Emick

Which btw. confirms the “anomaly” discussed here previously (if I am not wrong): standard rewards book (after the change last year) in a King Lagoon View Suite which is - according to cash value - by far not the lowest category (I think is the 5th or 6th from the bottom).

The funny part: The (above offered) King Deluxe Overwater Villa actually is 1 category below the standard reward, i.e. the offer is actually a downgrade 😂 For some 600 USD per night… hmmm… not bad 🥴.

In fact, happy to be downgraded for free in that case 😂.

Even funnier: Got this automatic “Free Upgrade” today (3 days before arrival). From King Lagoon View Suite to King Lagoon View Suite 🤷‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️

newdaybegin

Wow free upgraded wth? Plz keep me update if you actually get upgrade when you check in, good luck!

Emick

Definitely!

Almost considering to write them a short email and ask for explanation how this all shall be understood / working.

49penguins

Stayed 6 nights end of April to beginning of May on points, Diamond, 5 nights on one res, 6th night added on a second res.

• Never received an upgrade offer, didn't ask, don't think anything was even available because a big group came in for 2 days right after I arrived. Some genius upgraded me for my 6th night to a "Tropical Villa with pool" despite the front desk telling me there was a note in my file saying I wanted to stay in the same room and they had availability. Had to wait until morning when a manager arrived to undo it.
• You can eat from the first 2 tables of the buffet for diamond breakfast. No third table for diamonds. During busy times I'm sure you could sneak stuff if you wanted but it was never really busy when I was there. It was pretty odd being "checked on" and instead of them looking at me asking how it was they were looking at my plate lol. For like $12 you can pick a hot item from the hot item menu, no offer to add the 3rd buffet table. The fly situation at breakfast was not great, nor was the bird situation. I stayed away from the bread after seeing the birds poking their heads under the napkins thrown over it and when fruit or pastries had more than a few flies I passed on those too. One morning I opened the cage over one of the pastries and it had dozens(yes, plural) of flies inside, a staff member was right next to me and definitely saw, did not care. Lots of dead bugs in the salad the first morning so I avoided it after that. Like I've done the tropics before, Hawaii, Seychelles, so I know more bugs than usual are the norm - but this was ridiculous.
• Food is not a highlight, pretty sure average low end hotels in the US have better food. The pool burger was the best thing I had lol. The prices are obscene as others have reported. Best choice I made was to take the shuttle into town my first full day and grab lunch stuff.
• BYOB. Excellent advise from here, your booze is much better than the stuff they serve. Wine wise it was pretty cheap stuff at really expensive prices. I brought along some vodka and rum and got some soda and juice at the store in town for making my own cocktails. A Yeti wine cooler kept it cool enough at the pool (I didn't use ice obviously)
• You can have them clear out the mini fridge so you can put all your own stuff in it, I asked the front desk the first night to do so
• Friday night show was good, I loved the fire dancers and the men had very high energy. As I was previously advised (facepalm, should have listened to you all!) the food at the show is straight up disgusting, watch the show and order room service after.
• Moldy water- bs it's a "local flavor" to the island water. They are not bothering to maintain their filtration system. I'm admittedly incredibly sensitive to mold in filtration systems, most people usually can't tell when I can (I've come across this stateside) but thankfully I'm not allergic, and they have one helluva mold problem in the hotel's water system. I could taste mold in the tap water and smell it in the shower every time I turned it on, same up at the spa.
• My AC stopped working my third day. They told me I had to be in the room for maintenance to enter. Long story short they took practically my entire day. Absolutely idiotic. It magically got wrapped up after the second visit to the front desk when I demanded another room since it was almost 6pm and I still didn't have AC. Went back to my AC working. Magic.
• This. Is. Not. A. Conrad. Like seriously, I cannot emphasize that enough. There is nothing luxury about this property besides pretty views.

Overall I'm happy I got to go to BoraBora on points but lmao I would never go back to that property unless there is a tide of awesome reviews because of a management change. It has the potential to be great for sure, but it's just tourist trap right now. I cannot believe people pay CASH to stay there. Yikes.

I ended up overnighting at Hilton Tahiti both directions, no regrets. Their food and alcohol were sooo much cheaper than Conrads and both were better quality. Diamond breakfast was much nicer as they didn't care what you ate, it was just the breakfast buffet. Carrefour being across the bridge from the hotel was awesome. I was given 2pm checkout both times as a diamond and upgraded rooms. Did a massage on my departure day which was a great way to kill a couple hours after check-out and gave me a chance to shower before grabbing some dinner and going to the airport. They have a lovely pool!

