LuxuryRogue

I agree.

By using the 3rd party quotation, the OP may hope to be legally on the safer side, when "hating" someone. OP doesn't really substantiate any serious problem at the hotel. In some jurisdictions, courts ordered damage payments after unsubstantiated online criticism.

I feel very, very sorry for people who cannot appreciate this planet's beauty in a glorious place like Bora Bora (no matter which hotel).

They should be teleported to Siberia, South Sudan or the Sunderbans, so they develop a "healthier" love-hate-relationship with wildlife or mosquitoes - or hotels for that matter.

MikeFromTokyo

+1^

I would love to go to Bora Bora. It's just hard to get a chance because it is very far from BKK and there are no convenient commercial flights available. And of course the Maldives and other destinations are much easier to get to...

RichardInSF

I have deleted a number of argumentative posts.

Also, the IP address of "Four Season Resort Bora Bora" has been checked and found legit. They have been added as a company representative.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

LuxuryRogue

There are some interesting flight combinations to Tahiti via New Caledonia, Wallis & Futuna, Easter Island, and of course the standard connections Los Angeles, Tokyo, Fiji, Santiago and Auckland.

DJ_Iceman

Thank you for verifying that.

I certainly respect the OP's right to pass on second-hand information from friends. It is valuable information despite not being a personal review.

But for me, the fact that the resort itself created an account, posted a factual response, and took the criticisms seriously is far more meaningful. I will definitely look hard at the FSRBB the next time I travel to Bora Bora.

Pausanias

Here's a photo from the brochure of the Hotel Bora Bora which shows quite clearly what the lagoon looked like before the FS, St Regis, Meridien and all the other horrors arrived on the motus. In the photo only the IC Moana is visible on the 'mainland' at the bottom-most tip.

Those were the days . . .

https://flic.kr/p/bnrjnX

bhrubin

It seems to me that the OP is as much an indictment of the destination of Bora Bora as it is of the FS property there. To each, their own.

My husband and I will be making our first trip to Bora Bora (and Moorea) in April 2016. We decided to stay at the StR rather than the FS (due to winning a half-price auction), but I'm sure the experiences at both are reasonably comparable.

We are going largely for the luxury escape and for the scuba diving experience. We hope to have good dining, as well.

As we've dived around the world in some of the best resort diving locations, we are curious as to the quality of the scuba diving. That being said, scuba diving "quality" is very dependent on the season, water conditions (e.g. visibility), currents, depth, and choices the divemaster/boat captain might make when deciding where exactly to dive. I don't believe a single visit anywhere can necessarily determine that the scuba diving is poor--since one may just be unlucky. (We had a very poor dive experience at Amanwana in May 2009...despite most having had tremendously good diving experiences there.) So the OP's acquaintances who had a subpar dive experience may or may not reflect the actual overall dive quality in/around Bora Bora.

Everyone prefers and dislikes certain destinations for reasons that are entirely their own--and sometimes are based on circumstantial and season variations that are not so obvious. Just because I don't enjoy city escapes doesn't mean that others feel the same way. Just because I prefer remote escapes doesn't mean that other feel the same way. The same is true for Bora Bora. Only visiting on your own and deciding for yourself truly can decide whether such a destination is right or wrong for you.

I also point out that Bora Bora is much closer to us in California than it is for most. So it isn't as much a risk for us to venture to Bora Bora and check it out. The Maldives is a much more distant trek for us than it is for our friends in Asia/Europe. Comparing them is worthwhile, but such comparisons usually ignore the relative ease with which some people can visit one more easily than the other. (Still, our plan is to visit the Maldives in 2017, our 20th anniversary, to enjoy the FS Explorer and perhaps the new StR and the PH--in order to get the best scuba diving experiences possible in different locales.)

MikeFromTokyo

I would love to go to Bora Bora out of LAX at some point. The flights on Air Tahiti Nui and AF seem convenient. From BKK on the other hand it is a very long trip, especially considering that MLE is a short direct flight away on PG.

