May 30, 2019, 10:51 am
Last edit by: Astrophsx
Activity Calendar for 2022
Activities: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/f...lNr6yLgzMMIOsj
Spa: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/f...lNr6yLgzMMIOsj
Dining: https://www.taptastego.com/bobxr/con...9-4b793254db69
Booking
Activities: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/f...lNr6yLgzMMIOsj
Spa: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/f...lNr6yLgzMMIOsj
Dining: https://www.taptastego.com/bobxr/con...9-4b793254db69
Booking
Nights available on points:
- Open up 12 months out
- Availability seems to open up five weeks out.
Fees when booking on points:
- City Tax of 400 XPF for each night
Transportation
PPT-BOB Flights:
- Round trip $350-600 per person
- Premium ticket includes more checked baggage allowance, priority boarding (sit on the left side for island views), and drink on board.
- Air Tahiti is strict with their baggage allowance. Excess baggage is $1.5 per pound over the limit.
- The airline is known to weigh hand luggage if it has wheels or is larger than your typical backpack or purse.
- If you hand luggage is weighed and is over the limit it will need to be checked or items will need to be removed and relocated to your checked luggage.
- Carry-on items do not seemed to be tagged so the gate agents do not know what bags have been checked
- If you hand luggage is weighed and is over the limit it will need to be checked or items will need to be removed and relocated to your checked luggage.
- Checked bags are weighed at the BOB airport for your PPT return flight
- They seem to not be as strict with charging for excess weight
- Lap infants are charged 10%
- Check the minimum connection time. If you arrive early Air Tahiti is likely to move you to an early flight based upon availability free of charge.
- In March 2022 the domestic security was asking that passengers remove and leave any large bottles of liquid from their hand luggage. Sealed duty free alcohol seems to be the exception.
- Tip: Sometimes it is cheaper to pack alcohol and pay the $1.5 per pound excess luggage fee than to purchase duty free at LAX.
Boat Transfer as of April 2022:
- 14,000 XPF per person roundtrip
- Children are free (not sure if there is an age cutoff)
It would be rather difficult to take the free boat from the BOB airport to Vaitape and then take the complimentary shuttle to St Regis. You would need to carry your luggage and time your flights accordingly. This would also need to be coordinated with the property.
Rooms
Renovated Rooms:
101 - Deluxe Over Water Villa w/ view may be renovated
504 - Reefside
Royal Estate (currently under renovations)
Platinum Benefits (2022)
- Breakfast for two (property is firm on this and will not provide free breakfast for any additional adults in the room)
- Welcome amenity in the room
- Bottle of Champagne
- Light snacks / fruit
- Bottle of Champagne
- 10% off products with the St. Regis Resort logo at the gift shop
- 20% off Bloody Mary Cocktails at the Aparima Bar
- 20% off Cocktail of the Day
- St. Regis Sarong when you spend 15,000 xpf on products at the spa
- Bonus points when purchasing massages at the spa
Daily Gifts
- 8-night stay April 2022
- Day 1 - stuffed animals for kids
- Day 1 - Large tote bag with St. Regis Bora Bora logo w/ waterproof lining in room
- Day 2 - Day 7 Tahitian Oils next to bed
- Day 3 - Two fridge magnets
- Day 1 - stuffed animals for kids
Item you can request for free
- Pool floats can be loaned out from the main pool
- Snorkel gear
- Microwave can be put in room by room service free of charge
- Extra small bottles of water can be requested by the housekeeper while they are cleaning
- Coffee service to the room from the butler before 12pm
- Two pressed items per person any time of the day
- For infants
- Cribs
- Large bottles of water for formula
- Cribs
- For Kids
- Free meals at all restaurants
- Free ice cream
- Free room service (even items from the regular menu)
- Free meals at all restaurants
Things to bring
- Water shoes can be helpful in the lagoon and on some excursions
- Alcohol
- Mini fridge is empty and can store champagne
- Boxed wine is light weight and stores easily in fridge
- If you don't plan to spend a few hours on the main island you can purchase fresh juices as mixers
- Pre-mixed canned cocktails (like cutwater spirits) seemed to be popular at the main beach. Bring your own insulated tumbler and ask for a bucket of ice.
