Mar 23, 2015, 11:08 pm
Last edit by: jigri2003
Some info:
Prepaid meal plan rates as of Feb 2015 per post 1305: (breakfast price updated as of Jan 2020)
Breakfast: 4860 xpf (tax incl) per person per day
Half board (breakfast and a 3-courses dinner): 13 053 xpf (tax incl) per person per day
Full board (breakfast, a 2-courses lunch and a 3-courses dinner): 17 632 xpf (tax incl) per person per day.
Breakfast 50% discount: available only at check in time if it is taken for the entire stay. It does not apply for half board and full board. Post 1376
Guaranteed Upgrade Costs as of January 2015 per post 1293
Emerald to Sapphire: 15,000 XPF + 14% taxes per night
Emerald to Diamond: 25,000 XPF + 14% taxes per night
Emerald to Diamond Otemanu: 35,000 XPF + 14% taxes per night
Emerald to Diamond End of Pontoon: 45,000 XPF + 14% taxes per night
Full prepayment prior to arrival required
Direct Boat Transfers to/from Airport One-way: 7334 XPF (updated Dec 2019) (about 15 minutes). Resort will email you to arrange this ahead of time if desired.
Boat transfer from the Airport is not mandatory despite what any hotel emails might imply to the contrary. It's possible to take the free Air Tahiti shuttle to Vaitape (15 minutes), followed by a taxi to the IC Le Moana for 2000XPF (15 minutes), then the IC's shuttle between Le Moana and Thalasso for 3390 XPF per person one way (updated Dec 2019) (15 minutes). If all transfers go smoothly, the journey could be as short as an hour, or longer than two hours if you're unlucky.
Boat Times (as of Oct 2016, and current as of Jan 2020)
Leaving Le Moana:
7:45am
8:45am
11:45am*
12:45pm
1:45pm
4:30pm
5:30pm*
6:30pm
8:30pm
10:00pm
Leaving Thalasso:
8:15am
9:15am*
12:15pm
1:15pm
2:15pm*
5:00pm
6:00pm
7:00pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
* Boat times with a * can connect with the bus shuttle between IC Le Moana and Vaitape town, as shown below:
Bus Shuttles between IC Le Moana and Vaitape town:
Depart IC Le Moana:
9:45am
2:45pm
Depart Vaitape:
11:15am
5:00pm
The bus shuttle costs 1150 XPF RT/person.
Note: There is no ATM at the Thalasso. The closest ATMs are in Vaitape, the main town where the airport ferry stops. However, both IC Le Moana and Thalasso will give you a "cash advance" on your credit card for a fee of 5%. The transaction will post as a purchase.
XPF is also available at the airport in Pappeete from several ATMs.
POST 1795
Resort Email: [email protected]
Prepaid meal plan rates as of Feb 2015 per post 1305: (breakfast price updated as of Jan 2020)
Breakfast: 4860 xpf (tax incl) per person per day
Half board (breakfast and a 3-courses dinner): 13 053 xpf (tax incl) per person per day
Full board (breakfast, a 2-courses lunch and a 3-courses dinner): 17 632 xpf (tax incl) per person per day.
Breakfast 50% discount: available only at check in time if it is taken for the entire stay. It does not apply for half board and full board. Post 1376
Guaranteed Upgrade Costs as of January 2015 per post 1293
Emerald to Sapphire: 15,000 XPF + 14% taxes per night
Emerald to Diamond: 25,000 XPF + 14% taxes per night
Emerald to Diamond Otemanu: 35,000 XPF + 14% taxes per night
Emerald to Diamond End of Pontoon: 45,000 XPF + 14% taxes per night
Full prepayment prior to arrival required
Direct Boat Transfers to/from Airport One-way: 7334 XPF (updated Dec 2019) (about 15 minutes). Resort will email you to arrange this ahead of time if desired.
Boat transfer from the Airport is not mandatory despite what any hotel emails might imply to the contrary. It's possible to take the free Air Tahiti shuttle to Vaitape (15 minutes), followed by a taxi to the IC Le Moana for 2000XPF (15 minutes), then the IC's shuttle between Le Moana and Thalasso for 3390 XPF per person one way (updated Dec 2019) (15 minutes). If all transfers go smoothly, the journey could be as short as an hour, or longer than two hours if you're unlucky.
Boat Times (as of Oct 2016, and current as of Jan 2020)
Leaving Le Moana:
7:45am
8:45am
11:45am*
12:45pm
1:45pm
4:30pm
5:30pm*
6:30pm
8:30pm
10:00pm
Leaving Thalasso:
8:15am
9:15am*
12:15pm
1:15pm
2:15pm*
5:00pm
6:00pm
7:00pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
* Boat times with a * can connect with the bus shuttle between IC Le Moana and Vaitape town, as shown below:
Bus Shuttles between IC Le Moana and Vaitape town:
Depart IC Le Moana:
9:45am
2:45pm
Depart Vaitape:
11:15am
5:00pm
The bus shuttle costs 1150 XPF RT/person.
