Review: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa
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Last November, during my trip to French Polynesia, I stayed two nights at the iconic Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa for the ultimate honeymoon experience: sleeping on stilts in Bora Bora!
It is a 5 star luxury resort on the ocean, not to be confused with theInterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resorta second resort of the chain, a little less expensive.
With its lush vegetation right on the site, the resort offers a simply incredible natural setting, probably the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in my life!
From the stilt villas, the views are breathtaking and the sunsets are divine. It is the dream place for a stay of total well-being and disconnection.
Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa – Booking with points
InterContinental hotels are part of the IHG hotel chain, which has over 6,000 hotels worldwide. Their loyalty program is called IHG One Rewards.
In Canada, there are no credit cards that earn IHG points, but IHG does have some great promotions for purchasing points. In addition, you can obtain InterContinental Ambassador status by purchasing it for $200 USD, to make your stay a little more exciting.
Also, if you are an Aeroplan member, you may be able to use Aeroplan points through the new HotelSavers feature to book hotel nights. You can get a value of approximately 2 cents per Aeroplan point.
For now, other than with Aeroplan HotelSavers (and any Aeroplan points you may earn with an Aeroplan credit card like the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card), the best way to lower an IHG hotel bill is to use points earned on specific travel credit cards with a statement credit.
We might think of the Platinum Card® from American Express, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard® and the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite +* Card.
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $150 | |||
| $599 | |||
| $799 | |||
| $150 |
Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa – Transportation
To travel from Moorea to Bora Bora, we easily booked a domestic flight with Air Tahiti online. The flight from Moorea to Bora Bora takes about 50 minutes. Same thing if you leave from Tahiti.
Air Tahiti is the main inter-island air carrier in French Polynesia. It should be noted that the 100 or so islands of French Polynesia are scattered over a territory as large as Europe.
Once we arrived at the Bora Bora airport, we went to the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts counter where a charming hostess was waiting for us. The latter gave us a nice flower necklace and assisted us with our luggage before taking us to our boat.
It is a small private boat that we shared only with another couple. Please note that this is a paid service. We had settled everything with the establishment before the trip.
Between the lagoon, the mountains and the view of the villas on stilts of the other resorts, the boat ride to the hotel is already a sight to behold!
Accessible only by boat, the resort is located on the motu Piti Aau, nicknamed in French “l’Îlot des deux cœurs” (the island of two hearts), which gives a perfect view of Mount Otemanu.
Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa – Check-in
Finally arriving at our destination, the unique welcome set the tone for the two-night stay that awaited us! A man blowing a shell and two hostesses warmly welcome us.
When checking into the hotel, the service is just as personalized. While waiting for our room to be ready, we are offered delicious tea refreshments, all comfortably seated in front of a breathtaking view: that of the famous Mount Otemanu, a dormant volcano culminating at 727 meters.
Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa – The Complex
The complex has 3 restaurants including a restaurant-bar on the beach. It has three bars: the Bubbles Bar, the Sands Bar, and the South Beach Bar.
Also, I enjoyed taking advantage of the beach hut that offers cocktails, homemade ice cream and coconuts.
On-site facilities include the Deep Ocean Spa, a training room and a beautiful private beach.
An impressive infinity pool is also available to guests, with complimentary cabanas, lounge chairs and poolside umbrellas.
On-site activities include: beach or spa massage, reflexology, treatments, billiards, kayaking, snorkeling, sailing, and photography.
Other services offered include tour assistance, concierge service and shuttle service throughout the resort.
Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa – Villa on stilts
At theIntercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa, we booked a villa on stilts with its own private pool. When we arrived at our room, a bottle of champagne and some sweets were waiting for us.
In the evening, we were charmed by the glass floor of the lounge which allowed us to observe fish, rays and even sharks!
Accommodation at theIntercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa features 84 overwater villas, all decorated in a chic, contemporary island style with a touch of traditional Polynesian craftsmanship.
Villas feature premium bedding, Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV with specialty channels, living room, outdoor shower and terrace with lounge chairs and pontoons.
The bathroom includes a waterfall shower and a deep bathtub.
In addition, the superior room categories, like the one we rented, have a private pool. The most expensive ones have a view of the mountain.
Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa – Restaurants
Le Corail
Romantic and intimate, Le Corail offered a delicious experimental cuisine. We opted for an 8-course tasting menu, which was a memorable experience for us!
The restaurant overlooks the lighted lagoonarium and is air conditioned. In addition, it houses the largest wine cellar in French Polynesia.
Sands
In a more relaxed atmosphere, the Sands offers romantic dinners under the stars. This is also the place for happy hour at sunset. It serves local and international cuisine with Asian flavors. Some evenings, live music accompanies the meals.
At lunchtime, you can eat light meals including sandwiches, salads and grilled meats.
Reef
On a chic terrace, the Reef serves dishes with Mediterranean flavors. Every week, Polynesian dance performances enliven the meals. While we were there, we didn’t have the chance to see one of his shows, but we did at the Intercontinental Tahiti a few days later.
This is the restaurant where breakfast is served, from 7:00 to 10:30 am, buffet style, very varied and fresh.
As the food is expensive at the hotel, it can be interesting to buy a package of room, breakfast and 3 course menu. This includes, for two people, breakfast and dinner daily.
Bottom Line
Our stay at the Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa lived up to our expectations. We felt in osmosis with the paradisiacal landscape, like in another world, isolated in a bubble of happiness lost in the heart of the Pacific!
In addition, throughout our stay, the service was outstanding. The waiters at the restaurants are incredibly refined. One of my favorites is the sunset happy hour with a view of Mount Otemanu, which is so magical!
- Annual fee
- $599
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$2,000Total$2,000Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $2,000
- Welcome offerAfter $24,000 in 12 months
- Up to 100,000 points
Apply Now
on TD's website
Go further with IHG One Rewards
To maximize your stays and points earning, check our complete IHG One Rewards program guide. And if a points purchase promotion is running, take advantage via our IHG One Rewards points purchase guide.
