Conrad
Bora Bora Nui.

02 · What the renovation changed

What we can see,
and what we can't.

The resort closed for renovation and reopened on 1 May 2026, a date the resort announced on its own social channels; the trade press that reported it noted that a full schedule of upgrades had not been published.² Hilton's pages still don't itemise the work. A notice on every page of the resort's site in October 2026 says 'construction and enhancement works are currently taking place in select areas of the resort'.¹⁰

What the site does show is the result. The room list now runs to 15 categories, including a King Sunset View Overwater Pool Villa, a King Endless Lagoon View Villa with Pool and two Overwater Grand Suites with Pool, one of them facing Otemanu.⁴ Hilton's headline claim is 'private pools in every villa'.⁴ The booking engine doesn't quite agree: it still sells a King Overwater Villa, a King Deluxe Overwater Villa and a King Tropical Beach View Villa without a pool listed, next to their pool versions.⁵ If a pool is the point, book a category with 'pool' in its name.

Two other changes matter on the ground. Iriatai, the French restaurant the resort calls its signature, is closed; its menu is served at dinner in Tamure Beach Grill instead.⁶ And the spa now works with the Paris skincare house Codage.¹¹ Anything else you read about the renovation (bigger bungalows, new orientations) is not on Hilton's pages, so we haven't repeated it.

03 · Where it is

The south-west,
the sunset side.

Motu To'opua lies inside the reef in the south-west of the lagoon, between the main island and the reef, and the resort occupies its south-western end.¹ That makes it the sunset-side counterpart to the eastern motu, where the Four Seasons and the St. Regis face Otemanu: here the main island is a short hop away, and the sunset-view villas look the other way. Hilton's room list includes an Otemanu View Pool Overwater Villa and an Otemanu View Grand Suite, so the mountain is in sight from part of the resort.⁴

Air Tahiti's flight from Tahiti takes about 50 minutes and lands on Motu Mute in the north of the lagoon.¹² From there the resort's boat takes 25 minutes, the longest of the three big resort transfers we checked, and costs 18,000 XPF return per person, 9,000 XPF for children aged 7 to 12. Hilton asks guests to send their flight number so someone meets them at the airport.¹ There is also the only floating helipad in French Polynesia, by Hilton's account, for private helicopter arrivals and tours.¹³

The upside of the location is the main island. The resort is ten minutes from it by boat, and runs a service to Vaitape seven days a week on a fixed schedule; Hilton says fees may apply but doesn't publish them.¹ Five minutes away by boat is Motu Tapu, the islet once used as Queen Pomare IV's private beach, which the resort says is reserved for its guests for picnics, proposals and private dinners.¹⁴

05 · The water and the beach

Four beaches
and Motu Tapu.

Hilton claims four beaches for the resort and, among Bora Bora's luxury resorts, its largest white-sand beach; Tahiti Tourisme's listing speaks of the longest private stretch of white sand.¹³³ That makes the Conrad the easiest of the motu resorts for days on the sand rather than on a deck. Kayaks and snorkeling are among the family activities the resort lists.⁷

Hilton's pages say little about what's under the overwater villas, and nothing about a protected snorkeling area of the kind the St. Regis (the Lagoonarium) and the Four Seasons (the Lagoon Sanctuary) describe. Ask about depth and coral under the specific villa before booking, and about the position on the pontoon: as elsewhere, the water changes along the line.

Motu Tapu, five minutes away by boat, is the resort's set-piece: Hilton calls it the most photographed islet in the South Pacific and says it is available exclusively to its guests, for picnics, private events and dinners.¹⁴ The site doesn't publish prices for these, so ask.

07 · Spa, pool, children

A spa on the hill,
a club for kids.

Hina Spa sits on top of the motu's hill, looking over the lagoon: three double treatment villas with whirlpools, four single rooms, an outdoor double treatment area and a treatment cabin, Hina Views, that looks out to both Otemanu and Maupiti. Treatments run 10:00–19:00, with Codage Paris skincare.¹¹

The main pool is an oversized infinity pool over the lagoon with private cabanas and the swim-up Tarava bar. There is a 24-hour fitness centre, daily classes and a running track.¹³ We found no adults-only pool or area on the resort's pages.

The Tamari'i Kids Club is free for children aged 5 to 12 and open every day, 10:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00; under-5s are welcome with a parent or guardian. Kids' menus cover all the restaurants, and Hilton lists cribs, a playground and childcare among the amenities.⁷⁶⁴ For an overwater resort, that is a solid family set-up, and the beach makes it easier still.

09 · Hilton Honors

Points here,
and when they're worth it.

The Conrad is Bora Bora's Hilton Honors resort. Its offers page lists double points on eligible stays, a member advance-purchase discount and a resort credit offer.⁸ Award prices are dynamic and change by date, so look them up signed in to your Hilton Honors account and compare with the cash rate for the same nights before redeeming; on a resort this expensive, a points stay can be good value or poor value depending on the date.

For Marriott Bonvoy, the St. Regis is the equivalent; the Four Seasons has no programme. On cash alone, the Conrad's cheapest overwater pool villa cost less than the cheapest overwater room, pool or not, at either of them on the February 2027 night we checked. The Four Seasons figure includes breakfast and the airport boat; the St. Regis figure, like the Conrad's, excludes tax.⁵¹⁶¹⁷

11 · Who it suits

Who it suits,
who it doesn't.

It suits families: a free daily kids' club with fixed hours, kids' menus everywhere, beaches, and half-price transfers for children aged 7 to 12.⁷¹ It suits couples who want a private pool over the water for less: 188,228 XPF for the Conrad's overwater pool villa against 391,532 XPF for the Four Seasons' cheapest plunge-pool suite on the same February 2027 night. And it suits Hilton Honors members.⁵¹⁶

It doesn't suit anyone who wants the full renovated resort with every restaurant open: Iriatai is closed and works continue in select areas.⁶¹⁰ It doesn't suit travellers counting on easy snorkeling straight from the resort, since no protected area is described. And the per-person transfer adds up: four adults pay 72,000 XPF (approximately US$705) in return boat fares before the first night.¹

For the island's other options, from the Westin to main-island pensions, see where to stay on Bora Bora and Bora Bora's overwater bungalows compared.