The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort

Our stay at the St Regis was exquisite. We didn’t want to leave. Our overwater bungalow was well furnished—even down to having bicycles for use around the property. (Although you can call for a golf cart ride if you prefer) We had a resident sea turtle under our bungalow which made frequent appearances in the window in the floor. The bed was ultra comfortable and the air-conditioner worked amazingly. The food was overpriced, but there were a few different options to choose from on site. Once you are there, you are pretty much there, so be prepared. Staff was friendly.

This was our fourth trip to French Polynesia, with previous stays at Four Seasons, Pearl Resorts (Taha’a and Tikehau), Hilton Moorea, InterContinental Thalasso, Sofitel, InterContinental Tahiti, and Hilton Tahiti—so we have a strong basis for comparison. Cons: * Severe food poisoning during our stay, which significantly impacted our experience * Grounds were subpar for a five-star resort and not well maintained * Our private plunge pool was unusable for an entire day without warning or explanation, and no one seemed concerned * The Executive Assistant Manager did not follow through on commitments, requiring us to repeatedly follow up ourselves * Butler service was inconsistent and unreliable—more akin to a basic concierge than true butler service * Food quality overall was disappointing Pros: * The Lagoonarium was a pleasant surprise—better than the snorkeling experienced in Tikehau and far more accessible * Staff were consistently friendly and pleasant * The fresh mahi-mahi at lunch was a standout and one of the few food highlights After six nights at the St. Regis, we transferred to the InterContinental Thalasso for the remainder of our trip and were pleasantly surprised. The food, responsiveness, grounds, and overall experience were all noticeably better. Unfortunately, this stay did not meet expectations, and we will not return to the St. Regis.

Well, once you adjust to the screen saver water, surroundings and atmosphere, you can pay attention to the actual resort. If you are e-reading this you know that BoraBora generally, and the St Regis particularly, is not inexpensive. resort. We stayed in a Deluxe 1 bedroom over water villa with Mt Otemanu view. It was worth every penny. Arrival at the airport was super easy, a hotel rep met us, grabbed our bags, offered us a cold drink and ushered us onto the boat taking us to the resort. The 20 minute boat ride in and of itself was like a grant venture, the color of the water, the mountains. Awesome. Upon arrival more pampering with welcome leis and a cool cloth, up to checkin which was painless. Then a gold cart tour of our resort by our butler, who was superb by the way. Then to our villa and an orientation of its amenities. The large deck and covered extension, with an additional swim level deck closer to water level, was fantastic. We spent a LOT of time on it, taking in the views, enjoying the breeze, jumping into the crystals clear water, watching the sunsets over the mountain. A lot like paradise. The villa itself was very large, comfortable furnishings and bed. Huge open shower and a 2 person soaking tub in the bath. All linens were great. The air conditioning worked very well, and would get the room as cool as you might wish. One kind of odd thing, no ceiling fans. It looked like there had been fans at one time, but no more. Not a problem, just odd. Housekeeping was very good, if a bit late in the day (2-3 pmish). We attempted the bikes, and that didn't go so well. The bikes must eigh 20 pounds of more, one speed and geared high, so pedaling was, well, pretty difficult. After a couple of Nike trips we opted to golf cart service which was prompt and efficient. This resort is physically very large, and very spread out. I would estimate from our villa, which was close to the shore end of the very long pier, to the Spa area is at least a half mile, probably more. We had booked thru Costco, the best way to do it in our opinion, and went with the meal plan, breakfast and dinner. It was more than adequate. I had been a bit concerned that you might be confined to just one restaurant, or have a special menu. None of that was accurate. We had full access to all restaurants, and had the same menu as anyone else. There were a few items in a couple of the restaurants that had a meal plan surcharge but that was clearly shown on the menu. Breakfast is buffet style and is good. it is not fantastic, and the fresh fruit selection was a bit disappointed in both variety and quality. The breakfast venue is right on the beach and is a great place to start the morning. It is also where the Polynesian show.dinner is held. The show was fine, if you have sent one before it is pretty much the standard fare. Best meal by far at Bamboo, the Asian dining venue. We were there over Chinese New Year so they had a special fixed menu and there was SO MUCH food, and every bit of it was wonderful. We actually changed our reservations to eat at the gill menu twice, cancelling our second reservation at the Lagoon, the most upscale, all enclosed over the water venue. The food there was quite good, but not really our favorite cuisines. The view, however, was superb at sunset. We never venture doff the resort. There is no where to go, anyway, unless you take the ferry back to the town you came in from. And having stopped there for 2 days on the cruise that got us to BoraBora, there is precious little to recommend it. I know people recommend going to buy less expensive wine and alcohol, and pearls. To each their own. That said, alcohol is VERY expensive, in the $25 USD per drink range. Well, everything is expensive. $90 St Regis BoraBora tshirts, $75 baseball caps in the resort boutique. Of course we bought them anyway..... The resort lost its Forbes 5 star rating this year, and I think it has more to do with the condition of the rooms and other buildings. Our villa was very nice, but it was showing some wear. Some scratches on the wooden floors in areas, worn flooring, jst some overall wear and tear to be expected in facilities that get used almost to the max 365 days a year. So yes, a needed a redo is called for. Being pretty familiar with Forbes criteria I can attest that the service and grounds are full bore 5 star level. Staff knew us by name after day 1. Asked often if we needed anything, if we were enjoying ourselves. Service in the restaurants was very good but not hovering. All very, very we done. We took a day to go to the spa. There is a private beach there on the Lagoon. An idyllic setting, super comfy plunger chairs spotted under the palms. They call the lagoon area a lagoonarium. It is protected from predators with a mesh at the opening of the lagoon and there are quite a few different c-varities and species of fish swimming around. Pretty cool, actually. The day we were there we were literally the only people there. Also a fav for us was the "Oasis", a small adults only pool with a waterfall and 5 gazebos with nice lounge chairs and a private small pool directly in front. Not heavily used when we were there so nice and private. Overall this was a wonderful trip, Zero complaints, lots of great memories and fantastic photos. We were well pampered and fed, were taken care of by friendly people and had a wonderful time. Highly recommend

