The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa

Unfortunately, this was not a hotel I would ever go back and stay. When we arrived on the boat it was around 12 which I understand is not check in time. However, when you see everyone else on your boat and people arriving after you get their rooms, it gets frustrating that we had to wait 3 hours. When we finally got our rooms, neither key worked. I started to unpack in the closet and a leak started in the light fixture. At first it was a little drip and then water came gushing out on me and some of my clothes. I frantically had to remove what I could and my suitcase before anything else got wet. They did send someone over to fix it, but no one offered to clean any of my clothes. There really isn’t any privacy on the back deck. On our second day there a mother and her teenage son arrived and the child would not stop jumping from the deck into the water. He did it non stop at sunset making for not a peaceful sunset and then woke us up multiple mornings at 7:30. The mother would be clapping and cheering disregarding the sign saying no jumping and the fact that people were still trying to sleep. Pool service was severely lacking until we tipped them. I don’t mind tipping for good service, but I shouldn’t have to tip to get service. We ate 1 night at Tipanier and the service was really bad. We had to ask multiple times for water and ice. It took 15 minutes to take our order. The food was not good, everything was over cooked. Then we had a table next to us with someone vaping (it’s a non smoking/vaping resort), then they started watching videos loudly so we could here it and the final thing was when the man took his shoes off and started walking. Not one server said anything to them. We ran out to TP, lotion and gel. I called and told them and they brought back TP, gel and shampoo. The pool cleaner also came without any notice around 9 while we were still getting ready which meant we couldn’t use it until the evening when it filled back up. A little heads up or asking us when a good time would be would have been nice. My husband wrote a review on our second to last day and mgmt reached out. They gave us a bottle of champagne and some fried food. After this we ordered room service and asked for no bacon on the salads and they both came with bacon. I don’t eat pork so couldn’t eat mine and at that point I was just done so just ate nuts. We told this to the person when we checked out and they were like this is a 5 star resort and this should not be happening. They said a manager would reach out but we never heard a thing. We are platinum at Marriott and just expect better service and food.

This is a lovely resort! Service was top notch--everyone was efficient and friendly. The room was cleaned twice a day. They upgraded us to a bungalow with a plunge pool. The whole room itself was rally large, with two sinks and soaking tub in the spacious bathroom, also included a nice sitting area with couch and table. Small fridge and small coffee maker. We loved having the overwater bungalow! It was so fun just being able to swim in the sea, right from our deck. We spent a lot of time in the water; never got around to using the complimentary bikes or SUP boards. The pool area was nice, although it seemed small for the size of the resort. The beach they created was also pretty small, so we just spent much of our time enjoying the large deck outside our room. It was spacious, with a covered area for shade. There are three restaurants to choose from. My only complaint about this property were the prices. Food and drinks were expensive! We ordered a pizza and two beers to be delivered to the room and it ended up being close to $100. (That is because they include a $14 delivery fee.) Drinks ranged from $15 to $20, for beer and wine. I ordered a vodka soda at the pool bar and it was $35 . Food entrees ranged from $32 - $56, some a bit higher for premium meats. You can get breakfast daily for $50 pp, and it was just an "okay" buffet. I asked for Eggs Benedict, only to find that it not on the buffet, and it would be an extra $35. Upon check out we found that there is also a daily resort fee of $110. This resort is on its own island, so there is a complimentary boat shuttle, so you can go into town. We ended up having a great lunch at a beach bar. The food was better than the resort! We also bought alcohol, to store in our fridge; although it's pretty small. We had room for a liter bottle and a beer six pack, and some cheese. The resort also offers free shuttle directly to the Bora Bora Airport, so that was very handy. This resort is only a year old; at the time of booking, I wish I had realized that it's only a sandy bottom around the bungalows. I did happen to see a shark and a turtle, but that was it. The concierge booked a snorkel trip that was gorgeous. We saw huge manta rays and a beautiful coral garden.

