Kiwi Flyer

Posts older than 2021 for this OPEN THREAD can be found in the

ARCHIVE THREAD for Conrad Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa

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Kiwi Flyer
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partsunknown

So I got an email on our upcoming stay in regards to the "Ohie Butler Service" and a preference form, without much additional detail on what the service is? Looks to be new as of December 20th based on their press release here, and also details on their website here which mention a "private cocktail hour" and daily morning beverage service.

Looks like this is new, and available to all guests (not just the specific room which came with a butler previously). Anybody stay since 12/20 and have any additional info?

lincoln boy

My check in date was 12/20 but we never received "Ohie Butler Service." I stayed 7 days but they did not mention anything about it.

partsunknown

Were you notified about it via email in advance of your stay? Could be that there were delays in implementing it.

lincoln boy

No advance notification. Maybe they decided to implement it after the busy Christmas and New Year weeks. That would be my guess.

FleyeSkyHigh

I was told that the private cocktail hour is going to be held on the small island (OWV island) where the mini golf more or less used to start....it had been slated to start earlier in 2020 but due to COVID-19 that have delayed the launch. They have built a gazebo bar for it a while back already. I just think Ohie Buttler Service is branding as most of the things such as packing/unpacking, turndown, laundry they have been willing to do upon request in the past.

The morning beverage service is supposed to be similar to what St. Regis offers which would be a really decent step up. To pull that off for all the villas I would image they would really have to ramp up their F&B operations which make sense as the new GM did a great job with raising the bar (at least by FP standards) for the food at the Le Meridien several years back.

sergeysl

We are leaving today
the stay was great, all staff is super friendly, and we felt very safe, and the hotel was 40% full at the busiest day.
We did receive an email regarding the new butler service, but I don't think it was implemented. We manged all our bookings via concierge.
starting January 8 there is no breakfast buffet, but you still can order the same items as an ala carte and it is still complimentary for diamonds (extra items still cost 1200xpf). Also as usual the kids are not charged for the extra items from the menu.

And there were no private cocktails, or we were not invited. Also, we're told by few staff members that the hotel is working towards an upgrade for Waldorf later on this year...or next

partsunknown

So they just moved all the buffet items to a la carte and you can just order whatever for free as diamond, albeit the same extras that were previously on the menu anyway? Or did this severely cut down on the offerings for breakfast you can choose from (thinking like some WA were diamonds essentially have a continental breakfast option on the menu or a credit for the cost of one).

This sort of sucks if its the latter. Was looking forward to being able to grab what I wanted and as much as I wanted complimentary vs held to select menu options limiting how much you can order. Wonder why they suddenly implemented this as of 1/8,

sergeysl

It was only for the last two days during our stay, so I think they still trying to figure it out, but so far all previously complimentary buffet items were still available but as a la carte, and we didn't see any reduction in the offering, for example there were three platter options cheese, salomon and meat, and each platter was huge, we never took so much cheese or meet from buffet, so I guess they might adjust the portions later. The strange thing was that all egg options were priced in the menu as extra, but when we asked boiled or scramble they still were complimentary. The raw fish in the coconut milk disappeared from the menu, but they happily served it for free when we asked, and actually proactively served it next day noticing that we liked it.
I think with the occupancy of 20-25% it is inefficient to have a buffet, so hopefully post covid it will be back.

Hawkeyefan

Can I ask...how is masking there? Indoors only or are people wearing them at all times outdoors? Considering a stay BUT not wanting to be masked up outside. Thx!

KRUXED

During our stay masks were mostly worn inside; breakfast buffet, in/out of restaurants, etc. In the outdoor settings people were rarely masked-

We also joked you could tell who had been at the resort 4 days or more and who hadn’t; those who wore masks and those who didn’t. Four days into the trip of course is the additional COVID test requirement

partsunknown

Three days in... In reference to the Ohie butler service, might as well not exist. No mention/signs of it since the email, not sure why they even asked/introduced it.

Diamond breakfast is indeed just a set continental menu now vs buffet, with a bread/pastry station that also has some cereal. The menu has salads, fruits, three types of platters (cold cuts, salmon and cheese) and that's basically it. Any hot item is extra (eggs, pancakes, etc.). It's plenty to eat but the options seem very limited based on pictures of the buffet I'd seen. I have asked the servers what was with the change and they have just told me it's how they're doing the diamond breakfast from here on out.

The dining options seem to rotate, probably due to low occupancy. Upa Upa lounge is still closed for renovations, also lots of owv are under maintenance/repairs too. Even got a card in our room today apologizing for the next two days in advance for noise and construction around (they're taking sledge hammers to the pilons and replacing the concrete casing around the steel pilons it looks like). Not near our room for now, but can hear it at the pool occasionally.

Resort is about 25-30% capacity we were told, but honestly seems dead. Checked the app a week before our stay and had already been upgraded to a deluxe owv so thats definitely a pro to the times.

Staff always wear masks, most guests wear them indoors, but rarely if ever do I see masks on guests outside. So few people here though that it honestly didn't bother us at all. I found it funny that their social distancing signs here say 3ft vs the 6ft touted in the US.

Traveler Dave

Maybe they had trouble converting from the metric system?

TD

Whitedesert1

Unfortunately no COVID testing available at the hotel. Americans looking to get a COVID test prior to return to US will need to get tested at Tahiti or Moorea according to Conrad Bora Bora.

FleyeSkyHigh

Yes, this is a big problem extends to many other tourist destinations that are accepting U.S. visitors during the pandemic. There certainly is no lab to perform testing on Bora Bora and I am unaware of the existence of anyone possessing one of the antigen or instant test machines on the island. In other words all tests would have to be flown to Papeete and no private provider is equipped to handle such a task. The current government infrastructure as based on E.T.I.S and was built on technology borrowed from mainland France. While the system and testing infrastructure is reasonably robust to test all tourists once, it was not designed for delivery of test results directly to tourists/patients as such test results now become medical records. Further, it's my understanding that despite requiring the test occur at the day four mark the government often was not getting the lab test results sorted for another 3 - 5 days which would make the test stale by U.S. entry requirements. The good news is that the self tests that FP are using would satisfy the new U.S. entry/re-entry requirements. That said, outside of the FP government stepping up, speeding up and taking ownership of end-user testing I think people will have to, at least in the short term, plan on a two or three night stay over in Papeete.

I hope that the FP government does step up however otherwise tourism will mostly grind to a halt since all visitors are only coming through the U.S. The FP government would have to basically double their tourism testing capacity (if they keep testing at the 4th day after arrival) and get relief from EU regulations governing medical record delivery (or somehow equip ETIS to deliver the test results and comply which based on what I know about ETIS would not be feasible in the short term).