My husband and I could not have asked for a better honeymoon experience at Le Meridien Bora Bora. From the moment we arrived at the airport, the staff treated us like family.

Accommodations - The resort is very well maintained and in our opinion, the view from Le Meridien is the best on the island. It is spectacular and almost feels like a dream because of the beautiful views of the extinct volcano Mt. Otemanu. We stayed in bungalow 232 and loved the bungalow layout and size. It had everything we needed for a 6 night stay. We loved the overwater glass floor. It was so fun to watch the marine life below. Also, the housekeeping staff was very thorough. We loved the nightly turn down service. They kept our bungalow spotless throughout our stay.

Beach - We loved the beach area. We noticed many of the other resorts do not have a beach area so we were very thankful Le Meridien had a beach. The beach was very well kept, relaxing, and beautiful. We loved the complimentary beach activities such as stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, snorkeling, Polynesian canoe, etc. We would love to give a special thank you to Mateo for guiding us with the Polynesian canoe. We enjoyed talking with Mateo and learning more about his culture. We greatly appreciated his hard work ethic.

Special Thank Yous - We would like to give a special thank you “maruuruu” to Poema from the receptionist staff and Linda from the pool bar staff. From the moment we arrived, Poema welcomed us warmly and helped us greatly with our accommodations. Her positive attitude and impeccable customer service made our stay memorable. We made our way to the reception desk almost daily just to say hi because she was such a pleasure to talk to. Upon our departure Poema gave us a black pearl bracelet and Le Meridien hat gift. This little gesture truly made our day.

We would also like to give a HUGE thank you to Linda from the pool bar staff. From day one Linda went above and beyond to ensure we had a great honeymoon. She left an everlasting impression and we enjoyed conversing with her on a daily basis. By the end of the trip, Linda felt like family. She is so sweet and kind. She even went out of her way as we were leaving to gift me a pair of shell earrings and a seashell from the main island because she knew we did not get a chance to make it there. I was very appreciative and this kind gesture from Linda left a lasting impression and made me cry.We suggest ordering the BBC cocktail at the pool bar. You will not be disappointed. The French spritz is also very refreshing.

We also would like to give a special thank you to Donata and Joseph from the pool bar staff. They both had incredible work ethic and were very personable and kind.

We hope to come back to visit again just because the staff is very kind and truly made our trip memorable. Le Meridien is a beautiful destination, you will not be disappointed.

We stayed 4 nights in an over water bungalow for my hubby's B day. It was fabulous. Some tips:
1. My research narrowed our choices down to Le Meridien and the Conrad. Our snorkel tour picked up some guests at the Conrad. The Conrad faces the ocean rather than Mt Otemanu, and the water seems rougher there, with a small beach area.
2. We had the all inclusive package. Having unlimited cocktails is never a bad thing. Tips are not included. Some days, we were too full to eat lunch. Despite what the website implies, you are not limited to just 1 bottle of wine or beer at meals: you can order cocktails and try various wines by the glass, all included. The tuna & scallops at Le Tipanie were delicious, and the prime rib for 2 at Te Ava was yummy. OK, it's not the French Laundry, but look at what a remote locale you are in! The staff is just lovely :)
3. DON'T bring a float. They have so many from previous guests leaving them behind! Just ask to borrow them at the Beach Hut. Bring a rope if you want to tie it to float next to your bungalow.
4. Jet ski & snorkel tour were fun! Moana Tours picked us up at the Le Meridien dock. The guide taught us how to kiss stingrays, took us to swim with reef sharks, lemon sharks & eagle rays. So awesome!

Starting with why I’m just giving a score of 2:

- Service was poor. When you pay 1000+ Eur per night you’d expect a flawless service. On the last day of our stay, despite asking twice for housekeeping, it was never done.
- Hotel charged around 100 Eur for each of us for the taxi boat. They had like 6 couples on the boat so that’s a lot charged for their clients! Found it too expensive for a 15 minute transfer but what bothered me most is that this has never been mentioned by the hotel. For a hotel that claims to be a luxurious hotel taxi boats should be complimentary for their clients.
- Final point: at check out I went through my invoice and it struck me to see a big tip being added to the final bill. In French Polynesia tips are not systematic, we were in half board so I didn’t tip -not sure how it ended up.
- food was very average; the pool bar was terribly disappointing for excessive prices, the Mediterranean restaurant was poor, only the French restaurant was OK.
- it’s sad to see how Bora has become in general. The hotel is romantic but if you’re looking for an authentic escape where you won’t be bothered pass your way. The hotel was filled of noisy tourists and honeymooners -but I guess this is very cliché of Bora Bora in general.

On the upside, of course the hotel is beautiful with nice views on the lagoon and the Otemanu. Some people working there are genuinely nice and breakfast was really good. But still I think Le Méridien managed to make me a disappointed customer with what I mentioned above.