Le Meridien, Bora Bora (rebranding to Westin, Opening May 2024) [Master Thread]
 

I have stayed at the Le Merdian Bora Bora this year. Feel free to ask me any questions about it.

Really was a top class hotel.

Le Meridian, Bora Bora
 

Has anyone been successful in using cash & points at the Le Meridian in Bora Bora. When I do a rewards search the Bora Bora Nui and St. Regis say it's not an option at these resorts but the Le Meridian says that for the dates selected it's not available which leads me to believe that it's available sometime. But I checked one day/week for the next year and never found availability for cash & points, anybody have any insight on this one. How about any feedback on the resorts on Bora Bora.

My wife and I stayed in LM Bora Bora in March, 2007 on our honeymoon. It was part of a trip where we started at the Sheraton Moorea (points), then stayed at the LM Bora Bora (paid) and ended at the Sheraton Tahiti (points). I never posted a trip report (had always meant to), but I did write a letter to SPG describing the whole experience, good and bad. Here's the excerpt of my letter that I sent related to the LM Bora Bora property.

Bora Bora (premium overwater bungalow: paid for reservation)
Our next four nights were spent at the Le Meridien Bora Bora. This was an outstanding hotel. In planning this trip, one significant concern I had (see booking section) was whether I would receive an over water bungalow or not. Not wanting to take any chances of visiting French Polynesia and not getting to stay in this type of accommodation, I elected to forgo the use of points and to pay for a "premium over water bungalow." Putting aside the indescribable beauty of Bora Bora, my first impressions of the Le Meridien were incredible. The transfer process from the airport was seamless and the transfer staff was very friendly. When we arrived at the hotel (at check-in time), it turned out that our room was not yet ready; however, rather than make us sit around waiting, the arrival staff provided us with a complimentary drink and took us on a tour of the hotel and its grounds. When we returned to the front desk and the room was still not ready, the hotel staff provided us lunch, complimentary (which, with the costs of food in French Polynesia is a very nice deal!). The thing that made this impressive to me is that neither my wife nor I made a sound. I've become all too accustomed to the "squeaky wheel gets the oil" mentality in appeasing travellers, but this was a true cases where we didn't say a word and this potentially negative situation was proactively handled. Following lunch, we were successfully checked into our room and our Bora Bora experience began.

Other positive experiences:
• We found that the hotel restaurant was a welcome upgrade to the Sheraton Moorea. Food quality, food presentation and service were markedly improved. This was clearly a quality restaurant and we enjoyed the experience.
• We appreciated not being "nickeled and dimed." For example, Internet and Movies were free, unlike the Sheraton Moorea where Internet cost 1,000 XPF/hr and movies had a surcharge. Additionally, room service prices were consistent with the hotel restaurant prices and did not include the Sheraton Moorea 1,000 XPF surcharge per order.
• We really enjoyed the Turtle sanctuary. This was a very unique attraction to have at a hotel and we both agreed being able to experience this was very enjoyable for us.
• The upkeep and thought that went into this resort was incredible. The resort was incredibly clean and I was impressed with the "sailboat" theme that almost everything at the hotel appeared to be modelled after, even on large scales, such as the bars.
• Champagne (half-bottle) arrival gift. Being on our honeymoon, this was very welcome and was a nice start to our trip.


Some negative experiences:
• We were a little disappointed with the European style "twins join as king beds." I would highly recommend upgrading this resort with a Westin Heavenly or Sheraton Sweet Sleeper type bed in the future.
• We had a very poor experience with asking for a late check-out. Our flight was at 5:00 PM so we requested a late check-out. We were flatly told "no." What disappointed me with this is that our room was not ready at the designated check-in time (which I understood was due to someone else's late check out) and from talking with others without "elite status" at the hotel, they did receive the extended check-out. Being an elite member paying for the most expensive room in the hotel, I think granting the extended check-out would only be appropriate. On a side note, there also appeared to be a series of executives who met with the Le Meridien General Manager who were on our flight back to Papeete--most of them appeared to go to the dock from their rooms at 4:00 PM--clearly indicating they were provided late check outs. I do not know whether they were Starwood/Le Meridien Employees or external contractors, but this disappointed me nontheless as I feel I am a pretty valuable customer as well.

One very negative experience:
• We felt the hotel concierge was horrible. Yes, horrible. There were two instances that led me to this conclusion (on top of her overall indifference and general attitude).
1. Night 1 at dinner, we were put at a crappy table at dinner after making a reservation. We observed that most of the restaurant tables were available, including on the lagoon, yet they were not made available to us. For night 2 and night 4 (we went out for night 3), my wife made a reservation at the concierge and requested a lagoon side table. Her request was denied. Rather infuriated, I went back to the concierge and explained my SPG status and the fact that we paid for the most expensive room at the hotel. She informed me that the tables were in fact available (not sure why they weren't when my wife asked for them and we'd get them). For day 2, we got the table; however for day 4, when we went to dinner, we were told it wasn't available. I quickly informed the host that we made the reservation and re-hashed my conversation with the concierge. To his credit, he and another employee rectified the situation very quickly by moving a table into a prime spot. However, needless to say, I was very disappointed with the concierge for her handling of the dinner reservations in general. The irony of it all is that the better tables were ALWAYS available!
2. We paid for all of our tours through American Express' tour Company. When I asked the concierge to confirm with the Tour Company for me, she put me on a hotel tour instead--only I was later charged for it. I clearly told her the situation with my vouchers and who the tour was with and she indicated it was okay for her to switch it to the local tour. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time on the tour; but when the time came to get the bill, we were charged for the tour, again and it was a considerable ordeal to get the charge removed from our bill.

