St Regis Bora Bora: Beautiful, great stay, uneven but overall great service and food
Jun 13, 2016, 1:34 pm
#46
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 9
bhrubin has reported building rapport with staff
sometimes staff's default procedures can be problematic
(i ran into some training/procedure issues on silversea)
perhaps some have run into 'worst room in category' at st regis
FS website provides a lot of information to help choose category
Romf, i believe scented was referring to having luggage full of food rather than clothes. some travel with electric skillets etc. (such reports exist on FT.) different from eating off property, which is often a requirement for best dining.
FT being english text loses some communication context as well.
sometimes staff's default procedures can be problematic
(i ran into some training/procedure issues on silversea)
perhaps some have run into 'worst room in category' at st regis
FS website provides a lot of information to help choose category
Romf, i believe scented was referring to having luggage full of food rather than clothes. some travel with electric skillets etc. (such reports exist on FT.) different from eating off property, which is often a requirement for best dining.
FT being english text loses some communication context as well.
Jun 13, 2016, 9:50 pm
#47
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: BKK
Posts: 6,741
My impression from reading the Bora Bora forum on TripAdvisor is that there are many people who go to Vaitape and shop for food and drink in order to avoid the high prices at resorts like the StR and FS. I think there are many guests at these high-end resorts who have scraped together every last cent for the trip and will compromise on food. You read about young honeymooners from Montana or Wisconsin who have been given the basic hotel/air package by their parents and are then faced with the cost of dining on Bora Bora which isn't the same as a Taco Bell in Tallahassee. There are literally dozens of threads asking about customs procedures and if they are allowed to bring a week's supply of junk food and snacks with them in their luggage. Even cases of wine.
Shopping in Vaitape for a baguette and cheese sounds quite romantic to me and it's likely the bread will have been made locally (or perhaps in Papeete).
It's OK for people on this board to talk about ordering off menu, taking private boats, private planes, Royal Suites etc. Hotels on Bora Bora get a few of these but mostly they get regular people who fill the rooms and hide their Snickers wrappers and empty bottles of Jack Daniel's.
Shopping in Vaitape for a baguette and cheese sounds quite romantic to me and it's likely the bread will have been made locally (or perhaps in Papeete).
It's OK for people on this board to talk about ordering off menu, taking private boats, private planes, Royal Suites etc. Hotels on Bora Bora get a few of these but mostly they get regular people who fill the rooms and hide their Snickers wrappers and empty bottles of Jack Daniel's.
Jun 18, 2016, 7:46 pm
#48
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 48
I think that's more in line with the spirit of travel then brown bagging it trying to save a few bucks. If you find something you love offsite, absolutely enjoy yourself.
Last edited by purplestraw; Jun 18, 2016 at 8:02 pm
Jun 18, 2016, 11:47 pm
#49
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Kirkland, WA, USA
Programs: Marriott Gold; LEGO VIP, Amex Platinum, HHonors Gold
Posts: 563
My impression from reading the Bora Bora forum on TripAdvisor is that there are many people who go to Vaitape and shop for food and drink in order to avoid the high prices at resorts like the StR and FS. I think there are many guests at these high-end resorts who have scraped together every last cent for the trip and will compromise on food. You read about young honeymooners from Montana or Wisconsin who have been given the basic hotel/air package by their parents and are then faced with the cost of dining on Bora Bora which isn't the same as a Taco Bell in Tallahassee.
We didn't buy any champagne* - the price was outrageous - but we did buy wine most evenings and cocktails at the pool and in the bar in the evenings. Except for avoiding bubbly - did I mention the outrageous prices for bubbly? - we didn't limit ourselves.
If I'd come here on a serious budget, I'd have been very unhappy
And then the food wasn't really very good. It wasn't terrible, but the quality per dollar was pretty low. Breakfast was the best meal of the day by far. Getting some bread, cheese and meats from Vaitape would have been a significant improvement in the quality of meals. Perhaps the young honeymooners are smarter than me after all
* we did buy 1/2 bottle from the in-room mini-bar at $80+ US for the 1/2 bottle of something ordinary. Bubbly at the FS seemed to be at least 4X wholesale, and 2X expected cost.
Jun 19, 2016, 9:49 am
#50
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
Let's stay on topic, please
Call me crazy, but whether or not guests buy groceries or not while staying in luxury hotels like the StR or FS Bora Bora has little to do with a review on such properties. I do believe this tangent has run its sad course.
