This Celebrity-loved Resort Was Named One of the Best in the South Pacific by T+L Readers

The St. Regis Bora Bora has hosted VIPs from celebrities to film crews. T+L senior editor Samantha Falewée scouted this tropical paradise to find coral preservation efforts, jungle hikes, fantastic snorkeling, and a sleeper hit: one chef's dedication to Polynesian ingredients.

Cutting into the piece of staghorn coral felt like sacrilege. But I was standing in the shade of tropical palms next to marine biologist Aurore Molé, taking part in a coral preservation project at The St. Regis Bora Bora in French Polynesia. This fragment of coral was sick — I could see where a unhealthy-looking lime green hue was creeping up from the main body of it — and the only chance to save it was to salvage the healthy pieces.

“Cut right here,” said Molé, motioning to above the green color, where the coral was still a pearly white. I pressed down hard on my secateur with both hands and felt the calcium break. Molé let out a cheer, then expertly took the severed branch, tagged it with a laminated serial number, and tied it to a strand of clear fishing wire. Soon after, we waded into the Lagoonarium, the resort's 44-acre marine sanctuary, to install the coral fragment. That and other pieces would grow into bigger corals, and one day be reintroduced to the South Pacific Ocean.

This experience was one of my favorites at The St. Regis Bora Bora, an island paradise located on its own 44-acre motu, or small islet. The resort comprises 90 overwater villas and beach villas, ranging from one- to three-bedroom sizes. (For VIPs, there are also the 13,000-square feet Royal Estate Villa, which comes with its own kitchen and private chef, sauna, and Jacuzzi, among other things). If you’ve seen a shot on social media of thatched-roof bungalows over aquamarine water, there’s a good chance it was taken here. This hotel was among Travel + Leisure readers’ top-ranked resorts in the South Pacific in our in our 2023 World’s Best Awards survey.

I visited the resort to see what it's like in person. Here's my review of The St. Regis Bora Bora.

The St. Regis Bora Bora

• The overwater villas are the stuff of travel dreams — and beachside accommodations are available, too.

• While the setting (and the spa!) is ideal for honeymooners, The St. Regis Bora Bora can easily accommodate families, with child-friendly activities and a kids' club.
  

• The six venues ensure there's something for everyone, and executive chef Nicolas Nguyen leads his team in sourcing local foods wherever possible.

• The resort partners with fantastic tour operators to offer everything from scuba diving with manta rays to sitting down to a home-cooked lunch with a local family on their private island.

• Getting here is surprisingly easy, with eight-hour flights direct from hubs like Los Angeles and Seattle.
  

The Villas

I stayed in a one-bedroom Deluxe Mount Otemanu View Villa, with a walk-on terrace and a king-size bed. The brilliant aqua water below was as still and warm as a bubble bath. (One morning, I looked down and saw a sea turtle swim below my villa. Another day, it was a yellow, brown-spotted pufferfish.) Each villa comes with a complimentary bike — I loved hopping on my cruiser in the early evenings to cycle toward dinner under the palm trees, feeling the soft South Pacific breeze on my sun-warmed skin.

Food and Drink

From coral conservation to fine dining, marine life isn’t the only area in which the resort is encouraging sustainability. 

“Polynesia has so many types of local foods,” Nicolas Nguyen, the hotel's executive chef, told me one morning over an alfresco breakfast. “It’s my passion to show people that we can do beautiful things here with locally made food.” 

Nguyen, who’s previously worked at places like Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel and Cheval Blanc Courchevel, is serious about his work. Soon after becoming executive chef of the resort in June 2022, he removed salmon (a non-native fish) from the resort’s menu, and focuses instead on incorporating local selections like white tuna, swordfish, mahi mahi, and even parrotfish (which is not endangered and has a delicate, white-fish taste).

He’s started an on-property herb garden, uses Bora Bora-sourced honey, salt, and chocolate, and has partnered with the the only cheese producer in French Polynesia — and the cheeses are fantastic. 

Don’t-miss venues on the property include 727 Bar, a suave terraced venue that hosts daily Champagne sabering at sunset. (This is the place to get golden hour photos with Mount Otemanu in the background.) The haute Lagoon Restaurant is best for a celebratory meal — it’s where Nguyen’s creativity and dedication to local ingredients really shine. There’s also Italian at Farniente Ristorante, Asian fusion at Bamboo, and other restaurants.

Local Excursions

On a boating day trip with local Narihau Taruoura, who runs Bora Bora Cultural Lagoon Tours, I snorkeled in Pixar-perfect crystalline waters amid coral formations, black-tipped reef sharks, and eagle rays, which swam below me in balletic swoops. After, Taiamani Tapi prepared a home-cooked lunch on a private beach, including poisson cru au lait de coco, a popular French Polynesian dish of tuna marinated in coconut milk.

For scuba diving, the knowledgable team at Eleuthera Bora Diving Center takes travelers to popular sites — on a morning dive, I counted reef manta rays, barracudas, sharks, triggerfish, and giant sea stars.

Another morning, I hiked with guide Django Teriirere past sweet-smelling ylang-ylang flowers, tapioca trees, and bushes with red mata berries. During a water break, we ate just-chopped coconuts, bananas, mango, and Teriirere pulled out a vivo, a traditional Polynesian nasal flute he had carved from bamboo, to play a tune.

For travelers looking for a fancy meal on the island of Bora Bora, I recommend dinner at La Villa Mahana, a romantic restaurant with tiered patios and classic French dishes.

On-site Amenities

Guests at the resort can swim in one of two pools (one catering to families and one, the Oasis, that was renovated this year), as well as the Lagoonarium. Complimentary beach toys, from stand-up paddleboards to fat-tire bikes, are available at the beach next to the outdoor Te Pahu Restaurant.

Tennis courts have staff on hand to teach lessons or jump in to play doubles, there's also a fitness center and a kids' club for children ages 5 to 12. 

The Spa

The St. Regis Bora Bora Spa has everything you could want — activities like sunset Hatha yoga and singing-bowl meditation, plus several iterations of facials, salon treatments, and body treatments (including an outdoor, candlelit massage next to the Lagoonarium). I recommend going to the boutique, where I bought a rich body lotion infused with Tahitian monoï oil in collaboration with Coqui Coqui fragrances. 

The Location

Flying here is surprisingly easy. My eight-hour direct flight from Los Angeles to Tahiti on Air Tahiti Nu, one of T+L readers’ favorite international airlines, was one of the most pleasant I’ve ever had, and included a warm greeting and effortless luggage handling. The airline even occasionally offers sales — although with excitement growing about the 2024 Olympic Games’s surfing component, which will be based in the city of Teahupo’o, Tahiti, expect bookings to fill up fast.

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