Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island Hotel 5 stars

Nice stay, very friendly and helpful staff in a gorgeous place.

We found the staff at the resort very friendly, welcoming, and helpful. The overwater bungalow itself looked in need of a updating, the aircon did not work very well, and we had a couple of cockroaches for company in the room (near the bed!) However, it did have stunning views, which we appreciated. Also we though it lacked thought that the sunbeds were attached to the lower deck, and could not be moved into the shade on the upper level of the deck.

Employees made us feel special. All friendly & accommodating. Some communication problems with the staff, but not a major problem.

We had the best experience ever! Everyone at the resort including the managers made us feel welcomed. We came back with an ahh in our hearts.

We enjoyed our experience with Sofitel! Staff was friendly and very helpful...they took great satisfaction in making sure that we had the perfect vacation. Property was very clean and accommodating! A Very Scenic Location on the Water.

We loved our time at the Private Island. The free airport shuttle and welcome to the resort was great. The overwater bungalow was great, and they also accommodated my room request which was a great bonus surprise. The included breakfast (part of our package) was great. We ate at the restaurant one night because we had a reward meal through our travel agent, and thought it was good but not worth going to again. We did eat the bar food a couple times and would have opted for that again before the restaurant. The snorkeling near the island was amazing and I would say that would be the #1 reason why I would come back again. The only 2 things that slightly dampened our experience was that the restaurant wasn't better, and the free shuttle provided to the main island has a schedule that seems to purposely have a large gap in shuttles around lunch and dinner time (I would assume to try and keep people on the resort to eat). It is almost every hour throughout the day, and then all of a sudden there's a large 3 hour gap right around dinner time when our dinners (as I would expect most people's as well) typically last 1.5-2hrs, forcing us to be on the island longer than needed. When this happened, we had to waste time on vacation in the waiting area awaiting that departure shuttle. If you are going to provide a shuttle, please keep it consistent so people can come and go as they please and not have to waste time on their vacation for something so minute in the grand scheme of things.

Nice resort hotel. Very friendly staff. Only recommendation to include more vegetarian dishes on menu.

The staff were absolutely lovely and very helpful. They honestly made our stay so wonderful and warm that we tended to overlook some of the issues with the property itself. The rooms were well kept, however in both the garden bungalow and overwater bungalow the toilet began to smell within a day of use. It was actually quite a strong smell and persisted despite it being cleaned. It seemed like perhaps the plumbing was just old. Breakfasts were good - however one of the chefs undercooked the Pancakes on the first day and then consistently burnt the pancakes and French toasts on the other days she was there. I didn’t feel up to telling her on the spot as all staff were so lovely, I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I tried to ask for another pancake each day, hoping that it wouldn’t be burnt but I should have just spoken up. The aircon wasn’t so effective in our overwater bungalow (126) - the bathroom area consistently remained warm and as mentioned above, smelly.

In my opinion, Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island resort is the pick of all the resorts on Bora Bora. While the resort is not sparkly new, none of the resorts are any more with the most recently built one only a couple of years younger than Private Islands' last renovation. One thing Private Island has as a definite advantage is it's boutique size, just one third the size of the 'big name' resorts way over on the other side. Being small has several advantages, not just because of the personalised service but also because motorised transport is not required everytime you wish to leave your room to go to the bar or restaurant or pier should you wish to explore the rest of Bora Bora. Location of course is another big plus. The motu backs onto an amazing coral garden you can paddle to yourself without the hassle and expense of buying a tour as you have to from another resort. A quick ferry trip to the mainland Sofitel resort and you have access to free pickups to a lot of restaurants on the island. Also Sofitel allows tour operators to do pick ups from direct from their pier. Be careful. Not all resorts allow all operators to do so, presumably restricting access to their "recommended" providers. Another thing to consider is airport transfers. Sofitel has a reasonable direct access taxi, but if you want to save even more money there are yet still more options (around half price at time of writing). We loved our stay here and wouldnt hesitate to came back.

Loved the staff. Great experience. Food could be improved. Loved it.

The staff at Sofitel Private Island were fantastic. nothing was too much trouble lead by Julien the team did their best to ensure our stay was perfect.

A Sofitel property on Bora Bora, chosen because we haved previously stayed in numerous European Sofitel properties. Sofitel and Polynasia, a luxurious combination to celebrate a 27th wedding anniversary was the dream. The dream, sadly, was not matched by the reality. Sofitel has two properties on Bora Bora, the Sofitel Marara Beach Resort, which is closed for renovation and across the Lagoon, the Private Island Resort. serviced by private boat. The Private island property is at best "tired", in urgent need of renovation and lacking features and facilities associated with a 4/5 star Hotel. The restaurant, welcoming and service staffs were courteous and friendly and were the "highlights" of our visit. The restaurant, which also housed the Reception and Concierge areas, had an unimaginative and overpriced Dinner Menu, without any polynesian dishes, the buffet breakfast was limited at best, we declined to participate in lunch, at the property. The Island and overwater bungalows, although ideally situated, lacked any inside seating area (or seats) and needed to be upgraded, with a functional bathtub/shower and outlets with accesss to a mirror, important for wives !! Outside activities for guest were limited to canoes and snorkeling masks, but no swimming pool was available. The Private Island Resort. although in an idyllic position, is a satellite property of the now closed Sofitel Marara Beach Resort and needs that resorts features, facilities and management discipline to justify the 4 *ranking and it's associated costs. I understand that the Island Resort will be closed for renovation, when the Marara Resort open in 2020; the future renovation is needed now ! Sadly, an unexpected and disappointing experience.

5 star service from start to finish!!! Every staff member ensured I was instantly cared for. The private boat from Sofitel Island to Airport was magical, and beyond convenient. The attention to detail is what I expect and they delivered!!

The location was pure luxury. Our bungalow overlooking the water was so beautiful. The facilities were excellent. All staff were extremely friendly. The perfect accomodation! Thank you so much Sofitel!!

Sofitel Private Island is a fantastic stay and was like a Lost Paradise in this Lagoon with fantastic and helpful staff in this Hotel and on the mainland to use as well. Dream Holiday is the sun to relaxing and unwind.