I'm lifetime titanium, so that should definitely help. I already have a 2-night stay in Papeete later in the trip, so since this is a forced overnight I'd prefer to maximize it. Worst case I think I can use that lounge that people say they have?

When we stayed in April, we had a 5:40pm flight and were able to use one of the beach villas as a 'refreshment room' before departure. They said we'd only be able to use it for 45 minutes but when it came time they said stay as long as we wanted. At the time, none of the beach villas were bookable because of construction at the next resort over.

If its busy / high occupancy, the spa day pass could be a very solid option as the facility is really nice and has showers. You can also come and go on the day of any spa treatments (and I assume day passes) you book.

Also, for what its worth, I heard at least one other guest get a late checkout for their room. We were not so lucky, but I wonder if its more likely you will be able to get a late checkout if you don't get upgraded (i.e. more inventory to work with). I am a Titanium and was upgraded to a Premium Otemanu with SNAs.

It was nice to get essentially an entire day's use of the resort before departure - we were able to swim, kayak etc....you might even be able to book excursions.

Has anyone attempted to use a Marriott gift card at this property? Was it accepted and was it difficult?

does anyone have any information on the laundry service/options at the resort? availability, pricing, etc. thanks!

any update?

any update? looking to do the same

Here for 10 days. Have not used the laundry service, details on pricing and timing are on a form in the walk-in closet. $7 for a shirt, $20 for a long dress. Same day in by 9am, back by 6pm. Overnight in by 10pm, back by 7am.

Glanced at the list briefly - definitely a case of "if you have to ask, you'll probably cringe" - I seem to remember like $15 for a t-shirt.

Beach villa with plunge pool
 

We booked the beach villa with plunge pool. There appears to be 5 of them. Does anyone have any insight on which one to request? I was going to request the one in the middle near the private restaurant as it appears to be the most private. TIA

Trip Report from June 2025
 

Finally getting around to posting a trip report on this property. We stayed in June 2025 for 5 nights in an over-the-water bungalow booked with about 350k Marriott points about 2 months out, which is pretty good for high season. The downside in going in high season is that the property is pretty full so upgrades are hard to come by. I’m Platinum this year and we got “upgraded” only to a slightly better view. They did not take into account our request to not be located along the main walkway (there is constant golf cart traffic which you can hear from the room because the bridge to the room is short) or to be in deep enough water to dive off the deck. Rooms were also all pre-assigned and they did not want to make any changes on site.

I have to agree with the disorganized check- in that some have mentioned here. There are 3 desks with one supposedly for status holders but there is no process or order for when guests get invited to a desk to check in or out. So everyone is mixed together and staff has no idea who just arrived and needs a drink and a wet towel or who is checking out. Our towels were given to someone checking out by mistake, for example. Not a huge deal but silly and should be sorted out at a 5-star resort.

The rooms are very modern and beautiful. Generally no big concerns but you can tell some of the updates were done poorly which again I would expect to be perfect at a 5-star resort. For example, toilets are attached to the wall way too high meaning unless you’re 6’+ tall, your feet won’t be able to touch the ground. This is not the case in the public restrooms by the restaurants so it’s only a mistake in the rooms. Also not sure if all rooms are like this or just some. Also the round vanity/makeup mirrors are attached to the wall way too high. Again if you’re not 6’ tall (and most women using them aren’t), they’re unusable. TV also randomly turns on because I think the remote control from adjacent bungalows catch the signal.

On the upside, each room has a walk-in closet, umbrellas, a beach tote you can keep etc. They also provide nice water bottles that you can refill at various stations around the property.

In terms of the property, the beach is very nice and we had no issues grabbing nice loungers right at the water. The water is super clear and calm. Great for swimming. Service at the loungers was hit and miss depending on who was working each day. Sometimes they were on top of it and some days no one would come by for 1-2 hours. Pool was pretty but pretty boring considering they have a swim-up bar. It would be very easy to play better music and louder and create a fun social atmosphere but no effort was ever made. Without that hanging by the pool vs beach had little attraction for us.

