Originally Posted by CanuckFlyHigh

The arrival process actually was the worst experience of the entire stay. They took us to a dedicated Ambassador check-in area and sat us down at a table with a Spire placard on it and provided a warm cloth and iced tea. The agent asked for our passports and credit card, and then left for about 15 minutes. She brought back some paperwork to sign, which we did, and the signed paperwork sat there for another 10 minutes until the manager came by to introduce himself. I handed him the paperwork and he said someone would be right back. Finally, about 10 minutes later, the agent comes back and tells us our room wasn't ready. It just felt like a huge waste of time to sit around for 35 minutes just to be told our room wouldn't be ready until 3.

Originally Posted by CanuckFlyHigh

OK, some may disagree with me here, but to all of the people who rant and rave about how expensive food is, I disagree. It is really not that bad. I think people forget that all prices INCLUDE 17% tax/tip. Sometimes I added a small tip extra, but it is still reasonable. Breakfast was $22.50 per person, lunch items were $29-36 per dish, and dinner was $32-45 per dish. For those that think this is "outrageous," you need to look at where Bora Bora is on a map, and if this is going to ruin your trip, don't come.

Originally Posted by CanuckFlyHigh

We brought floaties and string for our pool deck, and it was well worth it. We used them a lot. We left them behind, as I am sure many do. Our neighbors saw us, and called the service number, and they were promptly brought some floaties and string. We saw ALOT of floaties by the pool, so I assume they have tons of extras if you are feeling tight on luggage.

Originally Posted by CanuckFlyHigh

There has been a lot of meaningless posts on this thread, so I am hoping to provide a nice, recent, fresh review. Prior to Thalasso, we stayed 3 nights at Le Moana. I read a lot of comparisons between Le Moana and Thalasso. In my opinion, they shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence, as Thalasso blows LeMoana out of the water. We just completed a 3 night stay December 29 - January 1, and all I can say is wow. We just spent 30 days earlier this year on a honeymoon mostly at Aman's and Four Seasons, and this stay likely topped all of that (except for maybe Amankila), with some exceptions relating to service.

By way of reference, I am Spire Ambassador. We received an upgrade from Emerald to Sapphire. If I ever returned, I would pay whatever amount of money they asked to upgrade to a Sapphire. The views of the open lagoon/mountain vs. staring at the busy beach and restaurants all day is worth a lot of money. I was not told why we were upgraded. In fact, no one even told me we were upgraded, I just knew from looking at the map on their website. It could have been due to Spire, or Ambassador, or both. I guess it will always remain a mystery We DID NOT receive early check in. We did receive a fruit plate, and daily water (although I don't know why this is such a big deal to people - the tap water is drinkable and good). We also received a 4PM late checkout, which I requested the day before check-out. This was HUGE for us as we had a 6PM flight, and we essentially got another free day out of this. In a perfect world, as an Ambassador, I would bookend my free nights with a paid night at the start and end, so you can essentially get TWO extra days out of your villa as you would get 8am Check In and 4PM Check Out.

We booked this on points. We never planned on staying here. We booked 6 nights at Le Moana back in March, 2017 before IHG limited rewards availability at Moana. In early December, one night at Thalasso opened up, and in mid-December, two more nights opened up, so we stayed 3 nights for 180,000 points. Paid rates at the time were about $1200 USD/night including taxes. In fact, two nights beyond our stay (Jan 2/3) were also open, but the cost of changing our Air Tahiti Nui flights was extremely prohibitive so we did not extend our stay (which I regret now).

Arrival:

We were coming from Le Moana, and paid for the boat transfer, which was 4900 ($49) XPF for 2 people. We had the hotel call ahead the day before, and we were informed that our room would not be ready until 3PM. We headed over on the 11:45AM shuttle, figuring we would grab lunch and hope to get our room slightly earlier. The arrival process actually was the worst experience of the entire stay. They took us to a dedicated Ambassador check-in area and sat us down at a table with a Spire placard on it and provided a warm cloth and iced tea. The agent asked for our passports and credit card, and then left for about 15 minutes. She brought back some paperwork to sign, which we did, and the signed paperwork sat there for another 10 minutes until the manager came by to introduce himself. I handed him the paperwork and he said someone would be right back. Finally, about 10 minutes later, the agent comes back and tells us our room wasn't ready. It just felt like a huge waste of time to sit around for 35 minutes just to be told our room wouldn't be ready until 3. We went and had lunch and walked around, and came back at 2:45, and again, they told us to come back at 3. Sure enough, at 3 o'clock, us and everyone else who was checking in stood in line one by one to get our room keys, and then had to wait for a golf cart to take us to our room because there wasn't enough carts. I asked if we could just have the key but they said someone would need to take us there and give us a tour of the room. Not a huge deal, it was just a little annoying and left a poor first impression.