Note: There is no ATM at the Thalasso. The closest ATMs are in Vaitape, the main town where the airport ferry stops. However, both IC Le Moana and Thalasso will give you a "cash advance" on your credit card for a fee of 5%. The transaction will post as a purchase.
XPF is also available at the airport in Pappeete from several ATMs.
POST 1795
Resort Email: [email protected]
IC Thalasso Bora Bora Master Thread [merged]
Nov 11, 2014, 2:29 pm
#1202
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,839
Nervous or not, weather is something that nobody has control over. Don't sweat it.
Nov 12, 2014, 11:00 am
#1203
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 4
We are heading to the Thalasso in December for our honeymoon and getting very excited. Can someone please let us know if getting Ambassador status (platinum then paying $200) is worth it if we're staying on points. Will we receive anything different at this hotel than if we did not purchase the status? I would assume that the hotel will not be filled as its the beginning of rainy season and off-peak.
Also, any tips people have that might be underrated? I've read bring some Nespresso capsules, a few snacks, and maybe buy some alcohol duty free (is this an issue on the flight to BB?) at the Papette airport for the room. The idea is to save a few bucks where we can so that we can do as many excursions (jet skis, sharks/rays, spa) as possible.
Thanks!
Also, any tips people have that might be underrated? I've read bring some Nespresso capsules, a few snacks, and maybe buy some alcohol duty free (is this an issue on the flight to BB?) at the Papette airport for the room. The idea is to save a few bucks where we can so that we can do as many excursions (jet skis, sharks/rays, spa) as possible.
Thanks!
Nov 19, 2014, 2:34 pm
#1205
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: bay area, ca
Programs: AS 100K, AA Gold, IC Diamond AMB, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,840
We are heading to the Thalasso in December for our honeymoon and getting very excited. Can someone please let us know if getting Ambassador status (platinum then paying $200) is worth it if we're staying on points. Will we receive anything different at this hotel than if we did not purchase the status? I would assume that the hotel will not be filled as its the beginning of rainy season and off-peak.
Also, any tips people have that might be underrated? I've read bring some Nespresso capsules, a few snacks, and maybe buy some alcohol duty free (is this an issue on the flight to BB?) at the Papette airport for the room. The idea is to save a few bucks where we can so that we can do as many excursions (jet skis, sharks/rays, spa) as possible.
Thanks!
Also, any tips people have that might be underrated? I've read bring some Nespresso capsules, a few snacks, and maybe buy some alcohol duty free (is this an issue on the flight to BB?) at the Papette airport for the room. The idea is to save a few bucks where we can so that we can do as many excursions (jet skis, sharks/rays, spa) as possible.
Thanks!
If you're going to get Amb you might do better to wait until you're at the resort, and inquire when you're there about purchasing. My understanding is each hotel has a quota in terms of sign-ups they need to get monthly, and tend to do a bit more for those who sign up in person. I experienced this myself at the ICSF with a friend who signed up when they came along with me (I was RA at the time -- he was upgraded to a room as Amb that I had only gotten once as RA!)
Nov 20, 2014, 11:19 am
#1206
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: AMEX PLT, AA PPro, Spire AMB
Posts: 1,617
I have 2 separate 3 night award bookings for IC Thalasso, one sep 5-8 and the other sep 11-14 of next year which I will very likely be cancelling the next few days. From past experience, the award nights should become available as soon as I hit cancel, if anyone has interest in these dates, msg me and we can coordinate a time to swap them.
Nov 23, 2014, 9:32 pm
#1207
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 940
Anyone has experience of staying on points + Amb purchase at the resort? What kind of perks do you get? Thanks before-hand.
If you're going to get Amb you might do better to wait until you're at the resort, and inquire when you're there about purchasing. My understanding is each hotel has a quota in terms of sign-ups they need to get monthly, and tend to do a bit more for those who sign up in person. I experienced this myself at the ICSF with a friend who signed up when they came along with me (I was RA at the time -- he was upgraded to a room as Amb that I had only gotten once as RA!)
Nov 24, 2014, 1:42 am
#1208
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,839
If you're going to get Amb you might do better to wait until you're at the resort, and inquire when you're there about purchasing. My understanding is each hotel has a quota in terms of sign-ups they need to get monthly, and tend to do a bit more for those who sign up in person. I experienced this myself at the ICSF with a friend who signed up when they came along with me (I was RA at the time -- he was upgraded to a room as Amb that I had only gotten once as RA!)
Nov 28, 2014, 9:00 am
#1209
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 112
6 nights in Bora Bora, 350 days in advance
I just completed making reward night reservations: 3 nights at Le Moana Bora Bora and 3 nights at Thalasso. I made the reservations one night at a time, 350 days out, the maximum allowed on the web site.
