Incredible scenery and beautiful villas, but disappointing food, very expensive drinks, and no special touches for our honeymoon.
My partner and I stayed at the InterContinental Bora Bora Thalasso for 5 nights on our honeymoon and I have very mixed feelings about the experience.
First of all, the location and scenery are absolutely breathtaking. It genuinely looks like a postcard in every direction. The lagoon, the mountain views and the colours of the water are something I will honestly never get over. It is simply stunning...easily 100/10 for scenery. It’s hard to believe a place can look that beautiful in real life.
Our overwater villa was also fantastic. It was very spacious, beautifully decorated and had the most incredible view out toward the island and mountain. Waking up to that view every morning was unforgettable. The villa had a lovely living area and a great deck with sunbeds and a dock which we used a lot. A really nice touch was that the mini bar was refilled daily and included in the cost, which we appreciated. No fish food though, they don't that anymore, you have to buy it now!
The main pool area was also very nice. It had a relaxed, peaceful atmosphere and never felt crowded. The design of the pool area is lovely and fits perfectly with the surroundings. There were always fresh towels and water available and sometimes a staff member would play the ukulele which created a really special vibe.
However, there were a few things that really left a bad taste in our mouths, especially considering this was our honeymoon and we were paying around $2,000 per night.
When we booked the stay we told the hotel it was our honeymoon and we mentioned it again when we arrived at reception. Yet there was nothing in the room to acknowledge it....not even a flower, a small note, or a glass of champagne. I know this might sound like a small thing, but when it’s your honeymoon, those little gestures matter. You only get one honeymoon and after spending so much money it felt disappointing that nothing at all was done to acknowledge it. It honestly made me quite sad. They even have a “love garden” where couples place padlocks with their initials and honestly it would cost the hotel almost nothing to give honeymooners a small padlock as a gesture to put in the garden. Instead, of course, you had to pay extra for the lock. It’s small details like this that can completely change how guests feel about their stay.
The food was unfortunately very disappointing and was probably the biggest let-down of the trip. It is extremely expensive and, in our opinion, very basic and not particularly good. Almost every guest we spoke to (many from the US and Europe) mentioned that the food was the only disappointment of the hotel.
Breakfast was actually quite nice. When we stayed there wasn’t a buffet (possibly because it was out of season), so it was à la carte. Once we figured out what to order we enjoyed it more each day. A quick tip: the “roasted potatoes” are essentially hash browns.
Lunch and dinner, however, were very underwhelming. For example, a tiny Caesar salad was around £40. Portions were small and the quality didn’t justify the price. On top of that, they charge around £15 just to bring room service to your villa, which felt excessive considering the room rates and then they still expect a tip!! You’ve just got to laugh.
The drinks are also extremely expensive. Happy hour runs from 5–6pm, where cocktails drop to about £14 each, which is still very expensive for a “happy hour”. Because of this we noticed that very few people were actually drinking or ordering much lunch at all. Honestly, if drinks were even around £10 during happy hour, people would probably order far more and the hotel would likely make much more overall.
Another surprising cost is the boat transfer from the airport, which you have to pay for separately. At these room prices it would feel much better if this was simply included in the stay rather than added on.
Another thing we noticed, which I assume may have been because it was out of season, was that there was very little evening entertainment. During our 5-night stay we only saw one night of Polynesian dancing, which was great, but we expected there to be more happening in the evenings. In a destination like this, especially at a resort of this level, you would think there would be some form of entertainment most nights for guests to enjoy.
Another slightly frustrating thing was that the staff removed all of the cushions from the sunbeds around 3pm each day. This meant that if you went down to the pool area later in the afternoon or for happy hour, you were left sitting on the bare wooden sunbeds, which wasn’t very comfortable. It felt like a small thing that could easily be improved even collecting the cushions closer to 6pm would make a big difference for guests still using the area.
I do want to say that the staff are wonderful and the setting is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The villas and scenery are unforgettable.
But unfortunately, the food, drink pricing and lack of any acknowledgement for our honeymoon left us feeling disappointed by the end of the trip.
Because of that, while the location is undeniably beautiful, the overall experience didn’t justify the price and I personally wouldn’t return to this hotel, and I probably wouldn’t recommend it specifically for honeymooners expecting those special touches.
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