The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa review: new resort with the best views in town

If you read my blog, you know that Bora Bora is one of my favorite places on the planet — I’ve now been four times, so consider myself to be a seasoned Bora Bora traveler.

So when I learned that Westin was opening a new Bora Bora property, I knew that I had to visit and I was finally able to check out The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa just over a week ago.

The basics

The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa opened in September 2024 in a location that was previously occupied by Le Méridien Bora Bora. This history is important, as Le Méridien was the first resort built on Bora Bora across the lagoon from the main island (and got the first pick of where to be located) — meaning that the property has the best view of Mount Otemanu of any resort in Bora Bora.

In terms of the size of the resort, The Westin Bora Bora has the most overwater bungalows of any resort on Bora Bora, with 142 rooms total (128 of which are overwater bungalows). For reference, The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort has 90 total villas and the Conrad Bora Bora Nui has 114 rooms.

My overwater villa

Probably the highlight of my trip was my amazing overwater villa. Although I was initially booked in a base overwater villa, as a Marriott Gold member I was upgraded to an Otemanu Overwater Villa with Plunge Pool (I was in room 326).

Waking up to this view every morning really made my stay extra special and I’m convinced this villa has one of the best (if not the best) views of Mount Otemanu on the island.

The villa includes a large glass-paneled floor so you can look directly down into the ocean from inside the villa, which I always love to see in an overwater bungalow.

The bathroom was large and spacious, with a large bathtub and a shower that had plenty of hot water and great water pressure. Interestingly, the hotel uses Noanoa products in the bathroom instead of Heavenly-brand products which you typically find at Westin hotels and resorts. Although I’m a big fan of Heavenly products in general (I even have Heavenly hand wash and body lotion at home), I also liked the Noanoa products.

Some other things that I loved about the room: the bed was quite comfortable, I had no issues with air conditioning, there was a bluetooth speaker system that was easy to use and it worked inside the villa and in the private pool area, and the in-room coffee machine made some really delicious coffee.

The Heavenly Spa at The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa

When I visited the concierge, I saw a sign that the spa was offering a “February special” — 16,000 XPF (approximately $138 USD) for 75 minutes of massage treatments, featuring your choice of:

• 60 minutes of either a Tibetan Singing Bowl or a Polynesian Taurumi massage
• 15 minutes of either a scalp massage or foot reflexology

I jumped on the deal as $138 for 75 minutes of massage treatments is an incredible deal in general, but especially on Bora Bora. I decided to go with the Polynesian Taurumi massage paired with the foot reflexology.

When it was time for me to check in for my massage, I was greeted with a warm scented towel and choice of either an apple cinnamon iced team or hibiscus flower drink (I went with the hibiscus flower, which was delicious and refreshing).

After finishing my drink, I was presented with a choice of four different oils to choose between for my massage. After smelling each one and hearing about the benefits, I decided to go with the vanilla scent (note that the spa charges extra for the Noni Passion and the Infused Honey oils).

After picking my oil, I was given a tour of the spa facilities, including a serene pool that’s exclusively for the use of spa guests that overlooks a private island.

The spa facilities were sparkling new and I really enjoyed my massage. I’m also really glad that I picked the Polynesian Taurumi massage, which uses traditional Polynesian techniques and is inspired by the ocean (it’s hard to describe how they do it, but it felt amazing!).

Overall, I felt the spa was one of my favorite experiences at the hotel and is worth booking if you’re staying at The Westin Bora Bora.

Eco Center Bora Bora

Something unique at The Westin Bora Bora is that it’s home to the Eco Center Bora Bora, a sea turtle education and rehabilitation facility.

If you love turtles, it’s absolutely worth visiting the Eco Center and learning more about the turtles throughout French Polynesia, the problems they are facing, and how the Eco Center is helping.

After spending about 20 minutes learning about the Eco Center’s efforts, you get to go see the turtles being fed, and I even got to watch a turtle being put back into the Eco Center’s private lagoon where the turtles are slowly being reintroduced into the ocean (with the hope of being released into the open ocean eventually).

The pool and beach areas

The Westin Bora Bora has a gorgeous infinity pool (the largest pool in French Polynesia!) that overlooks the ocean and Mount Otemanu. Notably, the pool is filled with salt water and uses no chemicals. At the pool, there are a handful of first-come, first-serve bungalows and I definitely recommend grabbing one of these if you can.

The pool also features a swim-up bar and complementary sunscreen and aloe to use.

Across from the pool is the main beach, which features ample seating, motorized and non-motorized water sports, and a beach bar called Honu Tiki that has swings with a great view of Mount Otemanu.

While the beach is gorgeous and water is crystal-clear blue and warm, the only downside is that there isn’t much coral and so you won’t see many fish. That said, the same is true for almost every beach on this side of Bora Bora, so I wasn’t surprised by the lack of fish and decided not to get snorkel equipment for my stay.

Food

The hotel has three main restaurants, as well as in-room dining and food at the beach and pool bars. The three main restaurants at The Westin Bora Bora are:

• Tipaner (French cuisine and breakfast buffet)
• Maere (multiple cuisines)
• Varavava (international cuisines)

While I am far from a foody, overall I really enjoyed the food at The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa, particularly the breakfast buffet at Tipanier restaurant. Also, where The Westin Bora Bora really shined was with its desserts — the XL dark chocolate and passion fruit cookie at Varavava, pictured below, is probably the best dessert I’ve had in French Polynesia so far.

Another highlight for me as the cheeseburger at Varvara, which you can also order through in-room dining (yes, it was so nice that I had it twice).

Other things to keep in mind about The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa

Here are some other things to keep in mind about The Westin Bora Bora Resort:

• Bikes. At The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa, bikes are available on a first-come, first-serve basis rather than having assigned bikes for each villa. I was only able to find a bike to ride about half of the time I needed one, and my hope is that the resort gets more bikes for guests to use. That said, the resort was always quick to come pick me up if I couldn’t find a bike and needed a ride.
• Not all rooms are open yet. Since the resort only opened a few months ago, not all rooms are open yet (including the beach villas, which are currently being used as “in-transit rooms” that you can use if you get to the property before your room is available).
• Check-in needs improvement. The check-in process took over 40 minutes and even though there was a desk for Marriott elite members, it wasn’t utilized that way (instead, the receptionist would just pull people in a random order for check-in).
• The property is family friendly. While I don’t believe there are any adults-only properties on Bora Bora, The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa is definitely more family friendly than other properties I’ve stayed at. This is great news if you’re looking for a family-friendly trip, but it’s also something to keep in mind if you’re looking more for a kid-free atmosphere.

Bottom line

Overall, I absolutely loved my stay at The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa. Highlights for me included the view of Mount Otemanu throughout the property, the spa, the buffet breakfast, my overwater villa (including private plunge pool), and the desserts.