LANGUAGE: The staff at the check-in counter speak little to no English. The main language is French and Tahitian. You need to learn many common words, like "water". ACTIVITIES: We signed up for the main event "Romantic Dinner and Dancers" involving sunset with champagne, fancy dinner, and native dancers. We arrived in proper outdoor clothing and were told the activity had been cancelled because not enough people signed up. We were never told before. They offered us the dinner and nothing else then charged us $250. MAINTENANCE. The TV had an English news station but we could not find it. A so-called maintenance person came and spoke NO English. He did not have a clue how to find the new station. The remote worked fine, but he acted as if the remote was given new batteries then the remote would find the news station. Go figure. He then ran out the room with the original batteries and NEVER came back for 2 days. He left the TV very loud in French. I could not unplug the TV. Finally, I found some replacement batteries and was able to turn off the TV. ROOM: If you like lizards crawling all over the walls and getting into your stuff, you will really like the room.

Sofitel Hotel Bora Bora We stayed at the “Luxury” Sofitel Hotel in Bora Bora end of Jan 2017 for a week. Our biggest problem is that we had convinced ourselves that this was to be the highlight of our “Round the world” trip from the cold and wet UK winter but unfortunately it fell well short. The hotel is struggling to achieve mediocracy. On arrival, we were greeted by a very nice young lady and I gave her my Accor group membership card and she scarcely knew of its existence and was very much out of her depth dealing with customers (There was two couples and all four of us were retired). We had to fill in and sign numerous forms but: 1. All my detail is held by Accor, and by the Accor Platinum card and the Accor website including payment detail as this is the way I make an Accor group hotel booking. 2. I had left the Sofitel Moorea only 4 hours earlier and they had the details but they weren’t shared even when Moorea knew I was going to Bora Bora 3. Now I am filling in all this detail yet again Accor / Sofitel why not use the information you have on me and use it electronically. If you fill in the forms, I don’t mind providing a local signature. Sofitel, Novatel in Wan Chai Hong Kong and Mercure Auckland did it, along with most of the Accor hotels we use in France, so Sofitel, why not you? Prior to our arrival in Bora Bora and whilst in Moorea I emailed the Sofitel Bora Bora asking how I got to the hotel from the airport. I am still waiting for their reply so I tried the help desk at Accor central and I am still waiting for their reply as well. We had booked an overwater bungalow room and were eventually escorted to the room but we were completely underwhelmed with its furnishing, one metal framed chair which was too low to use with a laptop at the table without using towels as a cushion. We were equally underwhelmed with the number of stakes hammered into the decking to hold the privacy screens up and as for the rotten wood H’mmmm. I went for a swim and broke a decking plank by putting my heel through it. The walk from our Bungalow was interesting where you had to dodge the broken and some rotten planks and wearing flip flops was a positive trip hazard. Yes, I know the tropics are particularly hard on wood but in my opinion, the hotel needs a massive refurbishment to return the hotel to what it says it is on the Website because right know, in my opinion it is a mile away it is not what the web site shows. Staff were helpful and they were particular

This hotel is located in a very nice place in a wonderfull beach. The rooms are big and confortable, the bathroom is of a good size, the restaurant is good and the breakfast is very good. The bridges and balconys need better maintainance.

The Sofitel Bora Bora Manara is definately not a luxury hotel but they charge a luxury price. The property is old and dated and in need of serious renovation and updates. Plus, the property is dirty and the hotel staff fails to properly clean the rooms and common areas. We will never stay there again. Yuck!

Arriving to the hotel, everything seemed perfect. The staff was lovely and the facade of hotel seemed beautiful. Quite honestly it's hard for anything to not look beautiful with such a gorgeous landscape. Service from maintenance, reception, housekeeping, these folks were gracious and kind. The daily wait staff at the restaurant and bar was hit or miss. I always felt that they would put a smile on their face when servicing us but speak badly behind our backs. You could feel the resentment of us being guest there. Food: Just know everything is expensive on Bora Bora and even more so at the hotel. I knew this going into it but what I didn't know was that the food was all subpar and the alcoholic drinks that cost around $20-25 per drink had no alcohol in it. Our large group all had the same sentiment, "We didn't have one bad meal on Bora Bora, unless you ate at the hotel." If you order the ceasar salad or the garden salad there is no difference except the ceasar had onions. Food was disappointing. Save your $$ and eat in town, Bloody Marys, St. James, Lucky House, the Burger Shack at Matira. All of these places didn't disappoint. The Good: Housekeeping and land maintenance employees were wonderful, they were attentive and so lovely. I wish the rest of the staff were more like them. The older lady that manages activities is very pushy and is always trying to upsell. If you didn't buy into what she was selling she would move on and not give you the time of day. The rental shack where you can get your snorkeling gear was really cool and the guy running it was really helpful, as were the guys that ran the dock. Reception lady was really nice on helping calling us a new taxi. I did have to go to her and ask why I didn't get the welcome gifts that the other guest in our party got. In my party we rented 6 rooms, some were garden villas and mine was a beach one and yet everyone got a nice champagne bottle with a sarong or a pearl while I didn't get anything. I did pay more than many of the other guest in our party so I asked why didn't I get one. The reception lady put in an order for the next day for me to get one, but honestly having to ask took away the magic and left a bit of disappointment. All in all the location is lovely, the grounds are beautiful, I liked my room, but the food and drinks monies should be spent elsewhere.

