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The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, French Polynesia [Master Thread]

Old May 30, 2019, 10:51 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: Astrophsx
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
  • 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
  • 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

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
  • For Kids
    • Free meals at all restaurants
    • Free ice cream
    • Free room service (even items from the regular menu)

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.
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The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, French Polynesia [Master Thread]

Old Mar 14, 2019, 9:20 am
  #841  
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 21
Originally Posted by TerryK
Yes, that's correct. However, in practice, property often extends elite benefit to second guest. You need to work it out when you arrive.
So free breakfast for me but not her the day of check out? Would we typically still get the late check out?
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 9:55 am
  #842  
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Posts: 12,461
Originally Posted by flyertalker9


So free breakfast for me but not her the day of check out? Would we typically still get the late check out?
No. Either both of you receive free breakfasts or none. It is usually the former at property level.

Late check out is always at discretion of property for resorts. It really depends on arrival bookings that day.
TerryK is online now  
Old Mar 27, 2019, 11:59 am
  #843  
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 286
Anyone able to book this resort without having to spend a boatload of cash on top of the high points requirement? Points stays requiring 85k pts a night + $5,700 USD for a 7 night point stay.
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Old Mar 27, 2019, 2:09 pm
  #844  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 93
Originally Posted by VCURamFan
Anyone able to book this resort without having to spend a boatload of cash on top of the high points requirement? Points stays requiring 85k pts a night + $5,700 USD for a 7 night point stay.
Search on the Marriott website, not the app. When you search, be sure to check the box for "Use Points". Under the dates selection, choose "Flexible Dates" and a select a month. This will show all dates available on points only for that month. Availability can be sparse, but there is some. Right now there is a whole week in March of 2020 if you are willing book that far out. I had to book a year in advance to get a whole week together on a single reservation, which I believe is required get the 5th night free.
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Old Mar 27, 2019, 4:22 pm
  #845  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 43
Plan to cancel 7 nights 05/05-05/12/19

Could not make the trip for the total of 7 night stay(5 nights +2 nights in two reservation) in May and plan to cancel it.

Please let me know if you plan to pick up these days and so that I could time my cancellation.

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Old Apr 2, 2019, 5:05 pm
  #846  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Malibu, CA
Programs: AA CK / Marriott Worthless Ambassador
Posts: 1,158
Next week

headed out with a couple families next week. Was able to snag OW Villas for 240k for 5 nights back when...

it wiill be our second visit. Will report back.
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Old Apr 4, 2019, 8:06 pm
  #847  
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Posts: 8,686
Originally Posted by mharlan100


Search on the Marriott website, not the app. When you search, be sure to check the box for "Use Points". Under the dates selection, choose "Flexible Dates" and a select a month. This will show all dates available on points only for that month. Availability can be sparse, but there is some. Right now there is a whole week in March of 2020 if you are willing book that far out. I had to book a year in advance to get a whole week together on a single reservation, which I believe is required get the 5th night free.
Whenever I've done this the search doesn't distinguish between "points only" and "points plus cash upgrade". Are you sure you're seeing something differently?
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Old Apr 4, 2019, 9:23 pm
  #848  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 93
Originally Posted by EuropeanPete
Whenever I've done this the search doesn't distinguish between "points only" and "points plus cash upgrade". Are you sure you're seeing something differently?
In my experience, most days have some availability for cash plus points. I just checked again. For example, I was able to see that in March of 2020 that the 6th and 7th are available on points only. The 8th and 9th are not. The 10th through the 20th are also available on points only.

As long as the Reefside Garden Villa is available, it should be bookable on points only (plus 400 XPF taxes and fees). If you are having trouble seeing this, try incognito mode.
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Old Apr 7, 2019, 3:20 pm
  #849  
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Waikiki
Programs: IHG Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 24
Originally Posted by tessy143
Their Reef-Villas and that whole side of the resort is currently under renovations that is why you see limited availability
My wife and I have 2 nights at the LM from May 19-21 and then 4 nights at StR RV from May 21-24. I didn't even know about reno happening so is that going on now or will it be then? I just searched around and didn't see anything. By the way we booked all 6 nights at 60k points/night. Unfortunately I couldn't get that 5th night in a row at StR.

The main reason I was coming here was to ask everyone's opinion about where to eat. I sent an email to La Villa Mahana last night for a reservation but presumably there won't be availability 1.5 months out... Should we eat at StR Lagoon restaurant or St. James? Looking for recs on a couple nights to eat out. And then maybe some easier on the wallet type places to go as well

Also, does anyone have an email to concierge or reservations at StR? I found one for LM after searching and searching.

