Last year, when Hilton announced that all their hotels would be going up in category for reward redemption, I got busy trying to book reward stays before January 15, 2010 in hotels I deemed as the best use of my million Hilton points. And so began the planning and research to go visit far off destinations in the Maldives, Bora Bora and Moorea. Being a Hilton Diamond member for the past 10 years, one could say I am married to Hilton and yes, I do not exaggerate when I say I am a Hilton Millionaire. I, we (my DH and myself), travel extensively and have stayed in Hiltons and Conrads all over the world. Fast forward to now and I can say we have had the good fortune of visiting all 3 properties within a 6 month time period having stayed in Conrad Maldives in March 2010 and Hilton Bora Bora and Hilton Moorea in May/June 2010.

Let’s start with the most current.

French Polynesia – we flew from Houston to LAX on Continental, LAX to Papeete on Air France and Papeete to Bora Bora on Air Tahiti. We purchased a multi segment ticket on Air Tahiti which cost USD $466 per person which took us from Papeete to Bora Bora to Moorea to Papeete.

Hilton Bora Bora

The Good

We spent 6 glorious nights in a Deluxe Over the Water Bungalow. I used a Going Global Reward for this property and prior to leaving, I communicated with Christian to secure a confirmed upgrade to a Deluxe Over the Water Bungalow for 10000 XPF per night. Having read all the threads, I got the impression that a free upgrade to an over the water bungalow was hard to come by. At first, I signed up for the eStandby but after negotiating with Christian for a better rate, I knew I had the best deal. I am so glad we had an OWB for the entire time. If we had a land villa, our experience would have been totally different. This was our first time in an OWB and it was amazing. I am sitting here 3 weeks after our trip and I miss it!

We were in room 210 and we fed fish right from our dock and we snorkeled almost every day. There was always fish to see and we loved jumping in and out of the water. Sometimes the water was choppy but not too much as to make one nauseous. And we walked around to check out other bungalows and it seemed like our area was one of the better spots to be in. Kayaks are also free which we did almost every day. They were always readily available.

We had pretty good weather except for a couple of windy days. Definitely take the walk up to the spa and chapel because the views are awesome. You will get some great photos.

One word of caution, the hotel will offer to provide transportation on their hotel ferry to and from the airport for a fee of 8250 XPF round trip. We did not go this route. We took a free ferry provided by Air Tahiti from the Bora Bora airport to town of Vaitape. Once you arrive at the Vaitape pier, you can see the Hilton pier. You walk to the main street and turn right. The most you will walk is 5 minutes before you see the Robert Wan store and a sign for the Bora Bora Nui and St Regis ferry. It is very convenient. We did not have to wait long and got quite lucky as far as catching the ferry as they are sometimes timed 1.5 to 2 hours apart. Also the hotel ferry does stop at the airport ferry dock but for employees. On the return, they dropped us off right at the airport ferry pier and we hopped onto the airport ferry. All this was free and we were glad we could save the roundtrip cost of this transportation.

As a Diamond member, breakfast was complimentary. It is adequate. There are pastries, fruits, eggs cooked to order, cereal, various breads. It was average, nothing to write home about but not entirely bad either.

The Bad

We ate dinner the first night at Tamure and the food was horrible. We heard Iriatai was even worse so we did not dare to try them for dinner. With only 2 restaurants at the resort, one is not left with many options. We ordered lunch from the pool and the bar and the food was below average and inconsistent. Order the fresh fish and do not even think about eating anything else. It is a shame the food was so horrible because it forces you to go to the main island for food which is not a simple task. A couple of times we were on the 4 pm ferry which is complimentary since there is a charge of 15 XPF per person for the 6 pm and 7 pm ferry. Dinner reservations cannot be made before 6 pm. Most of the restaurants will pick you up at the dock but no earlier than 6 pm. Since there is not much to see or do in town, it makes for a boring and long wait. The one night we did it, we left the hotel on the 4 pm ferry, 6 pm pickup from restaurant, 9 pm return to dock and 9:30 pm return to Hilton. If anyone is doing the math, this is a 6 hour dinner which is obscene. Once, there were too many people and not everyone could get on the ferry to return to the hotel so yet more waiting. Personally, I am on vacation and do not want to keep looking at my watch to see which ferry to take. Since it was almost general consensus from everyone we spoke to at the hotel that the food was not edible, it seems they should either improve the quality of their food or stop charging guests to go to the main island during peak dining times.

One night we took the 4 pm shuttle and ate at Aloe Cafe (across from Chin Lee - turn left from the dock once you are on the main road) and returned on the 6:30 pm shuttle which was not so bad. The shrimp skewers at Aloe are awesome!

The other thing I must say is about the room. Some things in the room are dated. We found the toilet seat dated and in need of being changed out. The sink was not caulked correctly and one could see black mildew underneath. Just in general, they need to make sure things do not look worn. After all, if one was paying, the room goes for $1000 a night. Let’s pay attention to detail.

