INTERCONTINENTAL LE MOANA RESORT BORA BORA

Bora Bora topped Thailand, Bali, and Fiji(close second) for beach vacations for my family. There were no other kids at the resort that we saw, but my son(13 y/o) had fun. I would hesitate to bring small children here because it is so quiet and peaceful, but that is just me. We stayed in a Horizon overwater bungalow. It's worth the splurge to go with the Horizon versus the Lagoon overwater bungalow because with the horizon your private deck overlooks the water with nice views of Mt. Otemanu. Don't get me wrong the Lagoon bungalows would be fine, but looking out at the ocean vs looking back at the hotel/beach was nicer. Do not pay for a snorkel tour at the Coral Garden. Take a kayak and snorkel from the hotel and go for free. It's a 20-25 minute kayak from the hotel. You stash your kayak on a rocky beach and start snorkeling. Plan to start snorkeling no later than 8-8:30am or you will be joined by 3-4 boat loads of people who paid to go. I didn't have reef shoes and it's a little tricky getting into the water because of the coral. I'm sure you could go in the afternoon as well. i always went after b'fast. Rent a bike from the hotel for $20. You can ride around the whole island in 2-4 hours depending on your level of fitness. It was a nice break from the lounge chair. There is only one hill to speak of. The best tip I can give you is go to Costco and buy a $6.00 large freezer bag. I call it a poor man's YETI. We would walk into town daily(5 minute walk) to the Magasin Matira store and stock up on beer, wine, champagne, baguette's, cheese, salami, rotisserie chicken etc... They accept credit cards with a minimum purchase of around $20. There is a small fridge in the room and everything else went into the freezer bag. There is plenty of ice that is a short walk from your bungalow. The staff even took the freezer bag and filled it with ice for my wife one morning. You will save a TON by purchasing liquor and lunch in town. Breakfast was included as part of our stay and it was good. You can walk into town 5 minutes and eat at the Lucky House. They have good pizza. We went to Bloody Mary's one night for dinner. They have a free shuttle that will come pick you up and bring you home after dinner. At the end of 2 weeks(one week on Moorea) my wife and I were sitting on the deck and both agreed we wouldn't have done anything different. Great Vacation! PS- sign up for Hilton Honors for free and get free wifi and a few other perks.

My husband and I (high school sweethearts) dreamt for years about honeymooning in Bora Bora. Le Moana helped make our dreams come true. This is absolutely the place to stay. We were in an OWB and couldn't have been happier. All staff greeted with smiles and were so pleasant. We were beyond thrilled with the location of Le Moana, we booked through a travel agency and at first we're disappointed that we weren't in the 5 star hotel -- Thalasso. But when we arrived we and realized the location on Le Moana being on the main island we couldn't have been happier. There is free wi-fi in every OWB but if it isn't strong enough, there is a charge to get a stronger signal. My husband and I were able to stream Netflix each night to fall asleep to a movie without paying for the extra strength. The restaurant at the resort are great! My husband and I enjoyed Viny Viny's at happy hour each evening. Some reviews we read, people would complain about the OWB not being up to date or out of date. Our thoughts: you aren't going to Bora Bora to stay in a room. Get out and explore the island, feel the culture, and enjoy the Bora Bora blue water! My husband and I highly recommend staying at Le Moana.