Mahalo for any help!
EuropeanPete likes this.

Last edited by Sho Nuff; Apr 7, 2019 at 4:28 pm
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 9:46 am
  #850  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 41
10 Nights as Ambassador Elite

I booked 2 - 5 night reservations. I initially only snagged the 1st 5 at the SR, and the 2nd 5 at the LM. But I kept checking availability and researching the 2 resorts (it became clear to me that moving from SR to LM would not be ideal) and was ultimately able to get 5 nights at the SR at the 60K/nt rate, and the 2nd 5 nights at the SR at the 60K/nt + cash upgrade rate for the Superior OWB. They upgraded my 1st booking to a Superior OWB so we were able to stay in the same room the whole time.

At some point there will be bad experiences at any place but I started to not know what to expect as I started to read too much into negative feedback and reviews (there are also many positive reviews). Ultimately with whatever you spend I think it is important that you are comfortable spending that and know perfection doesnt exist anywhere.

Our stay was wonderful. I have seen some beautiful places but by far Bora Bora is one of the most beautiful. The water color alone is so unique! It is stunning. If you go and dont book in an OWB (at least for part of your stay) I would question why you are doing that (money yes, but it really is worth it). The beach at the SR was nice (not the best beach I have been to by any means in terms of size, but clean, white sand), but the water color/temperature/depth of the Lagoon at the SR (and Bora Bora in general) is so unique and the OWB allows for direct access! Before they upgraded me I was excited about the base room I booked (it is a large land villa with a private pool) but after seeing the locations on the island (not inside just outside as I biked around), I had no urge to stay in one. The OWB are large plenty of space for 2 people. I imagine the land villas would see more bugs/lizards potentially if you are not careful when opening / closing your doors in the eve (one night we had a lizard in our OWB - let's say I am not a fan).

We arrived to Tahiti in the evening and spent the night at the Tahiti Airport Motel (VERY basic but clean) McDonalds at the airport was the best option for us at 9p at night. We took an early flight to BOB the next day we arrived around 9a. Pick-up and the boat transfer to the resort were seamless (transfer is $130/person). I chose breakfast as my amenity and they gave us an extra breakfast this morning.

Staying 10 nights I wondered if the resort would feel like I was trapped but I never had an urge to leave it (except to dive one morning). The resort is quite big actually from the farthest bungalow to the reception area is a 5-6min bike ride, then if you continue onto the next island (the resort is made up of 3 islands) it is another 5min+ give/take by bike depending what part you go to (spa vs. fitness vs. farthest land villa).

Superior bungalows: I didnt mind not having a Mt O view. As you can see it from many other parts of the resort, or just swim/float under the bungalows to the other side. I requested to be on the main boardwalk of bungalows. I wanted to be farther near the end but it actually didnt matter when we were there. It was just nice to be on the boardwalk (really it probably wouldnt matter if you werent). Also our side saw the sunrise and morning light our deck would lose sun around 3p there may have been a sliver of sun still at that time, and if you went in the water you had to go 10ft or so out from the deck to be in the sun. Mt O side would have the sunset we would watch from various points in the resort the dock, The Lagoon Bar, the beach, the other bungalow boardwalk, my friend even swam over and watched from the water.

Dining
We rotated through Far Niente, Bamboo, and Lagoon. All were good. So many people said the food was bad/not great. Yes it is marked up on avg $10-15 more than NYC/Miami prices I would say, and I am sure some things are not the best or good from a foodie perspective, but some things were! My favorite meal was at Bamboo the Passion Sour cocktail and Scallops were divine. Across all, we didnt get meat but all the fish dishes we tried were good! The appetizers I had were good. We never tried lunch as we brought stuff to have in our room (to save money but also it was nice not to have to arrange to have lunch every day we could just eat when we feel like vs. leaving the bungalow or dealing with room service).

Breakfast was also sufficient good fruit (not as much variety as I would have thought) with juicer option, breads, Asian selections, Bloody Mary's on weekends, the French toast was great (I loved that it tasted lighter - less battered than other types). crepes/waffles/pancakes/eggs to order. The crepe with Nutella is good, waffles were ok, eggs were also ok the only preparation I liked was scrambled else the rest were blah for me.

I recommend making dining reservations before you get there (at least for the 1st couple nights) to ensure you get the times you want.

