The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa

We had an amazing stay at The Westin Bora Bora! The whole island is unlike anywhere we have ever been. A special shoutout to our friend Alan, who works at the resort! He went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and made our time in Bora Bora even more memorable. It’s the people who can really make a great trip special, and Alan definitely did that for us.

This was the most beautiful resort we've ever stayed at! The service everywhere was top notch. Everyday we were on the beach or at the pool we got the best service. Alan was incredible at taking care of us. He was our favorite person on the resort. Our family had the best time and every time we walked by or saw Alan he would make a point to talk to us and make sure we were having a good time! The drinks are so good! Don't miss out on the Mai Tais if you go! So good. Can't recommend this place enough!

Subtracting 1 star for food being meh and overpriced. ROOM: Our room was beautiful, and housekeeper did a great job. They knew we were in the room by whether our bikes were there and always timed their cleanings when we were out. When we arrived, they had a card, beach bag, and alcohol free champagne waiting for us in our room with a card thanking us for spending our babymoon with them. AMENITIES: The amenities are absolutely gorgeous. Some highlights were: -Transport to/from airport - They pick you up from the airport and give you a boat ride to the resort. -Water - When they greet you at the airport, they give each guest a large water bottle to refill at the water stations conveniently located all over the resort. -Kayaks & Paddle Boards - You get free access to kayaks, paddle boards, and snorkel gear, which we appreciated although I recommend bringing your own snorkeling gear -Bicycles - They have bicycles located all throughout the resort that are first come first serve that we really enjoyed using. However, for safety reasons, I would strongly recommend they add bells to the bikes so riders can signal to the golf carts that they are coming. -Gym - They have a beautiful gym that was never too crowded and has good equipment. -They have a Bluetooth speaker in the bungalows so you can play music while on your bungalow deck. SPA: The spa prices were absolutely astronomical. We live in San Diego (an expensive city), and a high end deep tissue massage here is about $120 (before tip) for 90 minutes. The price at the Westin was $250 per person for one hour. At that price, even though we could afford the massages, we refused to book anything because those prices are unreasonable. Had the services been reasonably priced, we would have likely gotten multiple services. TURTLE DISCOVERY: The turtle experience was cool. In my experience, also overpriced ($70 per person for a 1 hour presentation), but at least it goes to a good cause (turtle preservation). FYI though, they only have one turtle right now. Maere - The upscale dining restaurant. The name means surprise, and the point is that you are supposed to not look at the menu, do the tasting, and be surprised. When making the reservation, I specifically notated that I was pregnant (so no raw fish, etc.) and my husband has a mushroom allergy. By the first course, they served my husband mushrooms. They immediately fixed it and apologized profusely, but given what happened later, I am concerned they did not keep our allergies straight and also, you just expect better from an upscale restaurant like this. Within 30 minutes of returning to our room, my husband becoming violently ill and vomitted for 20 minutes straight. I was concerned he would need a doctor. Although my reaction was not as bad (I suspect because due to being pregnant and avoiding nostalgia of the fish, etc.), but I did feel like I was back in first trimester for the next 24 hours (no appetite, queasy, plus the 2nd trimester heartburn). We felt so terrible that we had to cancel our Wednesday night reservation at La Villa Mahana, which I hear is the best restaurant on the island. Given the caliber of this restaurant, I was very disappointed that they did not pay more attention to our allergies, and that we apparently had food poisoning and lost an entire day of our trip. O’A - Happy hour spot with a view and where the wine and rum tastings are located. Te Ava - Swim up bar at the pool. Honestly, this might have the best food at the restaurant. The spicy goat cheese honey pizza and chicken Caesar Salad were great (although we ordered