- Mini fridge is empty and can store champagne
The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, French Polynesia [Master Thread]
Sep 7, 2018, 12:51 am
#542
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 60
Background - I was able to find availability for a reefside pool villa for three nights. I believe there are a very small number of these rooms at the property and they are the "standard" rooms that will be available at the "standard" rates posted on the general Marriott rewards chart. Unfortunately although the room was shown available for points bookings the rep was unable to make the booking for me because of what he said were issues specific to this property and a small number of other properties in French Polynesia. I didn't push this particular rep as he was generally pretty unhelpful compared to some of the other reps I've worked with, but what I did do was make a refundable cash booking in hopes of converting it to a 60K/night points reservation later. Who knows if that will work or not, but it is one option I am looking at. I also have an adjacent two night reservation for a superior overwater villa (OWV) at 159K points per night which I understand to be the rate most people are being offered for this class of suite. Not a screaming deal by any means, but considerably less than it was before the merger and hopefully worth it for me as this is an aspirational/"bucket list" property for me. Since I already have the two-night OWV booking, I believe I could simply book the adjacent three nights at an OWV for a marginal cost of 106K/night by converting the two stays to a single five-night stay and taking advantage of fifth night free.
So, a few related questions: Have you stayed at the reefside pool villas (these may be list as "garden villas" in certain literature)? How do these rooms compare to the beach villas and OWV. I suspect it is mostly a matter of personal preference, but am curious whether it is worth the savings to try to get the reefside villa at 60K/night, or if I should just get the OWV at a marginal cost of 106K/night. I am particularly interested in any compare/contrast offered by anyone who has stayed at this property especially if you've experienced multiple room types.
How generous is this property with upgrades? As an SPG50 plat am I likely to be upgraded to a higher class of room if it is available? From what I have read, the only difference between a Superior OWV and "Deluxe" OWV is the latter has a better view - at most properties, I would expect to very likely receive an upgrade to a similar room with a better view if such was available, but I suspect a property like St Regis Bora Bora might be different. Anyone have any experience with this?
Sep 7, 2018, 3:52 pm
#543
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: N/A
Posts: 21
I'm planning my first visit to Bora Bora and have a question about overwater Otemanu view villas in St. Regis. Looking at the resort map I found online, I have to choose between rooms from 218 to 229. Do you have any thing that you could share? They seem to only differ from how far/close they are to the land. But I don't know if there is anything else that I should consider.
Sep 7, 2018, 4:13 pm
#544
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
I'm planning my first visit to Bora Bora and have a question about overwater Otemanu view villas in St. Regis. Looking at the resort map I found online, I have to choose between rooms from 218 to 229. Do you have any thing that you could share? They seem to only differ from how far/close they are to the land. But I don't know if there is anything else that I should consider.
We had the more northern Royal Overwater Villa closest to Otemanu, and you can see below that we did not have a direct view onto it. But it still was a glorious view without it from inside, and it was easily seen from our large deck. It was a longer walk to the main resort facilities, but it’s not that far. There are buggies you can call or bikes available for each villa to make the distance seem less onerous. Honestly, walking to and from your villa offer some wonderful views, too—don’t overlook those.
We also spent our final afternoon before departure hanging in our friends’ deluxe overwater villa with no real view of Otemanu from anywhere except from the far side of their outdoor deck. It was still great even without the Otemanu view we’d seen all week!
Having been there already and having enjoyed the possibly best OWV at the resort, we already know we’d be more than comfortable and happy in just about any of “the regular” deluxe overwater villas, to be honest. The
deluxe overwater villas still were extremely spacious (some of the largest in Bora Bora) and had lovely views even if not of Otemanu.
You’ll have a great time. It’s a wonderful property.
Sep 8, 2018, 3:19 am
#546
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Rye, NY USA
Posts: 261
I'm planning my first visit to Bora Bora and have a question about overwater Otemanu view villas in St. Regis. Looking at the resort map I found online, I have to choose between rooms from 218 to 229. Do you have any thing that you could share? They seem to only differ from how far/close they are to the land. But I don't know if there is anything else that I should consider.
Have had good upgrades there including to premier and the two bedroom overwater.
Sep 9, 2018, 12:59 pm
#549
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: N/A
Posts: 21
Stay in 229. 218 is too close to the 2 bedroom overwater bungalow and has a little bit of an obstructed view. The current whips around the island a bit there two creating a fast flow which makes it difficult to float there. Been about four times and a couple years ago floated around to mark which rooms had a good view (the deluxes have alternating orientations) for future reference. 229 make the cut. (See map attached with annotation).
