Conrad Bora Bora = Remains One of Our Favorites

We stayed a few times at Conrad Bora Bora Nui in the past and I reviewed the hotel but it was our first visit since 2020 so I thought I would provide a brief upgrade based on my observations of what has changed.  This resort remains one of our favorite anywhere in the world and since we are repeat guests we might end up being treated better which creates a virtuous circle.  Since the hotel converted from Hilton to Conrad we have now stayed a total of 54 nights which I thought might be near the top of their list but they informed me that another guest has a whopping total of 131 nights so our 54 nights is rather pedestrian LOL

We stayed in a deluxe overwater villa for the entire duration of our stay and I did not notice signs of wear & tear compared to our previous visit.  The bathroom has been renovated despite the fact that last time I did not think it really needed it.  The color scheme of the bathroom in the deluxe OWV is now the same as in the horizon view villas with light colored floor tiles and walls in the shower instead of the previous dark tiles.  Another change is that Shanghai Tang toiletries are a thing of the past (but they are still used in the day rooms), now it’s Byredo.

Service felt even better than the past, in part because the hotel now has dedicated butlers.  We were in contact with our butler throughout the stay via Whatsapp and overall it provided a more personal experience than in our previous stays.  They might not have the same ratio of butlers to guest count than St.Regis for example (yet?) because butlers seemed quite occupied with check-in / check-out processes but it’s a step in the right direction if Conrad wants to upgrade the hotel to the Waldorf Astoria brand. 

We also found service in the restaurant to be very good with staff knowing our food preferences and sometimes proactively offering items off the menu.  For example we received a fruit plate straight from the kitchen on several mornings with fruits not available in the buffet, and also my wife received congee on the mornings where the buffet had porridge rather than congee.  It seemed also that pretty much all staff addressed us by name, even the recent hires who had not seen us in previous stays.

We received several gifts during our stay including a lovely 7-colored cake to celebrate our daughter making her way to Oceania which was the last of 7 continents she has travelled to in her short life.  This was a very nice gesture!

Breakfast was relatively similar to the past although there were a few differences.  They used to have some pork dishes but in 15 days we did not see any this time.  Despite that, there was more rotation of dishes offered than in the past, in fact anybody staying 7 nights or less might not see some dishes at all because they seemed to be spaced out by at least 10 days.  For example in our 15 breakfasts I noted the following frequency of “special” dishes: fish 1/15, chicken fafa 3/15, chicken teriyaki 2/15, and noodles 2/15.

While we love Conrad Bora Bora overall, for the first time we had a bit of a black mark during our latest stay.  The Polynesian dinner show has been downgraded in my opinion.  First off the price increased significantly from 14k XPF to 20k XPF per person but this could be chalked off to inflation.  The main issue is that the buffet is now much smaller than before for example there was no more crab, no more prepared salads, etc.  There was also no more dessert buffet and instead guests were served a bowl of fruits.  But the issue was not only the spread but also the quality.  Many dishes were lukewarm at best so I would question the new concept of all-day cooking in the ground which is part of the presentation done before the meal.  But to make matters worse all three of us got sick in the two days after the buffet so some items might not have been cooked properly.  So I think now what we pay for is mostly the show itself, rather than the food. 

In our previous stay my wife was pregnant so we did not visit the kids club but we made extensive use of it this time. 

Overall we had another great stay minus the two days when we were sidelined and we are looking forward to return again in the future.  To conclude, another small change I noted is that there are no more keycards at the hotel, now guests receive a colored bracelet to open the room door.  Out of curiosity I asked what the different colors mean and they are mostly to indicate the language of the guests (English, French, etc.), but one color is for Hilton Golds/Diamonds which helps staff to visually allow guests to use the premium beach.  Based on what I observed at the resort I was surprised to see no more than 20-25% of guests being Golds/Diamonds; I would have thought such resort was more elite heavy but it is not.  The lower numbers might help Diamonds and returning Diamond guests receiving better treatment at this resort which is my experience at least.