My Husband and I just returned from a 10-day honeymoon in French Polynesia (April 19th - 29th). We spent 5 nights in Moorea, stayed at the Moorea Pearl Resort and Spa in a Garden Bungalow and the other 5 nights in Bora Bora at the Starwood resort Bora Bora Nui in a Over Water Bungalow (OWB). We enjoyed both islands, we liked Bora Bora better (definitely recommend doing Moorea first then Bora Bora, so it's not overshadowed) but both islands had their own character. We also liked our resort better in Bora Bora, which makes a difference. The waters were crystal clear blue in Bora Bora. In Moorea, the water is clear but not as blue. If you want to save money but want to do OWB, do it at Bora Bora instead of Moorea.

ROOM REVIEW:
At the Nui, we stayed in OWB 109 (Horizon), it was at the very end of the dock of OWBs. We got upgraded when we arrived and were ecstatic. We're also Starwood Members, don't know how much if that factored into the upgrade or not. They are in the process of refinishing their rooms and our room was just done. When we walked in it smelled like new construction (resort was built in 2003). Our room included a 42" flat screen Plasma. Recommend booking a "regular" OWB (instead of horizon) to save money, the way the resort is designed, majority of the bungalows have great views, I think only like 10 bungalows out of 82 are not horizon. We got extremely lucky to get the one at the very end of the dock. Also note, we went during the non busy season (Jan - Apr) and loved how calm things were, I imagine things will feel different once the busy season starts (End of May - September).

We were both blown away with our room. I had looked at some pictures in advance but my husband had no idea, so he was ecstatic and exclaimed this was the best room he has stayed in. Although I know that St Regis has bigger OWB (but ours was plenty big!). The bathroom was huge, immaculate, and impressive, it has a duel Rain Shower or regular shower head, water pressure was amazing, like getting a massage every-time your used the shower head. His and her sinks and gigantic tub for the bath lovers out there. Patio was awesome, spent lots of time out there reading, relaxing, snorkeling. We had a room service lunch and dinner out on the patio and loved it. And I normally don't do room service, we just didn't want to leave our room, it was so nice.

SNORKELING at the Resort:
The highlight of our room was the snorkeling for me! We were in slightly deeper waters (15 ft - but don't worry you can see the bottom perfectly!) with coral patches below and around the pillars of the bungalow, which meant more diversity in sea life. I also ventured off and snorkeled around the resort closer in around other OWBs and liked our area the best. I saw tons of fish, they are used to you giving them bread, so they just flock to you when you enter the water expecting to be fed. I saw two small rays, an eel hiding in the coral, and a barracuda! I asked our girl showing us around when we first arrived if there was any concern about snorkeling at any time of day, etc, and she said no. I found out later (day before we left) when I asked about the barracuda from the hotel staff to NOT snorkel at night (especially by 108 and 109, because of the barracuda and sharks that come in) I was snorkeling around 4pm when I saw the barracuda, it was 3.5 feet long! I unfortunately didn't get a photo, it was the one time I went in and decided to not bring my camera! So just be on the look out for him when you snorkel, he looked fierce (nice set of teeth), but I felt no danger and I kept my distance because he was so big. But don't let this deter you from snorkeling, it was too cool to be missed, never know what you'll see!

SERVICE:
From the moment we arrived we felt special, which is what every couple wants on their honeymoon. The boat ride in from the airport was luxurious and nice. We also felt like VIP since we were the only ones from our flight going to the Nui. We always got prompt responses from the majority of the staff if we needed anything. The activities desk confirmed all of our reservations right away, it was easy and stress free. Majority of the front desk staff, concierge, restaurant hosts all spook and understood English decently well and could understand us, which was nice. There was, however, a language barrier that people have to keep in mind when they go. We found many of the Tahitian locals were very friendly but many of them only understood some English. Sometimes we'd ask for something either from a waiter or the maid staff and they would nod like they understood ... but then nothing would happen. We eventually just accepted that if we needed something out of the ordinary (other than more coffee or towels), we needed to flag down the English speaking host/staff to get it. I think many tourists found the Tahitian response of always saying "Yes" but not fully understanding what you need as rude or "bad service" when there was no follow through. We just realized there was a cultural and language difference that you had to deal with and worked around it.

FOOD/RESTAURANT:
Breakfast buffet: Fresh chocolate croissants, bread, fruit. They make eggs or omelets for you fresh. I loved the sausage, so tasty. Gotta go with the meal plan because it is expensive. My husband loved the waffles, hint of cinnamon, powder sugar, slightly crispy on the outside, yum! And they just remodeled the breakfast buffet setup for the upcoming busy season. They actually closed down the Tamure Grill (outdoor beach poolside dining) while we were there to remodel the breakfast setup. So we actually had majority of our breakfasts at the Iriatai but they offered the same menu and pricing. However, we did get to experience the new remodel before we left. They've added a special glass area to the restaurant that protects the buffet from birds and bugs. They now blow fresh air and mist inside to keep all the food fresh, quite impressive. Makes it more convenient and pleasant for guests

Room Service was prompt and excellent, they set up and took care of everything for us. No complaints.

