Guest reviews Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort

by Kelkel10013 New York City, New York

Wonderful Time in Paradise!

I stayed at Le Bora Bora during one of the lockdowns in Sept and still managed to have a wonderful time. The staff here went out of their way to make it a pleasurable stay. The property recently finished a refurb and you can definitely tell! I stayed in one of the villas with a private pool which was a great option. These were located at the end of the pontoons so had great views. I think that my villa was one of the furthest away and it was quite a walk to/from the main buildings. The villa itself was really nice. Both the bathroom and the living/bedroom area were spacious. The deck was huge and the pool was great as well. It was quite windy but it still was enjoyable to lounge on the deck all day. I do wish the pool was heated as then it could have been utilized a bit more (at night especially). There is a minibar in the room that is refreshed daily (typically in the morning for my villa). This is included in your room rate which is nice. Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the food. Breakfast was great with a large number of choices. I preferred Miki Miki for dinner. If you like raw fish, definitely try the Polynesian Raw Fish - one of the best dishes I had my entire trip! I would definitely recommend staying at Le Bora Bora. The location and facilities are absolutely beautiful! If the food was a bit better - it would be perfect!!

by mikey484 Trophy Club

Wonderful stay

.The BEST part of our stay was the staff who made a covid lockdown almost a non event. Maguy and Poehina in the restaurant made our anniversary a memorable one. These two women went above and beyond to make things special for us by making flower crowns and leis for the both of us. They decorated our table with flowers and Maguy gave my wife her shell belt we admired the night before, along with some other handmade jewelry. We were so touched and she did this and expected no payment-one of our highlights in all our travel experiences.At the activity hut Tama and Ludvig entertained us with the 11 am activities. They were both funny and eager to make our stay as fun as possible. Heimoana the head bartender was awesome as well. He greeted us daily by name and brought us snacks and coconut to munch on. At the end of our stay we felt like Norm-the regular customer on the old TV show Cheers! Couples massage was great-do the 80 minute one if you can. Sunsets were not as awesome as the ones we had on Moorea because the resort faces east towards Bora Bora. It was still beautiful with the suns low rays illuminating mount Otemanu though. One last tip-Air Tahiti on our Tahiti to Bora Bora flight they were very strict on the weight of bags. 5kg max for the carry on and 23kg for a checked bag. On the return back they didn't even weigh our carry on.If we ever go back we will stay here again. Thanks again Maguy, Poehina and Heimoana for making our anniversary trip incredibly memorable!

by Gabfam Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Fantastic visit - 30th wedding anniversary

Bora Bora was our fourth and final island of a two week trip of a lifetime to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Le Bora Bora did not disappoint! This trip was flawlessly planned through Jennifer from Pacific for Less and we were so thrilled with the level of service we received from this top notch agency that specializes in trips tp French Polynesia. My wife and I thought the resort was beautifully remodeled and we absolutely loved our overwater bungalow with plunge pool. We were at the very end of the arm that sat farthest west with an unobstructed sunset view and quite a lot of privacy. I'm always amazed at how drastically different reviews can be from person to person and their expectations when they travel. It's all perspective and how you choose to react to the situation. I'm not criticizing anyone, just be self aware of what kind of traveler you are and what your cultural tolerance level is. If you expect perfection every step of the way, then French Polynesia may not be your ideal choice for a luxury vacation as nature rules despite the level of accommodations. We were there during the lockdown (last 5 days of our trip) and despite our initial disappointment with not being able to do the excursions we had planned, we were personally content kayaking, snorkeling and enjoying the beauty of Otemanu from our deck. There are worse things in life than being in lockdown in paradise :) Yes the flies were annoying but everything is open air dining so what exactly do people expect? Recent reviews complaining about the food--I guess my wife and I must have low expectations despite the fact that we have been lucky enough to experience some fantastic chef's menus during our travels around the world. We really didn't have a single bad meal and quite honestly thought the seafood and beef dishes we tried were all cooked to perfection and wonderfully seasoned--not bland at all. Yes, the drinks are expensive but I actually thought the pours were quite generous and often felt that the amount of alcohol made me feel like I had two drinks for the price of one. Dining was often slow, but we expected this and adjusted as needed. We actually appreciate a relaxed dining experience especially when on vacation. We focused on the company and the ambiance of the resort instead. A big thank you to Yahn Tata who is the concierge manager. He was very patient and helpful with all of the special arrangements that I made to surprise my wife on our actual anniversary. That of course was the only day that we had rain on and off all day and I was hoping we could still keep our dinner that night on the beach. He delayed the inevitable as long as he possibly could and finally recommended that we move everything to our bungalow instead. It wasn't what I had envisioned but it was still very nice and the staff went out of their way to accommodate the last minute change as I wanted to hold off as long as possible on changing the location.. Merci Beacoup Yahn!! He was so kind and helpful throughout our stay and tolerated my attempts to converse in French as much as possible.

