Bora Bora: Which Starwood Property to Choose?

I don’t like to make such major life decisions as that, so we decided not to choose, and instead, spend three nights at the Le Meridien and then spend our final three nights at the St. Regis. The table below represents my “objective” comparison between the two properties in hopes that our vacation investment can help future honeymooning/vacationing Starwood slaves make an informed decision and have the trip of a lifetime!

Category	St. Regis	Le Meridien
Price we paid/night (before tax)	$975 (May 2014)	$675 (May 2014)
Room Type	Premier Overwater Villa (Room Details)	Premium Overwater Villa (Room Details)
SPG Treatment (Gold Status)	Upgraded from deluxe to premier suite. The Premium villa is close to double the size of the deluxe and has views of the mountain. Free internet.	Assigned the villa at the end of the deck with unobstructed views of the mountain. The end villas were all labeled as SPG rooms. Daily complimentary water and free internet.
Villa Design	Modern decor, very large square footage	Classic Polynesian design, small square footage but very efficient use of space
Glass Floor Panels	Medium sized rectangular panel in living room and small square panel in bathroom	Two large rectangular panels in living area
Bed	Large, comfortable, no mosquito net	Two beds pushed together but masked by bedding, optional mosquito curtain
Deck	Very large, covered gazebo with table and chairs, two lounges and jacuzzi pool. Railing was easy to see through.	Space for two lounge chairs. Railing has netting that is difficult to take pictures through.
Water Entry	Large platform, easy to dive from. Water deep enough to dive with no worries. Ladder was cleaned of algae.	Spiral staircase to small platform. Not as easy to jump off of. Ladder into the water was slippery from being covered with algae. Water is deep enough to dive/jump.
Coffee/tea	In-room espresso maker and electric kettle with tea	Electric kettle and complimentary tea and instant coffee
In-room entertainment	DVD Player (very limited selection of complimentary DVD rentals at front desk); surround sound music; TV had 4 English channels in addition to the Starwood Network (CNN,ESPN, Cartoon Network and a channel that played the movie “Couples Retreat” over and over again)	TV with no DVD. One English channel other than the Starwood Network – CNN
Turn down service	Tin of cookies and two 33cl bottles of Evian water.	No treats, two bottles of 50 cl local spring water (if SPG).
Welcome gift	Chilled bottle of champagne, french pastries, coconut truffles, canvas beach bag	Chilled bottle of Tahitian Rose wine, coconut macaroons, sarong and male t-shirt.
Breakfast	Buffet: 5,000 ($57 USD) – amazing selection of food. You can easily make a hearty sandwich for lunch as well and the staff are happy to box up the final plate of food for you. They even have a Bloody Mary bar included with Absolute vodka. A la carte: Makes sense if you only want a little food e.g. fruit plate ($10 USD); scrambled eggs ($20).	Buffet is the only option: 4,400 ($50 USD) – wide variety of food; fruits, cheese, bread, eggs, salad, etc. No a la carte option – recommend bringing instant oatmeal packets and preparing in the room with the electric kettle if you aren’t hungry enough to make the buffet “worthwhile”. Supposedly you can order room service at breakfast but we struggled to find any staff members that had access to the menu.
Restaurants	Main Hotel restaurant – also where breakfast is served has basic international fare (salads, sandwiches, meat entrees, pizzas). Expensive but huge servings – highly recommend splitting items. Pool bar – serves a subset of the same food from the main restaurant but in a more casual environment. Japanese restaurant – need a reservation. Very expensive. The Lagoon – a Jean Georges restaurant – need a reservation. Very expensive. Small portions (can’t get by with splitting here).	Main hotel restaurant – every other night they have a buffet for $90/person. Other nights the food is a la carte. Food is expensive but the serving sizes are large and can easily be split for two people. Italian restaurant – Always a la carte. Food is expensive (same price as main restaurant) but the serving sizes are large and can easily be split for two people.
Mid-meal snacks	Hotel shop sells a variety of beverages and snacks. The pool bar is also open all day.	Literally no snack option outside of the restaurants or room service. The hotel shop sells juice, water and ice cream bars, but no other edible items.
Drinks*	Fruity Cocktails are $25, beer is $10 and wine starts at $15	Fruity Cocktails are $20, beer is $10 and they offer a house (white/rose or red) wine for only $7! Important to add that the “house” wine was French and not Tahitian – you’ll understand the importance of this distinction once you have the opportunity to experience Tahitian wine….
Boat transfer to town	Every hour or half hour depending on time of day and complimentary	Every hour or half hour depending on time of day; $28 USD round trip per person
Resort Activities	Beach sport equipment (paddle board, kayak, snorkel, paddle boat, jet ski (for charge)) Large pool with swim up bar and “oasis” couples only pool – has individual cabana and plunge pools – first come first serve “lagoon” – man-made protected waterway filled with fish and ideal for snorkeling in a safe environment. Full-service spa with whirlpool, sauna and steam room Tennis courts Shark feeding every other day	Beach sport equipment (paddle board, kayak, snorkel, jet ski (for charge)) Two small infinity pools – one filled with ocean water and the other chlorinated “lagoon” – man-made protected waterway filled with fish and ideal for snorkeling in a safe environment Spa treatments but no spa facilities beyond the treatment rooms Sea turtle sanctuary with daily feedings

The bottom line is that yes, you do get more in terms of amenities from the St. Regis, but you also pay more! The Le Meridien has much more local charm when it comes to the architecture of the villas and is also a great option. The purpose of this comparison table is to help you make your accommodation decision based on what you care about and what you hope to get from your vacation in paradise.Thank you for reading!