Lastly, we signed up for internet in the room. It does not say that the connection is dial up and not high speed. It was extremely slow.

Hilton Moorea

We spent 2 nights at the Hilton Moorea of course on points again and I am sorry to say it was one of the most awful experiences we have had at any hotel, much less a Hilton property. My expectations were really high after reading so many great things about the property in Flyer Talk and Trip Advisor.

Prior to leaving, I emailed the resort. The communication was so poor, sometimes I would have to send the same email 5 times before I got a response and often never got a response and I gave up. I inquired about transportation to and from the hotel and that was pretty much the extent of my inquiries since it was impossible to get a response. I also inquired about getting an upgrade and they informed me it would be 17,100 XPF per night to an over the water bungalow. Since we had already secured a much cheaper upgrade in Bora Bora and I had read that it was easier to get a complimentary upgrade in Moorea, we did not secure a confirmed upgrade prior to departure. In essence, I left it up to fate.

Room Upgrade – upon check in, we were informed the extent of our room upgrade was to a Deluxe Garden Bungalow. First we were told there were no over the water bungalows. I knew this to be a lie since the day before, I checked rates for our dates and it was available for sale yet when asked for a free upgrade, everything is full. I hate being lied to. I would rather the staff be honest and say we do not wish to grant you an upgrade. Then, after being told the over the water bungalows were full, the same person came back and said if we wanted a panoramic bungalow, we could pay for it. This really annoyed me since we were lied to about the availability and other travelers on Trip Advisor received a free upgrade on points. I refused the paid upgrade. We ended up with Room 42. Did I miss our room in Bora Bora!

Late Check Out - We also asked if we could have late check out since our flight was late and was told by several staffers late check-out was out of the question and we had to vacate our room at 11 am. Again, they did not make me feel any different between a Diamond member and a regular person. We ended up taking an earlier flight to Papeete just to get away from the Hilton.

Staff – I could not find a hair dryer in the room. I called Reception to ask them to bring me one. They told me it was in the drawer in the bathroom. I told her I checked it already and it was empty. She said she could call housekeeping to come and show me where it was. I am not an idiot. If I have opened drawers and searched everywhere in the room and do not see it, do not say they will send someone to show me where it is. Sure enough, when housekeeping showed up, she confirmed the hair dryer was not in the drawer.

Special Occasion – I had informed the staff prior to leaving via email I was celebrating my birthday at the hotel. I knew the Hilton Moorea was voted #1 on Trip Advisor as being the most romantic hotel in the world so I had very high expectations. On this special day, I did not so much as get a flower petal in my room or any other acknowledgement. What a huge disappointment and of course a day I can never get back. I received the usual bottle of wine on the first day upon arrival.

Breakfast – we were only allowed Continental breakfast. If we wanted hot items, it was 690 XPF extra per person. I have never encountered this type of split anywhere else in the world. We felt we were being nickeled and dimed.

Kayaks – twice we tried to kayak and they were taken. After a couple of times trying, we gave up.

Restaurant – we ate lunch at the outside bar once. There was an extra charge for French fries when we ordered it with a sandwich. Usually you order a sandwich or burger and the fries come along with it but not here. Please just charge more for the dish and do not make your guests have to pay for every little extra item. It is like with the breakfast and charging extra for hot food. It makes your hotel seem cheap. The last day, we had about an hour before our early departure from the hotel. We go to the outside bar for drinks and ordered a banana split. We waited 45 minutes and the banana split still has not come. We asked where it was and were told with a shrug it should be coming. How hard is it to scoop up some ice cream and peel a banana? Finally after 50 minutes of waiting, it shows up. We ate really fast and paid and someone apologizes afterwards. Apologies are just words if you do not put action behind them. At least take the banana split off the bill but of course, they did not.

We did have the hotel make arrangements for other restaurants on the island to pick us up for dinner. It was convenient and the food at both places we tried were very good. I did like that we had other easy options for dinner other than the hotel restaurants.

Water – we only got 2 bottles of complimentary water when we arrived in the room. The next night, I called Reception since the water was not replenished. She told us that the complimentary water is only for the first day. Wow. It is just water. I never have problems getting complimentary water as a Diamond member.

Conrad Maldives

The Good

We stayed at the Conrad Maldives for 4 nights in March 2010 again on Hilton points. This was part of a multi leg trip where we visited Dubai, Sri Lanka and India. We arrived in the Male airport and checked in with the Conrad representative. He helped us with our bag, got us checked in for the sea plane and put us on a bus where we were whisked away to the Conrad lounge to wait for our sea plane departure. Once in the lounge, we felt relaxed and were greeted with a welcome drink and snacks. There were 2 ladies giving chair massages and it was a great way to spend the time waiting for the seaplane. It really felt like a Red Carpet treatment. Our seaplane transfer was USD $420 per person.

The seaplane took 25 minutes to arrive at the hotel in Rangali Island. The view was spectacular. We sat on the right side of the plane. Once we deplaned, we were greeted by our host, identified our luggage and our host walked us to our villa which was on the main island.

