Guest reviews Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa

by Debbie T Michigan

AMAZING!!!

This was our second trip to the IC Thalasso and it was even better than our first time! This time we decided to go all out and stay in the Villa Teremoana (formerly known as the Brando Suite)! What a fabulous suite! We had the most gorgeous, full on view of Mt. Otemanu! Everyday we would just on the huge deck and stare out at the many different blues of the water and that beautiful mountain. We were greeted at the main dock by Axelle, who welcomed us back with a huge smile! I must say, Axelle made our trip all the more special....she is amazing. Nothing we asked of her was to big or to small, and she went above and beyond. She is a major factor in this resorts success, and we so hope she is still there on our next visit! We were there for a week mid-end January. We spent a week in Moorea and a week on Taha'a prior to our time on BB. We knew how fortunate we were to be traveling in the midst of this COVID pandemic, and we never felt anything but safe. The main restaurant (The Reef) is open for breakfast. Instead of its being buffet, we ordered off the menu. This made it safer, and also easier for them to not waste food. Dinners were at Sands. The first few nights of our stay we were 2 of only 8 guests on the property. After that I think it bumped up to a total of 12. We felt like we had the entire resort to ourselves! All of the staff called us by our names, and gave us the biggest, most genuine smiles when they saw us. The spa was incredible! We love massages and we got some of the best ones while we were there! All of the gals were amazing! We went during their low time, rainy season, and we had one night where it stormed a little bit and a couple of days with less than 2 minutes worth of light showers. Other than that, we had perfect weather! I wish I remembered all of the staffs names, as they were all great and helped make our stay perfect! They are having a hard time with tourism being down, yet they always have the biggest smiles on their faces. We will be back to this amazing resort for sure! There is no other resort in BB that we will even consider! I HIGHLY recommend the IC Thalsasso!

by Michael K Salt Lake City, Utah

The Intercontinental BBR in the time of Covid

We were two of only 12 people staying at this lush, luxurious, beautiful, peaceful, Shangri-La of a resort. We felt a real sense of schadenfreude, knowing that we were so privileged, so fortunate to enjoy this experience, this beauty peace and solitude while so many hotels are just struggling to stay open, and so many employees are struggling to keep their jobs. We did not deserve this, but that did not stop us from enjoying it to the maximum. We were met at the airport by Mervin, an immensely powerful and kind man, who took us by speedboat to the resort's dock. It is a fairly long ride, passing the St. Regis and the Four Seasons and showing the different views of Mt. Otemanu that each resort has. They are all good, but the view from the IBBR is the best, a lone sentinel looking like it is about to launch into the sky. We were met at the dock by a young man welcoming us with rich tones from a conch shell, and Marco who registered us, explained to us how our bungalow was chosen for us, and then gave us a tour of the property on the way to bringing us to our bungalow. The bungalow, number 220, is magnificent - a bedroom with a king bed facing a picture window looking at Mt. Otemanu, and a door leading to the outside patio. The bedroom connects to a walk-in closet and a bathroom with great shower and double sinks. In the other direction is the living room with a glass table over the floor, whose top can be moved so you can feed fish right under you. The living room has the main glass doors to the patio which can be opened so wide, it is as if the living room has the patio as an extension. The minibar refrigerator is kept unstacked because of Covid, but is quite cold. We got a large silver bucket of ice, which kept its ice for many days, sitting in the refrigerator. The espresso maker is compact and efficient. Just two of the resorts restaurants are open, "The Reef" for breakfast and "The Sands" for dinner, as well as "Bubbles" bar for happy hour. Breakfast was fantastic with best soft scrambled eggs ever, fantastic French toast, great mango slices and almond croissants. Dinner was excellent with traditional Tahitian "Poisson Cru" and French Onion Soup as delicious standouts. The resort has a "lagoonarium," where they are working hard to grow new coral, and many fish can be found for snorkeling Fins are not allowed in the "lagoonarium" because they can damage the delicate coral, but they are really not needed. There is very little coral in the main lagoon outside the bungalows, so snorkeling to see fish there is general unsuccessful, though we did see the occasional box fish, sting ray and eagle ray. Kayaks and paddle boards are available for free use, and great fun in the calm lagoon. Walking to the east side of the moth to see the barrier reef, the ocean crashing against the reef, and the islands of Raitea, Taha'a and Little Vanila is a must. We were there during low season which is the rainy season. We had a short period of rain on two days and a major thunderstorm that lasted about four hours on one of the days. Even that was thrilling because of the booming bass drum sound of the literally rolling thunder, the ferocity of the winds and the torrential downpour. The resort provided rides in curtained carts during that time. Connections for our ride back to the airport were very prompt and smooth. All of the staff is terrific, and I wish had written all their names, because my memory for Tahitian names is poor. I do remember Vainui at breakfast who was so kind, so efficient, we wanted to take her home with us. All in all, this was a week in paradise. It almost seems like a dream - a dream that I will strive to remember.

by SabrinaDMorris Solana Beach, California

Let the nightmare begin!