Room

WOW. I mean I don't know what else to say. I won't bother posting pictures, as you can go on TA or Oyster and see them all. We had room 117, and it was simply stunning. The views of the open lagoon waters were amazing and felt quite private. The view of the mountain was perfect. I have to admit, coming in to this, I didn't think it was a big deal, but having stayed there now, I spent hours gazing at that mountain. It's beauty changes every hour, with different sun and light levels, and when the sun goes behind it, and the sky gets darker, it is simply stunning. I would request the exact room again. Room 120-116 all had great views of the mountain, and had excellent sun and shade levels throughout the day for whatever you are looking for. This was one of the best hard product rooms we have stayed in. The shower is amazing and fits two with ease, the walk in closet was huge, the bedroom views were perfect, the bath tub is simply stunning and also fits two. I sat at the desk and worked for an hour one day and stared at the clear blue waters. That being said, we spent 95% of our time on the deck. If we wanted some shade, we always had some up on our upper deck. If we wanted sun, we always had some on the lower deck. We swam, napped, floated, tanned, etc. It was just perfect. We rarely left the room, except for breakfast.

Food

OK, some may disagree with me here, but to all of the people who rant and rave about how expensive food is, I disagree. It is really not that bad. I think people forget that all prices INCLUDE 17% tax/tip. Sometimes I added a small tip extra, but it is still reasonable. Breakfast was $22.50 per person, lunch items were $29-36 per dish, and dinner was $32-45 per dish. For those that think this is "outrageous," you need to look at where Bora Bora is on a map, and if this is going to ruin your trip, don't come.

As a general rule, at all restaurants, you need to clarify that you want tap water, otherwise they will bring you still or sparkling bottled water. We thought the tap water at the resort was delicious.

• Room Service: This is the deal of the resort. It is only $10 (1000 XPF) to have your food delivered to your room. Who wants to go sit in a restaurant and waste an hour away from your overwater villa when it can be brought to you?! The room service menu is limited, however on the first day we grabbed menu's from Sands and Reef and Room Service always delivered anything off of those menu's. Of course, since we had all of our own booze (explained below), it was nice to have your meal, and be able to drink your own booze.
• Breakfast: make sure you ASK for the 50% discount on breakfast. No one mentioned it to us, and in fact they looked kind of surprised we knew about it. You commit to breakfast for your entire stay and it is 50% off. It was 4500 ($45) XPF for two people, per day. $22.50 per person people! Including coffee, tea, juices, tax and tip. For a very decent buffet breakfast, on an island in the middle of nowhere. If you think this is expensive, you should not come to Bora Bora. I have paid more for a breakfast at a very average hotel in Ohio.
• Lunch: We ate lunch the first day at Sands, the beachfront restaurant. It was nice. Service was OK. A little slow. Food was great. The Polynesian Wahoo Burger was awesome. We had the rest of our lunches on our deck, delivered by room service. The room service lady's were often the same, and they were very nice, and provided excellent service - setting up our outdoor table every time.
• Dinner: We ate at Reef one night, and had room service the other two nights. The Seared rare Tuna was by far the best item on the menu. The Bouillabaisse was a close second. The wine is VERY reasonably priced at this resort. Glasses of wine for $9-14 USD, many bottles for $45-$80 USD.

Interestingly, we were never notified about a mandatory New Years Eve dinner. If I was not an avid FT'er, I would also have had no idea about it. No one mentioned it when we checked in, and in fact, no one, at any time, mentioned it would be our only dining option on NYE. We DESPISE gala buffet dinners. They simply are not our scene. Now $380 US per person buffet dinners with a bunch of strangers are DEFINITELY not our scene. So I called room service at lunch and ordered lunch, and I asked what time room service was open until. They notified me that it was open until 6PM. Around 3PM, someone called our room to tell us that the only option to eat that evening was the gala dinner. I mentioned that I was told room service was open until 6, and we planned on ordering a nice bottle of wine and two pizzas and enjoying it on our deck over the water. The person said no problem. You could tell they were likely realizing that they forgot to notify us about the NYE dinner as we were the only room staying on points where it wouldn't have been a part of our room rate. Again, had I not been a FT'er, I would have assumed all restaurants were open and knew nothing about a gala. At 5PM I called for room service and they told me it had closed at 2PM. I mentioned I was assured it was open until 6, they put me on hold, and came back and said OK and took our order. We had pizzas and wine delivered, which we put aside and ate around 8PM.

