We felt that this was a lovely place to stay, the room was really homely. We felt really chilled out here as we had just got married and felt that it would be nice place to stay before we went off for real luxury to Le Tahaa. I would definatley recommend the Garden Room as this has your own pool which was really secluded. We stayed in this room as the travel agent recommended this over the over water bungalow due to us staying in one in Le Tahaa and said that it is good to experience different rooms. The hotel service wasn't as good as we expected and the hotel didn't have the wow factor that we thought it would have. The staff were pleasent and for what we wanted it was great just to chill out. We expected Paradise and I don't think it was quite that.

I stayed at the Hotel Bora Bora ten years ago for my honeymoon, so we chose to return to this lovely hotel to renew our vows. It may have aged a bit, but it is still a magnificent resort. The service is impeccable.

Upon arrival, you are greeted with champagne and cold towels (that have been soaked in Tiara flower fragrance) by Beatrice Plisson. She is a darling French woman who is in charge of Public Relations. She was delighted when she found out that I speak French. (any attempt to speak French in F.P. is greatly appreciated!) Check-in takes place on the dock, and you are then taken to your room. If you arrive prior to check-in you will be given a day room until your room is ready. We went straight to the beach and had drinks at the Pofai Beach bar. This became a great place to meet people from all over the world, and I found it to be quite lively and fun! There are a number of wooden lounge chairs along the beach with umbrellas, and the attendants will bring you chilled water, champane, etc. in your very own ice bucket. You can snorkel straight off of the beach and see a wide array of fish, sting-rays, etc. The coral can really tear up your feet, so I advise that you bring aquasocks, Tevas, or whatever rubber soled shoes to protect your feet.

The concierge will arrange to have your bags moved from your day room around 3pm. There are a number of different rooms available at Hotel Bora Bora. We had an overwater bungalow (#118)with a fantastic sunset view. We were on the more shallow side, but it was still an amazing experience to sit and watch the manta rays swimming right in front of our deck every night. They are gigantic and beautiful. They swim up to the light off of your deck to eat the plankton. I don't think you will get this experience at any of the other resorts. Location is what makes this hotel if you want great snorkeling and views of marine life. If you want clear blue water with no coral, then the Thalasso, St. Regis or the Nui may be more suitable for you.

On Wednesday evening we attended the beach barbeque. This is so entertaining, and the food was quite good! You are seated on the beach and after your meal the Tahitian dancers arrive in traditional Tahitian clothing to dance, perform with fire sticks, climb trees, it's such fun. I don't want to give too much away, but if you are a big guy you are in for getting pulled from your table to perform a number of manly "tasks" that are just hilarious. My 6'4" husband got quite a work-out!

The next day we did the shark and ray feeding. You are picked up by boat and brought out to shallow waters to watch stingrays be fed. You can jump right in and touch them. I think I was surrounded by at least 8 of them at one time. They are a lot of fun, and not as dangerous as so many think nowadays. We then were taken out to deeper waters to watch the black tip sharks come out to feed. I stepped down out of the boat with my dive mask, and just watched in awe. They too are harmless, but a shark is still a shark! Anyways, I highly recommend this excursion. The activities director Taraina Copie will set this up for you. She is extremely helpful and efficient as she also planned my renewal of vows ceremony.

On Thursday we had our renewal of vows ceremony. This was by far an experience of a lifetime. We were picked up by Tahitian dancers by canoe and sailed off from our overwater bungalow to the beach. Upon arrival bongo drums are played, a dancer blows into a giant conch shell that can probably be heard all across the island! A number of onlookers gathered on the beach, and we pulled up to a beautifully decorated floral setting with 10 dancers and a real Tahitian priest. We had a beautiful ceremony, exchanged vows and received authentic Tahitian names. It was quite moving. I felt like I got married all over again. From there we were brought back to our room to have champagne and celebrate! We then had a romantic dinner on the beach. A table is set up with big plants and flowers surrounding it, tiki torches, and you are assigned your own personal waiter for the evening. Dinner was a 5 course meal fit for a king. I loved that we had the entire beach to ourselves and got to watch the sunset. Truly unforgettable. You can arrange to have the romantic dinner even if you aren't having the ceremony. You can choose your menu prior to the meal.

The next day we dove with Bora Bora Dive Center. We asked to be taken to see more manta rays, and we were taken to a pass off by Motu Toopua where a number of them were roaming about at around 75 feet. It was thoroughly enjoyable to watch these beautiful animals. We had Simon tape our dive for us, and he set it to music and put it on a disc. I believe it was around $110 for the tape, and we love to show it to our friends. He actually tapes everything from start to finish for you.