Where do I begin? First of all, beginning at its’ sister resort, I should have known there were going to be problems. I had communicated by email 6 times prior to our stay about parking. I was told in 6 different emails that I could park a rental car at their sister property. When I arrived at the sister property, I was told I could not park there. After much prodding the front desk person reluctantly allowed us to park our rental car. We walked to the area to catch our boat to our resort. None of the crew of the boat spoke to us nor did they seem friendly. When approaching the property, I began to have grave concerns. The bungalows appeared run down and dilapidated from the water. When we got to the reception we were greeted by another not friendly staff member, Marco. He was not engaging at all. I shared my concerns about how the bungalows appeared from the water, and nothing was said. He just immediately asked for our passports and credit card. No asking how our boat was, how we were liking Bora Bora, nothing. He did offer us tea and a hand clothe as we waited. I shared again that I was concerned that I had paid $1200 a night for what looked to be an outdated, unkept, poorly cared for property. He said nothing. We were whisked away for the property tour and to be taken to our over the water bungalow. The grounds were not taken care of. The landscaping had not been cared for in decades it appeared. Everything was just dumpy looking. It looked like a super 8 or motel 6 property, not a $1200 a night 5 star resort. I was appalled. The decking was dry rotted and appeared dingy looking. Rust exuded from the steel pillars and underlings of the bungalows. Everything was just in dire need of TLC and renovations. When we got into the bungalow, it looked like we had entered a set of a 1970’s sitcom. The wood furniture and flooring were badly marred with scrapes and cuts as well as discolorations in the finishes. The furniture was extremely dated as well. The couch was like sitting on cement blocks covered with burlap sacks. The bedding was horrible. The sheets were the worst quality I’ve ever felt. Walmart has better sheets than this resort. They were stiff and scratchy, but not nearly as bad as the bath towels and washcloths. The bathroom linens were like sandpaper. I don’t even know where they would have found such horrendous bed and bath linens. I have never seen such poor products. When we called for extra blankets as in this “5 star” resort bungalow there were none, we were brought nubby blankets that have quit being sold in the US years ago to the flammability. Literally, they also looked like they were from the 1970’s. The deck and dock of the bungalow was like all the other wood decking-aging and rotting. The ladder for the platform was rusting. I called the front desk, asked for Marci the person who checked us in and knew I was on the verge of crying as I was so disappointed and exasperated by the fact that an IHG property was in such horrible condition, I was told he had went home. I was told Christophe, the assistant manager would call me. Almost two hours later we were settled in a different bungalow as there was black mold growing in the 1970’s green tile shower. Christophe said the property had been renovated in 2018. I said guests must have destroyed the wood furniture and property from the looks of it. He later clarified that the furniture had been taken out and refurbished. He said the owner wanted to preserve the Polynesian style which is crazy because we stayed in another resort with new furniture that also had the same Polynesian feel, it just wasn’t from the 1970’s. Time and time again I stated I was not happy with the room Christophe never once asked me what he could do to make me happy nor did he apologize for the misgivings about the property, the website is false advertising. What is on the website has been edited to look nice. It is not how the property looks in person. The kayaks were very old and I did not see paddle boards. The property is large and no bikes or scooters are available for guests. The tennis court needs renovated. The food is expensive and poor quality. As vegans we needed to have modifications, and we were charged as if we were eating the regular menu items. No one ever checked to see if we were happy or needed anything throughout our 2 day stay. We were not treated nice by anyone except the housekeeping staff and a really nice hostess/waitress. I love the IHG brand, and this property should not be carrying the logo. It is a 2-3 star property at best. It has the best location a resort can have, yet there’s been no TLC given to the property. I can’t even venture a guess why the staff who are working the reception are there; they did not seem hospitable at all. Book the Conrad, the St. Regis, or the Four Seasons. This IHG is more expensive than the Conrad or the St. Regis and it’s basically a dump. Thank goodness we had nice housekeeping and the nice hostess. Two nice qualities of the resort!

by Gil1111 Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Bora Bora perfection!

Stayed there for a couple of nights and all was sublime! The food was excellent (in room service staff was particularly outstanding), and the service even better. Went to the gym everyday and never saw another soul. The overwater bungalow was cosy and spacious. The outdoor lounge patio was terrific and the access to the lagoon waters so easy! We loved everything! The property has been well kept over the years and I'll go back there with confidence and excitement!

by Vicky-prz-19

Perfect Resort

We visited Bora Bora for our honeymoon and our stay at the InterContinental was perfect in every way I could imagine. A boat shuttle picked us up from the airport and when we arrived at the resort, a golf cart was waiting for us to take us to check in but before that they give you a tour of the entire resort which left us in awe. Afterwards, they take you to check in at the front desk which was the most relaxing check-in we have ever had. They escorted us to a seating area overlooking the lagoon and had all the paperwork brought to us and the concierge went over all the bookings we had for the week. At that time they also provided us with a cold tea and a cleansing towel. Then we were taken to our pool overwater bungalow and when we walked in we were amazed at how large and beautiful it was. No picture could do it justice. It was extremely spacious and clean. The dock was two floors and the pool was amazing. We loved the food at the Sands Restaurant and the dinner we had at Le Corail was also delicious. The breakfast buffet had a variety of foods to choose from including local Polynesian food. All the staff knew us by name and was extremely polite and helpful in anything we needed. They have a beautiful jungle nestled in the middle of the resort called the garden of love for couples to buy a lock and lock it onto a tree. You can bring your own lock or purchase one at the gift shop. They also have a large coral reef garden where my husband enjoyed snorkeling in. On our last day we had the canoe breakfast which was so beautiful. They arrive to our bungalow dock playing Polynesian music and while breakfast is being setup, we are taken on the canoe around the lagoon while being serenaded to. After we checked out at 11, they provided us with a Day Room since our flight was not until 5 ish. This Day Room had a sitting area and a bathroom with a shower. They put our luggage in here and we were allowed to enjoy all of the amenities such as the pool, paddleboards, kayak etc until we had to leave for our flight. Masks were not mandatory throughout the resort, except for the front desk and the breakfast buffet. We were extremely sad when our visit came to an end but we could not have asked for better service at this beautiful resort. This was truly a five star hotel experience and one of the most beautiful places in the world.