Pausanias

As a general observation, I never quite understand why the choice of ultimate beach places is between Bora Bora and the Maldives. They are utterly different, except for one thing perhaps - they are perceived as honeymoon heavens and a large part of their hotel business depends on that. People have been conned into thinking that overwater bungalows are incredibly exotic when of course such things do not exist in indigenous cultures because of cyclones. The first authentic overwater structures I saw in the South Pacific were in Samarai, Papua New Guinea, and they were lavatories!

Bora Bora is dramatically beautiful and it's relatively large compared to the flat sand bars of the Maldives. The atolls of French Polynesia, such as Tikehau, are immeasurably more beautiful than anything in the Maldives. I think the high-end hotels in the Maldives are probably far better than anything on Bora Bora but I find the Maldives exceptionally boring and I'd never go back.

LuxuryRogue

Well said.

bhrubin

I suspect the Maldives and Bora Bora are considered among the most "exotic" beach destinations simply due to their remote locales, the distances involved for most people to reach them, and the fact that both have luxury resorts that are extremely expensive--all the typical ingredients for a perfect honeymoon as you mention. Most people don't live seaside, since it's usually so costly, so having accommodations so close to or over the water while on holiday seems to have novelty appeal to a greater degree even than at most beach resorts. I'm not sure people have been conned as much as people create their own illusion that it's somehow better.

I've been all around the world...but Bora Bora in 2016 and the Maldives in 2017 will be our first visits to either. I largely agree that such resort locations can be quite dull since I despise just laying around for too long while on holiday.

Both Bora Bora and the Maldives will be for us a chance to do some serious scuba diving--while staying in the lap of luxury at the same time. It isn't as easy to find great diving with true luxury accommodations as most people would think.

For Bora Bora, my diving friends tell us that it's worth the trip regardless of where one stays since the diving is so good...especially outside the lagoon. We likely will be doing some private excursions to reach atolls a good hr away, but will be happy to retire each evening to the luxury of the StR. I could care less about the OW bungalow...but at least the air con OW in Bora Bora works well, unlike in the Maldives.

For the Maldives, my diving friends tell us that most of the luxe resorts have decent diving at best--but the honeymooners and casual divers would never know how marginal that dive quality is since they rarely have much to compare it to. That's why our only reason for wanting to go so far is to enjoy 7 nights on the FS Explorer live-aboard dive cruise...with perhaps a night or two at the FS KH before/after to better allow us to dive more on that cruise (with the 12-24 hr rule for not diving before/after flying). Only by venturing farther afield from the resort properties can experienced divers reach the truly world class dive sites in the Maldives--which the FS Explorer easily allows. We could care less about the actual resorts--since they could be almost anywhere tropical and don't offer much in the way of things to see otherwise. We probably will extend our trip to include the Park Hyatt and/or new St Regis only to blow points to allow us more diving in different locales while not spending any more money to do so--but making the long trip from California seem a bit more worthwhile for us. We wouldn't consider an OW bungalow anywhere in the Maldives, since the air con is notoriously inefficient and insufficient in almost all OW units.

surftb15

Um, you are doing yourself a big disservice by limiting yourself to diving at Bora Bora. In fact, the best diving in Tahiti isn't near Bora Bora at all.

Look into Kia Ora for at least 2 nights. You need to dive Tiputa Pass when down there. Seriously.

http://www.reeftraveler.com/2012/01/...puta-pass.html

http://www.originaldiving.com/blog/diving-in-rangiroa


Similarly, the diving in Maldives is marginal at best. The constant construction of OWB / hotels and the marketing of Maldives have really destroyed the reef system.

You got to look at a further atoll to get the best experience (away from KH) to get the healthiest reef.

bhrubin

I am aware. Unfortunately, I also am aware that the Kia Oro doesn't have air con. I'm a serious diver--but I need serious air con.

We got a great deal on the StR Bora Bora, so that's why we're staying there. Again, we are looking for the combination of luxury accommodation (with reliable air con and good dining) AND good diving. There are many places I yearn to dive but won't bother, because the accommodation/dining or air con reliability won't quite suffice.

The reason I am willing to travel to the Maldives for the FS Explorer is partially to finally enjoy a live-aboard dive cruise but with luxury and reliable assurance that the air con will be effective. Not something that is a given on most live-aboards, unfortunately.

