[ARCHIVE to 2020] Conrad Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa {PYF}
May 20, 2019, 9:45 am
#2041
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: Hilton, Marriott, Club Carlson, AA, UA, AS, SQ, AF
Posts: 124
You will need to cancel the whole thing and have to rebook. The risk you run is if the standard rooms go back to availability immediately. You also run the risk of the points reposting immediately. Although others have reported no issues, I have had consistently had my points NOT go back to my account immediately. And one time I needed the diamond phone rep call the property to have them manually put the standard room back in the inventory.
Things to keep in mind. Ultimately, it comes down to how much time you are willing to devote to being on the phone dealing with this and how much you are willing to risk losing the standard room nights/5th night free.
Things to keep in mind. Ultimately, it comes down to how much time you are willing to devote to being on the phone dealing with this and how much you are willing to risk losing the standard room nights/5th night free.
May 20, 2019, 2:24 pm
#2042
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: SAN
Posts: 1,306
Hey TD.
I've gotten 5 out of the 6 nights I need for my Hilton Moorea reservation. All 5 nights are in a row, so can still combine and get the 5th night free without waiting for the last night to become available. However, as you stated for BB, it doesn't seem the 800 number is able to assist, so I need to call back tomorrow to be transferred to in-house reservations and get them to combine. The 6th night of my trip is not available at all right now (but I have another reservation already, holding the 6th night)...so will also see if they can cancel the first 5 nights of that 6-night reservation and only keep the 6th night (of a premium award) so that I'll have all nights covered. I'd hate to lose 5 nights of standard reward booking including a free night, just because the 6th night isn't available to book separately, currently (difference in points is 136K per night). Only a few weeks left before I leave though...so it's getting close!
I've gotten 5 out of the 6 nights I need for my Hilton Moorea reservation. All 5 nights are in a row, so can still combine and get the 5th night free without waiting for the last night to become available. However, as you stated for BB, it doesn't seem the 800 number is able to assist, so I need to call back tomorrow to be transferred to in-house reservations and get them to combine. The 6th night of my trip is not available at all right now (but I have another reservation already, holding the 6th night)...so will also see if they can cancel the first 5 nights of that 6-night reservation and only keep the 6th night (of a premium award) so that I'll have all nights covered. I'd hate to lose 5 nights of standard reward booking including a free night, just because the 6th night isn't available to book separately, currently (difference in points is 136K per night). Only a few weeks left before I leave though...so it's getting close!
TD
May 20, 2019, 4:28 pm
#2043
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Southern California
Posts: 478
May 20, 2019, 8:16 pm
#2044
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: SAN
Posts: 1,306
My main piece of advice...BE NICE...!!
Just explain that you had to piece together 5 nights on separate reservations due to the huge popularity of their fabulous resort. Explain how excited your family is to get there. Then tell them your dilemma in figuring out how to combine them to one reservation so you can take Hilton up on their great 5th night free offer. Nicely let them know your friend told you to call the front desk as he had the same problem last year, and someone there was able to work magic.
You should be good to go.
Just keep your best “nice person” game face on. No one likes to help someone coming off entitled, because of their status in the world. I too often see people on this site throw that around....and end up empty handed...
TD
May 20, 2019, 10:15 pm
#2045
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Southern California
Posts: 478
Thanks TD.
May 21, 2019, 2:01 pm
#2046
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Southern California
Posts: 478
TD,
When I spoke to them, they said the hotel had already made notes to “combine” the reservations for purpose of maintaining the same room for all nights. But the reservations agent didn’t sound like she knew how, or understood the need, to combine them all into a new reservation. There was a slight language barrier, so I’m not really clear which one that was...
My guess is, it’s a YMMV scenario, and I could try calling again to speak to someone else...
When I spoke to them, they said the hotel had already made notes to “combine” the reservations for purpose of maintaining the same room for all nights. But the reservations agent didn’t sound like she knew how, or understood the need, to combine them all into a new reservation. There was a slight language barrier, so I’m not really clear which one that was...
My guess is, it’s a YMMV scenario, and I could try calling again to speak to someone else...
May 21, 2019, 2:55 pm
#2047
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: ORD
Posts: 701
Upgrade Rates for 2020
Has anyone received upgrade rates for 2020? They emailed back and said they wouldn’t have rates till about September.
TIA
TIA
May 21, 2019, 9:46 pm
#2048
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: SAN
Posts: 1,306
TD,
When I spoke to them, they said the hotel had already made notes to “combine” the reservations for purpose of maintaining the same room for all nights. But the reservations agent didn’t sound like she knew how, or understood the need, to combine them all into a new reservation. There was a slight language barrier, so I’m not really clear which one that was...