It turns out we had the most stunning, romantic, new years eve dinner we could have ever dreamed of. While the entire resort was at the buffet gala dinner, Polynesian show, DJ dance, etc. we sat on our lower deck, with candles lit, enjoying beers, pizzas and a bottle of wine. It was two days from a full moon, which was simply magical, and you could see that every single room in our semi-circle of rooms was empty. We were the ONLY people in the rooms and it was really really special. We turned our Bluetooth speaker on our favorite albums, and enjoyed a three hour dinner followed by a late night swim. I am not sure there would be another scenario EVER where we would be the ONLY ones in our rooms in the entire resort (at least in the half semi-circle we were apart of). Kudos to the hotel for realizing that they had never notified us about the NYE dinner, and not trying to enforce it on us. We will never forget that dinner.

Drinks:

This is where things can really add up FAST. First off, I would like to say, that as a millennial, we are becoming spoiled with very good cocktail bars, and average resort style cocktails just don't do it for us. If you are going to charge me $26 dollars for a cocktail, it better be damn good. We thought the cocktails were terrible. We went to the bar one night, ordered two each, and never returned. I mean they were OK, if you are in mexico looking for an average beach cocktail, but they could really up their game here. The cheapest beer was Heineken, or Hinano (local beer), at $8 USD. However, there is an UNADVERTISED deal. You can ask for a bucket of 5 Heinekens or Hinano for 3250 XPF ($32 USD). That is $6.50 a beer. I have paid $6.50 a beer in ALOT of places much shittier than Bora Bora. This is quite reasonable, and when we ran out of the store bought booze on the last few days, we ordered this at the bar and brought it back to our room.

That being said, it would be VERY worth it to take the free boat shuttle to Le Moana, and go to the general store which is a 1-2 minute walk from the Le Moana Resort . Since we were coming from Le Moana, we stocked up before we came. We bought 30 beers, 6 cartons of TAHITI DRINK (this stuff was amazing!!!) and two bottles of wine, and simply kept them in the plastic bag. The resort did not care, or say anything when we arrived with our own alcohol, and it sure was nice to drink at our leisure in our villa. If you are ONLY staying at Thalasso, I would encourage you to make it the very first thing you do, is to head over to the main island and stock up. The transfer is free before 1:30 PM.

Cash:
I took out cash at the Tahiti airport, which turned out to be useless. The general store, main island restaurants, and hotels all accepted Credit Card. I wouldn't take out cash in the future. If you really need it, the hotel will give it to you and charge it against your room at an OK rate.

Departure:

Staff brought our bill about 2 hours before departure for review, and everything was accurate. About 15 minutes before our boat left for the airport, we were picked up in a golf cart, taken to the front desk to pay, and then driven to the boat. We used the hotel transfer from Thalasso to the Airport which takes about 15 minutes and cost 12900 ($129) for 2 people. I simply can't imagine taking the shuttle over to Le Moana, then a taxi or bus to Viatepe, then the free Air Tahiti boat. to the airport, all to save $50-70 bucks. For reference, the boat starts at Le Moana, then comes to Thalasso, then the Airport. In reverse, it goes Airport, Thalasso, Le Moana. We took the hotel boat to Le Moana (which stopped at Thalasso first), and in hindsight, it may have been faster to take the Air Tahiti Boat to Viatepe and then a taxi, which is what I would do next time - but this isn't a review about Moana! SImply put, if you are leaving Thalasso, take the airport boat. If you are arriving at Thalsso, I would take the free Air Tahiti Boat, so you can stock up at a store on the main island, and then take the boat shuttle from Le Moana for $25 per person.