Alfonso904

You got me freaked out now lol…

I’ve been looking forward to going for a while but my expectations are fairly low now. I’ve been to the Conrad Maldives and thought it was 10/10.

Really the only thing that would bother me a lot would be the whole wasting your day thing with the broken room… please tell me you complained about that on the exit survey and contacted Hilton so you can be reimbursed? That is not okay. Every single hour at a vacation like that is worth hundreds of dollars to most people. If that would have happened to me on an expensive luxury destination, I would have been raging up a storm.

Did you notice any new dishes from new F&B director by the way? What exact dishes were absolute garbage and to avoid lol.

KRUXED

we’ve gone a few times to Conrad Maldives and Conrad bora bora. We always thought bora bora was superior and a better fit for us. We haven’t been there since 2020 but reading the reviews lately is horrifying. Did it change management? Surely it had to change chefs?

49penguins

I don’t regret my trip fwiw, I just wouldn’t repeat it, so it’s not something to panic about! Unfortunately I haven’t made it to the Maldives so can’t compare. You are right I should have said something on departure but I’m nervous about confrontation & I’m a solo traveler so unless the roof is caving in I tend to keep it to myself. I will write Hilton. Losing a day sucked and was not right, and I’d like to see some corporate eyes on the water situation.

You got me thinking harder about the exact food I ate- I forgot a highlight of good food actually! The amuse bouche at the French restaurant was excellent! Whoever the chef was who is doing that now is on point. I had the parrot fish as the main there and it was ok. Not close to being worth the cost but it was at least cooked right and edible. I also remember what I had at the Chinese place but it was quite disappointing so I’d put this food on the avoid list. The shrimp dumplings were literally tasteless, somehow they had a surprising amount of shrimp in them and zip flavor. I had the beef and oyster sauce for the main as I was trying to play it safe, it was weird. Very cheap beef and a huge amount of sauce, odd flavored and not good. Benefit of traveling with 2 people is you have better odds of getting a good dish as long as you don’t order the same thing! I ran into a couple couples who liked the sushi restaurant. Wish I was more of a sushi fan but I’m not so I had the chicken yakitori which was over half fat- I have to admit I’d never before had a chicken skewer that was half fat so I guess they get points for being different? 😬

Oh! I enjoyed the evening Manta Trust talk, it’s listed in the free activities. My snorkel excursion with the Manta Trust got cancelled due to weather but the same person who does the excursion gave the evening talk. She’s very passionate about them and full of information.

49penguins

There was a report they changed management a few months ago and got a new head chef more recently.

ywc123

Should have taken ur advice! Conrad was one of my biggest points let downs. You definitely do not feel like ur in paradise. It’s not a bad hotel per se but given cash/points rates, it needs to do much better.

Room (which was meant to be the good part) - Hotel seemed full so I stayed in the standard redemption room. ACs faced weird corners of the room so really struggled to get the room cold. There was no hot water running to the tub. Just felt like a big empty modern room. The St Regis (free upgrade to overwater so maybe not comparable to Conrad) looks and feels less dated than online pictures. I preferred it to the Conrad room as u felt more comfortable to relax in it and still enjoy Bora Bora. Potentially different conclusion if comparing overwater to overwater.

Food - Don’t have high expectations at either property. The Asian restaurant at the Conrad was on par to cheap student Chinese takeaways. While the StR version was even worse. The Italian was much better. Overall, throughout my stay, I felt I was eating to survive at both properties rather than enjoying the food. Stick to burgers, pizzas and pastas. Breakfast up charge at Conrad felt petty and after day 1, didn’t bother to take it as quality and variety wasn’t great.

Service - StR was miles better. I would rate it 8/10 vs 4/10 at Conrad. My airport transfer to the Conrad got mixed up which was not a good omen to the start of the stay. There was no proactive service recovery for this mistake and I raised it at checkout which they agreed to refund 50% of the cost (which I thought was fair).

Property - Conrad is tiny and besides the main pool and immediate facing beach, there wasn’t much variety in places to relax and take in Bora Bora. StR is huge and you have much more variety with the lagoonarium and multiple beach spots. Beach boys were literally running to provide service to guests. You also have the turquoise waters and mt otemanu vs just the deep blue waters at Conrad. This means u don’t really feel like ur in Bora Bora at the Conrad (could be any beach front location). The Conrad’s bike policy was also a bit weird where you just pick up any bike anywhere and use it vs str where bikes are assigned to each room.

Overall - Won’t be returning or recommending the Conrad. Might be back to the StR (will also consider the remodelled Westin next time). The real highlight of French polynesia is the sea life. Snorkelling with sharks and rays was great. If I ever return to this part of the world, it will be to catch the whales.