My guess is, it’s a YMMV scenario, and I could try calling again to speak to someone else...
When I spoke to them, they said the hotel had already made notes to “combine” the reservations for purpose of maintaining the same room for all nights. But the reservations agent didn’t sound like she knew how, or understood the need, to combine them all into a new reservation. There was a slight language barrier, so I’m not really clear which one that was...
My guess is, it’s a YMMV scenario, and I could try calling again to speak to someone else...
TD
May 22, 2019, 8:19 am
#2049
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 94
"standard room to a beautiful King Overwater Villa at the rate of XPF 40,000 per night,
to the wonderful King Pool Overwater Villa at the rate of 65,000 XPF per night
and to the fabulous end-of-pontoon Royal Pool Overwater Villa at XPF 100,000 per night. "
May 22, 2019, 11:38 am
#2050
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 17,999
I had an unsolicited email offer from them just after I made a Feb 2020 reservation on points.
"standard room to a beautiful King Overwater Villa at the rate of XPF 40,000 per night,
to the wonderful King Pool Overwater Villa at the rate of 65,000 XPF per night
and to the fabulous end-of-pontoon Royal Pool Overwater Villa at XPF 100,000 per night. "
"standard room to a beautiful King Overwater Villa at the rate of XPF 40,000 per night,
to the wonderful King Pool Overwater Villa at the rate of 65,000 XPF per night
and to the fabulous end-of-pontoon Royal Pool Overwater Villa at XPF 100,000 per night. "
May 23, 2019, 9:40 am
#2052
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Earth ... for now
Programs: UA 2MM * Marriott Ambassador LT Titanium * IHG Diamond Ambassador * Hilton Diamond *
Posts: 1,785
Please delete
Last edited by UASPG; May 23, 2019 at 9:50 am Reason: Posting for another Conrad property in error
May 23, 2019, 8:12 pm
#2053
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
Programs: Hyatt Glob; Hilton Dia; Marriott AMB; Accor Dia; IHG Dia Amb; GHA Tit
Posts: 4,835
Last edited by escape4; May 23, 2019 at 8:20 pm
May 24, 2019, 4:21 pm
#2054
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,717
Paging @EuropeanPete! Your review of Conrad BB would be welcome especially the comparison to StR. I wonder if your opinion will be similar to mine after having seen both.
I didn't see a direct comparison on your part of the two hotels - please do point me to one if you have!
May 30, 2019, 2:00 pm
#2055
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: MOD/SFO
Programs: Whole Lot of Nothin' anymore - Thanks to baby!
Posts: 582
Like EuropeanPete I also recently got back from a stay at the Conrad. My dates were probably a little bit after him and we were there for a total of 6 nights. Since we were on the longer stay, I opted not to gamble for the OTW Bungalow upgrade - I anticipated that the longer length of my stay would make it more difficult to secure the upgrade. That being said, after a few emails back and forth I was able to secure the King Overwater 117 for a reasonable price of 30000XPF a night. I did not get upgraded anything above what I paid for, even considering my Diamond status. Again, probably because it is getting towards the busy season and 6 nights of an additional upgrade would probably be more difficult to secure.
Overall, I felt that the resort was very good. I brought along my two girls (5 and 7), who immensely enjoyed the stay and definitely made the staff work for their money. They made plenty of friends with the staff. I found that the staff overall was very good, with some better than others (pool staff were great - restaurant staff were mixed). The resort is absolutely beautiful and we were blessed with excellent weather. The bungalow itself was very nicely appointed and they provided two giant bags of candy for my girls. I personally loved the view of the open ocean, as we were able to get a stiff breeze every afternoon to help cool things off a bit as it can definitely get a little toasty.
As for the negatives -
1. I understand that nature is part of being in a resort like this, but the amount of flies at the breakfast buffet got a little intense at times. I think the resort could do a better job of trapping them or preventing them, as well as some of the other flying insects near the restaurants. At my bungalow we were generally fine although did suffer a little from biting insects at overnight - which turning on the AC helped with.
2. As others have echoed, the King beds are way too soft and gave us a bit of soreness. They really need to do something about those beds.
3. Bikes - the bikes are a great way to get around the resort, but generally speaking are in poor condition and not nearly enough of them. Plenty of people had them parked outside their villas for days at a time and didn't seem to be utilize them. The resort should get a staff member on maintenance duty - yes of course its a saltwater/salt air environment which is tough on them but some basic bike maintenance would keep them in better condition. For a resort that charges as much money as it does, you would expect them to be able to afford a slightly larger bike fleet.