We enjoyed our stay in Bora Bora. 6 nights was a little too long. That's not a reflection on Sofitel; there's just not a lot to do in Bora Bora! The white sand beach is clean , the water warm and the setting ideal for relaxation. Equipment for water activities such as kayaks, snorkelling equipment, outrigger canoes, beach towels etc. is all free to use [unlike Sofitel Moorea where you pay for everything !] . More flexibility in short trips just for snorkelling, without having to include other 'attractions' would be a benefit. The meals were all of very good quality, fresh and tasty; with a good variety to choose from. If you are watching the francs eat in the bar area - cheaper and usually larger portions ! All the staff were consistently friendly and helpful. The rooms are spacious and fitted with fans as well as air-con.

The location is exquisite and compensates for most of the critisisms. But the property is a little tired round the edges and in need of some maintenance. Service, particularly at breakfast time is lithargic. Bar service also left something to be desired. That said, we had a wonderful time in paradise. Contrary to Lonely Planet's 2012 information, a charge of $70 is imposed for visits to the "private island."

Beach bungalows are fine, avoid hotel airport shuttle for 80 usd, air tahiti has its own ferry and a taxi to sofitel marara costs 25. private island is great, especially snorkeling there, but it costs 70 instead of 10, like advertised on the dock and in the internet. Do not go to hotel evening entertainment: especially the invitation for a free cocktail at the bar from the director is ridiculous, they do a fashion show and want to sell you somethingWe did not like the service, as after check in we waited for 30 min for a welcome drink but did not get any and this hotel does not care about status members of Le Accor. We are platin, did not receive anything ( no upgrade, even we ask for as it was our honeymoon and hotel was almost empty). Furthermore, staff downgraded us and insisted that we are gold status even we were already platinum. Restaurant menu choice is also quiet limited.Our beach bungalow was nice and clean, however two days we did not get the body lotion filled up.

Just an awesome trip , the resort was the perfect size and location . great over the water bungalow ,friendly service from start to finish !!!! The location and area were exactly what we were looking for!!!

I have stayed at many Sofitel hotels and I found this one disappointing. Firstly I arranged for a boat transfer with the hotel from the airport and had to wait one hour for the boat. I found the resort understaffed . I was also disappointed with the breakfasts. It always looked as if I was the last person to have breakfast no matter what time I went. Housekeeping should have spent more time in making up the rooms. There was always something that had been forgotten to be replaced. All these factors are very unusual for a Sofitel hotel.

the resort itself was lovely, could not sleep due to very loud airconditioner, and bar fridge always turning on and off, and its behind your head. the location is stunning but should of done the island instead. felt out of place amongst the honeymooners(thought we were intruding) not much service compared to the honeymooners. next time we will only stay in moorea which was stunning...

We were not sure what to expect after reading a lot of the reviews leading up to our stay in April. We were met at the airport and had a wonderful boat ride to Marara Beach Resort. The welcome at the hotel was great and we were shown to our room after about half an hour. The staff were really friendly and welcoming and this didn't change for the whole stay of seven days. There was one exception. We ran into the activities lady Anita the next day and she does get a little snooty if you aren't interested in buying something like the Romantic dinner. Having said this the staff at the hotel from the boat people to the cleaners are just amazing. Smiles all the time and will do anything possible to ensure you have a great stay. We dined at the hotel most of the time as we loved the outdoor dining area especially at night. Breakfast was pretty good with plenty of choice. Dinner was good but not great. Not a lot of choice and sometimes the meals were not cooked as requested. eg Medium to well done steak was pretty red. We had one night out at Bloody Mary's which we really enjoyed. Like some of the other reviews say the rooms are getting tired and in need of a refurbishment but this also applies to a lot of hotels we have stayed at, We felt this was a minor issue as the location of the hotel and the surrounding lagoon are breathtaking. It is a great place to sit back and relax amid one of the most beautiful places in the world. Would definitely come back again.

The reasons for my visit were not ideal, but everything I encountered made me feel that a return trip is in my future. Family is great, but... come on. The hotel location, it's grounds and my room were idyllic. The staff were all friendly, warm and welcoming. The hotel can make arrangements for every available activity, but my family used the contacts of local friends for such things. The sights, though not directly attributed to the hotel were spectacular. When a friend of mine asked me to describe Bora Bora, my response was simply: Ridiculously beautiful.