Now in terms of the food, we read all the complaints and came prepared to be disappointed. I would have to say everyone is correct in their assessment. Overall the food is mediocre to terrible. It was so bad that it was always the main topic of discussion among other guests including on our snorkeling tour. Somehow they managed to overcomplicate the food and focus on presentation while completely ignoring taste. And even when you tried to go with simpler fish dishes, you received completely overcooked inedible and tasteless plates.

After wasting a bunch of money giving various restaurants and dishes a try, we just stuck with the same few decent dishes for the rest of the trip at the casual beach restaurant which I’ve also seen recommended here: mahi mahi burger and quinoa salad bowl (which isn’t a bowl). It is not a good sign for a 5 star resort when guests bond over how bad the food is and share edible dish recommendations with each other to help out. Breakfast was also decent and you could order eggs in any way in addition to the buffet (not worth $60 but free for platinum members). Oh and cocktails and even smoothies at the restaurants were also terrible especially given $25-35 cost. The best drinks were at the sunset bar.

We booked a half a day snorkeling trip which was great and I highly recommend it. Make sure to book ahead in high season as they do sell out. A trip like this is necessary to see marine life in the area because there isn’t much at the resort itself. We also went off the resort once to eat at St James restaurant in the capital. It was nice for a change of pace but pretty expensive and the food is better but not significantly enough to pay $150 for the after hours boat plus $10/pp for the taxi. You also need to book that restaurant at least a week in advance to get a nicer table by the water.

The biggest miss of this resort in our opinion is complete lack of trying to create any sort of atmosphere. Wine tastings are done at 11am when most don’t want to drink. Happy hour bar is nice for sunset but there’s either no music or cancelled singer most nights. And pool has no atmosphere as mentioned. My partner said it must have been planned and managed by the most boring person :)

Overall, we had a nice relaxing time especially on points and the property is stunning with great beach and sunsets, but we would probably not come back. We did inadvertently compare our trip to a similar stay at the W in the Maldives for the same price and that resort is just in a different league given amazing snorkeling, restaurants/bars with atmosphere and DJ for happy hour, decent food, plus big and quiet / better laid out bungalows with great swimming right off the deck.

Our total spend for food/drinks/tour/ferry etc was around $2800 for 5 nights.
Happy to answer any specific questions.

I think it’s not a fair comparison for a W to a Westin (other than both names starting with the same letter).

W is all about the fun vibe, there is always loud music.

The Westin is the most modern and newest resort in Bora Bora (due to the refurb) and I would recommend it over the old insect infested St Regis next door (although it rained the entire time I was at the St Regis so I didn’t get to enjoy the grounds or beach).

I would also add the jet skiing at the Westin was around the half the price of the St Regis which was a pleaent surprise which I enjoyed when I was there (I did a video on YouTube linked in this thread too).

Thanks for the detailed review - definitely echoes many of my experiences…especially around dining. I did receive a great upgrade and overall enjoyed the property, but for the price point it fell way short of many similar properties around the world. Incidentally, I have a call with the hotel GM over some other issues I experienced in hole there regarding their welcoming of guests who do not fit into their typical heterosexual couple demographic. Little things that would be so easy to fix, but taken together created a real feeling of being a second-class guest there.

Where did anyone ask for “loud music”? I talked about atmosphere which most 5-star resorts carefully craft. The W Maldives is not a party hotel. It is a 5 star resort just like this one except they thought through the atmosphere for guests as beauty without atmosphere tends to fall flat. Music there is calm and chill and creates a feel. You’ll notice most nice inviting restaurants do this, if you pay attention. If you don’t need this, fine, but you’d be in the minority.

And I don’t know what this has anything to do with the older St Regis. That wasn’t the point.

I was only able to get 1 night here, would it be crazy to do 1 night here and 4 nights at the Conrad? The transfer times are only about 20 minutes right?

Early morning arrival.

You should ask the 1st resort how much to transfer to the 2nd resort. They likely will take you to the mainland dock, then you have to take a taxi to the dock for the other hotel as Conrad and Westin are on opposite sides of the main island. They might do a direct Conrad-Westin(or vice versa) boat but likely very expensive.