We had the most wonderful stay here. We came from staying at the Westin for a week. They were sending a boat, but when we arrived at the dock, the Westin manager was there to send us off (very nice guy-Arthur) and he just had a boat bring us since the St. Regis boat hadn't arrived yet. (we actually passed it on the short trip over--keep in mind the resorts are close to one another) First part of our stay we were over the water. Wonderful room. Faced the mountain had a hot tub on the deck. The butlers were wonderful and at your beck and call all of the time. Each villa on the whole property comes with bikes. (one for each person, no matter how many people you have....they have every size bike from ones with training wheels to adult) The pool was nice and we used it twice. One day it was over-run with small children being allowed to run amok. Filling every bar stool and sitting on the bar (inappropriate parenting) The beach is beautiful as is the water. The pictures do look fake and it looks fake in person! Every morning we just stared at it. It's simply dreamy. The second portion of our stay we moved to a island lagoon mountain view. We've never stayed on land in Bora Bora (we stayed at the Thalasso years ago). The land villa is our absolute favorite. We were given the best/private villa that they have and it was amazing. The villa itself is large and outfitted the same as the over the water villas. It's the grounds and big pool that you get that put it over the top. Ours had a huge deck, pool, hammock, covered dining, 4 loungers and an outdoor shower that had access straight into the bathroom. The private lagoon beach here was the best we've ever seen. On 4 occasions we had to contact our butler regarding other guests entering our private grounds. They were very apologetic and after the last and most intrusive unwanted visitor they had a crew come and put up a sign that said "PRIVATE" on it. As well as the Head Butler came to speak with us. The restaurants were very good. The Asian-good, Italian-outstanding, the French- a complete fail for us. It appears to be elevated Polynesian French which we did not enjoy at all. We also experienced children running amok in this "fancy" restaurant. Quite literally being allowed to run from one end of the dining room to another to visit other children tables and children using tablets with the sound turned all of the way up. (no headphones) We were here during the celebration of Chinese New Year. The clientele consisted of a lot of people here for this holiday. Their children and them themselves were the cause of our only irritations during our stay. Quite a bunch of entitled people. They were the cause of our villa intrusions. They do not respect boundaries. We are currently planning next year's trip but not at this holiday time. While here we were planning next years' trip with some of our children/grandchildren and asked if we could tour the largest villa available. It was due to be inhabited that day, but they drove of over and allowed us to go through it before the new guests arrived. We really appreciated that. It helped us decide which villas to book for next year. The villas, grounds and especially the service here is outstanding. They really take care of you. They care. They want you to have the best experience. (The Four Seasons could take some lessons) We also stayed at the Westin and the Four Seasons while here for a month. Reviews on those to follow. Olivia at the Italian Restaurant was absolutely the kindest heart we encountered. We miss her already! Our butlers: Diana & Laurie were wonderful. Simply kind, wonderful and professional ladies who care. Many thanks go out to everyone at The St. Regis for giving us such a wonderful, welcoming experience. To the ladies at breakfast---it was a joy to see your smiling faces each morning. The room service was not only fast....it's delicious! '

We stayed from the 28th thru the 5th of March, 2026. Highly recommended! I want to start with a big thank you to our "butler" Aleandre. He was superb. They use the term butler to mean a person assigned to your room, and others, to help coordinate things you want to do and take care of any issues you may have. He was great and helped make our stay a notch above what we expected. We had an over-water unit. It was beautiful. However, we would have enjoyed any of the units. The place is meticulous and the overall level of service exceptional. The food was very good with a definite french twist. Speaking of french, it pays to know some french. We didn't. Aleandre spoke decent english and this ended up being very helpful. If you love the water, you'll love staying here. We would recommend taking the snorkle packages offered through the resort. Best excursion I've ever been on. The price was suprisingly reasonable. We've spent a lot more on sub-standard cruise excursions. The food at the resort is off the charts expensive. They run a free shuttle once per day into the main island. We'd recommend you take that shuttle in to town and pick up some basic groceries and snacks. There is a mini fridge in your room. Booking this vacation as a package through a travel agent will yield some additional benefits, reduce your cost, and make the trip much easier.