French Polynesia Travel Guide
Tags: Movie Set Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / Bora Bora Hotels / St. Regis Hotels / Vince Vaughn / Jon Favreau / Jason Bateman / → All Tags
Star in Your Own 'Couples Retreat' at the St. Regis Bora Bora
If you’ve seen the previews of the new rom-com Couples Retreat you might have been as mesmerized as we were—and we’re not talking about belly laughs, fine acting, or the dexterity of Jason Bateman in that yoga scene. No, we were too busy looking past the actors at the jaw-dropping scenery. Over-water Tahitian bungalows have had a starring role in our daydreams for years.
But properties like The St. Regis Bora Bora resort have always seemed out of reach, the stuff of movie sets and Hollywood honeymoons. After all, who gets to vacation like that?
You. That’s the hope of the St. Regis Bora Bora anyways. In a not-so-surprising move, the resort is debuting a new Couples Retreat package to celebrate the release of the film—which was of course shot at the super-luxurious resort.
Tags: Hotel Renovations / Bora Bora Hotels / Hotel News / Le Meridien Hotels / → All Tags
Le Meridien Bora Bora Adds More-a More-a Villas
Killer View fetishists, get excited: Le Meridien Bora Bora is getting itself a makeover. We've gushed about Bora Bora views before — Intercontinental Bora Bora took home the title of the Best Killer View of 2008 and over at the Le Meridien, you can glimpse the Otemanu Mountain in the distance. Now the Le Meridien folks want to make sure that the view of the inside can stand up to the view from the inside.
The renos have been underway since the beginning of the year, and all 99 of the resort's accommodations have already been equipped with new flat-screen TVs, video on demand, and WiFi. A second infinity pool is being added, a new fitness center is on the way — and so is a new glass-bottom chapel (perched atop the interior lagoon) for couples to participate in a traditional Polynesian ceremony. Unfortunately (or fortunately, maybe), weddings here will have no legal value in the States — but the whole getting-married-in-a-glass-bottomed-chapel thing will still be a cool way to "renew" vows or faux-elope.
Tags: Hotel Packages / Tahiti Hotels / Le Meridien Hotels / Beach Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
When In Tahiti, Do As the Le Méridien Does
It's sad, but it's true: if you're in the midst of a dream vacation week on Tahiti, there is a point at which you will get antsy to do something other than slather yourself in tanning oil and kick back with John Grisham. This is exactly what the Le Méridien Tahiti discovered last year after it launched L’Atelier du Chef, a series of intimate cooking classes with hands-on instruction from Executive Chef Sebastien Philizot. The program ended up being so popular as an addition to the all-inclusive escape that Le Méridien is back in 2009 with an entire series of "culture offerings" at L'Atelier, the resort's artist space.
Tags: Killer View / Snapshot / Bora Bora Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
We Can't Ignore-a Four Seasons Bora Bora
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Alright, alright: we know that we have gushed more than a time or two about the views from hotels in Bora Bora. You already know how we feel about the view from the InterContinental Bora Bora, and since we gave our Best Killer View award to Bora Bora spots two years in a row (IC in '08, Hotel Bora Bora in '07, we think it's safe to say overwater bungalows are kinda our thang.
Knowing this, gracious reader A. from Brazil took the time to send in a few snapshots of her recent stay at the Four Seasons Bora Bora — the room and the views blew us away.
Two more views of the inside and outside of her bungalow after the jump.
Tags: HotelChatter 2008 Awards / Killer View / → All Tags
Best Killer View :: InterContinental Bora Bora
Best Killer View: Intercontinental Bora Bora
After sifting through the dozens of shots of killer views that were in the running for our Best Killer View award (which, by the way, is a task that ends up being wee bit depressing when done from in front of a computer screen), calling the very best of 'em was actually pretty easy. We're total suckers for clear blue water and clear blue skies, so 2008's Best Killer View award goes to the Intercontinental Bora Bora's view of Mount Otemanu.
We liked this scene so much, in fact, that when we first glimpsed it, we even went so far as to declare it better than watching TV and looking at Wentworth Miller's face...which is not something we say too often. Or ever.
This is the second year in a row a Bora Bora hotel has nabbed our Killer View Award (the pricey Hotel Bora Bora's overwater bungalows had us swooning in '07), but get ready to shell out if you want to experience the real-life versions of either breathtaking view. This IC generally runs well above $700 a night, and Hotel Bora Bora may cost you around $1,200 a night.
[Photo: TravelSmith]
Tags: Starwood Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Closings / French Polynesia Hotels / → All Tags
Starwood Pulls Out of Bora Bora, Moorea and Tahiti Resorts
The Sheraton Tahiti
Starwood loyalists may be disappointed to hear that Starwood Hotels has announced the end of its management contract of three Sheraton properties in French Polynesia: The Sheraton Hotel Tahiti, Sheraton Moorea and Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa, A Luxury Collection Resort.
Starwood will keep a presence in the region with The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, Le Meridien Tahiti and Le Meridien Bora Bora, all of which have outstanding services and of course, those killer overwater bungalows.