Butlers
Morning coffee/hot water in the bungalow was great! In general we would call and stuff would come in 10-15min or would take very long and we would have to call back (we termed it Island Time). Everyone was very nice to deal with but the only negative was the wait on some things it got annoying at times (esp. when we requested housekeeping and subsequently requested at the same time daily but a couple times had to call multiple times and didnt get it until hours later). One of the 1st mornings we called for coffee they said it would take 30min but then took only 10-15min. From then on they never qualified how long something would take so in the few instances our housekeeping was delayed or our ice bucket delayed we assumed it would be 10-15min (else would have thought they would say something).

Spa you can use the steam/sauna/jacuzzi but since the common area for these things is outside, and it was warm, it wasnt as enjoyable.

Fitness good with weight machines, free weights, kettleballs

Diving we booked our own arrangements. 2 of the best dives I have had we were lucky enough to see a school of spotted eagle rays, and then manta rays.

Bikes I am sure some bikes are not well off but they ones we had worked fine. The brakes screeched but this was actually good as you could use it as a bell. There are bike racks around the resort. In theory people should take a bike, leave it, take the same or another every time. But we found out that wasnt the case people take a bike and keep it outside their villa. If you have nothing in your basket but park it away from the bike rack it is still eligible to be taken. Even with stuff in the basket, my friend had hers taken twice (they took her stuff out and put it in mine), and I had my stuff taken out of the basket and placed on the ground. When our bikes were taken it was at night and it is harder to find another bike at this time. It was rude in my opinion. I would never have taken stuff out of a bike personally. Even if the basket was empty but 2 bikes were parked away from the rack, common sense would say they are being used. So my advice is to procure a bike, keep stuff in the basket, and keep eyes on the bike when possible. Walking during the day is hot, walking at night is nice, but then you wont have a bike the next morning. They will drive you around in a golf cart if you prefer not to bike.

Last Day
We had a 2p flight back to Tahiti and ate lunch at the Intercontinental (our flight to US was at 915p). The food was good, but compared to the St.Regis it was just ok in amenities and layout. Thankfully the airport had a Air Tahiti Nui Lounge (priority pass) it was one of the only places with A/C and they have a shower!

We were 2 young, platonic adults staying at the resort and loved it! The largest demographics were couples - honeymoons, babymoon, then there were a good number of families with children.

As a note, my friend went over to the LM for the Turtle Sanctuary. She loved it! She swam with them. But the LM is smaller much smaller than the SR. The bungalow are also smaller and she didnt see that they had any kind of covering for shade on their decks. The infinity pools she felt were not ideal either as they were very shallow. Nothing she said made her wish we split our stay.
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 12:08 pm
  #851  
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 60
Originally Posted by Sho Nuff
My wife and I have 2 nights at the LM from May 19-21 and then 4 nights at StR RV from May 21-24. I didn't even know about reno happening so is that going on now or will it be then? I just searched around and didn't see anything. By the way we booked all 6 nights at 60k points/night. Unfortunately I couldn't get that 5th night in a row at StR.

The main reason I was coming here was to ask everyone's opinion about where to eat. I sent an email to La Villa Mahana last night for a reservation but presumably there won't be availability 1.5 months out... Should we eat at StR Lagoon restaurant or St. James? Looking for recs on a couple nights to eat out. And then maybe some easier on the wallet type places to go as well

Also, does anyone have an email to concierge or reservations at StR? I found one for LM after searching and searching.

Mahalo for any help!
Most guests rotate their dinner plans between the 3 restaurants onsite; Far Niente (Italian), Bamboo (Asian), and Lagoon (French). For lunch your only option is Te Pahu. It's almost like a cruise because you end up eating dinner with the same group of people every night. Te Pahu is open on certain nights for special events (Polynesian show/buffet on Wednesdays, Indian food some other night). Our butler actually took the liberty and made dinner reservations for us for the first 3 nights, before we even arrived. Our favorite is the Lagoon, followed by Bamboo. We thought the Italian was just okay, perhaps it was just too heavy of a cuisine for the hot and humid Bora Bora weather.

