OK, let's clarify this again. The "family suites" - there is only a couple of those -
are completely separated from the rest of the resort. They are more
part of the crew section. They don't feel like part of the resort. They
are not on a beach. They are nice inside - the same furniture etc like
the OWBs, but they are not nice. Trust me. You will be disappointed when
you arrive to Thalasso, see all those great OWBs and are being sent to
those two outside garden bungalows.
At Le Moana your beach bungalow will be part of the resort and they
are actually really nice. They are not as modern and new as Thalasso,
but they are nice. As Ambassador we were upgraded to OWB at Le Moana
2 years ago on a reward stay there. So it is possible.
My first choice would be to pay the upgrade at Thalasso - but be clear about
it BEFORE you go - email them and arrange it.
2nd choice - take a reward beach bungalow at Le Moana. You might get
an upgrade, but if not - you will like it. And you can always spend
as much time as you want at Thalasso.

My wife and I had 9 reward nights in Sept 06 at Le Moana. We went as RAs and got upgraded to an over the water bungalow. We tried to confirm it before our arrival, but got the generic "you can pay XX to upgrade" but decided to roll the dice anyways. We were very pleased with the service at LeMoana and enjoyed being able to walk to local restaurants / grocery stores to avoid getting fleeced at the hotel buffets.

The links below include property maps and room descriptions. Decide for yourself.

http://www.boraboraspa.intercontinental.com

http://www.lemoana.intercontinental.com

http://www.moorea.intercontinental.com

The good point for staying at Le Moana is, that there is next to the ressort a grocery store and you can avoid the expensive hotel shop.

I have been following this thread, as it applies directly to my 1/09 trip. Azepine and others have asked "Had anyone actually received a landside bungalow at Thalasso?" but no one seems to answer. Anyone ever actually stayed there??????? .... BTW, we also staying at the sheraton moorea (got it for 4800 pts + $90, but they have since raised its category) they told me, and I get the impression they commonly tell people, there is an upsell charge for owb. I got and owh (I think that means Horizon OWB) for $210/nt. So 4800 pts and $300 for a horizon owb, I'm happy. Maybe all the hotels are realizing they can upsell instead of upgrade....

Another update on new room policy
 

As the OP of this thread I can add some new information to what has been said here recently. I just got back from another stay at IC Thalasso today. We had a paid/points combination stay and the award was booked when they still booked into the Emerald OW category.

So, I didn't stay in the new land family villas either but I did have a look at them and I agree that this is absolutely a disgrace to offer these rooms as award rooms. They are a great idea for families but most of us come to Bora Bora as a couple for a special occassion and you want to spend your time in or near the water in an OW bungalow. You will not at all want to stay in one of these rooms that look like a normal modern apartment somewhere at the back of the resort. There are three of those villas right next to eachother with the balconies facing into the bush (no sun, no view of the mountain or the water). You are, however, only 20 metres away from the other side of the motu where the access is restricted and you can encounter the occasional wild dog running around. Definitely NOT the place to be on Bora Bora.

In addition to this, the hotel has once again introduced a new room category beyond their Diamond category. Essentially, these bungalows now actually face the Mt. Otemanu and there are only 6 or 7 in that category. By doing so, they have also dramatically raised the prices for this new category, so if you now want to get a bungalow with a guaranteed view of Mt. Otemanu you will have to fork out around 30% more compared to a normal Diamond bungalow. These new categories cannot be booked yet but they had the prices at reception and will implement the changes shortly.

I also had a chat with the front office manager about the new award room policy and I can report that the resort is now strictly enforcing their new policy amongst some other RA benefit policies. The best thing he said to me was "If you book on points....you loose" and this pretty much seem to be their new direction. Minibar charges were charged as an RA on the nights of the award stay whereas last year they didn't charge anything regardless of paid or award night. He also said that there will be no more upgrades on awards nor late checkout, free movie, not even a welcome gift or anything else for RAs. And then he repeated that if I booked on points I really loose and that this was not their policy but PCs policy. They are just following their rules (and unfortunately he is correct....).

I honestly feel though that PC cannot continue their zero-benefits-for-award-bookings-policy much longer. Especially as RAs we spend 50 or more nights per year at IC hotels and if I finally do spend my points for a holiday I do not want to be treated like the last scum on earth by the hotel. What kind of message does this send to their most loyal customers :mad: ???

