Last updated August 2021
The InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa is a stunning resort located on the Pacific island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. Bora Bora is a true island paradise and easily one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
The InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa has been thoroughly reviewed many times, but the highest room category at the resort—the Villa Teremoana (formerly called the Brando Suite)—has been written about much less. We have therefore chosen to focus this review on our experience in the Villa Teremoana and not as much on the hotel as a whole. To be honest, it was in the villa that we spent almost all of our time during our stay at the InterContinental Thalasso.
After a warm welcome, we soon found ourselves sitting in a golf car that was taking us to the nicest “room” in the whole resort. We could feel our excitement building during the short drive. Our expectations were so high that we were almost bracing ourselves for disappointment. Fortunately, it turned out that our doubts were unfounded.
Our jaws almost fell to the floor as we entered our villa. The front entrance opened up to a very spacious living room with an extraordinary high ceiling. Still, it wasn’t the room itself that made us catch our breath. It was the views, which were nothing short of spectacular.
After a few moments of amazement, we glanced around the room. The bar was the first thing that caught our attention. We had never had our own bar in a hotel room before, and we also discovered it was even possible to book a bartender to come to the villa.
Furthermore, the living room had two spacious sofas strategically placed in front of an enormous TV, and a dining table which could seat up to six people.
The room also had a small kitchen area with a minibar and coffee station. The contents of the minibar were free and replenished daily.
The coffee station had a Nespresso machine and kettle, as well as tea and coffee in abundant quantities. The only thing we felt was lacking was fresh milk instead of cream powder for the coffee. The coffee station was not refilled during our two-night stay, which we assume was a small oversight. In any case, it wasn’t a big inconvenience as it was so well stocked that we didn’t run out of anything.
On the dining table, the hotel had placed a welcome gift consisting of a bottle of champagne and some canapés. There was also plenty of bottled water of various types.
The bedroom was by no means less impressive than the living room. From the oversized and extremely comfortable king-sized bed, we were able to enjoy the same view as from the rest of the villa. There was also a TV hidden in the cabinet in front of the bed. However, we never turned it on as we preferred to admire the beautiful surroundings.
The bathroom had an open design into the bedroom, but it could be screened off with curtains. The double washbasins were, like the rest of the villa, decorated with tropical flowers.
The separate shower room had a large rainforest shower with excellent water pressure, and soft bathrobes were awaiting us. A small detail that drew the overall impression down somewhat was the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and shower soap. While we think it’s great that the hotel is mindful of the environment and has eliminated the use of miniature bottles, we still felt that the large, wall-mounted containers did not quite match the elegant interior of the rest of the room. We also missed the old citrus-scented bath products that the InterContinental chain used to provide. The new products were OK but felt far less luxurious.
Like the shower, the toilet with built-in bidet had its own cubicle. On the wall was a panel that controlled the various toilet functions.
The focal point in the room was the giant boat-shaped bathtub. Here, you could enjoy a relaxing bath while marveling at the tropical fishes swimming in the water outside the window.
The Villa Teremoana was equipped with every imaginable comfort. Despite this, it was outside that we spent most of our time. From the 87 sqm terrace, we had what must have been the best views in Bora Bora. Right in front of us was the majestic Mount Otamanu behind a sparkling blue-green lagoon.
A ladder led straight down into the crystal-clear waters, and we alternated between swimming in the ocean and taking baths in the huge private pool.
Between the bathing and relaxation, we ordered room service which we of course also enjoyed on the terrace. The food was tasty, but not particularly memorable. The views, on the other hand, will not be soon forgotten!
READ MORE: Review of Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort Spa
Summary
When viewing photos from Bora Bora, it is easy to think that they must be photoshopped. In reality it is just as beautiful, if not even more beautiful, as what you see online and on social media. We had to pinch our arms to make sure we weren’t dreaming while looking out from our terrace.
It is difficult to put into words how much we enjoyed staying in the Villa Teremoana at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa. The villa is spectacular, and we wished we could stop time and stay there forever. The stay was as close to perfect as possible and it was hard to find anything to criticize.
Practical information about the Villa Teremoana:
The InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa has a total of four villas in the same category as ours, each located at the very end of the pontoons. We stayed in villa number 1001. From what we could see, our villa had one of the best views as it faced directly towards Mount Otamanu.
The four villas can be booked with either one or two bedrooms. We went for the one-bedroom option, and since we were only two people, we had more than enough room. If you rent the whole villa, you have access to an extra bedroom and bathroom as well as a mezzanine with two beds. In total, the entire villa can accommodate eight guests. By renting it as a one-bedroom villa, the other rooms are locked off.
Since the villas are located at the end of the pontoons, quite a few boats were passing by. This was of no disturbance when we were inside, as the villa was excellently soundproofed. Some of the passengers on the boats were quite interested in the grand villas, and they waved and took pictures as they sailed by. This didn’t bother us very much, as they kept a respectful distance. We were, however, slightly bothered by the noise from the jet skis blaring in the lagoon.
The Villa Teremoana is a high-tech villa with switches that control everything from the sound systems to the curtains. The villa actually has so many different buttons that it comes with its own instruction manual! Most of it was intuitive and easy to operate, but we couldn’t connect the audio system to our iPhones. As we did not make the hotel aware of this until we checked out, we do not know if this was a fault on our part or theirs. The internet was lightning fast and allowed for both surfing and streaming.
The living room and bedroom had separate air conditioning which was very convenient since we had the patio doors open almost all day. When the patio doors were open, the air conditioner in the living room automatically switch off, while the bedroom and the bathroom still stayed comfortably cool. The air conditioning worked very well and was incredibly quiet.
One small charming detail was that the Villa Teremoana had its own doorbell, which had a lovely “royal” sound that made us smile every time the doorbell rang.
When you stay in the Villa Teremoana you get a number of benefits, including (excerpt from InterContinental’s website):
- A special welcome to the resort with a lei of fragrant flowers
- Daily amenities delivered to the Suite
- A daily complimentary minibar refill (water, fruit juice, soda, and beer)
- Waived room service fees for in-villa breakfast for all reservations
- A one-day access to the Deep Ocean Spa facilities for each guest
- Complimentary transfers between the Thalasso resort and its sister property Le Moana resort
- A special farewell gift at time of departure (our gift was Bora Bora sea salt)
Link to InterContinental Bora Bora Resort Thalasso Spa