St. Regis charges a boat transfer fee if you want to go to the main island at night for dinner, and the boat ride needs to be arranged ahead of time. So if you have restaurants you must try at the main island, make a reservation there then inform the concierge of your dinner plan as soon as you arrive. Restaurants at St.R are never fully-booked, so you can make your plans around your other dinner reservations. To save money we used to load up on the breakfast buffet then skip lunch (or share something), but that's harder these days when you have a kid and can't ask the kid to skip lunch.
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 2:20 pm
  #852  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: SFO
Posts: 642
Originally Posted by XFer2
Most guests rotate their dinner plans between the 3 restaurants onsite; Far Niente (Italian), Bamboo (Asian), and Lagoon (French). For lunch your only option is Te Pahu. It's almost like a cruise because you end up eating dinner with the same group of people every night. Te Pahu is open on certain nights for special events (Polynesian show/buffet on Wednesdays, Indian food some other night). Our butler actually took the liberty and made dinner reservations for us for the first 3 nights, before we even arrived. Our favorite is the Lagoon, followed by Bamboo. We thought the Italian was just okay, perhaps it was just too heavy of a cuisine for the hot and humid Bora Bora weather.

St. Regis charges a boat transfer fee if you want to go to the main island at night for dinner, and the boat ride needs to be arranged ahead of time. So if you have restaurants you must try at the main island, make a reservation there then inform the concierge of your dinner plan as soon as you arrive. Restaurants at St.R are never fully-booked, so you can make your plans around your other dinner reservations. To save money we used to load up on the breakfast buffet then skip lunch (or share something), but that's harder these days when you have a kid and can't ask the kid to skip lunch.
Is Te Pahu open every night for casual dinner dining - or some nights your choice is only the three restaurants onsite?
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Old Apr 16, 2019, 4:01 am
  #853  
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Posts: 4,823
Originally Posted by worldtravel123
I booked 2 - 5 night reservations. I initially only snagged the 1st 5 at the SR, and the 2nd 5 at the LM. But I kept checking availability and researching the 2 resorts (it became clear to me that moving from SR to LM would not be ideal) and was ultimately able to get 5 nights at the SR at the 60K/nt rate, and the 2nd 5 nights at the SR at the 60K/nt + cash upgrade rate for the Superior OWB. They upgraded my 1st booking to a Superior OWB so we were able to stay in the same room the whole time.

At some point there will be bad experiences at any place but I started to not know what to expect as I started to read too much into negative feedback and reviews (there are also many positive reviews). Ultimately with whatever you spend I think it is important that you are comfortable spending that and know perfection doesnt exist anywhere.

Our stay was wonderful. I have seen some beautiful places but by far Bora Bora is one of the most beautiful.
Thanks for the detailed review!
escape4 is online now  
Old Apr 18, 2019, 2:54 am
  #854  
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Waikiki
Programs: IHG Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 24
Originally Posted by XFer2
Most guests rotate their dinner plans between the 3 restaurants onsite; Far Niente (Italian), Bamboo (Asian), and Lagoon (French). For lunch your only option is Te Pahu. It's almost like a cruise because you end up eating dinner with the same group of people every night. Te Pahu is open on certain nights for special events (Polynesian show/buffet on Wednesdays, Indian food some other night). Our butler actually took the liberty and made dinner reservations for us for the first 3 nights, before we even arrived. Our favorite is the Lagoon, followed by Bamboo. We thought the Italian was just okay, perhaps it was just too heavy of a cuisine for the hot and humid Bora Bora weather.

St. Regis charges a boat transfer fee if you want to go to the main island at night for dinner, and the boat ride needs to be arranged ahead of time. So if you have restaurants you must try at the main island, make a reservation there then inform the concierge of your dinner plan as soon as you arrive. Restaurants at St.R are never fully-booked, so you can make your plans around your other dinner reservations. To save money we used to load up on the breakfast buffet then skip lunch (or share something), but that's harder these days when you have a kid and can't ask the kid to skip lunch.
Mahalo for your response! Surprisingly, I received an email from the owners at La Villa Mahana and they have a table for us! So it looks like we will probably do Lagoon as well and get 2 really highly rated restaurants. I will need to figure out the first 2 nights at Le Meridien. I'm sure we'll just eat at their restaurants though.

I wish I had time to stop at a store but I booked the flight to BoB early and the boat is picking us up early. I guess we could ask the boat transfer to come later and we could go to the store first? I'd like to at least have snacks and fruits.

BTW, anyone have an email for concierge or GS at St Regis?
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Old Apr 21, 2019, 6:16 pm
  #855  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Phoenix
Programs: United, Hawaiian, American, Southwest, Asia Miles, Qantas, Lufthansa, Alaska, Emirates, Delta, Swiss
Posts: 25
I've been checking into both the SR and LM recently, exploring all kind of dates and I can't seem to find anything bookable with just points. Have these two resorts gone exclusively to cash and points? Anyone find the same thing?
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