Ignoring these isolated negative experiences (although my recommendation stands for both this hotel and the Sheraton Moorea--hire an American/European style concierge!), we loved the Le Meridien Bora Bora and would likely consider staying there again (if I couldn't get a good rate at the St. Regis).

The St Regis Bora Bora master thread has 307 posts:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...highlight=bora

A lengthy comparison thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...=sheraton+bora

not all properties have cash/points awards. You can get the overwater rooms for 50,000 points/night.

Time2Travel, this property is participating in the current Le Meridien promo - earn 4 free nights with 7 paid stays. That might be an alternative approach for you to get nights more affordably.

SanDiego1K - OK, I'll show my ingorance, what's the earn 4 free nights with 7 paid stays promo? Is there info on the spg sight?

Flyertalk thread on Le Meridien Stay 7 earn 4 promo

Le Meridien Promo information

I was asked to update this thread with my comments.

I stayed for 5 days at the hotel and to be honest with you was quite surprised by it. From all the reports that I had read about the lack of good service in Tahiti, this was not the case in this hotel. I was very impressed with the service and also the quality of the food. Also the hotel is not very over priced as you would think due to it's location. I would say that it was comparable to any other 5* that I have stayed at.

I enjoy a few beer's so that ran me up a slight bill on the first day, but the next morning we took the Hotel boat to Bora Bora's main island. Only took us 5-10 mins to get there. (leaves every hour and there is no cost) Once you get off the boat there are car and buggy rentals available by the hour. i took it for two hours and drove around the island (which was worth a visit to see how the locals live) picked up some snacks from the supermarket to keep me going for the next 4 days. Also there are some decent shops to browse. This trip was well worth it as the hotel charges quiet a bit for knick knacks in the mini bar.

As for which room to stay at, we stayed closer to the beach side on the over water bungalows. The best place would be somewhere in the middle. I say this because the expensive over water bunglows are at the end of the line and the water there looked quite deep. I would say it would have been around 8-10ft. In the middle where we stayed it was around 5ft which was perfect was snorkelling and standing when you needed a break. Also there are sharks in the water so be careful. Take one of the mid price water bungalows, the views are perfect and you won't have deep water around you. Beware not to go for any water bunglow too close in as the water is quite shallow there. Loved the glass floor to view the fish at night time in every room.

Overall the hotel is very nice, nothing much to do other than to relax and soak up the sun. The small turtle sanctuary is worth a snorkle inside the hotel. The water was crystal clear in the sea. Really was paradise if you are into beach resorts.

I consider myself as having travelled quite a bit and Bora Bora really has been one of the jewels on the crown so far. Don't waste any time in Papette though. We got bored stiff there.

Let me know if any of you want to ask any other specific questions.

You can upgrade to OWB from a Polynesian Beach Bungalow (i.e. one level above the standard bungalow) on SPG awards by paying the fare difference at the time of booking. You must call the hotel directly. In my case, I only need to pay $100/night extra, which is a steal for a confirmed upgrade to OWB months in advance. Keep in mind, this may be the only way you can an upgrade if staying on points because SPG preferred award using points already provide you with a Speciality 2 upgrade when the booking was made and therefore, the hotel is not required to provide an upgrade on top of another one.

anyone stayed here recently? How is the upgrade for PLAT at this property?

Thanks

How was Stay on 4 Free Nights Awards?
 

Can anyone report on their stay at this hotel using the 4 free nights? What kind of bungalow; any sort of Plat upgrade or amenity; best bungalows to ask for; etc?

Thanks.

I second this question. I assume everybody did Guava's trick to book into the Polynisian Beach Bungalow, but were any SPG Plats further upgraded for free or did you all pony up the additional $100 per night for an OWB?

We are booked to go in January. I've asked the Platinum concierge to ask the hotel about meals, if anyone is interested, and they've gotten back to us with "Half board : (american breakfast and dinner ) 8 850 xpf + 13% taxes per person per day and 50% discount for children under 12 years old."

The Bora Bora Nui offers a rate called “Polynesian Escape” that includes: accommodations, airport transfers, daily breakfast, two course lunches, romantic picnic lunch on the resort's own private island Motu Tapu, three course dinners with wine, activities including cooking classes, botanical walks, snorkeling trips, etc. All of this comes to about 15,000 XPF per person per day (4 day minimum), as compared to the same accommodation alone at the SPG 35 rate.