#76066 - 09/02/08 07:20 PM
Trip Report - St Regis BB - August 2008
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godx
Junior Member
Registered: 07/08/08
Posts: 14
Loc: Canada
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After going back and forth between St Regis and the Four Seasons in Bora Bora (thanks for the all the help from the forum members), we ended up going to the St Regis because the FS wasnt open yet for the week that we wanted to go. So here it is...
We flew into Tahiti and stayed at the Sheraton (we tried to stay at the Intercontinental but it was full) for one night. It was good enough. Clean room, close to airport (5 or 10 minute shuttle ride) and had a restaurant to get some dinner. The next morning we took the flight over to BB.
We arrived at the BB airport and the St Regis staff grabbed our bags for us, loaded them on the boat, and we set off to the resort. We got there and were greeted by more staff who took us for a tour of the resort and brought us to our villa. I must say my wife and I were both VERY impressed with the room. Our villa was a 1900sqft Premier Overwater Villa with a plunge pool which faces the Mountain—it was unreal. A bottle of 2000 vintage Moet champagne was waiting for us on ice when we entered the room. A nice touch to the already impressive arrival. The room was huge. Extremely clean and looked like it had never been used before. Large open rain shower, big soaker tub, dual sink bathroom, walk-in closet, and granite from floor to ceiling along all the walls. Two 42” Sony LCD TVs, Bose stereo, table, sofas, mini fridge, etc. Besides not having a full kitchen, this room has everything. The deck was amazing. Tons of space with the plunge pool, 2 loungers, a table and 2 chairs, plus a lower deck with a ladder into the water.
The service of the hotel was great. Anything we asked for was done, and done quickly. All the staff we dealt with was extremely polite and always had a smile on their face. The only complaint was that the concierge didn’t seem all that knowledgeable or helpful about some of the excursions we considered doing (although maybe that’s because we are used to hotels pushing hard to sell you on excursions that the St Regis concierge seemed unhelpful, but perhaps they just were not pushy). Either way, as it was our honeymoon, we decided against any excursions and decided to have a week of rest and relaxation.
The resort seemed empty. Sitting on our deck, to the left, there were 9 villas, throughout the entire week, only 1 was being used. To the right, there were 11 villas, and only 2 were used throughout the week. The restaurants, pool area, tennis courts, spa…everything seems empty. I was told this time of year is the busy season and I was somewhat worried it was going to be packed. It wasn’t, and it was great! We felt like we had the entire resort to ourselves.
The beach and pool area of the resort is nice, but nothing mind blowing. Typical pool close to the beach with a swim-up bar. What was amazing, however, was the Oasis Pool, which was a 20 second walk from our villa. 5 private cabanas, available by reservation, each have their own pool, which flows into one large main pool which has a large waterfall. Beautifully landscaped, it was a paradise all on its own. With the sound of the waterfall, and the view of the mountain in the background and all the lush landscaping, we spent many hours here. Surprisingly though, out of the 4 days we went there, we only saw one other cabana used once, everything other time we were the only ones there.
Our typical day was like this: get up at 6am, play tennis from 630-730, breakfast, relax on the deck and suntan/swim/drink/sit in plunge pool from 9am till around 2pm (we’d have lunch during that time), then around 2ish we’d head over to the Oasis Pool and relax there until around 4 or 5. We’d go back to our villa, shower, then head out for dinner. Most nights, we were back from dinner around 9pm, and in bed by 930.
Everything on the resort is extremely expensive. We got there on a Sunday, so there was no shuttle to Vaitape (to get some groceries) so Monday morning we went to the St Regis breakfast buffet. The quality of food was good, but there wasn’t much selection (nothing compared to buffets ive had at other high-end hotels), especially of fresh fruit. That was surprising. But what was more surprising was the bill for 11,900XPF (about $150 US). 4800xpf each for the buffet, plus 1500 for 2 bottles of water and 800xpf for some other tax/fee. That was the first and last time we ate breakfast at the resort.