"Yes, thank you for staying with us in the past and thank you for all the money you've spend with us last year. It's now time to reward you with a free stay but unfortunately we will treat you as if we've never seen you before. So, please enjoy your least desirable room in the back of the resort and make sure to settle your bill at the usual check-out time of 10am."

I would just add one more thing. It seems like getting ANY
upgrade in this hotel now is a big PITA. Paid nights or not.
With the new "category" introduced we can forget about
the best bungalows I guess unless we specifically pay for it.
It also seems like if your stay is a paid/points stay
- you will spend your paid nights in an OWB and then
they will move you to one of those "family suites"...
That s@cks. I have no words to express what I feel about this.
Over last two years it evolved from a truly amazing place with
so many great memories to a place I will never go to again...
For the same price they ask for their best OWBs, we would rather
try St Regis and what looks like an amazing new 4 Seasons hotel...
We fell in love with Bora Bora and that won't change :)

Thanks. We all like confirmation when we have reached a decision, and I had already decided to give up on requalifying for RA. I do wonder, however, if one gets free minibar for Reward Nights if he pays for an upgrade.

In any case, I am sure they are market-driven and it makes biz sense to do what they do, but it does send a strong message to loyal elite customers.

I think they should limit the number of award rooms available,
but keep the system as it used to be. I would know - OK, it's hard
to score an award room, but at least it's clear what's going on.
The worst what's happening now is that you have to start your stay
in Bora Bora paradise with some kind of hiccup/unpleasant situation etc...
Every report we got lately started with a problem - not a room they promised/
no upgrades/RA advantages refusal etc. All I want is arrive to Thalasso,
sit down and absorb the beauty of the place. I'd rather pay more
and go somewhere else now.

Thx for all the up to date info. My reward trip to FP is already booked for Jan 09 (we are in HI in the winter, so just a short trip to FP). I'm just going to stay at Le Moana and avoid all the bs. I think since its Jan. Le Moana will (PC Plat/amb) upgrade or at least upsell me to OWB, and I have heard, in the worst case, the beach bungelows are ok anyhow. My wife keeps saying she want to stay there anyhow to walk to local restaurants. She says if we just want a great resort, no need to lv FL or HI., we are going to see FP not a new hotel. Maybe she's right for once.

You might want to consider splitting your stay at both Le Moana and Thalasso (at least 2 nights) and pay for upgrade at Thalasso when you arrive there just in case if they do not give you a free upgrade. There are free shuttle boats running between the 2 resorts. The o/w bungalows at Thalasso are gorgeous and the resort is stunning. January is low season (rainny season) in FP, and the occupancy should be very low, so Thalasso might give you a free upgrade to o/w bungalow. Good luck!

If you want the benefits that go with status, then book rates where these benefits exist. There is no entitlement to an upgrade or free minibar when on an award stay. If the award booking is for the a family suite, then expect to stay in one of them or , if they offer to upgrade for a fee, then pay the upgrade cost and there is no unpleasant situation to consider

If they are refusing to honour benefits for paid stays, then that is different

Dave

Like I wrote earlier, their decision surely makes business sense in some respect, but I consider it a demotion when OWB's were once available on points, but now are not. Therefore it makes business sense for me to shop elsewhere. Win-win, y'know?

I guess most of us, especially the RAs here know very well RA benifit doesn't apply to award stay. However, I had numerous reward nights at different IC hotels worldwide since I was invited to be RA couple years ago and have never come across any ICs that didn't give me any benefits. Even IC Bangkok (I believe it is the most stingy IC) gave me club access and full club benefits on my entire stay (5 reward nights) recently after couple of emails to the front manager.

I suggest ICHG charges more points for higher room categories at some ICs, like other hotel programs do. For example, I am willing and happy to pay 60,000 pts for the o/w bangalow at Thalasso.

Thank God almost all the ICs are very generous to RAs with reward nights otherwise I don't know what I'm going to do with the one millon + points in my account!:eek:

The issue I see is that if , rather than be happy when a benefit above and beyond what is required is given, that people start sulking and suggesting that not getting it leads to "unpleasant situations", then what is more likely to happen is that all hotels will be directed to not give benefits on award stays.

In that way all lose given that some hotels do provide benefits whilst others, such as Thalasso and IC Perth do not provide upgrades/free minibars on awards

Dave