InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort

We have just left this resort (intercontinental Le Moana) and what a beautiful location Bora Bora is. A place to be visited for sure. The resort was lovely and quiet, and so relaxing. The staff were excellent. The resort Manager, Laurence, is very passionate at ensuring their guests have a great experience. She is also very knowledgeable and very experienced in hospitality, this can be felt immediately when meeting her. During our stay we had one minor issue that was immediately resolved after raising. Would we come back again? Yes, in a heartbeat. Thank you to Laurence and her team, it was a pleasure to stay with you. We will be back 🏝️

This is our second stay in Bora-Bora, first time at this resort. It's everything we wanted it to be. Absolutely perfect. No complaints. We really enjoyed staying on the actual island. The resorts on the motus are secluded and nice, but we enjoyed being on the island more. There are two incredible snorkel spots nearby. One within a short kayak distance and one within walking distance. We walked to the scooter rental place and had a great afternoon on scooter. Enjoyed amazing sunsets from matira beach (which is RIGHT outside the resort) and enjoyed even better sunrises from our rooms. Morning coffee on the patio of your over the water Bungalow is worth every penny. Staying on the island also means you can just walk over to the store. Was definitely a hassle at our stay on a motu. The restaurants were good. The cocktails are everything you want them to be on your tropical vacation! The service was friendly. I went over to their sister resort for a spa day. The other resort is definitely fancier. But it also felt stuffy. This one just feels like you're in paradise. I was able to completely relax and be content. Regardless of prices, I'd stay at the Moana over Thalasso. It's truly wonderful. We stayed at the Pearl previously and the sand is softer at Moana. The snorkeling is by far better (the coral garden is so close). The give you reusable water bottles and have fill stations. I'm a picky water drinker and the water was very drinkable. They also have a shower room you can use if you have a flight later in the day. Was nice to hang at the beach until the afternoon and then be able to freshen up before our redeye back home. We'll definitely be returning!

The holiday really began when I received the fresh tiare lei at the Bora Bora boat deck. I kept it in the room for several days as it remained fragrant. The general manager greeted me at the welcoming area and she was outstanding the entire stay. The fresh hot towel and juice was nice after my long flights from Finland. My luggage was magically whisked to my OWB during a welcoming tour. I got OWB number 5 which was conveniently close to the restaurants. No need to walk a long way. I had a mountain view OWB and it was magical. I stayed many days on the terrace just admiring the view. I’m very pale and burn easily so I moved my sun chair to the shade as I managed to burn a little even on the first day. I felt the OWB looked better live than in photos I had seen prior to the trip. I don’t think it looked dated. The wooden decor in the OWB was impressive. There isn’t much shade on the beach nor the pool. I ordered a couple of cocktails at the pool. Surprisingly they were not really decorated at all. I just wanted to have a photo op with a beautiful tropical drink. The other side of the pool is very shallow and the other very steep. I’m not a good swimmer so I stayed on the small shallow side. There is bug spray in the room (Baycon) but there weren’t really any bugs. Every afternoon around 5pm staff knocked on the door to see if more deck towels were needed. They also gave cookies. The chocolate cookies were tasty but the other ones I shared with the fish. So much fish came under the bungalow it was amazing. I occasionally had problems getting through the concierge button when I was trying to make a restaurant reservation. There was a French message and nothing happened. I also had some problems with the Instant Service button on the phone where nobody picked up. I ordered room service a few times and noticed that the plates were too big to fit in the fridge. If you go to Lucky House for dinner, their take away containers fit into the fridge fine. It’s good to pay attention to the boat transfer times as there was first a mix up. My flight was to depart at 18.20 and I received an email that I should be at the dock at 18.10. That was later fixed and I received a 16.30 dock time instead. I was very happy to get 4PM late check out and there was no extra charge for it. After 2 weeks Le Moana felt like home and I was sad to leave. The general manager was at the dock to wave goodbyes to everyone which was a really nice touch. I’m very happy that I chose Le Moana as by Bora Bora home. Service was excellent at breakfast and dinners. Housekeeping did a very good job, too.

We normally don't care for day passes and originally wanted just to grab a bite for lunch at the Vini Vini, although after doing a quick math we figured out that we would probably spend a similar amount just dining, so we opted for the day pass, at around $145 USD for two people. Day Pass came with a 2 course lunch (no drinks included, though the hotel offers refillable water, both flat and sparkling) at their Vini Vini restaurant - reviewed that separately, nice experience there. As to the Day Pass itself, it was a bit strange of thing as you almost get treated, although with respect and still politely, but you are treated a bit like a 2nd class citizen with just limited access to the certain beach area and limited area of where you can move, and a designated beach only - I found it a bit strange as there is that much a person would want to stay in one spot during a day, and that area is very small/limited - for the record I am not complaining about not being able to access the pool as nobody comes to BB to be in a pool when you have Matira Beach... When we wanted to walk and stretch our legs through the bungalows to go to the final dock we were told we are not allowed - one could say safety? or respect to the others guests perhaps, but my point would be if I can afford paying $150 to come here, technically for a lunch, I think we are pretty safe :) and that seeing different views/perspective is really what makes this type of visits worth the $, so had I known the limitations I probably would have just opted for the lunch and left, probably hotel should have not sell these passes if they are concerned about their patrons being bothered/passed by the outside visitors... The beach is nice, but across the street there is free public Matira Beach so you can't beat that - perhaps maybe in those other areas where Day Pass guests aren't allowed there is something better/prettier. My biggest complain would be the sun beds/chairs - we tried 3 different sets, on every single one I kept on sliding down - something with the material they are made off. All in all, it's not bad but it's not worth it either to pay the Day Pass fee and then be "separated" - I thought it's a bit distasteful. I can't refer to the hotel stay experience as I bet it's nice, as all these hotels really are - you have to try real hard to make these type of stays unpleasant or nonmemorable when you have the beauty of the island available to you

The resort is everything you would imagine of a 5* resort in paradise. The welcoming team at the airport provided a seamless transfer to the private speedboat transfer to the hotel in approx 25 minutes. Checkin was excellent with a mini guided tour of the resort and a personal greeting from the hotel GM - Laurence Levy. The concierge team were fantastic at organising trips and hotel staff throughout the resort were always friendly and helpful. The resort has the added benefit of being on the main island so you can walk to a few local shops and restaurants if you want to get out for a few hours (difficult though when staying in a beautiful water bungalow). There is also a magnificent public beach close to the where you can walk for an hour watching the local sea life / meeting locals. Bora Bora is everything I expected (and little more) and should be added to anyone’s bucket list if budgets allow.