The St. Regis was the last stop on our honeymoon and was worth every penny. I'd been a bit hesitant given some of the reviews on Trip Advisor, but we found the Bora Bora resort to be nicer than the St. Regis in NYC but with the same gracious and understated hospitality.

When we arrived, a man was playing the ukelele and singing, and we were greeted with iced tea and leis. Our luggage was whisked away and in our room when we arrived. Check-in was a snap -- done sitting down and more like a conversation than a check-in. We were upgraded to a premier OWB, perhaps because it was our honeymoon or because we are SPG gold members...not sure. The only difference between this and the regular OWB is the view, as we had a great view of Mt. Otemanu from our deck. Our room was not ready so we ate lunch and our butler picked us up from lunch to take us to our room via a golf cart. He was very friendly and warm and got us a good table at the Lagoon restaurant.

The room was thoughtfully designed without being over the top. There were windows and sliding glass doors everywhere, to provide a great view. The rooms are standard with two 42" Sony plasma TVs, an espresso machine, Bose sound system, slippers and robes, snorkeling equipment, etc. -- pretty much anything you could need is in the room. There are two air conditioners that did a good job of keeping the room free of humidity, unlike some of the other hotels we stayed in. The OWB's bathroom had a stand-up shower, two sinks, large bathtub, dresser, vanity, and small glass viewing area for fish. The OWB also has a bedroom and living room, which had the viewing area under the coffee table. The deck has two lounge chairs, a table and chairs, a shower, and an area for jumping off.

There weren't a lot of fish outside our bungalow but we did see some. The water is about 11' deep there. There is also a beach with nice lounge chairs and people are constantly passing out free Evian. The beach was nicely maintained though a bit small. No long romantic walks on the beach unless you like pacing. There is a pool, but beach chairs by the pool fill up quickly. There are hobie cats, canoes, etc. by the beach. There is also a "lagoonarium" area for snorkeling. We did see a lot of fish there, mostly near the stairs where you get in. This area appears to be somewhat manmade and closed off so that you will not encounter any rays here. The gym was of a decent size and there is also a tennis court.

Housekeeping was good -- they filled the ice bucket, replenished toiletries and coffee, and were always coming by with towels. They gave us a bottle of champagne and a flower petal turndown.

The St. Regis provides free boat transfers to Vaitape and to the St. Regis dock, where restaurants will pick you up. The St. Regis dock has a little air conditioned room where you can sit while waiting, or just stay outside and look at the sky. The golf cart transportation is helpful, as the property is large.

By the time we got to the St. Regis, we'd been in French Polynesia for nearly 2 weeks and were covered with mosquito bites, but we didn't get a single one at the St. Regis. They treat for mosquitoes regularly and if this isn't sufficient, you can request an additional treatment near your bungalow. We did encounter a few small bugs in the bungalow.

We ate at Lagoon one night and were impressed. Be sure to reserve an outside table if possible. We also at at the beachfront Te Pahu twice, and food there was good as well. Service at both restaurants was good.

The staff was friendly and helpful. They would put a letter under the door to remind us of dinner reservations, call to ask if we wanted to go into town, etc. We felt like they genuinely cared.

Yes, the St. Regis is expensive. However, our stay was worry-free. Food is a little more expensive than at other resorts in French Polynesia but not a lot more. Lunch dishes started at 2300 XPF and entrees at Lagoon started at 4000 XPF -- on par with other places but better quality. Honestly, stuff is not really more expensive here than it would be in NYC, and you have the amazing views everywhere you turn here.

People recommended that we bring a small collapsible cooler which was helpful for our stays at the other resorts. We saved money by buying fruit in the Papeete market and going to the grocery store for some basics and keeping it all in the cooler. Ice was plentiful at all resorts. (I got a backpack style cooler at Target for $10 and it was also great for taking on excursions.) We also brought an inflatable raft, which was fun. I would suggest bringing a lot of bug spray to French Polynesia, and an underwater camera. I bought a great bag for my digital camera tht will turn it into a waterproof camera, and it was only $30 at LL Bean. We brought a pocketknife in our checked luggage and ended up using many of the components during our trip, even if just for food and wine! We brought a converter but didn't need it.

