Thanks for the video! It seems like a great deal for 60k points/night. Did you have any nights overwater? Any thoughts about whether a paid or points upgrade would have been worth it?

You can't snorkel on the reefside?

Can someone here confirm from experience which rooms have a private pool? The new Marriott site is so lacking in details (and generally full of room
detail errors) that I cant tell. Willing to pay the high cash upgrade with points if I know what I’m getting. TIA.

Does anyone have any pictures or thoughts on the beach villas? Do they have Otemanu views? How private are they from the adjacent villas / OWBs? Do all of them have private pools?

thanks!

i don’t believe it is. But to each, their own.

I was quite surprised by OMAAT’s quite negative review of the StR. Our stay in 2016 found both our own Royal OWV and our friends’ deluxe Otemanu OWV to be in excellent shape. I think OMAAT’s personal bias towards modern design as reflected often with Park Hyatt and the new Conrad design aesthetic is salient to the negative review of the StR. It doesn’t look anything like a Sheraton.

It is true that the StR is 11 years old and is only now beginning its renovation and refurbishment. But it’s also true and obvious from the photos that the StR is in excellent shape and very well maintained. It’s also true that OMAAT is comparing the brand new Conrad hard product, coming off its recent renovation from being a Hilton.

I also found OMAAT’s review to be hypocritical:



Bolding mine. So all resorts look a little dated because they reflect authentic Polynesian charm and design, but that’s part of the charm. But it isn’t. Make up your mind, please!

So the StR doesn’t look like the same antiseptic StR Maldives, which is quite. modern...because the Maldives doesn’t have many authentic resorts with natural charm! Because each resort is on its own islet and has nothing to do with Maldivian culture. But that doesn’t make the StR Bora Bora look like any subpar Sheraton or Le Meridien I’ve ever encountered! That is pure OMAAT hyperbole and bias speaking IMO.

I point out that the StR design, much like the equally celebrated Four Seasons design, reflects an authentic Polynesian aesthetic that isn’t intended to be as modern; they are intended to reflect the sense of place that is Bora Bora. The Conrad aesthetic, much like the Park Hyatt aesthetic, is akways modern and clean and rarely reflective of the place. The StR Maldives also reflects this more modern aesthetic. That doesn’t make the StR Bora Bora feel less nice to me; it makes me feel more like I’m actually in Bora Bora!

If all you want is a modern clean design aesthetic that could be almost anywhere, then perhaps the Conrad is more for you. Of course, you also lose sight of the most emblematic view that is Bora Bora: the central Mount Otemanu mountain. The Conrad literally looks away from Mt Otemanu, while the StR, the FS, and the LM all have wonderful views onto Mt Otemanu. Talk about having no sense of place: the Conrad is modern and doesn’t even look onto what makes Bora Bora so iconic and desirable!

Then you have to consider the service and food/beverage. There is no contest, as already shared by many others who have stayed at or visited both. The same was true for us in Osaka, where we stayed at the slightly dated but elegant StR compared with the incredible hard product and amazing views from the brand new Conrad lobby and open plan rooms and suites; but the service and F/B made the StR the obvious no brainer for anyone wanting a truly luxurious experience.