Category Archives: Island Hop 2019

The overwater villa is sensational:

This was my terrace and view at the underwhelming Intercontinental Le Moana:

But take a look at what you get at the Conrad. It’s even bigger than the Thalasso, the water is even clearer and bluer and has more fish, it’s even more private and as well as sun loungers there are hammocks built into the decking:

The resort is huge, but there are bikes all over that you can use to get around on (and sneak one into your villa so it’s still there for you to use first thing in the morning to go up to the hilltop viewpoint for sunrise):

Here’s the view from the breakfast restaurant:

Bora Bora is very small, so there’s not much light pollution. Here’s my villa from a different angle:

There’s only a little light from the resort:

Hardly any light on the motu:

So at night you can lie on your lagoon terrace and easily see satellites passing and the milky way glowing. Here’s a shot of Orion taken with a smartphone. Now imagine I wasn’t too lazy to get out the tripod and the good camera and do a long exposure, and picture a sky full of stars.

Today I transfer to the other intercontinental, and I can see online that my standard “inland” room booked on points has been upgraded to another overwater villa.

The best views in Bora Bora are anytime the sun comes out. Above is my villa. Below is the resort.

At the end of each pier is the insanely huge Brando suite. My villa is enormous, but the Brandos are ridiculous and have their own big pool. Apparently Marlon Brando is a very big deal in Bora Bora.

Below shows my villa at the right hand side just before the Brando. Yes, the water really is that bright when the sun is out:

Rush hour traffic in Bora Bora:

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360uk – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360uk – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

I thought the InterContinental Thalasso was spectacular to look at, but the service and facilities left a lot of room for improvement. It’s the one most talked about on the internet, so I thought I’d seen the best of Bora Bora.

Not so. The Conrad blows the Thalasso out of the (turquoise) water. It is sensationally beautiful, the room is incredible, the spa is stunning, the pool is “one of the world’s top 15”, the resort grounds are so much prettier and more varied, the views are amazing, the food is varied and delicious, the bars and restaurants are superb.

It is breathtaking.

I cancelled my final Bora Bora night at the Thalasso and booked one more at the Conrad instead. I’m lucky it’s quiet enough that my Diamond status gets me upgraded from a standard garden view bungalow to a deluxe overwater villa, but at £1078 per night for the best non-refundable members only rate, that makes 80000 points an incredible deal. 3 nights here will not be enough!

These are quite fun for a bimble around the island, though there’s not very much to see because the place is tiny:

So let’s catch the Conrad taxi and leave the main island for the Conrad’s private island:

The place looks good in the brochure:

On arrival, first impressions are… Wow!