Every positive review you are reading is absolutely true about Bora Bora. Traveling with me was my wife and 10-year-old daughter. Like many of us, this was on our bucket list and without a doubt did not disappoint. After extensive research and verification, we selected Custom Tahiti Travel to assist us with our accommodations. Jackie Schlumper provided great communication, listened to our desires, and arranged the details of our travels. Added bonus for going with Custom Tahiti Travel was they have a physical location in Tahiti for unexpected surprises. We debated long and hard to stay at the Intercontinental Le Moana. Thought about other resorts like the Four Season or St. Regis with their newer facilities and a little larger overwater bungalows, but at the end of day, picked Le Moana because of the proximity to Vaitape, the main town on Bora Bora, Marita Beach, listed one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and the incredible coral garden that you can kayak or canoe over from the resort. This may sound crazy with absolutely no merit, but being connected to a large piece of land in the event of a significant storm provided a little piece of mind. Plus, we wanted to venture out and have the convenience to visit Vaitape without having to arrange and pay for a boat shuttle to get us there. We stayed for 9 days. The entire resort staff is incredibly friendly, but they have a way of being out of sight until you need them. They truly understand what it means to give their guests some “privacy”. A huge shout out to Vahine Paitia. You will find Vahine in the dining area during breakfast or lunch time. Allow me to share a random act of kindness by Vahine. The resort offers different enrichment classes each day. We had an excursion the morning the floral headband was being taught. Vahine went home over lunch to pick flowers from her garden, came back early and over her lunch period, taught our daughter how to make the traditional Polynesian headband. This was truly priceless. The resort offers free kayaks, paddleboards, canoes, and snorkeling mask and fins. The fins worked well enough, but better yet, bring your own mask. They do have a hand pump if you decide to bring your own inflatable. Excursions can be arranged through the concierge like the ray and shark tour through Lagoon Service. Independent from the resort, we also contacted Vincent Brossault with Bora Dream Pictures to spend a half day with us taking photographs while on the beach, snorkeling at the coral garden, and on a private island. To conclude my review, I’ve listed numerous bullet points that I hope will make your decision easier and your trip most memorable: • Make a good impression with the locals and learn two key Tahitian words…la Ora na (pronounced yo-rah-nah). This is the generic greeting you will hear from everyone. The second word is mauru’ ure (pronounced mah-roo-roo) meaning thank you. • If you fly Air Tahiti Nui from LAX to Tahiti, the plane is an Airbus A340-300 aircraft. Seat configuration is 2x4x2. Price for business class is not worth it and the leg room is standard for economy seating. You will get a swag bag with earplugs, eye mask, sock, etc. • On our connecting flight from/to Tahiti to Bora Bora, there are no assign seats. First come, first serve in line. Passenger entry and exit are from the rear of the plane (sit in the back of the plane to get out first). If you sit on the left-hand side of the plane as it approaches Bora Bora Airport, you will have the best view of Huahine, Tahaa, Raiatea and Bora Bora Island. • The resort food will get tiresome and expensive. If you walk outside the resort to the main road, take a right, there’s a restaurant called The Lucky House. Will take you 5 minutes. We ate there 5 nights in a row. Great food (pizza, seafood, steaks), opens each night at 6:00. • As a fun excursion and something to do, also on the main road, just outside the resort is a small local grocery store. You can pick up snack foods, alcohol, sodas and other comfort foods. • Walking on the boardwalk to the end of the pontoon overwater bungalows can be a trek. If you want to stay close to the resort, but still enjoy the benefits of an OWB, consider bungalows number 42 or 43. From these two bungalows, you can step off your back deck and snorkel right over to the resort coral garden to see some fabulous fish. • The resort charges $45 USD (couple or small family) for a round trip shuttle into town. A better option is to have the resort call you a taxi for $40 USD round trip and the pickup and return time will be based on our own schedule. Just tell the taxi driver to come back and pick you up after 2 hours. • Work with your travel agent or strongly insist during your registration check-in and try to have a late check out. If you can get the 11:00 checkout extended to 2:00, you will be happy to have the extra time in your bungalow. Worse case if you can’t, the resort will store your luggage and provide you with a courtesy room to freshen up before departing for the airport. • WiFi internet was fantastic; we had no problems with emails or streaming Netflix. • You can take a little piece of bread from breakfast or lunch and feed the fish from your open-top coffee table. The resort gift shop will sell you a very small bag of fish food for $12 USD. • Lastly, to memorialize your stay in paradise, consider purchasing a piece of local artwork while in town to display when you get home. la Ora na, safe travels.

We loved our stay in the horizon view overwater bungalow. The room was in good condition and very comfortable. The service was good but a little awkward and slow sometimes but we only spoke English, but was not an issue. The snorkelling gives you the opportunity to swim with eagle rays, stingrays, 20-30 types of tropical fish including porcupine fish, with the water depth of around 1.2-1.5 metres, loved it! There are a few reef sharks swimming around in the evenings too. The wind was quite strong at times and made snorkelling a little challenging at times but when it settled to a breeze it was perfect. The room had complimentary fly spray, but didn't need it. We used the local restaurants and the local shop all within a 5 minute walk, with the shop carrying a good range of options at a decent price including beer, wine, cooked chickens, hot steak and chip rolls. The jet ski tour was also great, we shared a jet ski and ended up being the only ones on the afternoon tour. We got taxis from and to town for 2000 cpf. We didn't fly straight in or out but to save costs I would use the free airport boat to town and taxi to the hotel from there.

My wife and I started this wonderful trip by selecting Tahiti.com for their expert business acumen. Nate along with Jeanine helped make the whole trip soooooo smooth, we truly felt like royalty. From the airline, transportation to and from the hotel, the hotel and restaurants. Our flight on the way there was good. Once on the Island of Bora Bora the magic starts. We were treated like royalty. The boat ride to our hotel was nice. Great views, fresh air and wonderful weather. Once at our hotel, InterContinental Le Moana Resort we were personally greeted and pampered until our over water bungalow was ready. When we opened the door to our bungalow we truly fell into bliss. Very clean, well accommodated and beautiful. Each morning we had tea and coffee watching the sun come up and the island come alive. Each day we had a new adventure. We took a tour of the island, para sailed the next day and WOW what a view. We took a romantic sunset boat photo tour around the island. We participated in a Polynesian dance after a very good evening meal. Mai Kai's restaurant was truly the best. The food was excellent. Bloody Marys restaurant was good. Every where we went the service was excellent and we were known by our names. Everyone was calling us by name, WOW. The breakfast each day was great. This trip was on my wife bucket list since high school. If you want to be treated like royalty, call or go online to Tahiti.com.