PF 2023 (6/10) – Bora Bora: The Bungalow

With a vacation at a fancy resort in a tropical paradise, it’s impossible to pinpoint a single best thing. That said, this entire trip originated from the desire to stay in an over-water bungalow. I’m happy to report that it more than beat expectations.

Booking this particular bungalow was a slippery-slope decision making experience. It went something like: since we go all the way to Bora Bora, we should stay over water rather than on land (though to be fair, this was a circular argument for why we chose the destination in the first place); now that we’re picking a bungalow, we might as well get one with the Mt. Otemanu view; oh it turns out that Otemanu-view bungalows are all the super-premium kind that comes with a private pool on the balcony… I guess we’re getting one of those then!

Bora Bora consisted of a ring of islands and coral reefs surrounding the main island named Bora Bora. On the main island was the dramatically elevated Mt. Otemanu. According to over-water bungalow enthusiasts, Bora Bora and the Maldives are both among the most heavenly places in the world, and the main differentiation was the former having a mountain view. Because of Conrad’s orientation on its own island, only 4 rooms had this view and the rest all faced open ocean. And we snatched one of those. It was still modestly priced compared to the resort’s two presidential suites, but for us it was the most perfect bungalow to stay in.

The Room

The living space part of the bungalow already beat most of the luxury hotels we had stayed at. It was roomy and had plenty of space to store stuff. A combination of air conditioning and sea breeze through the multiple windows provided perfect ambient temperature around the clock. Separate beds had been set up for the kids prior to our arrival. Most unique was the TV hidden in the cabinet at the foot of the bed, which raised and could rotate 360 degrees at the command of a separate remote control.

It’s hard to stress enough the wonders of the hidden TV. I mean, sure, the hardware itself was cool. But it was just that much easier to be in the moment and enjoy our surroundings without a TV on the wall blasting noisy nonsense. Yes we did still watch some TV, but it was less frequent and always intentional since it took effort to raise it. I was also happy that it didn’t come with English channels so the kids finally had to watch the Ladybug and Cat Noir in French.

The bathroom itself was almost as large as the living space. Because we went in and out of the pools and the ocean multiple times per day, we spent a lot of time washing up here. The shower was fantastic. The water temperature was neither too hot nor too cold that it felt like we could just stay in it forever.

The gigantic circular bathtub was an astonishing centerpiece, but we didn’t use it beyond hanging wet clothes around its rim

Mojave Ghost toiletries, which sell for $10 per ounce on Amazon. We used gallons of this stuff thanks to the endless showers, and lots of the body lotion due to our major sunburn

Although I had read the specs multiple times on the Hilton website, my jaw still dropped seeing the luxurious room amenities at our disposal. When you think about it, these over-water bungalows are such an absurd human creation. At one of the world’s most resource-scarce locations, someone decided to build these single-room houses on stilts over ecologically sensitive coral reefs. Then they hook up miles of piping to connect water, sewer, power, and Internet to a central location, just so guests can fetch a bucket of ice from the machine in the tropical sun. To top it off, let’s also put a personal-sized concrete swimming pool directly over the ocean just so everyone can choose between salty and chlorinated version of a quick dip.

The Deck

Generally speaking, I find balconies an unnecessary use of space that could have been better served as an integral part of the indoor living area. Close to 100% of my favorite hotels are inside city-center skyscrapers with sealed windows to protect guests from outside elements. That said, Bora Bora was different. The deck was the heart and soul of each over-water bungalow, connecting the living space to the lagoon below.

We grew to love opening that sliding door and stepping barefoot onto the warm wooden platform. We went out for some fresh air; to read a little; to munch on random snacks; or for no reason at all. The sky, the water, and the breeze were infinitely inviting.

Because there was no night life on the island, we went to bed shortly after dark (often before 9pm) and woke up promptly at the crack of dawn. Our room faces the direction of sunrise and gave us some perfect silhouette moments. The following four are each from a different morning during our stay.

I thought a private pool above the ocean water was unnecessary. Well, technically it still was, like a diamond on a watch or a heated steering wheel. I just didn’t realize how much I’d love it until we got there. It was unbelievably luxurious to randomly jump in at any time of the day, or dip the feet, or use it to warm up before getting in the ocean. The kids particularly enjoyed being able to spontaneously swim a few mini laps. When the rest of us snorkeled down below, Ting also preferred to just hangout by herself in the pool.

The kids testing the infinity part of the pool

Ting with one of her five daily dips into the pool

Next to the pool was this netting that looked like a hybrid between a trampoline and a hammock. It initially appeared to be a boring safety feature, but then we realized it was a comfy place where the whole family could hangout. It was firm enough to stand on with stability and soft enough to lie down on comfortably. It looked straight down to the water, with guaranteed fish activity at night if we turned on lights below the deck. It became my favorite spot in the entire bungalow… I ate snacks on it, took short naps on it, and brushed my long hair (an extremely time consuming activity) on it.

The girls trying (and failing) to use it as a trampoline

We may or may not have accidentally dropped leftover bread from breakfast that fish also enjoyed

In Room Dining

Because the resort restaurants were both expensive and not awesome, we preferred to take a more relaxed approach to some of our meals. The room was equipped with a powerful water heater, which was perfect for the instant noodles purchased from the Vaitape grocery store. We also had a few bottle of fancy beverages gifted by the resort, which gave us a balanced ramen-and-Champagne diet.

One night we had such an awesome dinner in the room, and loved it. Then we realized that we didn’t have to limit ourselves to the room… and this happened the next night: