ALGU

You're response is on point, thank you so much for all your helpful posts on this forum!

Corridor!

No Problem. Glad to help.

ALGU

5. Did La Plage handle the ATV, jet ski, and dive tour? I went to their website you linked a while back and they seem to be a bit discreet about those activities. However, they still advertise boat charters and private tours.

6. Do you know what time breakfast opens at the Thalasso?

7. Have you stayed at the Conrad? If so, would you book more of your activities while staying at the Thalasso or Conrad? Split 50/50?

Corridor!

5: La Plage is only for boat tours/ transfers. The dive shop we used is on site and they are Top Dive. (2012) Matira Jet Tours is who we used for the ATV tour. (2016)They are with in walking distance of the Moana. Moana Jet Ski is who we used for the Jet Ski tour. (2016). When we go now, we only do the private boat tour. We have been debating on skydiving but it’s really expensive.

6: I do not remember when breakfast opens. 6:30am if I had to guess. We always saw people at breakfast when we would run in the morning.

7: We have stayed at the Conrad. This question is really hard to answer. We loved both properties but we are partial to the Thalasso. I would recommend 50/50 split as it’s really a personal preferance and both resorts are superb.

jigri2003

1. Any updates from recent visitors about whether the LM-Thalasso shuttle is now charged 3400 or some other number ONE WAY, or is it really roundtrip if one wanted to use the return leg? Only someone who tried to do both the outbound LM-Thalasso and the return Thalasso-LM would know for sure.
2. And where one can find the documentation to support this in case of dispute.
3. And whether the roundtrip pricing (if it exists any more) doesn't apply for the check in/out trips as one blog suggested!

italdesign

I didn't find supporting documentation at the LM pier. We ended up having some service issues and Thalasso waived the boat fee for us. Very likely would have been charged the higher fee otherwise.

jigri2003

Thanks for the update! Wonder whether persoid was specifically saying the flyer was at the front desk, not the pier.

Any other thoughts on the visit overall (upgrades/food/Chin Lee/activities/service), or the transit experience the long way vs the expensive airport to/from transfers?

italdesign

I really loved my 3 days at Thalasso. It's smaller than Conrad BB but more strategically located, facing Mt. Otemanu head on. Snorkeling onsite is a bit abysmal as mentioned many times. Dinner was surprisingly not-that-unreasonably priced. Meanwhile breakfast was pretty meh, with hardly any variation between the 3 days. Next time I would not prepay for breakfast for all days (even with 50% off) and would get a nice dinner instead.

We had one of the worst arrival/check-in experiences at a hotel of this stature. It was late at night via the LM boat and we were basically dumped at the pier with little attention. The main receptionist that helped us was extremely rude by luxury standards. It was off to a rough start but got better after we voiced our disappointment.

jigri2003

In case its helpful to anyone, Jan 11 is available at the moment.

And thanks to italdesign for the commentary!

ALGU

Currently staying here for 5 nights so want to thank the forum for providing information on how to book and whoever released what ended up as my first two nights

1) Sands is currently under renovation until the 22nd.

2) Ambassador benefits appear to be guaranteed with the recent program change. I was hesitant on purchasing Ambassador, but with the recent 10K new sign up promotion, decided on pulling the trigger last month and am happy with the move. Reservation was upgraded to Sapphire the day before, even though there was only 1 Sapphire left available. Similarly, there were 0 Emeralds but after the upgrade, 1 showed available. If you aren't a member, I'd upgrade as soon as possible. Perhaps they process upgrades early out and might do another around closer-in, but I'm just speculating.

Fruit plate in room on arrival, one complimentary water, but not replenished though I just went to the gym and refilled anyways. I'll update how my late check-out requests go.

EDIT: Water was replenished. Housekeeping does several rounds throughout the day and I guess I was in the room when they did the water round my second day.

3) If you decide to skip the airport transfer, the hotel seems to have shifted on charging the boat transfer twice (3390 XPF x2), once for check-in and another for check-out. I'll try to argue it on check-out with pictures from the hotel's website advertising the RT pricing, but will likely expect to pay. Heads up for you late arrivals, I decided to do the Le Moana transfer to stock up at the store nearby, but it closes after 5:30pm. I actually enjoyed the longer route, got to see a bit of the island on the taxi ride, and got to stargaze on the boat alone.

4) Food and service on par with previous posts. Breakfast buffet was sufficient but was expecting a bit more. Can agree with the post earlier getting tired after staying several nights. Service is a bit standard, nothing cold but maybe just not well polished? For example, on check-in my agent mentioned that she wouldn't be able to do a tour of the resort since it was too late (8:45pm-9:00pm), and that she would make a note for someone to do it tomorrow. Of course that never came and I'm not too bummed out about it, but just not the attitude or follow through you'd expect with a resort of this caliber. I've also emailed asking the rate for upgrading on my last night, but still haven't got anything. They did however proactively offer the 50% discount on breakfast contrary to prior DPs.

5) +1 on the taxi recommendation from @Corridor! I emailed her before hand, and she surprisingly responds faster than anyone else on Bora Bora, sadlol. She waited for me at the pier and had a sign with my name. There was a couple heading to the Maitai but I guess there was some confusion with their pick up so she called the resort's driver, and in the end they worked out that they would just ride with us (no charge?) on the way to the Le Moana. I understand some people wouldn't be found of this and I can understand, given you're now sharing what would have been a private ride unexpected strangers, but it reminded me that I'm in a place not too unlike home.

6) Any idea why the resort has both Emerald and Resort View Rooms? I assume there's a bit of overlap if not completely interchangeable. I ask since there 0 Emeralds available closer in, but at least 9 or more resort view rooms available.

I guess the nice thing about Ambassador is that while the Sapphire upgrade isn't necessarily a "good" view relatively speaking, it gets you out of a bad view that some of the Emerald have facing the resort.

Corridor!

Your welcome for the recommendation. I am glad Dora took care of you. She always does.

I am not sure why the resort has resort view rooms. If you book one, the reservation actually says Emerald in your my reservations page.

Please let us know how the 4pm checkout goes.

Glad you you are having a good time!

ALGU

They honored it! Person who took my call was named Charles, so might have been lucky if it that was the GM.

ALGU

Duty manager's name is also Charles, so think that was the person who took my call instead. I also found a $20 credit on my folio which is another Ambassador benefit awarded by the Thalasso. I also got my second transfer charge to the Le Moana removed after I showed them their vague response to my email inquiry if the transfer would be charged twice or once for check-in/checkout.

ALGU

Just finished my stay at the Thalasso and now at the Conrad. My vote goes to the Conrad and here's my comparison:

1) Service (Conrad)

-Thalasso: At Thalasso, the only time I felt that service was outstanding was from the housekeeping team. Other than that, service widely varied. I had good service from the Concierge who provided information outside of the activities booklet and responded to emails reasonably, and from the front desk agent who removed the second transfer charge. I’ve had average service at breakfast. Like @italdesign, I had meh service on check-in and a poor experience on check-out to the point where I felt like I was an inconvenience and unwelcome due to issues caused by the hotel. @Corridor! mentioned the lack of email responses, and I had the same experience with no responses to my two requests for paid upgrades.

-Conrad: I was lei’d, given a tour of the resort and my room (refused at the Thalasso since I was told I arrived too late by using the 8:30pm Le Moana shuttle). Usually, I don’t really need the extra welcome, but my agent was a superstar, funny and charismatic the entire way. I wasn’t aware the resort recently cancelled the 3:30pm shuttle to the resort, however they ran one for the staff from Vaitape and the boat still stopped by the Robert Wan pier to pick me up! They always responded to emails and service at breakfast was wamer. Service was just better than the Thalasso in all regards except housekeeping, and Conrad’s housekeeping was still good.

2) Elite Recognition (Conrad)

-Thalasso: To be fair, the Thalasso fulfilled all Ambassador benefits in its entirety on an award stay. Guaranteed 4pm check out, one category upgrade, $20 F&B credit, welcome fruit, daily water. It’s simply that Hilton’s loyalty program is more rewarding, so it’s an unfair disadvantage. Happy to see the generous change given the previous DPs on Ambassador.

-Conrad: As a Diamond, I received complimentary breakfast, an upgrade to a base water villa, and unguaranteed late check out. For such an aspirational property, surprised to see extremely consistent and generous upgrades (at least garden villa, and have seen upgrade up to pool water villa, a 6 level upgrade).

3) Base Room (Thalasso)

-Thalasso: Unless you’re in the Brando suites, everyone gets the exact same villa just different views. It has a proper living room, bedroom, and a toilet/dressing room separate from the bathroom. While not as modern as the Conrad accommodations, the room was in good condition.