room service one night, and they forgot the dressing on our salad). The margarita pizza is bad and not worth it. Wings were decent. That being said, they brought us the wrong drink more than once (e.g., I would ask for a Coke zero, and they’d bring me a full sugar coke, or they would bring my husband the wrong beer). A simple coke or mocktail is the price of what an upscale cocktail would be in the U.S. Honu Tiki - Beach bar that is supposed to have waffles and cocktails. They never had waffles once the week we were there because allegedly, the guests kept breaking the waffle makers at breakfast, so Honu had to give their waffle makers to Tippanier? Tippanier - *Breakfast buffet - On Day 1, we did the buffet. Being pregnant, I try to prioritize protein, but I also cannot eat a lot of fish, so I was really disappointed to see that the only egg option that day was extremely runny scrambled eggs that tasted as bad as they looked. I couldn’t believe they didn’t have an omelette bar, so I was left with eating mostly pastries and feeling like crap. Well, 2 days later, we learned that they DO have omelette with the buffet, but your waiter has to ask you for the order, which never happened with us and was why we had no idea omelettes were an option. When I did order the omelettes on later days, they were good. I ordered a la carte a few days, but honestly, if you get a drink + an a la carte item, you have basically reached the buffet price and may as well do that. *Dinner with the show - Honestly, I’m just trying to view it as we paid for the show and not the dinner because the price of $160 per person was insane for the quality of food and options. As a pregnant person that could not really eat the fish, I again had extremely limited options. I basically just ate the fried chicken. They had another non fried chicken option that was terrible. They also had beef, but I wasn’t in the mood for it. The desserts were the best part. The show was 45 minutes and entertaining, but the audience involvement was a bit much for me. Vivara - Restaurant on the beach. More of a casual dining restaurant. The food was pretty average. SERVICE OVERALL: Overall, everyone was super nice, but after your food is served, they don’t check on you enough, and we often had to literally flag someone down to get our check and sign out. When you are paying $1,800 per night, this is kind of unacceptable. If I was paying $200 per night or less, I wouldn’t care, but at the price of this resort, you shouldn’t need to flag servers down for the check at every meal at every restaurant at the resort. ADVICE: If I stayed here again (probably wouldn’t even though we had a great stay—would probably try somewhere else with better food), I would do the following differently: -I’d bring 2 floaties with ropes to tie the floaties to our bungalow and float at our bungalow -I’d leave the resort more for dinner (most places will transport you to the restaurant for free and pick you up from the Westin dock) -I’d make sure to be aware that there are omelettes at the buffet.

I'm finally getting around to writing this review after my stay there last year. I can only hope the many issues my wife and I faced have been corrected and that people don't read weirdly biased reviews on here and elsewhere and expect a 10/10 experience. Here was our experience: The Westin Bora Bora is a beautiful property with genuinely friendly staff who try to remember your name. However, for a resort operating at this price point and marketing a luxury experience, the reality fell vastly short. The stay was defined by basic service breakdowns, severe communication issues, and unacceptable neglect. Arrival & Concierge Logistics Subpar Arrival Experience: Upon landing, while guests heading to nearby luxury properties (like the St. Regis) were immediately greeted with leis and seamless transfers, Westin guests were left waiting 20 minutes just for staff to appear at the airport desk. We were then made to sit on the transfer boat for nearly an hour before finally departing for the resort. If you read other reviews, you'll see this is apparently a common experience for Westin guests. Dismissive Concierge Service: Prior to arrival, I sent multiple emails to our assigned concierge contact (Lucile) regarding dinner reservations and received zero response. This forced us to spend vacation time organizing dining upon arrival. Worse, when I asked the concierge for help arranging boat transport to a well known off property restaurant, I was told they didn't