Service:
This is the one place where things were very hit or miss. We had some great servers, and some bad servers. Some great service, and some bad service. Often at the restaurants we would have to ask for something twice to get it. In general, the french staff were much better than the local Polynesian restaurant staff, however there were exceptions both ways. Maybe we were spoiled on our honeymoon, but there were certainly a lot of service misses here. It wasn't a huge deal - we were in paradise, but I just thought I would mention it. I imagine to get top quality service, you need to be at St. Regis or Four Seasons in Bora Bora.

Other Tips:

We brought floaties and string for our pool deck, and it was well worth it. We used them a lot. We left them behind, as I am sure many do. Our neighbors saw us, and called the service number, and they were promptly brought some floaties and string. We saw ALOT of floaties by the pool, so I assume they have tons of extras if you are feeling tight on luggage.

I brought a small insulated cooler that was easily the best thing I packed. We were able to fill it with ice, and use that ice for our drinks, as well to keep our beer cold (Tahiti Drink and Beer on ice - half and half ratio- was our go to drink). The small amount of insulation really did a great job keeping things cool all day.

Don't fret about the food. It isn't crazy expensive. Plan to spend about $45 USD for breakfast for 2, $60-80 for lunch for 2, and $70-100 for dinner for 2, not including drinks. Wine is as cheap as home restaurants. Room service is only $10 bucks to eat on the beauty of your outdoor deck. Great deal.

Let me know if you have any other questions! Really was the stay of a lifetime, and we will be returning, whether it is paid or on points. I have been alot of beautiful places, and nothing comes close to the beauty of Bora Bora. I can tell you there was ALOT of chatter amongst staff and locals about the new SFO United flight. Some were very excited for the added business, and some were very concerned for the future of quaint Bora Bora. Take that for what it's worth, but it was brought up in many conversations.

It was apparently "Rainy Season." The first few days we had spouts of a 15 minute downpour here and there, which wasn't a big deal. One day we had a 2 hour rain spell. Other than that, sunny skies!

Originally Posted by Carl Christensen

Very good review that mimics most of what we experienced.

We did 6 nights at the Thalasso in 2015 mixed with other locations and we were upgraded to to Sapphire as well as Spire Ambassador.

We spent most of the time enjoying our OWB as well. For me, the only downside was the poor to nonexistent snorkeling options there.

Originally Posted by CanuckFlyHigh

Thank you. I really didn't think I would mind staying in an Emerald, but after having that mountain view (Sapphire), I would never even consider an Emerald. You have spent so much money to get to Bora Bora, that cheaping out on the non-view room would be penny wise and dollar foolish.

I agree, I am not sure we saw more than 2 fish the entire time we were in our OWB. The fish life was MUCH better at Le Moana. If someone really wanted to have some great snorkeling, they could take the free shuttle from Thalasso to Moana, and then take a Paddle Board or Kayak over to the snorkeling spot by the Sofitel private island. Get there early or you will be snorkeling with the masses. One day we counted 18 boats parked at the snorkeling spot in the afternoon.

Originally Posted by Corridor!

Originally Posted by floridatraveler90

Just checked out that site and I am interested in doing it. I'm guessing the $500 deal you are talking about would be the 4 person private boat tour?

Originally Posted by Corridor!

Correct. That price is for up to 4 people. That boat can handle about 12. Each person over 4 is an additional charge. We have taken that tour twice and would rate it as our top tour in Bora Bora.

Originally Posted by Islandlover1

I am looking for advice on my itinerary. I will be going to Bora Bora this February into March (soo excited! I've been dreaming about this forever). Currently I have booked 4 nights at IC Moorea, followed by 4 nights at IC Le Moana, followed by 4 nights at IC Thalasso. I'm thinking of changing it to 5 nights IC Moorea, 3 nights IC Le Moana, and 4 nights IC Thalasso. Any thoughts? I'm wondering if I'll be wishing I spent more time on Moorea. My husband and I will be going and we love activities and sealife but also love just hanging out at the beach and swimming. I love clear water and I've heard that Bora Bora is the most beautiful, so that's why I have 8 nights in Bora Bora right now.

Also, can anyone give any recommendation for the best shark & ray tour? Any information on the best activities/excursions is greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

Originally Posted by 336

Originally Posted by CanuckFlyHigh

make SURE you sign up for Ambassador. With three IC stays, it will be WELL worth it.

Originally Posted by itsj0nathan

Leaving in 3 weeks, is it too late to sign up for Ambassador? Or should I just do it at the hotel? Im not sure if its instant or what not