For the remaining days of the trip, we bought enough groceries from the Asian Market in Vaitape to cover breakfasts and lunches. We made sandwiches, bought soups and yogurt and cereal etc that got us through the day. The only meals we ate outside of our room were our dinners. For booze, we also bought 4 bottles at the LA airport duty free, so we mixed our own drinks during the day while we relaxed on our deck or at the Oasis Pool.
For dinners, we made reservations at the Lagoon (the fine dining restaurant at the St Regis), La Villa Mahana on the mainland and Kaina Hut on the mainland. The other 4 nights we either ordered room service or ate at the casual restaurant at the resort called Te Pahu.
Lagoon restaurant – The food was very good. Service was good also. I wasn’t blown away, but I was impressed. The wine list was small and had some decent wines, but from not-so-great vintages. The wine list is also extremely expensive. The foie gras was very good and the portion size was huge. I can’t recall the last time I had gotten a piece of foie gras that big. Cooked extremely well (pan seared, but still slightly runny on the inside) and was very tasty. Overall it was a very good experience, although very pricey. If I were to go back to BB, id make a point to eat at the Lagoon.
La Villa Mahana – this was the top restaurant of the trip for us. We did the 5 course chef’s menu, which was:
1 - salad with shrimp and caviar
2 – foie gras
3 – truffle oil risotto with lobster
4 – beef tenderloin with truffle oil gnocchi
5 – chocolate cake
For me, I couldn’t have designed a better menu. My favorite things to eat are foie gras, gnocchi, caviar and just about anything covered in truffles. The design of this menu earned top points from me, before I had even tasted the food! Overall, the quality of the food was on par with the quality at the Lagoon. The foie gras, however, was one of the best ive ever had. Perfectly cooked. Seared almost crispy on the outside, yet cool and gooey on the inside. And a very generous sized portion. Had the dishes with the truffle oil been covered with fresh white Alba truffles (not possible during summers months) they would have been excellent—but the oil is better than nothing. The beef, along with all the red meat I eat during our trip, wasn’t very good. Both here, and at Lagoon, I found the red meats not as tender as I would have liked. Overall, however, this meal was great. The design and creativity of the menu along with above average food quality made this a memorable experience. The wine list was again small, but had some good selections. Again, pricier then what I’m used to, but not outrageous. On my next trip to BB, id make reservations to eat here at least once, maybe twice.
Kaina Hut – for half the price of Lagoon and Villa Mahana, you don’t get half the food quality. The food is very good. A few steps below the Lagoon and VM, but still better than average for half the price. Its casual (sand on the floor) and the service and atmosphere is reflects the price. But if you want a quality meal for a good price, here’s the place to go.
Overall, our experience in BB and at the St Regis was excellent. The service and accommodations of the resort were outstanding and the meals we eat on and off the resort were all very good. If I were to re-plan our dinners, I would have eaten at the Lagoon once, VM twice, Kaina Hut twice, and then ordered in room service or eat at the casual restaurant on the resort the remaining nights.
On our last day, we called the Four Seasons and got them to pick us up from the St R dock and take us for a tour of the FS resort and check out a few of the rooms. Here’s what we noticed:
Resort design - The FS resort is laid out very similar to the St R with regards to the locations of the restaurants, pool, beaches, accommodations and the spa, etc. Neither resort has an advantage here.