350 Day in Advance Limit
Apparently, the web developers have both the check-in and checkout limit set to 350 days in advance. There is one small "trick" I discovered to make the reservation exactly 350 days out. One the Make a Reservation web page, I had to select the arrival and the departure date as 350 days out, e.g. Friday, Nov 13, 2015. It does not allow me to select my real checkout day of Saturday, Nov 14, since that is 351 days out. Click on the Find a Hotel. The next screen provides an error message, "There were no hotels found using your specified search criteria. Please try again by changing your selections." This screen allows selecting Nov 14 as a checkout date, even though it is grayed out. Click on the "Change Search" button and up comes the search results. There may be an easier way to do this, or the web developers might fix this. But this works for me now so I thought I would share it for anyone who wants to make a one night reservation exactly 350 days out.
Reward Space Availability
On the last screen, before confirming the reservation, there is a box on the left side of the web page that says, "EMERALD OVERWATER VILLA. . . Only 4 rooms left!" I may be reading too much between the lines, but I'm guessing this means there are 4 rooms available for reward space. There are 19 or so Emerald rooms at the resort.
350 Day in Advance Limit
Apparently, the web developers have both the check-in and checkout limit set to 350 days in advance. There is one small "trick" I discovered to make the reservation exactly 350 days out. One the Make a Reservation web page, I had to select the arrival and the departure date as 350 days out, e.g. Friday, Nov 13, 2015. It does not allow me to select my real checkout day of Saturday, Nov 14, since that is 351 days out. Click on the Find a Hotel. The next screen provides an error message, "There were no hotels found using your specified search criteria. Please try again by changing your selections." This screen allows selecting Nov 14 as a checkout date, even though it is grayed out. Click on the "Change Search" button and up comes the search results. There may be an easier way to do this, or the web developers might fix this. But this works for me now so I thought I would share it for anyone who wants to make a one night reservation exactly 350 days out.
Reward Space Availability
On the last screen, before confirming the reservation, there is a box on the left side of the web page that says, "EMERALD OVERWATER VILLA. . . Only 4 rooms left!" I may be reading too much between the lines, but I'm guessing this means there are 4 rooms available for reward space. There are 19 or so Emerald rooms at the resort.
Dec 1, 2014, 8:39 am
#1210
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: AMEX PLT, AA PPro, Spire AMB
Posts: 1,617
Tip for anyone booking on AMB BOGO, the diamond otemanu end of pontoon is going for $100 more than emerald, ie. 110,000 XPF v. 100,000 XPF. Diamonds are priced at 143,000 XPF...probably a mistake, I cant find the cheaper end of pontoon using regular search. Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale?
That said, does anyone have any feedback on end of pontoon? We prefer to be closer to land for shallower water...but may decide to do a few nights in our usual emerald 202-205 and a few nights with the end of pontoon or otemanu view. call us weird, but we liked 205 the best, facing the beach.
That said, does anyone have any feedback on end of pontoon? We prefer to be closer to land for shallower water...but may decide to do a few nights in our usual emerald 202-205 and a few nights with the end of pontoon or otemanu view. call us weird, but we liked 205 the best, facing the beach.
Dec 1, 2014, 10:17 am
#1211
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Angels
Posts: 196
That said, does anyone have any feedback on end of pontoon? We prefer to be closer to land for shallower water...but may decide to do a few nights in our usual emerald 202-205 and a few nights with the end of pontoon or otemanu view. call us weird, but we liked 205 the best, facing the beach.
From looking at the property map, some villas may have more privacy than others, may be quieter, offer a better view, etc. As an example, several Emerald Villas face the boat dock, which could be somewhat noisy.
TIA
Dec 1, 2014, 12:24 pm
#1212
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: 10^7 mm from Ȱ
Programs: Hyatt D/HHonors D/ SPG P/ Marriott P/ IHG P/ UA 1K/ AA EXP/ DL D
Posts: 1,976
Similarly, does anyone else have recommendations for an Emerald Villa? I had a difficult time finding recent discussion on this topic in the thread.
From looking at the property map, some villas may have more privacy than others, may be quieter, offer a better view, etc. As an example, several Emerald Villas face the boat dock, which could be somewhat noisy.
TIA
From looking at the property map, some villas may have more privacy than others, may be quieter, offer a better view, etc. As an example, several Emerald Villas face the boat dock, which could be somewhat noisy.
TIA
Dec 1, 2014, 6:00 pm
#1213
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: AMEX PLT, AA PPro, Spire AMB
Posts: 1,617
Similarly, does anyone else have recommendations for an Emerald Villa? I had a difficult time finding recent discussion on this topic in the thread.
From looking at the property map, some villas may have more privacy than others, may be quieter, offer a better view, etc. As an example, several Emerald Villas face the boat dock, which could be somewhat noisy.
TIA
From looking at the property map, some villas may have more privacy than others, may be quieter, offer a better view, etc. As an example, several Emerald Villas face the boat dock, which could be somewhat noisy.
TIA
Dec 4, 2014, 11:17 pm
#1215
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: AMEX PLT, AA PPro, Spire AMB
Posts: 1,617
Nope...availability went to zero once their base room reward was an overwater bungalow. Practically impossible unless you book very far out or check very often for people canceling reservations.