4. I thought the polynesian dinner was a little underwhelming - we enjoyed it and the food was nice but it was sparsely attended so it had a strange vibe to it based upon the size of the venue.
5. My points for incidentals posted - significantly less than I would have anticipated. They did not include the room rate for the upgrade and I don't know how they calculated them as they were far less than my restaurant + spa charges. I am in contact with Hilton CS to try and get that corrected.
Overall, we really enjoyed our stay there and would visit again...in the future. As beautiful as BB is, it is very enjoyable but not overly exhilirating with things to do. I think our length of stay was probably a bit longer than we would usually recommend, but we had the 5th night free + hilton aspire reward night so it worked out for us. We'll definitely be checking out some of the other islands next time we go down to FP.
Tips for folks traveling with families:
Overall, I felt that the resort was very good. I brought along my two girls (5 and 7), who immensely enjoyed the stay and definitely made the staff work for their money. They made plenty of friends with the staff. I found that the staff overall was very good, with some better than others (pool staff were great - restaurant staff were mixed). The resort is absolutely beautiful and we were blessed with excellent weather. The bungalow itself was very nicely appointed and they provided two giant bags of candy for my girls. I personally loved the view of the open ocean, as we were able to get a stiff breeze every afternoon to help cool things off a bit as it can definitely get a little toasty.
As for the negatives -
1. I understand that nature is part of being in a resort like this, but the amount of flies at the breakfast buffet got a little intense at times. I think the resort could do a better job of trapping them or preventing them, as well as some of the other flying insects near the restaurants. At my bungalow we were generally fine although did suffer a little from biting insects at overnight - which turning on the AC helped with.
2. As others have echoed, the King beds are way too soft and gave us a bit of soreness. They really need to do something about those beds.
3. Bikes - the bikes are a great way to get around the resort, but generally speaking are in poor condition and not nearly enough of them. Plenty of people had them parked outside their villas for days at a time and didn't seem to be utilize them. The resort should get a staff member on maintenance duty - yes of course its a saltwater/salt air environment which is tough on them but some basic bike maintenance would keep them in better condition. For a resort that charges as much money as it does, you would expect them to be able to afford a slightly larger bike fleet.
4. I thought the polynesian dinner was a little underwhelming - we enjoyed it and the food was nice but it was sparsely attended so it had a strange vibe to it based upon the size of the venue.
5. My points for incidentals posted - significantly less than I would have anticipated. They did not include the room rate for the upgrade and I don't know how they calculated them as they were far less than my restaurant + spa charges. I am in contact with Hilton CS to try and get that corrected.
Overall, we really enjoyed our stay there and would visit again...in the future. As beautiful as BB is, it is very enjoyable but not overly exhilirating with things to do. I think our length of stay was probably a bit longer than we would usually recommend, but we had the 5th night free + hilton aspire reward night so it worked out for us. We'll definitely be checking out some of the other islands next time we go down to FP.
Tips for folks traveling with families:
- My 5 year old was able to eat for free with us, which made the food more affordable. One day we ended up eating a late lunch and skipping dinner. Free dessert for children also. My 7 year old's food was charged normal kids prices which were generally speaking 2000XPF for kids items. The pizzas were fairly large and the kids were able to share which saved us a few bucks here and there.
- Resort has limited number of kids bikes with training wheels and bikes with racks for children to ride on - also no helmets provided so just be aware of that. Some parents found it useful to squirrel away the limited number of bicycles in their villas which kind of defeats the purpose of using them for transportation from point A-B and back again.
- All of the main *resort-type* activities are booked through the pool desk - like sailing tour - so make sure to stop by there.
- If you're traveling with more than one child, they will arrange a rollaway in addition to the sofa so that each child will have their own bed.
- The resort made an "exception" to bring my luggage with them from BOB - Resort, as we had the children with us. We rode the Air Tahiti shuttle into Vaitape to grab lunch and do some shopping before heading to the resort. It doesn't sound like they're really willing to bring your bags with them unless you're riding on the direct transportation. On our return to the airport we went with arranged transportation due to timing of our flights and the shuttle to vaitape. It worked out.
- The Kid's club is unsupervised and has a nintendo wii, foosball, table tennis and assortment of board games.
- You can call guest service for a golf cart if you need transport - a couple of nights we were finished late and the little one was asleep so it would have been a long trek back to the Bungalow carrying her.