I was judging based on food, this resort would get 4 stars. However, since the service and spa was so great, I am keeping my review at five stars. We didn't come for the food, (even though it was just fine), we came for the water/bungalow/views and received great service at the IC - so overall, we are more than satisfied and thrilled with how our honeymoon went. Also, the grounds, restaurants and decor are the perfect mix of modern and tropical- made for some great pics! Thanks to the Thalasso staff for a lovely stay!

I 100% enjoyed my stay at ihc thalasso! They were so accommodating and always carried themselves with a smile on their face!! From the moment we stepped into the Bora Bora airport we were greeted with leis and warm smiles. Even the 9month old baby got a lei! They also accommodated us by providing umbrellas and ponchos since it started to rain. We waited only about five minutes to be loaded onto the shuttle boat then we were off to thalasso. As soon as we got there they loaded us onto the golf cart and we took a tour of the resort before heading to check in. Though our room wasn't quite ready upon arrival, they did a wonderful job hosting us and providing refreshments while we waited in the lounge area. The view from our bungalow was nothing less than amazing. We were off the first isle. Closet to the dock and our view of the mountain was spectacular. The set up of the bungalow was great. There was plenty of room in the living area and the outside deck. They even emptied the refrigerator for us no questions asked so that we could store the babies milk. They provided a nice crib for the baby and did a turn down on the sofa couch for me while my cousins enjoyed the king-sized bed. Every worker greeted us with a smile and by saying la ora Na. They were so helpful and Everytime I called to ask for a request they came in a timely manner. I love that you can always call and have them pick you up from the bungalows with the golf carts. It made traveling around the resort a breeze while having the baby in tow. The water all around is crystal blue and as clear as can be. The resort offers canoes, paddle boards, and also snorkel equipment. The fins are handy if you go on any snorkeling adventures! Quentin and Matthew were two excellent workers! So kind and really great at their job! It was a pleasure being served by them! I also got to go on an excursion with them which allowed me to get to know them even better. IHC thalasso really knows how to pick their staff well!! Everyone I encountered was so friendly and they were so helpful in fiding answers to any questions I had! Make sure you bring floaties so you can hang out in the water next to your bungalow! String is also handy so you can attach yourself to the dock to prevent drifting away. The depth of the water gets deeper the further out your bungalow is. But it can range from only about 4ft to about 8ft at the further out ones. There is also a lovelock garden at the resort. The gift shop provides locks for purchase, but some people have brought their own from home. We ordered the room service breakfast one day and it was great! I recommend doing it. They deliver everything straight to your bungalow using watery delivery in a canoe. They'll even take you for a short ride if you'd like! The food itself was great and there was such a variety. It says it feeds two but you could really feed like 3-3 1/2. I only have positive things to say about this resort!! My experience at ihc thalasso made my Bora Bora trip the best it could be!

This was one of my favorite FP islands. The over water bungalows were spectacular in every way! The resort food and drinks the best, and the concierge staff was excellent. A bungalow next to ours had at least 6 guests who were extremely loud and noisy - we tolerated for several days and nights. Lots to do snorkeling, paddle boarding, riding scooters, relaxing and....

We stayed here for a week as part of our honeymoon and have mixed feelings. We arrived, as did everyone else, tired from an overnight flight from LA and were met at the dock at the airport for a pretty efficient transfer to the hotel. On arrival, as expected (but secretly hoped it would be!), our room wasn't ready. Fair enough as we arrived at about 9am and check in wasn't til 2 or 3pm. We were taken to our day room and told it was ours for half an hour and that our luggage would follow so we could freshen up. After 15 mins, it hadn't arrived so we walked back to reception to collect it ourselves. The idea of the day room is great and it was really great to have a shower and brush our teeth but nitpicking, they are very small and made us feel like we were in a holding pen! My phone wouldn't connect to the wifi or register I had left LA (not the hotels fault) so we gave reception my husbands details so they could call/email him when the room was ready. The weather was appalling and we felt pretty despondent literally being left out in the rain! We weren't told we could use the breakfast buffet and didn't ask so weren't really sure what to do! We ended up going to the spa to use their facilities (you have to either pay or have a treatment). We booked two side by side massages which were great and gave us somewhere to go! At 2.45 we went back to reception and were told our room was ready - no one had tried to contact us to let us know which was pretty frustrating. We were taken to our room in a golf buggy - room 232. Second from the end of the pier, a vie to die for and perfect in every day. The room really is the stuff of dreams and the housekeeping team keep things spotless. Happy Hour was disappointing - it only applied to a few cocktails and not beer or wine. They ran out of my favourite wine on day two and it wasn't replenished again. Everyone knows that Bora Bora is expensive and to that end, it didn't disappoint! We live and work in London, had researched a lot and were still shocked! Cocktails were approx. £24, a sandwich £20 etc etc. We were on the half board option and were glad we had! We personally couldn't find fault with the portion size or quality of food at all. In fact, I would say it was one of the highlights. We had breakfast bought in the canoe one day which was amazing fun. We were disappointed that when we asked if it was possible to pay the tray charge and have breakfast in our room again that the cost of breakfast would not be covered by our half board package and we would need to pay for it all again! This seemed penny pinching and totally unnecessary. I'm not sure how they can justify charging a further approx. £150 for the two of us to have breakfast in our room when we could walk down the jetty and have it as part of our package! Seemed a little mean. Especially in a honeymooners resort. We also had dinner served to us and set up on our balcony one night, which whilst extortionate (I cant recall exactly but it was around £500) was out of this world. We had scallops to start, followed by prawn risotto, steak and dauphinoise potatoes and a cream coconut dessert. The package also included a bottle of champagne. Although expensive, it was worth every penny and we would go back just for that experience again! We used the boat transfer to go to the main land three times - once to stock up in the shop (go through the sister resort and simply turn right and walk along), once to go and buy pearls and another time to go to Bloody Marys for dinner. The only time we paid for a transfer was when we went to Bloody Marys as we left after 2.15pm. A few people mentioned it was an expensive transfer but it think it was around $25 which wasn't that bad. To clarify, the rule was all the transfers out before 2.15pm were complimentary. If you went out on a free transfer, you came back for free (regardless of time). A couple of reviews mentioned some penny pinching and I do understand - we got that feeling too - the charge to have breakfast in our room rather than just a tray charge and we were charged a £150 deposit to borrow two phone chargers! It didn't leave a nice feeling. Saying that, when we first got into our room, there was a half bottle of champagne waiting for us and the penultimate last night, a full bottle. Every day, two small bottles of water were also included. Overall, the staff were a real mixed bag. We got the distinct impression front of house didn't really care. Everyone always said hello but it seemed lacklustre. When we went to the managers drinks, no one approached us. No one wished us happy honeymoon and the receptionists kept calling us by my surname even when I corrected them which took the thrill of being newly weds away somewhat. No one especially stood out to us but some of the waiting staff were friendly and the pool boys were really great at their job (they inflated my float and provided rope for us to tether it to the dock which was really kind). Contrast this with the Four Seasons in LA where we had come from and went back to who greeted us like long lost friends and by name without prompt. I'm not sure if we would stay again as we felt like, although BoraBora was amazing and we are already planning when to come back, the Intercontinental didn't really care about us! Though this does not detract from the fact that the resort is spotless and as close to paradise as one could wish for.