Sep 10, 2018, 8:11 am
#551
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: LAX
Programs: AA EXPPLT, United 1K, *wood PLT, Delta Gold, Hyatt Diamond, Southwest A-list
Posts: 392
Sep 10, 2018, 9:01 am
#552
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Rye, NY USA
Posts: 261
Thanks for the suggestion, that's what I thought too. However, looks like there is no reward availability for OWB Deluxe Otemanu view. I guess I will have to choose OWB Deluxe Island view rooms. For those rooms, would you say 203 and 121 are the better ones over the rest of them? Looking at the map, I'm not sure if they are too close to the two Royal Otemanu villas(202 and 122) which could partially block the view.
Sep 10, 2018, 10:26 am
#553
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: N/A
Posts: 21
I would say 203 as it probably has the best shot at a sunset view. The map they give is not great for showing it but if you draw a line straight from the entry bridge and through the deck pool of the 2 bedroom #214 and extend it out, you get a generally straight shot to the sunset (For an August season -- moves around I am sure as the earth tilts). Room with similar orientations will share this benefit
Do you mind sharing what date range you were looking for? When I called on Saturday morning, the representative told me there were reward availability for Aug 17, 2019 to Aug 23, 2019 for 6 nights for a OWB Superior villa. I passed on it because I did not want a superior but a deluxe at least. Also, when I called, I could not find reward availability on the SPG app but the representative was able to find availability. I wonder if they could tap into some "secret reserve" of some kind.
The representative asked for my membership number before helping me to search for availability. I'm not sure if that is the standard practice. But she did say that if I do not have points to book for the number of days I want then the search would not show any availability.
The representative also said that 5th night free is not being offered because all rooms are upgrade rooms in St. Regis. Marriott policy is the following.
"The “Redeem for 4 Nights Get the 5th Night Free” award only applies to standard rooms. If you want to redeem points for an upgraded room type, you will need an upgrade award for each night of the stay, including the 5th night."
Sep 10, 2018, 10:53 am
#554
Join Date: May 2018
Location: HOU/IAH
Programs: NH Platinum; UA Silver; Marriott Titanium; Hilton Diamond; Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 64
- Not all of the rooms are upgrade rooms. The reefside villas are now considered standard rooms, and are fully bookable at the standard redemption rate of 60k points per night. This can be done via the app or via a competent CSR, but not via the website as of right now.
- The 5th night free benefit applies to the standard room redemption rate, regardless of what upgrade you have booked for the room. The Marriott policy that you quoted supports this. For example (using hypothetical redemption rates for the upgrade awards):
- 5 nights in a beachside = 60k + 60k + 60k + 60k + 0k (standard rate w/ 5th night free) + 50k + 50k + 50k + 50k + 50k (upgrade award w/o 5th night free) = 490k. The standard room redemption and the upgrade award redemption are supposed to show up as separate line items on your activity/statement.
- 5 nights in a superior OWV = 60k + 60k + 60k + 60k + 0k (standard rate w/ 5th night free) + 75k + 75k + 75k + 75k + 75k (upgrade award w/o 5th night free) = 615k.
- 5 nights in a reefside = 60k + 60k + 60k + 60k + 0k (standard rate w/ 5th night free) = 240k. This redemption is 100% confirmed possible, and many people have successfully booked this via the app with confirmation numbers and emails and all.
Sep 10, 2018, 12:08 pm
#555
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 60
Several users as well as the editor in chief of The Points Guy reported on Friday that they were able to book 5 night at St Regis Bora Bora for 240k points. They reported dates ranged between Fed, March, and May.
When I called the Platinum Reservation to verify the rate that I booked at, the agent told me again that the Beachside Villa I booked is considered an upgrade and thus required the extra 300k. And that 5th night is not available for my date and this hotel doesn’t participate in 5th night free so it wouldn’t matter anyway. But clearly there were people who were able to book 5th night free with minimum points - who’s right here?!
To be honest, this makes me feel like a big sucker that I’m paying more than 2x the points for fewer nights. And it seems to be the luck of a draw that some people can find availability one moment and it’s gone the next. The inconsistency on redemptions availability between website, app, and agents is putting a sour taste in my mouth.
When I called the Platinum Reservation to verify the rate that I booked at, the agent told me again that the Beachside Villa I booked is considered an upgrade and thus required the extra 300k. And that 5th night is not available for my date and this hotel doesn’t participate in 5th night free so it wouldn’t matter anyway. But clearly there were people who were able to book 5th night free with minimum points - who’s right here?!
To be honest, this makes me feel like a big sucker that I’m paying more than 2x the points for fewer nights. And it seems to be the luck of a draw that some people can find availability one moment and it’s gone the next. The inconsistency on redemptions availability between website, app, and agents is putting a sour taste in my mouth.