For the record, we met a good 25-30 couples, all on their honeymoons, during the course of our stay at the StR...and none were shuttling to the main island for groceries. Almost all were heading to the main island to go dancing/clubbing and/or to try Bloody Mary's since they though the StR was a bit too sedate, on the other hand. (All told us they hated the food at Bloody Mary's but enjoyed the atmosphere, as it were.) Several couples also went to dinner at Villa Mahana on the main island, which they all liked but thought wasn't as good and was just as overpriced (if not more) as the fine dining at the StR. (They also warned us not to go to Villa Mahana as it wasn't air conditioned and was extremely warm! Which was the reason we canceled our reservation!)
FWIW, not mentioned in my review because it's hearsay, about half of those also managed to eat at the FS during the course of their honeymoon. Everyone acknowledged the same thing: dining and food/beverage at the StR was heads and tails above that at the FS.
I think people herein are drawing incorrect conclusions about the typical guests at both the FS and StR here in Bora Bora based on vague and general honeymoon queries and descriptions on other forums. Based on what we saw people eating at especially drinking at the StR, budget didn't seem to be a big issue.
That being said, I have no problem with anyone who wants to buy groceries for more reasonable food costs while staying at a luxury hotel. That absolutely has no bearing on me or anyone else, so I can't imagine why anyone would be bothered by that. My hilariously frugal husband is fond of picking up bottled water at a local grocery store so we don't pay outrageous prices for bottled water whenever we are at luxury hotels in Hawaii...so I see little difference. The StR Bora Bora gave us extra bottled water whenever we asked at no charge, and the tap water was filtered and safe to drink, so we had no such issue here.
For the record, we met a good 25-30 couples, all on their honeymoons, during the course of our stay at the StR...and none were shuttling to the main island for groceries. Almost all were heading to the main island to go dancing/clubbing and/or to try Bloody Mary's since they though the StR was a bit too sedate, on the other hand. (All told us they hated the food at Bloody Mary's but enjoyed the atmosphere, as it were.) Several couples also went to dinner at Villa Mahana on the main island, which they all liked but thought wasn't as good and was just as overpriced (if not more) as the fine dining at the StR. (They also warned us not to go to Villa Mahana as it wasn't air conditioned and was extremely warm! Which was the reason we canceled our reservation!)
FWIW, not mentioned in my review because it's hearsay, about half of those also managed to eat at the FS during the course of their honeymoon. Everyone acknowledged the same thing: dining and food/beverage at the StR was heads and tails above that at the FS.
I think people herein are drawing incorrect conclusions about the typical guests at both the FS and StR here in Bora Bora based on vague and general honeymoon queries and descriptions on other forums. Based on what we saw people eating at especially drinking at the StR, budget didn't seem to be a big issue.
That being said, I have no problem with anyone who wants to buy groceries for more reasonable food costs while staying at a luxury hotel. That absolutely has no bearing on me or anyone else, so I can't imagine why anyone would be bothered by that. My hilariously frugal husband is fond of picking up bottled water at a local grocery store so we don't pay outrageous prices for bottled water whenever we are at luxury hotels in Hawaii...so I see little difference. The StR Bora Bora gave us extra bottled water whenever we asked at no charge, and the tap water was filtered and safe to drink, so we had no such issue here.
Jun 19, 2016, 10:10 am
#51
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,040
That being said, I have no problem with anyone who wants to buy groceries for more reasonable food costs while staying at a luxury hotel. That absolutely has no bearing on me or anyone else, so I can't imagine why anyone would be bothered by that. My hilariously frugal husband is fond of picking up bottled water at a local grocery store so we don't pay outrageous prices for bottled water whenever we are at luxury hotels in Hawaii...so I see little difference. The StR Bora Bora gave us extra bottled water whenever we asked at no charge, and the tap water was filtered and safe to drink, so we had no such issue here.
Regards
Jun 19, 2016, 10:16 am
#52
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
That isn't what I think I did, but obviously it's impossible to placate and please everyone. I tried to comment with respect to our stay...and also to remind everyone that judgment on others has no bearing on the quality of a hotel.
Jun 22, 2016, 9:36 am
#54
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 1,644
I just seen this photo on Flickr which shows the utter devastation to the marine environment caused by the hotel developments on the motu at Bora Bora -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jiriko...7668986516960/
Surely no one here can look at this and approve of the man-made beaches, the artificial lagoons and those crowded rooms on stilts.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jiriko...7668986516960/
Surely no one here can look at this and approve of the man-made beaches, the artificial lagoons and those crowded rooms on stilts.
Sep 16, 2016, 10:15 am
#56
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: SPG, Hyatt, Avis, United
Posts: 33
After the devaluation, only thing I see is 80k per each way, making 160k for roundtrip.
Sep 16, 2016, 10:37 am
#57
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 1,265
Sep 16, 2016, 11:19 am
#58
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764