by JeffTravels101 Boston, Massachusetts

Nice renovations. Horrible food

This is my 2nd time in Bora Bora and this resort was my first stop. I was excited because they recently renovated and it shows throughout. I stayed in a overwater bungalow with private pool. The villa itself was beautiful and modern. It was more high tech than other resorts. It also had bluetooth speakers that you can connect to which some other resorts don't have. It did include a free mini bar which is a +++ and they refill every night. The staff was friendly but the resort is small. The cons here would be how gross the food was. I've never had a chicken BLT that was soggy. The chicken was so overcooked that when you took a bite. The whole piece of chicken would just come off. There's also A LOT of flies here. I know flies are normal but this resort has an influx of flies for some reason especially near the pool area. The minute your food gets put down, you are constantly fighting them off. Definitely felt dirty for a "luxury" trip. The food here was honestly so bland. Since I had a pool in my villa, it was super windy during my trip. But the pool was almost unusable because it was always so cold and the wind kept blowing the pool water everywhere. More likely mother nature's fault but I thought I couldn't maximize my pool use cause of this. If you aren't a strong swimmer then this resort may be for you because the water around the bungalows are shallow. But they don't have god snorkeling areas. Overall decent resort/rooms but food here is a big no.

by StormOtto Greensboro, North Carolina

Not a good time to go, Resort not willing to work with us to reschedule our trip despite new lockdown

Let’s start with the good things: French Polynesia is beautiful, just gorgeous. It makes the 13+ hour flights for us to get here worth it. Le Bora Bora is a stunnning resort on a small island of its own off the coast of the mainland. Well upkept, one of the most beautiful beach areas we’ve ever been to and a mostly friendly staff. Here are my downsides. First of all, I realize the lockdown that was implemented was not the resorts fault, it is the mandate from the government. However, we were notified only days before our trip that a country wide lockdown went into place for 2 weeks…and you got it, during the 2 weeks we would be there for our trip. Curfew at 8pm, no leaving the resort whatsoever, no outside excursions or activities, no restaurants (best part of visiting another country) and no shopping. So basically we are allowed to be at our resort and that’s it. Truly, that’s it. Again not the resorts fault, BUT given those circumstances and the fact that this resort stay costs us over $1000 per night, what I do expect is the resort to be willing to work with us on a refund or partial credit…even if it was to give us a credit towards a visit in the future once all that is Covid is past us. Our travel agent called and spoke with the resort and they refused, basically telling her that “they’re open, so no refunds”. So given these circumstances you’d think that at least the resort would have some accommodations and provisions in place to make the stay more enjoyable for guests who just spent over $12,000 to be here. Nope. No on-site activities, no breaks on food or drink prices since we have Nowhere else to go, no marketplace to buy simple snacks or necessities since we can’t go to the mainland. I will never understand why a resort who is positioned on an island off the mainland doesn’t have some of the basic necessities a pharmacy would carry for their guests…for example we forgot dental floss and Tums for heartburn and we’re totally out of luck. Couple all that with a fly problem that was just out of control and we just were ready to leave. I don’t know if it was just a particularly bad time for flies or what, but we were constantly attacked at mealtime no matter where we ate. It might be a little unsightly, but my goodness invest in some fly zappers to provide some simple hygiene at your restaurants to prevent your guests’ food from being taken over. We’ve visited French Polynesia before, Moorea specifically, so we were prepared for how expensive it is. But NEVER prepared for how expensive this resort is. $52 US for 2 Pina coladas. Just outrageous.