have a boat that could reach it and was literally advised to "Google for boats" myself. For a luxury resort concierge, telling a guest to Google basic local logistics is baffling. Excursion & Spa Mismanagement: A promised follow up on a joint fishing trip to give us details on pricing and timing never happened. I had to call directly to find out we were already booked. Additionally, a spa appointment was arbitrarily canceled an hour after booking and moved to a different time with a completely different treatment. Housekeeping & Basic Essentials The Toilet Paper & Cleaning Struggle: Daily housekeeping was unacceptably negligent. Our room went completely unserviced for three days. I had to call three separate times (being promised each time that it would be taken care of) and ultimately had to escalate the issue to the General Manager, Caesar, just to get our room cleaned and receive basic necessities like toilet paper and coffee pods. In speaking with other guests on property, several were experiencing the exact same basic shortages. Bizarre Housekeeping Interactions: Housekeeping showed up at 8:00 PM one evening claiming they couldn't service the room earlier because my wallet had been left on the counter the day before (and noted they had taken a photograph of it). This was a bizarre interaction, and it remains unclear why a wallet on a counter precluded servicing the room. Even after the room was finally cleaned, empty toilet paper rolls were left sitting on bathroom shelves, a pillow was left without a pillowcase, and basic amenities like washcloths were hit or miss. Food, Beverage & Amenities Dining Service & Quality Breakdown: Breakfast service was chaotic and slow. On our first day, we waited 20 minutes just for water, coffee arrived late or incorrect, and basic menu items like syrup and pineapple for French toast were completely out of stock by 9:30 AM. I only learned of the missing items after receiving a plain piece of dry French toast with powdered sugar and having to ask where the rest of the meal was. On our second night, we were served raw, undercooked potatoes at dinner. Simple requests like ice water at the beach cabana went unfulfilled. Oa Bar Experience: Service at the Oa Bar was consistently sluggish. One evening during happy hour, I sat for 20 minutes with an empty glass. When a server finally came over, it was 5 minutes past the happy hour cutoff. He gave me an attitude when I tried to order and acted like he was doing me a favor by honoring the happy hour price for that round, despite the delay being entirely on their end. Unfulfilled Promises & Room Issues: Reusable water bottles, which are a highlighted selling point in marketing materials, were out of stock upon arrival with no advance notice or mention at check in (though two mysteriously appeared days later in our room). An upgrade promised for Day 3 required chasing down management to receive it for just our final night. Additionally, the WC and closet suffered from intense dampness, leaving our clothes smelling stale. Property Grounds Neglected Bike Fleet: Many guest bicycles across the property were in terrible condition with flat tires, broken handlebars, broken chains, and damaged seats. This led guests to hoard the few functional bikes at their private villas. Rule Enforcement: Guests were permitted to smoke on the docks directly in front of concierge staff, despite property rules strictly prohibiting it. Some Good Notes Fishing: The deep sea fishing trip was amazing (though it was operated by a 3rd party). We caught a big Wahoo fish, and the chef at the property offered to prepare it as sashimi and grill the rest for us. It was easily the best meal I had there. Maybe I'm biased because I caught the fish...or maybe the bar is super low because the other meals just weren't that great. Staff Friendliness: The staff were super friendly, especially those at the pool. They remembered our names and always greeted us with a warm smile. Beautiful Resort: It is Bora Bora, so the natural beauty of the property and lagoon itself is stunning. Summary While individual staff members were warm and welcoming, the Westin Bora Bora is currently suffering from major operational and management failures. When a guest has to call three times and speak directly to the GM just to get toilet paper, and is told to "Google it" by the concierge, it is simply not operating as a luxury resort. I suggest spending a little more money or points to stay at neighboring properties like the St. Regis instead.