Rooms – The St R overwater villas are bigger than those of the FS. When you go into the OW villas of the FS, you feel somewhat tight. Size wise, the St Regis OW villas blow away the FS villas. The finishings of the FS are of the same style and quality as the St R, but are brand new, so slight advantage to the FS. The one area where the FS overwater villas destroy the St Regis, is the plunge pool. The FS has infinity style plunge pools that are amazing. If you plan to spend a lot of time on your deck, this is something to consider. Overall, for the rooms, it’s a toss-up. If you want brand new and a beautiful top notch plunge pool, go for the FS. But if you want a large and roomy and very comfortable overwater villa, go with the St R. If you are planning on staying in a beach villa, I would stay at the FS. The beach villas that we saw at the FS had much better views, locations, and amenities then those of the st R. However, if you are staying on a beach villa at the St R, be sure to NOT stay in one that faces the ocean. They have rocky, unusable beach and the view isn’t half as nice as the ones that face the lagoon. There are 8 beach villas that face the ocean and 5 that face the lagoon and the overwater villas. Be sure to stay in the ones that face the lagoon/overwater villas and NOT the ones facing the ocean.
Pool area – FS pool blows away the St R pool area. Can’t even compare the two. The entire FS pool is an infinity style pool, with perfect views of the beach and the lagoon water. If you plan to spend a lot of time at the pool, stay at the FS.
Other – the St R has the Oasis Pool, which is amazing. The FS doesn’t have anything like it. For us, this would be a huge factor as we used it so much and really enjoyed it. If you have kids, however, the FS has 2 large areas. One for young kids, one for teens. Their own private island with activities, pool, beach area, tennis courts, etc. The St R doesn’t have anything like this. If you have kids, and don’t want to be babysitting them the entire trip, the FS is the place to stay.
Prices – It seems the FS pricing is quite a bit lower than the St Regis. The FS largest overwater villa (1600sqft) with plunge pool is around 15,000 to 20,000xpf per night cheaper than the comparable St R overwater villa with plunge pool (1900sqft). The St R villa is bigger, but the FS is newer (so one could say nicer) and has a MUCH nicer plunge pool, for $200-300 US per night less. When we go back to BB, if there still is this large price difference, we will try out the FS.
Overall – I’m sure the service at the FS will be on par with the service at the St R. Both hotel chains are world renown for their exceptional service. The St Regis did not disappoint, and im sure the FS won’t either.
So, would we go again to BB? Of course. It was the perfect honeymoon place for us. Next time we come, hopefully next year, we plan to do 4-5 days in Hawaii (shopping, golfing, etc) then go to BB (either St R or FS overwater villa) for 4-5 days of relaxation and good French cuisine. The waters and scenery of BB are the nicest ive ever experienced and I can’t wait to go back.
Edited by godx (09/02/08 07:22 PM)
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#76067 - 09/02/08 07:31 PM
Re: Trip Report - St Regis BB - August 2008
[Re: godx]
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holte
Expert Advisor
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 2365
Loc: Duluth, Minnesota
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Excellent report with great info for people trying to make a decision on which one is better for them.
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#76082 - 09/03/08 08:46 AM
Re: Trip Report - St Regis BB - August 2008
[Re: holte]
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snowboarder
Member
Registered: 10/30/05
Posts: 128
Loc: LAX
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Thanks for the great info!
How many plunge pool villas is there in FS?
Are some in better location/better view? Which one would you
recommend? How a about privacy, are those pools hidden?
How about other OWBs, are they all the same, just different
location? What are the differences between "beach",
"mountain view" and "lagoon" ones?
The kids area sounds scary, are they selling themselves
as a "family" resort???
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#76086 - 09/03/08 01:30 PM
Re: Trip Report - St Regis BB - August 2008
[Re: snowboarder]
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godx
Junior Member
Registered: 07/08/08
Posts: 14
Loc: Canada
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There are 8 OWB (overwater bungalow) with plunge pools at the FS...2 at the very end of each of the 4 branches. At the end of each branch, there is one Lagoon view OWB w/ pool and one Otemanu OWB w/ pool...both have similar views...the different name is because they are different sizes...Lagoon is approx 1150sqft and is 121,000xpf and the Otemanu is approx 1600sqft and is 136,500xpf. For the extra 15k xpf, in my opinion, the Otemanu is worth it. The extra size inside, as well as larger deck area makes the room feel not so tight. So really, there are 4 OWB's that I would personally want to stay in, the 4 Otemanu ones...but the best 2 of the 4 are ones at the ends of the most North-East (furthest away from the St Regis if your looking from a bird's eye view) branches...they will get the sunset and have less boat traffic then the other 2 branches.