My husband and I stayed at the Westin in Bora Bora and it was the BEST choice imo out of all the resorts! It's going to be a long one so I'll break it out all out. PROS - recently remodeled out of all resorts since 2024 I believe - great mountain view option from your room - AMAZING customer service (shout out to Thierry & Varua - also so many others I just dont recall their names... But everyone was BEYOND kind) - Updated facilities (gym, spa, restaurants) - 24 hour front desk - multiple restaurant options, breakfast buffet CONS - nothing lol it was literally perfect (actually just some of the bikes needed extra love but perfect otherwise) ROOMS Breathtaking - we stayed in an over water bungalow with a pool facing the mountain (IT'S WORTH IT!!) While we were kayaking you could see some of the other rooms weren't as big as ours (larger deck, accordion windows, couch area, large closet) All the over water bungalows I think have the glass floor which was AMAZING since we would wake up to the aquamarine water every morning! You can also swim underneath it too! They clean the salt pool every 2 days which I love and housekeeping was great for morning/night. With our honeymoon package they decorated our room with hibiscuses and gave us a bottle and sweet treats! RESTAURANTS Buffet breakfast was amazing. Add it to your package. Fresh and different pastries each day and rotation of various items. Consistently had bacon, made to order eggs, pancakes/waffles, cold meats, fish, fruit! We were full til early dinner lol. They also had food available at their pool bar (limited version to Varavara) and had the option of additional dining at Marea and Tipanier. Make sure to do the Polynesian buffet show - so fun, the food was also pretty good. RESORT Gorgeous and so well kept. The team is constantly cleaning and taking care of the resort at every location. So many bathroom options at the main area and these are always clean. There's also a gym, spa (didn't do this but another couple said it was amazing), eco center where they rescue turtles, two bars (pool and upstairs) and a lot of areas to just hang out. Upon arrival they give you water bottles and they have water stations throughout the resort! Bikes are available everywhere and you can just take it and go! Kayaks and snorkeling gear are free and you can borrow the snorkeling gear for your whole trip vs returning and borrowing each day. Concierge is SO helpful whether planning reservations for food or activities. You can email them in advance to ensure there's availability! They also helped us coordinate our dinner reservations to Villa Mahana (MUST try!!) OTHER Unfortunately we were hit with some bad weather one of the days and I loved that the resort had activies you could sign up for (wine/rum tasting, flower making, etc) Make sure to sign up with concierge because some have limited spots and we were turned away for the flower making one. A lot of people also signed up for tours with the hotel however I found that Viator was much better pricing wise or even contacting the activity company directly! We used "Bora Bora Activities Center" it's literally the same company the hotel used. Last favorite thing - when it was raining or if you were just tired.. you can ask the front desk to pick you up or drop you off from your room to wherever you needed to go. And everyone was so nice about it! Anyways we'd definitely come back in a heartbeat to say hello to all of our friends at the resort again! Thank you Westin for the best honeymoon we can ask for!

All we can say is “WOW”…that trip that exceeds expectations. The resort and staff were amazing…so friendly and willing to go the extra mile. Alan at the pool bar was so helpful, friendly, and made our guest experience unforgettable! Julianna made amazing drinks! The bungalow was an 11 out of 10, we definitely plan to come back!

I recently stayed at the Westin Bora Bora, and there are a few things that I wish I had known prior to spending my vacation here. Firstly the property has the best Mount Otemanu views in Bora Bora and the rooms are renovated, but I still left this stay regretting my decision to stay at this resort, and I didn't see anything in any of the other guest reviews about it so figured I should share so others can make an informed choice. The major "gotcha" with this resort is your luck of the draw with which water bungalow you get. The experience can either be bang on gorgeous views with a plunge pool or bottom of the barrel with LITERALLY a view of the trash or freight shipment pickup/dropoff area with huge blue crates over the lagoon with boats transporting random shipments and ugly boxes constantly to the location. The bungalow designers literally placed high privacy fencing ON PURPOSE on the sides of certain bungalows that blocks the gorgeous Mt. Otemanu, which is pretty frustrating given it is a stunning natural mountain that is literally the prized jewel of Bora Bora. Just realize before you book that you could be in the middle of a deserted island surrounded by other travelers with bang on views, while you yourself may literally have your view literally BLOCKED on purpose by the property designers/planners to the detriment of your enjoyment. That said, please beware of which Bungalow you book as you may be extremely disappointed. To be transparent, I felt angry just being in the Bungalow I was staying in and would have much rather forked over the money to get a better Bungalow which is sadly what Westin wants you to do and is a part of their strategy, which itself is super malicious and offensive to anyone staying in one of the many "crappy view" Bungalows, which frankly gives the entire resort an egregiously stingy "pay to play" vibe, which is literally carried over in costs for literally every amenity across the property experience ($160+ for a 30 minute jet ski guided tour, $150+ per meal price tags for two people, etc). I really cannot say enough about how much the view of your Bungalow influences the quality of your stay and experience here, and I was surprised to see even people that had bang on vies of the Mountain with a Plunge Pool even give this place a mediocre or low review. I am also surprised that so few people are hopping on here to warn others about some of the bad Bungalow view units that this place has. Also note if you think you can rearrange the furniture on your porch to turn towards the Mountain to try to "catch" a better view if you have a view where they obstructed your mountain views on purpose with a fence that has an ugly "no diving" sign, well you're out of luck! The room service ALWAYS resets your furniture arrangement to set it back to face the ugly trash site which is what happened to me, which was super annoying because every day would have to rearrange the furniture to try to catch a peek a boo view of the top of the mountain over the fence that literally should have been placed on the other side. It would have been so kind if they had simply created a different porch design as all of these bungalows are naturally in proximity to Mount Otemanu, but the designers CHOSE to literally box you in and prevent your view of the Mountain. Secondly, this is a Westin that feels in many parts of the landscape quite artificial and sterile with many artificial bodies of water and fake beaches/lagoons with Disneyland looking blue water. This can also be disappointing if you are expecting natural beaches and natural looking beaches. In general, this feels like a resort, and some of the bungalows do feel like something you could stay in in a less premium location than Bora Bora. Bear in mind you may also have to contend with families literally taking over the pool to play a game of football and loud/rowdy guests that are less common in more premium resorts. You may have to deal with this, but isn't really the fault of the Westin but something to be aware of.