We stayed five nights at The Westin Bora Bora, and honestly, it couldn't have been better. We travel extensively, so we've experienced some of the world's finest luxury hotels and destinations. We have a pretty good understanding of what defines a true luxury vacation, and The Westin Bora Bora absolutely delivers. From the moment we landed in Bora Bora at 8:15 am, everything was seamless. The sweetest Westin representative was waiting for us at the airport with beautiful leis and refillable water bottles. After collecting our luggage, someone immediately took care of our bags, and within minutes we were comfortably seated on the hotel's boat for the 25 minute ride across the lagoon. Arriving at the resort was unforgettable. The first view of the property with Mount Otemanu rising behind it literally took our breath away. In our opinion, The Westin has the best view of Mount Otemanu in all of Bora Bora. We've seen the other resorts from the water, and none of them offer the same perfectly centered view. It is simply spectacular. Check-in was smooth and efficient. Emma was incredibly warm and welcoming, making us feel at home immediately. I've seen reviews mentioning long check-in waits, but I honestly don't think that's the hotel's fault. We arrived early in the morning, so there was absolutely no wait to check in. The entire check-in process itself took about 15 minutes, which is completely reasonable considering all the information provided and the warm welcome. When we checked out around 1 pm, about 16 people happened to arrive at the same time. Naturally, there will be a short wait when that many guests arrive all at once. Even then, you're in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, relaxing with a refreshing welcome juice and a cold towel while taking in the incredible scenery. It's hardly something worth complaining about. As part of check-in, you're also given a beach bag, which quickly becomes your go to bag around the resort and you'll notice almost every guest carrying one! Afterward, Sébastien gave us a wonderful tour of the property. Since we had arrived so early and the resort was completely full, our room wasn't quite ready yet, which was completely understandable. We simply changed into our swimsuits and headed straight to the beach to start enjoying paradise. When we finally got to our overwater bungalow, it exceeded every expectation. The bungalow was immaculate, looked brand new, and was beautifully designed. Every detail was spotless and perfectly maintained. Stepping onto our deck each morning and looking out over the crystal clear turquoise lagoon was simply magical. The view was absolutely out of this world and one we'll never forget. Another complaint I'd read before arriving was about the bicycles supposedly being broken or unavailable. That couldn't have been further from our experience. There were bikes everywhere. Honestly, it felt like there were more bikes than guests! We never once had trouble finding one, and they were a fantastic way to get around the beautiful resort. We absolutely loved biking everywhere. It's such a fun and relaxing way to explore the property, and it became part of our daily routine. We also took advantage of the complimentary kayaks, which were another highlight of our stay. Paddling through the crystal clear lagoon while surrounded by the incredible scenery was an unforgettable experience. The food throughout our stay was also excellent. We especially loved the breakfast buffet, which had an incredible variety of options. Whether you wanted fresh tropical fruit, pastries, made-to-order eggs, local specialties, or a more traditional breakfast, there was truly something for everyone. But what made breakfast even more memorable was the setting. Sitting by the beautiful inner lagoon while enjoying our meal and watching blacktip reef sharks and gracefully swim by was an experience we'll never forget. Lunch was another highlight because we loved having it delivered directly to our beach cabana instead of having to leave the beach to sit in the restaurant. It was such a relaxing luxury to enjoy delicious food while soaking up the incredible views. Dinner each evening was equally wonderful, especially as we watched the breathtaking Bora Bora sunsets. Between the outstanding food and the spectacular scenery, every meal felt like a special occasion. We've been fortunate enough to travel to approximately 60 countries, including two trips to the Maldives. People often compare Bora Bora to the Maldives because of the overwater bungalows and crystal clear lagoons. While they certainly share those similarities, what truly sets Bora Bora apart is Mount Otemanu. No photograph can prepare you for seeing it in person. The mountain creates one of the most dramatic and breathtaking landscapes we've ever experienced, making Bora Bora unlike anywhere else in the world. What also makes The Westin so special is its people. Every single employee we encountered was genuinely kind, welcoming, and always greeted us with a smile and a cheerful "Ia Orana." Their warmth and hospitality made us feel like valued guests throughout our stay. Luxury isn't just about beautiful rooms and stunning scenery, it's about how people make you feel, and the staff at The Westin excelled in every way. We can confidently say that Bora Bora has become our favorite place on Earth, and The Westin made that experience unforgettable. If you're looking for breathtaking scenery, impeccable service, genuine hospitality, outstanding food, luxurious accommodations, and a true luxury escape, look no further. We would return in a heartbeat and recommend The Westin Bora Bora without hesitation.