-Conrad: The base/deluxe water villas have the living space shared with the bedroom. However, the Horizon/Garden Villas which do have the separate living rooms also are getting pools added to be more competitive. The issue is that these aren’t even the base rooms, that’s the garden/horizon suites which are all housed in a single communal building.

4) Facilities/Grounds (Conrad)

-Thalasso: While an older property, I found the resort to be reasonably maintained. The layout of the resort is intuitive, and the pontoons are symmetrical. But pavement on the pontoons seems to be missing in some parts. The landside of the resort seems a bit bland including the vegetation, but I would say that the beach is more appealing than the Conrad.

-Conrad is much newer and the contemporary hardware reflects this. Unfortunately, the layout is all over the place but unlike the Thalasso, you get bikes that make the resort easy to navigate. Bikes are starting to show their age however. The vegetation is amazing, and the resort shows its beauty best on the walkway up to the view point that has the spa and chapel.

5) View (Thalasso)

-Thalasso: Hands down. Some may argue it’s the best in Bora Bora. It competes with the Le Meridien, St. Regis, and the Four Seasons for the most unobstructed view. My take is that the Thalasso has my favorite angle. Others may prefer the latter suggestions, but I like how the Thalasso’s view emphasizes the peak/summit. Kinda like a portrait shot vs a full body shot. I prefer the portrait shot of Mt. Otemanu, and you can see it from a large part of the resort!

-Conrad: Most accommodations don’t have a view of the mountain, not even the presidential villas! The few that do (roughly 101-106), have a view of the backside of Mt. Otemanu. Which if I didn’t know otherwise, would think it’s not the same mountain. Quite amazing the different looks of Mt. Otemanu due to its strong asymmetry.

6) Fish Life (Conrad)

-Thalasso: The villas extend into the lagoon and away from any coral. That means little sea life off your deck. Even with fish food ($12 for a small packet at the on-site store .-.) , I couldn’t get them to come. After snorkeling for a bit, I found one massive puffer fish near near Brando suite’s private boat dock at the end of my pontoon. I’d follow an earlier recommendation regarding snorkeling closer to the beach.

-Conrad: The villas line the beach head and is close to the coral. And there’s quite a bit of coral near the 100’s villas, so that meant easy spotting off my deck and even more when snorkeling. Even with the Hilton->Conrad construction/destruction process, the Thalasso is lacking.

7) Boat Transfer (Conrad)

-Thalasso: Former winner as they used to offer free shuttles, then limited free transfers to before 2:15pm, now the price has further increased and it’s only complimentary when booked in conjunction with an activity via the concierge. 3,390 XPF round trip, and they will likely charge this twice if used for check-in and check-out. The shuttle doesn’t even go to Vaitape, so that means a 2,000 XPF taxi ride on top of the resort transfer.

-Conrad: Goes directly to Vaitape which means easy connection and costs savings to the airport and island. Only 1,500 XPF round trip, but 4,900 XPF if taken after 4:15pm with the recent price increase. Someone mentioned they don’t record departures from Vaitape, so possible to avoid getting charged on arrival.

8) Award Booking (Conrad, Conrad, and Conrad)

-Thalasso: Literally the hardest award booking I’ve ever managed. It’s so competitive that award nights get booked within seconds of release. Otherwise, you’re left with piecing together cancelled nights and hoping they’re consecutive. Doesn’t help that you need a credit card to get the 4th night free, and I’ve found Hilton points are easier to come by than IHG points especially with sign up bonuses and points sharing.

-Conrad: When I booked, I found quite a bit of 5-6 consecutive nights, and several nights in general. It seems that they’ve tightened up on availability, but still available if you look way in advance or close in. Nothing compared to ridiculousness at the Thalasso.

jigri2003

With all these boat price increases, I'm looking to minimize the costs but also the hassle factor of the BOB-Vaitape-LeMoana-IC dance with bags in the heat and maybe rain of early Jan.

If anyone is interested in sharing a transfer for up to 5 seats (I take other 2) from BOB airport to IC Thalasso around ---------, PM me. I have a quote of 19,000 XPF for up to 4 people. We come out quite a bit ahead vs hotel transfer of around 7200 XPF one way per person if 4 pax, 4750 XPF each. Any more and the price is even lower. With the longer way through Vaitape and Le Moana, we are still getting charged 2000 xpf for taxi and then 3390 XPF per person for the IC shuttle. For no more than a couple of bucks more per person or maybe quite a bit less, we can all get started on our hard earned exotic vacation without the hassle!