Conrad Bora Bora Nui

This was our third time in Bora Bora, and unfortunately, by far our most disappointing experience. The problems started more than a month before our arrival, with ridiculous communication by email. We sent several simple questions and requests and were repeatedly ignored. This is especially frustrating because we have previously stayed at both the Four Seasons and the St. Regis, where the pre-arrival communication was proactive, professional and exactly what you would expect from a luxury resort. Things did not improve after we arrived. The concierge service was extremely frustrating. I spent almost an hour trying to call, constantly getting a busy signal, and eventually had to go to the front desk myself. Even then, getting simple answers about our activities was unnecessarily difficult. And it continued until the very end. We were told in writing that our boat would leave at 7:10 a.m. and that we could have the cold breakfast selection from 6:30 a.m. We woke up early accordingly, only to be refused entry to the restaurant until 7:00 a.m. — even after showing the staff the written confirmation. To make matters worse, the boat departure had already been changed from 6:15 a.m. to 7:10 a.m. the day before. In other words, the stay started as a mess and ended as a mess. Another thing worth mentioning: during our stay, the water directly in front of the hotel was quite rough and there were practically no fish. So don’t come here expecting great snorkeling right in front of the resort. Obviously, sea conditions can vary. One bright spot was the housekeeping team, which was excellent and probably the best service we received during our entire stay. They were attentive, friendly and consistently did a great job. After numerous complaints, the hotel eventually offered us a complimentary dinner. That was a kind gesture and I appreciate the attempt to make amends, but it in no way erases or makes up for everything we experienced throughout our stay. This was supposed to be a special trip for us, celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary. We chose the Conrad because we wanted to try a new hotel in Bora Bora. We made a mistake. We paid almost US$3,000 per night, and honestly, we expected a completely different level of service. The hotel itself is beautiful, but a luxury resort is not just about how beautiful the property is. Communication, organization, responsiveness and willingness to help matter — and this hotel seriously failed on those points during our stay. We experienced far more frustration than pleasure here. Having stayed at the Four Seasons and the St. Regis, the difference in service was impossible to ignore. If you are coming to Bora Bora, do yourself a favor: stay at the Four Seasons or, even better, the St. Regis. They may cost a little more, but they will be worth every single penny. We are leaving very happy to go — and with absolutely no intention of ever coming back.

I had an amazing experience at this resort. The staff were lovely and made sure we were enjoying our stay, especially the restaurant team. Timmi, the manager, was exceptionally polite, friendly, and attentive. She made us feel genuinely cared for. My only tip is to request a golf cart at least ten minutes before you need to leave, as it can take a while to arrive at such a large resort. Other than that, everything was perfect!

The over the water bungalow resort is beautiful and priced accordingly; even charging 90 dollars each way to and from airport. What stunned us, was the lack of service and miscommunication among the staff to us and each other. This was a 25th wedding anniversary trip and we wanted some activities reserved. It would take over a week to get a reply to an email. The hotel sends many auto generated emails about "let us help you" but is miserable in performance. We've had better attention and service from a small pensione in Italy or Greece than from this property!

We had the most incredible time! Manina was one of the best people we have ever had the pleasure of being served by. He was attentive friendly, funny and even learned what we liked and don’t like in a matter of days in order to cater to our needs. He even went above and beyond to celebrate our honeymoon by treating us to excellent room service and ensuring se had all we needed for a relaxing vacation! Go Manina!

Big disappointment following our recent two-night stay at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui. The resort is beautiful, rooms are great and bar/restaurant/housekeeping staff is really kind and professional. Unfortunately, our experience was marked by a succession of incidents and service failures which, taken individually, might have seemed minor, but whose accumulation is, in our view, difficult to accept from a hotel of this category. On our very first evening, the turndown service was not carried out, and in particular, we did not receive the in-room incense ritual that was supposed to be provided. When we reported this, we were told that we had probably activated the “Do Not Disturb” sign. However, we had specifically checked before leaving for dinner that this was not the case. The following day, we received our departure letter together with a statement of our expenses and noticed that the transfer between the airport and the hotel had been charged twice! We immediately reported the error through our personal concierge via WhatsApp. Having received no response, we had to follow up later that evening before the error was eventually acknowledged. Our return flight had also been delayed, with departure scheduled for 6:00 p.m. instead of 3:30 p.m. We therefore asked, again through the WhatsApp concierge, whether a late check-out might be possible or, alternatively, whether we could have access to a transit room. We were informed that late check-out was unavailable, but that a transit room would be allocated to us from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the day of our departure. On our second evening, the turndown service was once again not carried out. When we called reception, we were given the same explanation: that we had supposedly activated the “Do Not Disturb” sign. After explaining that this was not the case, the service was eventually sent to our room. We were then advised that it might take some time, as only three staff members were providing turndown service for the entire hotel. We can understand that operational constraints may occasionally arise, but they should not result in such a significant deterioration of the guest experience at a property of this standard. On the day of our departure, our check-out was scheduled for noon. We called reception to request that a bell attendant come and collect our luggage. We waited until housekeeping staff arrived and asked when we intended to vacate the room. We explained that we were ready to leave and were simply waiting for the bell attendant. The housekeeping team then had to contact reception themselves to have someone sent to our room. Later that afternoon, we also attempted to contact the WhatsApp concierge again regarding the transit room that had been confirmed to us. Once again, we received no response. At 3:30 p.m., we therefore went directly to reception. We were initially asked whether we had actually made such a request and whether it had been confirmed. After checking the WhatsApp conversation, the staff confirmed that the transit room had indeed been promised to us. After several phone calls, we were eventually told that the person who had responded to our request was an intern and that, in reality, no transit room had been reserved for us. The only alternative offered was for us to use the shower facilities at the spa. We declined this option, as it bore no resemblance to what had previously been confirmed to us. When settling our bill, we were asked whether we had enjoyed our stay. Naturally, we replied that we had not, given the number of issues we had encountered. The staff member offered to arrange for us to speak with a manager, which we accepted. She later returned to inform us that the manager was in a meeting and unavailable, while assuring us that he would come and speak with us before our departure. At 5:00 p.m., we boarded the boat transfer to leave the hotel. No manager had come to meet us, and the staff member who had been handling our departure was no longer present either. Beyond each individual incident, what particularly disappointed us was their repeated nature and the way they were handled: lack of follow-up, the need to repeatedly chase for responses, contradictory information, commitments not being honored, billing errors, and ultimately a complete lack of managerial handling despite our explicit request to speak with a manager. We have stayed at several competing properties in Bora Bora, and until now we had never experienced this level of inconsistency in service. To this day, no follow up was provided and our complaint email was left with no reply.