On Friday evening we went to the famous Villa Mahana for dinner. Everyone asks about this place on tripadvisor, and may I say, it is not to be missed. Get your reservations early, and have either your travel agent set it up for you or e-mail Damien the owner yourself. We used Tahiti Travel Planners to plan our trip and my agent Chloe Cippollone set it up for me. (I HIGHLY recommend this agent if you are travelling to F.P....she's amazing) We had the "Discovery Menu" and it was to die for. Everyone wants the table up top overlooking the pool, but if you don't get it, don't be disappointed. It does not take away from the experience. The decor is lovely and the food is divine. If it's good enough for Nicole Kidman, it's good enough for me!
Some highlights were the ahi tuna, risotto, and the gnocchi. Go go go!!!!

I cannot say enough about Hotel Bora Bora. The grounds are mature and beautifully manicured. The rooms aren't all fancy like you will find at the Thalasso, but you still get a lovely four poster bed decorated with white tulle, a big bathtub, sunset views, and the best experience overall. Everyone greets you when they pass by with an "Ia Orana!" or "Bonjour!" all day long. You can't go wrong. If I were stay in another type of room, it would have been the pool fare. They are 1200 sq. feet with a living area, deck with pool, grass area with a hammock, etc. Just another nice alternative. I took a tour of one while I was there, and they are much more spacious than the overwaters.

If I have one dislike, and it was my only dislike, it was that the air conditioning was not great. November is notoriously hot and humid but we suffered when the sun was setting right in front of our room. I would have to stand on a chair in front of the unit to cool down sometimes. But, on a scale from 1-10 Hotel Bora Bora still gets a 10 from me.

My advice, and it is only my meager advice, is to really know what you WANT when you are travelling to French Polynesia. Is diving right off of your deck to snorkel important? Do you care about having a television? Do you want to be able to walk to Matira Beach or Bloody Mary's? Do you want impeccable service and not have to wait forever for a meal? Do you like a warm and friendly atmosphere? If you said yes to all of these, then Hotel Bora Bora should be your choice! It's the most charming place in the world.

What a Fantastic Place. We stayed here for 4 nights in October and it was fantastic. It did rain hard the entire time we where there and we still had a great time. Great Service and a very relaxing resort. This is a more traditional Tahiti resort than some of the new Mega Resorts but they have the service down better than anyone in Tahiti. I travel a lot to Tahiti and have stayed at all the hotels and between this hotel and Le Tahaa you can not find better service. The rooms are traditional Tahitian but very comfortable. No tv's but the all have AC. CD players in each room and very very comfortable beds. Great crab cakes at the beach bar and some actually good drinks for FP standards. A must visit if you want to get away from it all. Its also nice to be on the mainland versus a motu resort. You can avoid all the shuttle hassels.

Our stay at the Hotel Bora Bora, after two weeks in Tikehau and Moorea, was extraordinary. In comparison to the Tikehau Pearl Beach Resort and the Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa, the Hotel Bora Bora stood out as a truly world-class experience.

The public relations director met us on our arrival with glasses of perfectly chilled champagne before leading us to our bungalow, a spacious suite with a large sitting room, an attractive bedroom, a dressing room, a large bath, and a big deck several paces from the lagoon. We were over water in Tikehau and Moorea, and our beach-side bungalow at Hotel Bora Bora was preferable in one significant respect: the sound of waves breaking on sand instead of sloshing against pilings. The entire bungalow, except for the bath, was paneled in raw red cedar, giving the bungalow a naturally aromatic ambiance. Two pareos arranged on the bed were gifts from the hotel, along with a nice bottle of chilled champagne and a large bowl of fresh papaya, apples, pears, mango, giant pink grapes, and pineapple.

The sitting room in our bungalow was sparsely furnished, and we wondered if some furniture had been removed: there was an empty space in the sitting room where I could picture a small table and chairs, which would have been nice for dining, and there was no bureau in either the bedroom or dressing room for folded clothes. The hangers had clips for trousers, and there was a slatted shelf over the hanger rail that was adequate but inconveniently high. The writing table and side tables in the sitting room were attractive French colonial reproductions, bamboo and black lacquer.

In general, the staff was exceptional: courteous, competent, and professional, the only disappointment being the dining room, where we were surprised to meet with inattention and even indifference. The food wasn't what we expected, either. After the first two nights, we went out. The concierge's recommendations were excellent.

The snorkeling right around the hotel is pretty good, and at night giant manta rays are attracted to the lights under the dock where the launches arrive and depart. We saw anywhere from one to three rays at a time every night... it was mesmerizing. I had heard that in recent years the hotel had been allowed somewhat to deteriorate. There is no sign of neglect or disrepair now. The grounds are beautiful and meticulously maintained. There were Pawleys Island hammocks everywhere. The feeling of the resort is one of established, quiet, relaxed, and understated elegance.

I can't recommend the Hotel Bora Bora highly enough.