Majuki

As others have said, having to wait in your room while the maintenance fixes the a/c is ridiculous. We also had a problem with our a/c not cooling the unit adequately. Even if it were working, the single mini split unit is insufficient to cool the entire space in the over water villas.

The new upcharge for the breakfast is a complete money grab. I thought from a previous post that the upcharge included the 3rd table and anything off of the menu? During our stay in January 2022, the upcharge was to order off of the menu. The "continental" breakfast at the time was anything that was part of the buffet. We also noticed the insect issue with the buffet. Even with covers, insects got inside. The mosquitoes were atrocious too. We had to change tables during our breakfast on more than one day due to mosquitoes. The best meal during our stay was ironically room service when I got a sandwich and salad. The French restaurant was decent, but the Chinese restaurant wasn't memorable. We skipped the dinner at the evening show and got room service that night.

I only have one data point between the Conrad Bora Bora and Conrad Maldives, but the Conrad Maldives wins hands down. The food and beverage is top notch (and top dollar). While the service was great for us at the Conrad Bora Bora, we went when things were still COVID-y and occupancy was still low. I don't know how this place will make it as a WA if it rebrands.

For future French Polynesia visits, I'd be content to stay at the Hilton Tahiti. We did one night - would have been two had TN not delayed our outbound - before heading to Bora Bora, and it was fantastic. They upgraded us to a large one bedroom suite. As you mentioned, Carrefour is right across the street for provisions, and it looked like there were some great venues along the water when walking toward downtown from the hotel.

Alfonso904

Wow, do they just not give you a different room if you see a problem with it? If I got there and there was something wrong with the room, it doesn't seem right to not give a guest a new room..

I've never been to Bora Bora but this is still probably the most efficient way for us to visit so I will still end up going and maintain a positive attitude towards it, lol. I'm going entirely because of points and free night vouchers vs spending $15,000 at the St.Regis or any of the other expensive properties. Even the local airbnbs and such are $350-900/night.

How was the breakfast even for having to pay an extra $12/person for it?

Majuki

When we were there the hotel was at a very low occupancy. Our room with the faulty a/c was already a high upgrade compared to the standard room booked with points.

We also at the time had full access to the buffet. The supplement at the time was XPF 1,000 per person per day and allowed one to order anything off of the menu.

It's not a bad resort, but I would never pay cash prices at the rates they're charging. Even for a redemption, the better value, food, and opportunity for (paid) upgrades exist at the Conrad Maldives.

If I were heading to French Polynesia and wanted a Hilton, I'd simply stay at the Hilton Tahiti near the airport.

newdaybegin

Did you get upgrade when you check in at the resort on 5/13? How busy at the resort now? Weather? Have fun until 5/18.

Emick

Hi,

Sorry for my late reply - busy relaxing here

Yes, upgrade was provided 1 day before the arrival (without any notice). I "found" it simply in the app: King Overwater Villa. Happy with that having seen the different (lower) categories and the positions in the last 3 days. Check-in at before 11am no problem. Surely there are better categories such as an Deluxe Overwater Villa / with Sunset or even Mt. Otemanu View, or those with Pool but is better than nothing or the (not really attractively positioned) Suites. We are happy & thankful reading the last 2 posts with no upgrades at all. Villa is spacious & comfy, I would say rather "mid-Conrad" quality and generally very nice.

Hotel is quite full I would say but is difficult to say for sure or further specify / quantify. Definitely does not feel like overfull (no hordes on the beach, at breakfast or in / at the pool) but will rather be busy simply judging from the illuminated bungalows in the evening or seeing ppl on the terraces during the day.

Weather is amazing so far. But you know how it works in the tropics :-). We have spent 2 days between Moorea & CBB on the BB main island and had one morning (4 days ago) REALLY heavy rain for like 2h. It has been sunny with no / very little clouds ever since (the way May actually should be and we expected / selected).

newdaybegin

Wow congrats on the free upgrade, so this automatic “Free Upgrade” today (3 days before arrival). From King Lagoon View Suite to King Lagoon View Suite in fact will get you King Overwater Villa. Considerate yourself very lucky since a lot of people don't get this upgrade, is this your first time at the resort, or are you a return guest?

I also tried to secure 1-2 nights at the Hilton Moorea, and I don't see any standard award at all, did you book this 1 year in advance? In the past, I don't have any issues booking this resort but not everything is 0 on the calendar.

Did you go to the main island? There is no free boat ride anymore from Conrad Bora Bora correct? I love to stock cheap food at Chin Lee market on the island instead of that pricy stuff from the resort.

Enjoy the remaining time at the Conrad