LE ROYAL BORA BORA

We have visited and stayed on mainland Bora Bora back in 2018, at the time in the hotel next door called Maitai - from all the reviews I had done on TripAdvisor it has been the one that got most "thumbs up" ever, so I believe people found it useful and I will approach this review the same way as it truly is a very similar, great to be exact, experience - but it really depends what you are looking for; if you want a private infinity pool overlooking fish in the water while the butler brings you the bottle of their Dom Perignon then probably this is not the place for you, and first of all the rate per night/room should tell you that right away as "if it sounds too good to be true, is probably too good to be true" when compared to the rates on the hotels on the motus, but if you if you do appreciate hospitality under a "non-corporate" family run business, great beach front and "central" location to what's best in Bora Bora (this is our 2nd visit so I say it from experience rather than other readings) everything, while sipping an excellent house made Pina Colada than this is your place to be - also did I mention they have a great restaurant on the spot with a very nice breakfast buffet included in the room rate?! Well now I have! :)||||||Location: so the hotel is in the area of Matira Beach (nestled between MaiTai and old Sofitel [which in the future, from what I read independently, will be part of Royal Bora Bora as Sofitel is closed down by now for couple years and it's falling apart], which is my opinion top 3 beach of my life, and we have seen a many by now - this being the reason why we actually returned to Bora Bora :) from the airport the Air Tahiti takes you to the Vaitape marina and from there you can arrange transportation to the hotel for a fee (they charge 1,750 XPF per person one way, you pay it at the hotel - so about $17.50 USD so no big deal as 6 years ago it was about $14.25 USD per person to MaiTai) - don't get discouraged by the bus transportation system, it is oldschool and rough but it does the trick - we chuckled with my wife as we arrived delayed 5h+ to Bora Bora on a very grim rainy day and we felt bad for other people who just arrived with us and had never seen how amazing this place is but get to see this "rough reality" instead of its genuine beauty at first and get to ride on this bus - I bet it was a reality check for them on the "real Bora Bora" vs what's "falsely" advertised out there. Now, once at the hotel I must admit also that I was pleasantly surprised as I had my reservation too but they were all put to rest, it's a very nice, clean, Polynesian hotel on the ocean front - all rooms are in 2-floor buildings across from the road (traffic is a bit noisy but only during early evening hours and once the island goes to sleep it's all nice, unless the omnipresent roosters go to action...) whereas the lobby/restaurant/pool etc. is on the direct ocean front - I really enjoyed that setup! There is literally a grocery story, accepts credit cards, called Tiare Market next door so you can get whatever you need there - open I believe 7 days a week and until pretty late, for Polynesian/Bora Bora standards! The walk to Matira is about 10 minutes, plenty of friendly doggies as usual in French Polynesia so nothing to be concerned about. The entire area felt a bit more "upscale" compared to the 2018 experience so that's great, tourism money definitely went into motion in the post COVID era!||||||Room: so we had to ground level room in the Moorea building - at first I was a bit bumped out as we did have a nice higher vantage point room back in the days in Maitai but then I was happy I didn't have to go up the stairs each day, nor carry in our out the luggage (no elevators here)! The room is pretty big, nice A/C away from the bed so not blowing at your face at night, some French cable TV with couple English news channels, good Wi-Fi, little patio (hard to stay there as mosquitos don't allow for it), bed and pillows comfy, mini fridge and safe provided, bathroom with a window that has a net as well - no lizards/geckos or bigger insects in the room in 6 days so that's a win in my book :) the only thing I could flaw the hotel, literally 1 thing, is the white sheets on the windows - they desperately need laundry/washing!||||||Hotel Grounds/Entertainment: really nice setup for the restaurant and bar, pool could be nicer if they trimmed the bushes in front of it (different times of the year/different years of pictures show it) as you can't see any water from and otherwise I would love to chill in there. There is an entertainment area with Ping Pong table, snooker/billiard, and some other games - we had lots of fun quite a few times there when we wanted to move more after being too lazy on the beach. The hotel has its own deck so any excursion pick you up right from the location here, which is convenient.