One note to SPG members -- if you book through a travel agent, you will only receive limited StarPoints for the stay. We were told that we would get 500 points per night, but we get triple StarPoints, so we did receive 1500 points per night -- less than half what we would have gotten had we booked through Starwood.

This hotel does not offer free late checkout to SPG members, and check-out is at noon. However, they let us stay in the room a little later and seamlessly checked our luggage so that we could hang out at the resort.

It was a wonderful ending to a great vacation.

Our stay at the St. Regis was absolutely wonderful. We stayed for five nights beginning May 12, 2008. Upon arrival in Bora Bora, we walk up to the St. Regis desk and are greeted by name. My husband heads towards the luggage and while reaching for one of our bags, a man appears from what seems to be nowhere and our bags disappear. We are boarded on a luxury pontoon boat with two other couples and it is approximately a 20 minutes boat ride to our resort. As we arrive we are greeted with Tahitian music, a hot towel and beverage as we are seated in the lobby. We meet our butler and are given a tour of the resort on a club car. Our butler takes us to our room (OWB #102). We are delighted that our room has a direct view of Mt. Otemeau as requested. The room is beautiful with two 42" Plasma tvs which we didn't use. The bathroom is very large with two sinks and a separate toilet. The deck on the room is great and we spent most of our time there. We ate at Lagoon restaurant 4 of the 5 nights and found the service and food absolutely oustanding! Prices are high, but we knew that going in. We took the meal plan at the St. Regis that includes breakfast and three course dinner. We have the 2007 rates of 12565 xpf per person as we booked it at that time. For those not familiar with the food plan, any beverages, including water, are not included in your meal plan. The breakfast buffet is included in the meal plan. If you want to have a meal delivered to your room, there is a charge of $20.00 per person. There is a shuttle into town 4 times each day. It is approximately a 30 minute boat ride into town. There is a manager's cocktail party at the St. Regis on Tuesdays and Thursday’s at 5:30 p.m.. It includes a couple of champagne cocktails, a plate of hors devores and a brief Polynesian show. It was very nice. Tepu (Restaurant) is good but doesn’t compare to Lagoon. The resort has a Lagoonarium stocked with lots of fish and some sea turtles. It is great for snorkeling. We visited three times and only once was there another couple there.
There are a few service flaws. Once we waited 2 hours for ice. We are happy to get our own ice, but there are no ice machines. We thought it a bit much to have to call three times for ice. We also didn't get water replaced in our room three of the five days of our stay. When we asked our maid, she directed us to buy the water from the mini bar.
One drawback to the St. Regis is the view of the sunset from this location is not great. The sun sets behind the island.
All in all, I would stay at the St. Regis again. We loved it there.