Privacy isnt really an issue at the FS or St R...both have a good amount of space between each villa. The pools are right on the deck, so when boats go by they can see you...but again they are least 100 feet away. Privacy was not an issue for us at all, especially since the resort felt like it was empty.
FS has these OWBs:
Beach view (1080sqft, 86500xpf)
mountain view (1080sqft, 97500xpf)
lagoon view (1080sqft, 112500xpf)
lagoon view w/ pool (1150sqft, 121000xpf)
otemanu view w/pool (1600sqft, 136500xpf)
If having a pool is important, go for the Otemanu for 136500xpf if you can afford it. Having the plunge pool was very nice, and to me the extra money to upgrade from lagoon w/ pool to Otemanu w/ pool is WELL worth it. The difference between the non-pool OWB is just their location on the branches and what view you have (either beach, mountain or lagoon).
The kids area concerned me aswell...I wouldnt be pleased if FS to marketing towards becoming a "family" resort. I dont think they are, I think its more of a bonus for those who are travelling with kids and to offer something the St R doesnt have. Only time will tell if it hurts or helps them. Hopefully between now and next year someone will stay there and give some feedback before we go back. We plan to go back around the same time next year.
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#76098 - 09/03/08 05:46 PM
Re: Trip Report - St Regis BB - August 2008
[Re: godx]
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snowboarder
Member
Registered: 10/30/05
Posts: 128
Loc: LAX
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Thanks, you've been really helpful! We are going for Christmas
and staying in an Otemanu plounge pool OWB, so I'll report
when I'm back. It's funny as it looks like both end OWBs
on each fork are the same when I check out the pictures...
You're saying it's one Otemanu and one lagoon, good to know.
Thanks again! Have you seen any trash burning when you were there?
This concerns me a bit...
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#84089 - 02/01/10 10:04 AM
Re: Trip Report - St Regis BB - August 2008
[Re: snowboarder]
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Kevin & Jen Ott
Junior Member
Registered: 11/29/09
Posts: 7
Loc: Ashburn, VA, USA
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Thanks for this report, very helpful! We are leaving next week for our belated honeymoon and are staying at the St.R when in BB. Now drooling at the thought of all the yummy food!!!!!
When you bought bottles at LAX, did you put it in your luggage or carry on? We were advised to pack them, as there are "rules" (thought not tightly enforced) about the number of bottles you could bring in.
Jen
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#84099 - 02/02/10 05:27 AM
Re: Trip Report - St Regis BB - August 2008
[Re: Kevin & Jen Ott]
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BarbiJKM
Supreme Advisor
Registered: 02/14/07
Posts: 6042
Loc: Mesa, AZ
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Kevin & Jen,
The duty free shop in LAX will deliver your purchases to the flight gate, inside security, in plastic shopping bags, fully wrapped in foam. By then, you won't have access to your checked luggage until you arrive in PPT.
If you want to bring more than what you will buy at duty-free allowance, you can buy and pack (carefully, well-wrapped) more in your checked luggage before you leave home. The immigration/customs people at PPT very seldom check tourists' luggage. After retrieving your luggage in Papeete, just walk through the line with the green sign "Nothing to Declare" to the left, not through the red sign to the Xray machine. The red line is mostly for residents returning from a shopping trip.
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#84104 - 02/02/10 12:04 PM
Re: Trip Report - St Regis BB - August 2008
[Re: BarbiJKM]
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Kevin & Jen Ott
Junior Member
Registered: 11/29/09
Posts: 7
Loc: Ashburn, VA, USA
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What are the duty-free allowances? lol
That might be easier than packing in the luggage, except for one special bottle :)
Thanks!
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