||||||Beach & pool: what we missed 6 years ago at MaiTai was a better/proper beachfront location - which we got here, mainly because here there just a dock and sand with palm trees, no overwater bungalows. Water was a bit choppy during our stay but people did snorkeling, water shoes not mandatory but recommended, you are on the east side so no sunsets but nice sunrise opportunity, especially if you traveled west and jetlag like most Americans waking up super early :) I didn't see too many nice fish close to the shore but there is much more out there, I bet. I believe there is a free use of kayaks, we didn't use them so I can't speak to that but I believe it does read somewhere in the info that they are included and we saw people use them. Plenty of beach chairs/loungers of various types, and a few umbrellas too, plus trees with shade.||||||Food & drinks/options: another feature we missed 6 years ago at MaiTai was the breakfast, although offered there wasn't to our liking and it was a bit pricey, here it was included in a very already reasonable room rate and it was plentiful, exactly how we like it - fruits, bakery items, some bacon etc. everybody could find something as it was a mix of continental with Polynesian/island stuff and of course the French :) good fresh croissants, baguettes etc. We never got a chance to eat a bigger meal for lunch or dinner as we always ventured out but we had some small snack and they were good - also the cocktails were good and reasonably priced, for what we compared to other places and other islands during our 2.5 weeks in the Society Islands. There are plenty of walking options towards Matira Beach and Bora Bora Yacht Club offers complimentary transportation to/from island and Saint James does it at 2,000 XPF total round trip for 2 people - I highly recommend the last 2 as that also gives you a bit of a chance to see other sides of the island without renting the car or riding the bike far away from the hotel. Their bar sells coconut water - make sure to return the coconuts to them after you are done with your drink and they will cut it for you so you can enjoy the meat inside :)||||||Things to do: we did a lot back in 2018 so this time we just chilled, visited Matira, went on a Bora Bora Pearl Farm trip (absolutely loved it and it's a must while on the island, reviewed separately), planned to do another water trip (if you haven't been and it's your 1st time in Bora it's an absolute must!), and also planned to rent a car again for a day but we ultimately just relaxed and read books/enjoyed slow time on the water after driving around Moorea and ahead of busy schedule on Raiatea/Taha'a. The hotel has the Polynesian shows every Tuesday and Friday I believe - if this is your 1st time to the FP/this region of the world I highly recommend, especially since the fixed price with dinner buffet sounded very reasonable - we didn't do it so can't comment on its fun/quality but it's usually hard not to like these type of things once on the spot.||||Overall: so 2018 in Maitai BB and 2024 in Royal BB - which one was better? I don't think it's really possible to say that, I feel that Maitai looks a bit fancier, especially nowadays in 2024 when they put some money into renovating the waterfront, it really was pretty impressive compared to how I remembered it from back in 2018, but I think I enjoyed Royal BB a bit better, it's just a very cozy down to earth place, clean, suppppppppppper friendly people, every interaction I had with them was very pleasant, especially at the bar and restaurant, it's my "type of place" and it kind of attracts non-flashy people too, which makes the stay also more pleasant - if you don't know what I mean you will notice it while taking excursions as that's where different hotels/clientele mix up :) otherwise the last time you will deal with the "fake Bora Bora" is once you split your way with them taking the Air Tahiti boat vs. them taking the individual boats to the motus, aka the "little bubble" where life from magazine covers is depicted, not the true, the genuine one here on the mainland - it was awesome to revisit and get this same type of pleasant "shock" and for that we are very grateful and of course happy - totally recommended, would totally stay here, as a matter of fact probably one of my fav hotels/stays in my 10+ of intensive tropical islands traveling - they just got everything right in my book, Mauruuru!

Très bel hôtel
Les chambres ne sont pas en bord de mer mais dans un très beau jardin
Les chambres sont grandes
Nous avons participé au repas polynésien, très bien
Service au top
Snorkeling possible juste devant la plage

Good -> Private beach is great: views are top and there’s plenty of coral and fishes right in front of it. Breakfast is very good and complete. Restaurant for lunch and dinner is also of very good quality (pricey, though). Rooms are very spacious and comfortable. There’s free fresh water. Bad -> Some staff are a little too harsh, getting close to rude, when answering normal questions from your side.

Très beau Hotel! la chambre spacieuse est propre, avec la vue sur un jardin très très bien entretenu! le petit déjeuner est très complet. La plage de l’hôtel est très belle.
nous avons passé un très bon séjour. Je recommande.

Personnel adorable, chambre spacieuse et très bien équipée de style Polynésien qui puis est dans un écrin de verdure et de sérénité ???? cuisine au Top, petit déjeuner copieux avec beaucoup de choix et de très bonnes qualités ???? situation au Top avec une vue Magnifique sur le Lagon et très proche du jardin de corail ????????je recommande en toute sincérité vous ne serez pas déçu. Très sincèrement Pascal et Véronique de Vendée