Dinner: We had dinner two nights at the resort at Iratai, otherwise we went elsewhere. Admittedly we were disappointed with what we got for the prices we were paying (~$30/plate). My husband complained the 2nd time in the questionnaire you fill out that comes with your bill, I liked my dish, but he thought his dish was bland. The chef personally called us the next day and insisted he make it up to us. Since we already had dinner reservations, he offered to give us free lunch instead. We got a nice 3 course gourmet lunch with desert. He made up for it, we loved the lunch, the food was great.

RESORT FACILITIES/SPA
The resort was the definition of paradise. Beautiful clear, blue waters, green luscious trees on the island, white sand beach, and infinity pool. Everything was immaculate. People that don't like to walk might feel the resort is too large, but we loved it. We also got occasional rides from the free golf cart taxis. There were two pool tables, a backgammon table, you could rent DVDs from the front desk to watch in your room after dinner, and they offered kayaks for you to take out, snorkel gear, and hobie cats (island boy included) at the pool for free.

We did a Time for Two massage and we liked it. It was ridiculously expensive, would not do it again. We weren't wow'd or anything but it was nice. The views from the spa were breath taking since it was up the hill. A note, the day we left, it rained all morning and into the afternoon, the spa offered 15% off massages because of the rain. They called us to let us know.

BOTTOMLINE:
We absolutely adored our stay at the Nui and would definitely recommend this hotel to friends and family and would stay here again if we returned to Bora Bora.

Absolutely stunning rooms, cleaned very well, try for room 106 for best view of mountain. Pretty good internet, exceptional for the area. We did have some problems with breakfast which was incredibly average and not worthy of the resort. If you like your eggs crispy and your bacon rare, you're in heaven. Also my girls cam, and camera disappeared at the resort. Had a couple very nice shark dives, but if I were going to Poly for diving Rangiroa is a far better choice. Bora-Bora in general is grossly over rated. Would not return.

The Bora Bora Nui is a beautiful and luxurious resort. It's all you would want and expect from a luxury resort. The staff is helpful and really super nice. The rooms are spacious no matter what type of room you get. The amenities within the rooms are also amazing. Bora Bora itself is a fantastic experience. There are so many things to do and things to see.

The food at the Nui was amazing at the small "grill" by the pool. The fancier restaurant for dinner wasn't as good and was really overpriced. I had a huge bowl of pasta with bolognese sauce at the bar/grill and was really happy with it. I ordered it again another day, but there were many things to choose from. The rooms were clean and very comfortable. The bathrooms were huge and also very very clean. The housekeeping service leaves you a bottle of water by your bed every night too. They bring you a plate of cookies in the afternoon every day also. We just had such an amazing time that we barely left to go to the main island, Vaitape. We went to Bloody Mary's one night to get the experience and we did a little shopping too, but there is really no reason to leave the resort except to do some water activities, like the lagoon tour and jet skiing. The pool was also great - very large and clean. They also have a business center with free internet access.

The Nui was a great experience. I highly recommend it.

I spent many hours on Tripadvisor.com. I was struggling with which resort to choose from. Either the Bora Bora Nui or the Intercontinental Thalasso. We chose the Nui. Upon our arrival in Bora Bora we were greeted by a friendly representative of the resort. However, we had to wait in the airport for 11/2 for the next flight for another couple. The Nui representative asked us if we wanted beer as we waited and we happily obliged. We finally arrived at the resort. The general manager greeted us and apologized for us having to wait. That night we had a very romantic bath waiting for us when we came back from dinner and a personalized note from the General Manager. We were very impressed. We stayed in an OWB and I would highly recommend doing it in Bora Bora than in Moorea. Our OWB was great. The coral underneath our OWB was unbelievable!!! We saw all types of fish!! We had a meal plan which was good because it was cheaper but we did get tired of the everyday breakfast buffet and the fancy dinners we are not accustomed to. The only complaint we had about the resort was the wait staff. They would never return after they sat you to see if you needed anything else and they were a bit rude when we did ask for assistance. Overall the Nui was romantic and convenient to get to Vatiape the main city on Bora Bora. The Nui had frequent boat taxis. The spa I would highly recommend, very expensive but why not it was our honeymoon. I think however, next time we travel to Bora Bora we are going to try the IC Thallaso.