The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa

I returned from the Westin Bora Bora 1 week ago. I also stayed at the Hilton in Moorea and highly recommend both if you’re doing a week in French Polynesia. I booked the Premium Otemanu Overwater, 1 Bedroom Villa, 1 King, Premium Otemanu view, Lagoon access, Terrace and stayed in Room 258. I booked directly in the Marriott Website as a Marriott Bonvoy member (it’s free to join) and booked the package that included breakfast and 200,000 XPF credit (equivalent of $200) per night. Overall this was the most expensive and best vacation of my life, but there were a few minor things that are just good to know before you spend all of the money. Pros - Arrival/Departure was well organized by the hotel and super easy. We felt very welcomed when we arrived. - Resort is incredible with best view of otemanu. We did a snorkel tour that drove around Bora Bora, so we saw every angle of the mountain and both agreed the Westin had the best view. - The upgraded room with the plunge pool was worth it and amazing - The pool and beach were also incredible, so we spent the mornings and evenings in our room and the day at the pool and beach - The food was excellent. I’m a vegetarian and there were plenty of healthy and tasty options for me! - We had breakfast at Tiptina every morning, this was the buffet breakfast included with our booking. The breakfast also included eggs made to order and drinks. You should definitely make sure to get the breakfast included. Note: it took them forever to make coffee every morning, so order that right when you sit down. - We ate at the casual beach side restaurant Varavara for lunch and dinner. All of our food and drinks (we don’t drink alcohol) was covered by the nightly $200 credit as part of our booking and was so key. - Service at restaurants and pool were good. I would describe it as normal good service and not like 10 people or a butler waiting on you or anything like that, which is my preference. - If you hang at the pool they do nice touch of cold towels, fruit or live music throughout the day - They deliver a snack and fresh juice to your room everyday and they were so tasty! - Turtle eco tour was excellent and definitely worth going to if you like animals Good to knows - Bungalow 258 was end of pier and beautiful, but the trade off for having an unmatched view of Otemanu is that it was at the edge of the resort and there is boat traffic coming by with people who can look into your room. At first we considered a room change, which the hotel was happy to accommodate, but we just got used to it and stayed because the view was too good - The farther out your bungalow is, the deeper the water, so it wasn’t really a lagoon. Coming from the Hilton in Moorea it was quite different. On Moorea we spent the whole time in the lagoon water by our bungalow. In Bora Bora we didn’t go in the water by the bungalow for more than a minute. So the bungalow was more aesthetic than utilitarian. I brought floaties that others had recommended and we never used them. - The plunge pool system in our room worked just fine but there was a spouting leak. For a room that had just been renovated it wasn’t 100% perfect. - The umbrella on the deck of the room was heavy and basically can’t move and doesn’t tilt so for most of the day there was no shade at our room’s deck - they have free bikes that are first come, first served and they are essential because the piers are very long, but there are not enough bikes for everyone. This seems like an easy thing the resort could fix. Just get enough bikes for the amount of rooms. - we usually finished our breakfast by the time our coffees came out. It seemed they have 1 guy working 1 espresso machine at breakfast. Something they could easily fix. - Our room was cleaned very late in the day, and 1 day it didn’t get cleaned at all, though they did come for turndown service. So if you really care about a cleaned room make that clear. - The resort is aesthetically modern and not Polynesian, so if that will bother you, don’t book, but in my opinion it was beautiful and tasteful and kept the focus on the natural surroundings Con - I booked 1 tour thru the Concierge and she booked it for the wrong day so we didn’t get to go on it. She said she tried to call the room to let us know, but wasn’t able to reach us. The resort has a digital messaging system on the TV and also left notes at our door for other things, so really no effort was put in to fix the issue. The resort did not take responsibility and tried to blame it on me for booking the wrong day. Takeaway: do not use the concierge and book your excursions directly with the tour providers

From what started as a dream and a goal my husband and I had 6 years ago, finally became a reality. Our trip to Bora Bora was definitely one for the books, and thank you to The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa for exceeding every expectation. From arrival to departure, the treatment we received was exceptional. The cleanliness was top-notch, and every detail made us feel welcomed and cared for. The service throughout the resort — from the restaurants to reception and concierge — was outstanding. Ari welcomed us like family while remaining incredibly professional. We also had amazing servers: Mana during our evenings at Tipanier and Nathalie in the mornings. Both were so kind, friendly, and attentive. We loved every moment from beginning to end. I highly recommend the excursions and the massages as well — absolutely worth it, and something we would do all over again in a heartbeat! 100/10 experience. Yours truly, The Lorenzo’s

I rarely leave negative reviews, but our stay at the Bora Bora Westin Marriott was incredibly disappointing and nowhere near the luxury experience we expected. The food options at the resort were extremely limited, especially for a property at this price point. After a couple of days, there was very little variety and dining became repetitive and frustrating. The biggest issue, however, was the condition of the room. We had multiple geckos inside the room during our stay, along with other bugs. At one point, a gecko got near our room service food and completely ruined the meal. We requested a refund for the contaminated room service order, but the resort refused -- only to be told we should have requested new food to be made. Housekeeping and amenity checks were also severely lacking. We repeatedly found basic items missing or empty, including pool towels and body wash in the shower. After calling about the empty body wash, we waited approximately 1.5 hours before someone finally came to refill it — completely unacceptable for a luxury resort. To make matters worse, the final bill included unexpected fees that were far higher than what Marriott originally estimated when booking. We booked using a cash + points rate, and Marriott estimated taxes and fees at 7,934 XPF per night, totaling 39,670 XPF for the stay. Instead, we were charged 61,447 XPF in taxes and fees with the only explanation being "that was an estimate". ...a nearly 55% increase in taxes and fees compared to Marriott’s original estimate. Overall, this stay was overpriced, poorly managed, and far below the standard we expect from Marriott or a Bora Bora luxury resort experience. I would not return and would strongly encourage others to look at alternative resorts before booking.

My husband and I went on Honeymoon and couldn't have picked a better place. The location is perfect, extremely clean everywhere, the service was impeccable and we had the best time. The food at all the restaurants was delicious and the room in the Overwater bungalow was amazing. The turtle sanctuary was an added bonus and they have great facilities. It is a very relaxed, peaceful atmosphere and worth every dollar - we definitely got our value for our money! All in all I don't think we could have had a better holiday.

Highly recommend staying at the Westin Bora Bora. I stayed in the standard overwater bungalow, lagoon view, and then the premium villa Mount Otemamu view with plunge pool. Both rooms were great! Very quiet, clean, and with amazing views. The staff was very friendly and personable in trying to learn our names. Shoutout to Sebastian from guest services, and all the wonderful wait staff at Varavara and breakfast staff at Tipaniers. Food was good, but would have liked to have seen more non-seafood choices. Loved breakfast. Would love to come back one day.