I would recommend checking room locations when staying at this property. We booked a deluxe water bungalow with a view of Mt Otemanu however beware as our room(226) did indeed face the mtn but also the garbage disposal transfer station on Bora Bora that burns 24/7! This is a huge problem for this resort & the 4 seasons ( that we visited preopening whilst there). Our 1st morning was a still day & the smoke from the fire rested over the lagoon & you could smell it on our deck & inside the room. The front desk manager told us that it was unusually bad on the day we complained. We were lucky that on reporting it o the front ,they are well aware of this problem & moved us to a POWB (109) and were very apologetic . Unfortunately the experience spoilt our 1st impressions of French Polynesia as the sight & smell of trash burning in the distance ( when you know it is the dump!) is disgusting.
The rooms that have this as their view are 218-230
Lagoon rooms are 302-331 and have a view back towards the resort across the lagoon - at least you dont have to look at the smoke cloud although you may smell it when the wind blows that way. 202-210 are Dlx OWB with Bora bora views but a bit farther along
101 & 102 seem to be the best rooms if you want to be close to the resort & not look at the dump.103-110 are the POWB with small jacuzzi (unheated) but much more open deck to maximise the view - Beautiful rooms but only 8 rooms in this category and quite a bit more expensive.With the POWB you get the addition of the jacuzzi on the deck, a bigger deck/better more open view & a bigger closet, also they are walkable to the resort .
Lagoon restarant was very nice the outside seating has only 5-6 tables but very romantic in the evening. We found the fish to be the better menu choice and were disappointed with the meat choices we had. If you prepay the MAP plan it is considerably cheaper. The other 'breakfast' restaurant does a great breakfast - wonderful french pastries! expensive but good! The dinner there was not good in our experience. We did make the trip across to Bora to eat at Villa Mahana and the food /ambience was excellent - highly recommend it & request the top table it was delightful!
The gym was on the other side of the island in the spa - we found lots of mosquitoes in that area! Open in the morning but no staff around and one single toilet open ( full of mosquitoes). You can also reach the more rugged beach over by the spa which is a pleasant walk and very desolate and quiet.
In general, the service at st regis was very disappointing we like 4 seasons & this resort was nowhere near that level of service. We would call the "butler " 3 times of more for ice or for pick up & then give up as they just didnt respond. We found it quicker & easier to get our own ice & walk everywhere rather than sit waiting for no response.
Swimming pool is 'inland' - this was a bit disappointing - an infinity pool with ocean view would be beautiful - they had this on Le Tahaa & also the new 4 seasons whose pools were in great locations.
The Lagoon as other reviews mention is unfortunately very cloudy & there are very few fish, we snorkeled once but it was disappointing. The water around the resort is genrally wuite busy with boats of workers going in and out & trips to the mainland & airport.
The best thing about the resort is the beautiful room interiors and bathrooms so it depends what is important for your trip. We took a helicopter to Le Tahaa ( only a 10 min ride) for a further 4 nts & in comprison that hotel was much more Polynesian in decor & feel, service was excellent, snorkelling was far superior - clear water, coral gardens, complimentary canoes. The 4 seasons resort is a beautiful resort , the rooms are bigger and probably a bit nicer at the Regis but I would choose 4 seasons any day as their service is so superior! However I would be worried at the location of the dump on Bora Bora. We spoke to the manager on the new 4 seasons who said that they were working to get the location of the transfer station moved.

Talk about a WOW factor, this one has it. From the moment you arrive by boat, the marina and overall view overwhelms you with pampered luxury and elegance. The staff were unpretentiously friendly and warm. Since we arrived 4 hours early of our scheduled check-in, Julian, the boyish looking sales mgr was very accomodating and gave us a tour of the entire motu while waiting for our OWB. The entire resort is well planned and truly high end. There are lots of activities to do if you feel like it. Internet access is available at the clubhouse for free or you can play pool while waiting for an available PC.
The OWB we got was really spacious with a bottle of Moet Chandon all chilled up and waiting. It was nice to see a 50 inch plasma TV in the bedroom but was really surprised to see another 50 inch plasma in the living room as well. Icing on the cake was when we turned it on, the Los Angeles Lakers playoff game was on live! That evening we decided to have dinner at Sushi Take which gave a thumbs up review I read previously in this website. Living in Los Angeles area, I should know sushi. I tell you, this is to die for. The chef is a Japanese trained Filipino named Chris Buenaventura with skills reminiscing of Morimoto. I would recommend anything you see on the menu!
The only downside was we only had 2 nights stay. Next stop was Le Taha'a which would be a different review page for you websurfers. An added personal touch, by the way, when we left for BoraBora airport, we were accompanied by one of the hotel's staff just to help out with luggage and made sure we made it safely to where were going. A real thumbs up!