There's not much information on the other resorts except that these properties will no longer be under the Starwood umbrella starting sometime in 2009. If you're considering a trip there, double-check who will be running the hotel during your stay. Also, if you plan on using your SPG points you will need to use them before Starwood leaves the hotels.
[Photo: Scalleja]
Tags: Killer View / Beach Hotels / Bora Bora Hotels / InterContinental Hotels / → All Tags
You Don't Need a TV at the InterContinental Bora Bora
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Now really, people. If you were lying in bed here in your villa at the InterContinental Bora Bora, would you really be looking at that flat-screen television on the wall? Or would you be sitting up with your mouth open, drooling all over yourself while you gazed out at that gorgeous blue ocean view?
Surely it is nice that the TV is in the room, but we just find it so funny that the television is next to such a breathtaking view. We can't believe we're saying this, but we'd actually rather leave the TV off while Prison Break was on so we could stare at a view of Mount Otemanu rather than at Wentworth Miller. We know — bold statement.
Tags: Movie Set Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / St. Regis Hotels / Vince Vaughn / → All Tags
The St. Regis Bora Bora is on Celeb-Infested Waters
You know, we wouldn't mind going to Bora Bora this weekend. We hear Vince Vaughn is there right now.
And while we're thinking about it, we wouldn't really mind seeing Vince Vaughn swimming around our Bora Bora hotel villa topless -- though we'd probably be more interested in seeing Psycho-era Vince than Wedding Crashers Vince, but beggars can't be choosers.
And hey, according to Page Six, if we hopped a flight out to Bora Bora today, we actually might get a piece of that kind of action:
A slew of A-list comedic actors have taken over the St. Regis Resort in Bora Bora to make Jon Favreau's upcoming flick, "Couples Retreat." The movie pairs Kristen Bell with Jason Bateman, Malin Akerman with Vince Vaughn, and Kristin Davis with Favreau for a story about couples looking to repair their relationships.
Tags: Hotel Contests / Le Meridien Hotels / Tahiti Hotels / → All Tags
Time to Brush Up on Your Fifth Grade Geography
You might want to brush up on your knowledge of French Polynesia.
In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Air Tahiti Nui has launched a quiz contest centered on trivia of the collection of isles. Correctly answer the questions, and be entered to win a free trip to Tahiti on the airline, departing from New York or Los Angeles, as well as one night at the Le Méridien Tahiti (pictured), which sits on the white sandy beaches of the Punaauia region. (Sounds good, oui?)
Two winners will be announced each week through November 30, and with 10 trips up for grabs, your chance of winning ain’t too shabby.
It’s just cultivating that little bit of French Polynesian smarts you have to worry about, because really, what else do you know about it except that you want to go there. Now. For free.
Tags: Cubicle Dreamin' / Overwater Bungalows / Island Hotels / → All Tags
Cubicle Dreamin' :: Chopping It to Vahine Island
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way. In this episode, Hotel Maven Annie0007 is taking a trip to an exotic island only accessible by helicopter or boat. Enjoy.
Bid me Bon Voyage, folks. No more presidential debates, crappy economy, gargantuan workload, traffic horns blaring, and gas prices. Yep, I'm outta here. Goodbye, New York City! My husband and I just gave ourselves a week off, cubicle-dreamin'-style, and we're headed to Vahine Island.
Vahine is a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific's Society Islands. You can only get there by boat or helicopter. Tough, huh? This is, after all, dreaming -- let's take the helicopter.
Tags: Tahitian Hotels / Sheraton Hotels / → All Tags
We're Dreaming of Tahiti But We'll Probably Pass on the Sheraton
Some might say that if you want to visit paradise, Tahiti isn't the absolute epitomy of paradise any more: but we're romantics, we like Gaugin paintings and we still have a real craving to try out Tahiti for ourselves.
So when we found that the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti ranks up as #2 of all Tahiti hotels on TripAdviser, we thought this might not be a bad spot to stay. However, whether that's true or not depends very much on who you listen to.
Tags: Tahiti Hotel Reviews / Hotel Infinity Pools / Intercontinental Hotels / → All Tags
Intercontinental Tahiti Starts With A Pretty Nice Pool
The first of a string of international hotels to open on Tahiti, and still one of the most popular even after it got taken over by Intercontinental, some people still talk of the Tahiti Intercontinental Resort as the Beachcomber. And Beachcomber is definitely a more attractive name when we want to think about tropical island vacations.
But whatever you call it, it's probably pretty clear that the Tahiti Intercontinental is a place we wouldn't mind staying at. Above all, it's got a really fantastic pool, and although the restaurant food is a little pricey, most guests rave about it. It's not just the food that's a little expensive though as the cheapest room rates usually start at $300 a night, too.
If you spend too long checking out their website, you're likely to land on French pages that don't seem to have a translation, which can be a bit annoying. However, we do like that they've got a webcam up on their site (and webcam is obviously the same word in French!), because we reckon we don't see enough of them these days--unfortunately it was night time in Tahiti when we looked, so we plan to take another look a bit later on. We're not voyeuristic at all.
[Photo: RobertoChile]
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