Our room was a standard beach villa. Was hoping for an upgrade but the host informed me that the hotel was at full capacity. Nevertheless, our room (214) which was on the main island was very spacious, clean, and nicely decorated. It backed into the house reef which made snorkeling very convenient and easy. Although, when we snorkeled which was in the late afternoon, the waters were a bit choppy.

As a diamond member, we had a choice of various excursions compliments of the hotel. I chose the sunset fishing. It was from 6 pm - 8 pm. It is on a big dhoni which holds a maximum of 14 guests and about 6 others who help you bait and pull up the fish. Whatever you catch can be eaten the next day for lunch (Rangali Bar) or dinner (Rangali Bar or Atoll) for $20 which includes fries and veggies. I did not catch anything but my spouse caught 2 large fish. One was a Green Drum and the other a Red Snapper. We were told the Red Snapper was a better eat so we had that for lunch the next day as we already had dinner plans. The fish was grilled to perfection and it was way too much fish for the two of us. Surprisingly, when we dined at Sunset Grill that night, we were told the "Catch of the Day" was Green Drum. Too bad they could not serve us our fish at the Sunset Grill.

Ithaa Undersea Restaurant - we went there for a visit and cocktail. You get 1 glass of Moet & Chandon champagne and 2 pieces of canapes for $55 per person. There is 10% service fee added to everything. It felt over priced but we did so enjoy the fish while in the restaurant. We felt it was a unique experience but the price is pretty steep.

Mandhoo Restaurant - we ate here for dinner and it was by far our favorite restaurant. We were told the size of the dishes were appetizer portion but it was more than enough for me. I ordered the cod with wasabi mashed potatoes which was really good and my spouse had to order 2 dishes, one being the beef tenderloin which was excellent. Average dish was $20. One day, we stumbled upon free afternoon tea at Mandhoo between 4 pm and 5 pm. It is not advertised but they serve you tea, coffee, water and pastries and finger sandwiches.

Vilu Restaurant - we ate here for dinner and was the least impressed with the food here. The tuna was overcooked.

Sunset Grill - we ate here for dinner and found the pricing pretty fair. Ordered a lobster for around $50 and it came out being 2 huge pieces. Spouse ordered surf and turf for around $70. I think anywhere in the States you would order surf and turf, it would cost at least this much in a good steak or seafood restaurant. Both dishes were cooked very well.

Rangali Bar - we ate here for lunch every day. The Nasi Goreng is really good! We tried the hamburger, pizza and pasta which were all ok. The potato wedges were very good.

Breakfast - we tried the breakfast at both Atoll and Vilu and preferred Vilu as it is quieter and there were no kids around. At Vilu, the buffet is small and the items are ordered off a menu. I especially enjoyed the Japanese section of the Vilu menu. It was wonderful. They also have steak and eggs.

Food is definitely expensive but you are on an island. If you order a la carte, it is not too bad. It is not as if you are living there indefinitely. Also, eating at the hotel is your only option since you cannot leave the island to eat elsewhere. Having 7 restaurants, there were a lot of options and the food was, on the whole, surprisingly good. Price aside, these were high quality restaurants.

We lounged around in the main pool which did kind of get loud with all the kids running around. We also went to the Quiet Zone pool which is much smaller but much more relaxing as there are no kids and very few adults. They also bring you water, fruits and someone came around and cleaned our sunglasses.

The Bad

There is wireless for free in our room. Second day in, our phone and wireless stopped working and it never operated before we left. I must have told 10 different individuals about the issue including my host but no one came around and they did not follow up with me. This was pretty annoying since our phone did not work and I had to walk out to the lobby to tell them my phone did not work. But for this issue and possibly an upgrade, I think our stay would have been perfect.

They also gave me a complimentary bottle of champagne and red wine as part of my Diamond status. If you are using points, check your bill because they tried to charge me an extra $49 per night for room charge and taxes. But when I brought it up with my host, they took it off.

In Conclusion

If I had to make recommendations, I would recommend people go to Bora Bora and Maldives and skip Moorea. And I would recommend going to Bora Bora first since it is hard to believe but when I first landed in Bora Bora, I said to myself, the Maldives is nicer. But, as I sit here typing this, I miss our OWB in Bora Bora. It is truly a unique and special experience you cannot imagine unless you experience it. Although a beautiful shade of blue in Bora Bora, I just cannot describe how beautiful the color of the water is in the Maldives, especially if you are seeing it for the first time in the air.

Overall, the Conrad Maldives was superior to the Hilton Bora Bora because of the seclusion and the exclusivity. And it was a better experience overall since the food was far superior. You are truly on a deserted island where you can go for days without hearing the sound of a car. The beauty we experienced in the Maldives was almost from another world. Although we could not compare the same OWB experience between the two, I do hope to visit the Maldives again very soon and maybe this time it will be over water.