That's why we're only interested in the FS Explorer. The only reason we'd even stay a night at either end of the 7 night cruise at FS KH is simply to ensure we can dive as much as possible on the Explorer--not because we want to stay at the FS KH.

The new StR Maldives on Vommuli Island actually sits in a great area for scuba diving, and with no other luxury or even non-luxe properties in the vicinity. Several friends have done live-aboards and visited the adjacent islands, and have said it would be an extremely good resort to hit for scuba. That's why we're so excited about it--that and the fact that we could blow a ton of SPG points we've accumulated and stay for free.

Pausanias

bhrubin = I'm sorry but that's really sad. You are willing to forego some stunning natural wonders because of a lack of air conditioning?!!! I'm amazed. Air con is really unhealthy, as you know. I know a man called Doug Allan, a BBC wildlife photographer who photographed me snorkelling off Ducie Island in the Pitcairn Group, who once lived for more than a month in a tent above the ice in Antarctica and dived down beneath the ice every day to get the shots he wanted. And you won't go to Rangiroa and its very nice resort because it lacks air-con? I'm sorry. Pathetic.

BTW the St Regis on Bora Bora doesn't have a nice view and of all the resorts there it created the biggest environmental damage of all. Enjoy.

bhrubin

Ah, so much for to each, their own? I happen to be one of the very unlucky persons who gets VERY hot and uncomfortable VERY easily. I'm most comfortable in a wine cellar at 55 F--and could be naked and perfectly comfortable. Unfortunately, that means when there is no air con, or when the air con doesn't cool to below 70 F, I am incredibly uncomfortable and definitely unable to sleep. You say air con is unhealthy. I say not being able to get sleep for long periods is also unhealthy.

That's the way it is...not the way I want it to be. I'd much prefer to be like the majority of people and find 72-75 F to be perfectly comfortable. But I'm not. I've had my thyroid tested so often as to be laughable. I'm just told by doctors that I am at the extreme of what humans typically prefer with ranges in temperature.

I concomitantly do not even need a wetsuit to scuba dive...even to depths of 144' (as I did without a wetsuit at Belize's Blue Hole). Even my divemasters who tried to do it couldn't do it--they came up hypothermic within 15-20 min. I was down for almost an hour with no ill effects at all. This is a normal experience for me everywhere we dive--the divemasters can't believe that I can go so deep and be comfortable for so long without a wetsuit...but I can. It's one of the reasons I love diving--I'm much more comfortable underwater where you lose body heat 6 times faster than in air.

It is also one of the reasons I love having rooms/suites/villas with private pools--so I can cool myself off more easily.

So yes, I require air conditioning. If I'm going on holiday to enjoy myself, I find that I'd like to be comfortable and able to sleep at night. How that matters to anyone else, including you, is beyond me. I don't like that this is true, but I have to accept it. Perhaps you might, as well.

I do visit places that are uncomfortably warm for me, but some places/environments are just too likely to be too uncomfortable for me for too long. A tropical destination that will be very warm for long periods of time with little respite for me is just not something that I want to endure on holiday.

Pathetic? The fact that you feel the need to judge me on something that has nothing to do with you at all is far more telling, I'm afraid. When you can hang with me scuba diving at 100 feet without a wetsuit to show you can be comfortable in my zone, then I am happy to hang with you in your non-air conditioned zone. Until then, I'll make my own choices about what matters to me. And leave the judgment to you.

I live in Newport Beach with an amazing ocean view. So we don't yearn for ocean views in the same way that most do. When we get it, it's lovely--for about 5 minutes for me, most often. When we don't, which is fairly often as we don't usually go to seaside resorts for that very reason, we don't miss it--since we get it daily.

I'm sorry that I've selected to stay at a resort--at a huge discount--that seems to offend you so much. I'm sure that all of the other resorts were constructed in a much more environmentally friendly manner and I'm obviously a terrible person because I dare to stay at the one you find most offensive.

I've generally enjoyed and agreed with many of your posts. But this one leaves quite a sour taste in my mouth, I'm afraid.