Just had a 10 night stay in a beach villa, wanted the private pool for the kids. Booked about 10 months in advance and have watched devaluations hit this resort over this time. We arrived around 9:30AM, requested a Y24…room was not ready until around 11:30, we were offered a breakfast buffet for the inconvenience. The property is expansive and well manicured. Much of the tree canopy is thinned out versus neighboring resorts, which I think is an advantage because you have a clear view of Mt Otemanu from any of the villas. The property and natural beauty of the resort itself I would rank up there with the best in the portfolio. The lagoonarium is unlike anything you will find anywhere.

We tried all the restaurants on the property, had some good meals. The breakfast buffett does not meet expectations or brand standards, needs a better variety and selection. The pastries were very good. Had one awful tuna steak at the grill, one night not sure who cooks a tuna steak well done, didn’t even know that was a thing (especially when it’s ordered rare). The kids enjoyed the Polynesian Night Buffet. The one biggest change is kids no longer eat free, which I am sure was an attractive benefit for many families seeking some value. The kids menu consists some basic entrees around $20USD.

Service is fine for a St Regis brand, but does not stand out from its global peers. One noticeable difference at this resort is the mingling of staff on off days through the resort. It would be typical to hear loud music from staff quarters, staff walking/biking the property in street cloths, or their children seen throughout the resort. We noticed a massive dog turd just off the walkway across from the managers quarters about 3 days in a row, it just made me think how many times he walked by it without picking it up.

The hard product is fine. I did not expect brand new finishes per previous ft reviews. The room was sufficient size for a family of four. The lack of outlets in each room speaks to the age of the build. They did add a JBL speaker to the bed stand to add some USBs for phone charging.

We did lots of activities planned through concierge and everything was smooth with no issues. Always had staff meet us at the main dock prior to leaving with 3rd party.

WiFi is atrocious in the entire property, I didn’t remember to do a speed test, but I needed a couple app updates, 30+ mins for download. I had some audiobooks that took multiple hours to download, typical 30 seconds. This need to be addressed immediately.

The gym was adequate and never overly busy even on days it rained for a bit. The Spa was a nice space with a steam, sauna, jacuzzi. Treatments were top notch.

The sabering was more educational than any other I have experienced. They actually allow guests to try, which I have never seen before.

We were offered a 3:30pm late checkout with what seemed like a very busy day at the resort. Airport shuttle left around 4pm with 6-8 families/couples.

Overall, both kids said it was one of their favorite trips ever. I personally thought French Polynesia was incredible, I would recommend and would return.