Intercontinental Le Moana Resort Bora Bora, An Ihg Hotel

“Great experience”

The resort and room are very beautiful . Very nice plants everywhere. The view is magnificent! Staff are friendly and helpful. Good snorkling right below the bunglow. We can feed the fish by opening the glasstop of coffee table . We saw shark , stingray and many other coloful fish swim by when we a… lisää

The resort and room are very beautiful . Very nice plants everywhere. The view is magnificent! Staff are friendly and helpful. Good snorkling right below the bunglow. We can feed the fish by opening the glasstop of coffee table . We saw shark , stingray and many other coloful fish swim by when we ate snacks around the coffee table, Kayak and paddle board are all free to use. We visited in August.

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“Wonderful resort, great location”

We went for our honeymoon and this was an absolutely breath taking resort. The staff were super friendly and accommodating. Booking was very easy as we booked through John at Venture Tahiti and they made great recommendations. The resort is right next to Matira Beach and the lagoon the bungalows … lisää

We went for our honeymoon and this was an absolutely breath taking resort. The staff were super friendly and accommodating. Booking was very easy as we booked through John at Venture Tahiti and they made great recommendations. The resort is right next to Matira Beach and the lagoon the bungalows are on was amazing. The snorkeling was great, and rays came right through the lagoon. The bungalows are private and the resort isn't over crowded. I would stay again in a heart beat

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“My Bucket List Vacation Did Not Disappoint – 3rd Island”

RECEPTION: Check in here seemed to take a little longer than anywhere else we stayed. They wanted a printout of the reservation at this hotel, so it would be in your best interest to print it out at home and take a hard copy with you. This made our check in take even longer as I had to access the… lisää

RECEPTION: Check in here seemed to take a little longer than anywhere else we stayed. They wanted a printout of the reservation at this hotel, so it would be in your best interest to print it out at home and take a hard copy with you. This made our check in take even longer as I had to access their WiFi and then forward my reservation to them. However, even though we arrived about an hour early, our room was ready and they showed us where to go. They did not deliver us like the other resorts we stayed at, but this is a smaller resort and it was a short walk. Our luggage was waiting for us when we walked in our room. Check In: 2:00 p.m. Check Out: Is at 11:00 a.m. GROUNDS The grounds are lush and tropical. Really felt like you were in the South Pacific. Tall palm trees and lots of vegetation and flowers. They are well manicured and always clean. Pathways are well lit and easy to maneuver. ROOMS Our room category was a beach bungalow, so we were not over the water, but right on the beach. The interior of the rooms are well appointed with a lot of teak, bamboo and thatch. It really boasted a Polynesian feel. A separate bedroom from the living room that could be closed off by a sliding door. Bathroom, or “wet room” as they call them, had plenty of towels, beach towels, robes, and slippers. You could even choose your own style pillow at this resort. The best part of this room was the sliding door that opened up to your deck, with two lounge chairs and two sitting chairs with a table. Walk off the deck and right onto the beach and into the amazing-colored water that felt like a never-ending swimming pool. Seriously, the size of the lagoon is huge and goes on and on and never went above my waist. They do have buoys in the water so you don’t go out into boat traffic. The water was warm and the area was relatively flat and sandy, with obviously some coral. Water shoes are must because of the presence of sea urchins and coral. The best snorkeling is by the overwater bungalows where they are creating more and more reefs to attract the fish. There is a shower on your deck so you can rinse the sand off your feet before you walk back in your room. Because we had 3 other couples with us, I felt like the whole beach area was private for just our group. It was amazing. There were two complimentary aluminum bottles in our room. Use these for drinking water. There is a filling station by the beach huts and also by the overwater bungalows. We were fortunate as the filling stations was right outside our door. FOOD This was the only place I did not care for our included breakfast. It was okay and it got the job done, but two days the food was cold, and we got there right when they opened. Not as many options as the other two places we stayed, but again, it was included so it filled us for a good portion of the day. Except for breakfast and the Polynesian night, we ate off grounds at Lucky House and Bora Bora Beach Club. These were both within walking distance and were very good and prices were less than the resort. The Polynesian night dinner was not really worth what we paid, but it made for a fun night and a “at least we did it moment”. POOL The pool is a decent size for the size of the resort. It has two levels. The first level is very shallow and perfect for wading or for small children. The second level is shallow but drops to 7 ft without much warning. It was never full. Most of the time it was empty or only had 2 or 3 people in it. But again, who wants to swim in the pool when you had that gorgeous swimming lagoon. The only time we went in this pool was to take a couple pictures to say we were in it. LOL The lagoon is where it’s at! ENTERTAINMENT We did the Polynesian Theme night at this resort. Dancers were good, and the whole thing felt authentic. I’m still not sure how they dance with that head gear on. We tried one on and they are super heavy. We were a little disappointed that they did not have fire dancing at this show, but since we saw it in Moorea it was fine. NIGHT LIFE: None – Zilch, Happy Hour is early 5:30-6:30 at the bar for ½ price cocktails. The Bora Bora was my favorite. This bar closed at 9:30 p.m. The resort was dead by 10:00. Sat out with a few of our friends and never saw another sole after 10:00 p.m. except for the security guard. SHOPPING: The resort has a nice gift shop on site and some locals who came to the hotel a couple of days. You are within walking distance of another souvenir type store that had a lot of items to choose from. We actually went there on three different occasions. Another option is to take a cab ride into town. Best time to go into town is when a cruise ship is in port. More stores are open. We were able to do a lot of shopping in town and ready call it a day in about two hours. (That was without eating or snacking) WILDLIFE Except for a lot of stray dogs, and the marine life while snorkeling, there was none. I don’t believe there is much in these islands except for wild boar. COMMENTS: This was my favorite resort out of the three places we stayed. It had an authentic feel, the people were amazing, restaurants, grocery store and souvenirs shop within walking distance. Our beach room made me feel like a millionaire and the fact that we were across the street from Matira Beach was an added bonus. This place was incredible. We enjoyed this place and would recommend this property to others. If this review has left any unanswered questions, please e-mail me. Date of stay: September 2024

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“Great resort but windy location”

I had a hard time deciding whether to give this resort a four- or five-star rating. I felt as though the resort itself deserves five stars because everything looked very attractive and was well maintained, and all the staff that we dealt with were friendly and helpful. But I'm giving it four stars … lisää

I had a hard time deciding whether to give this resort a four- or five-star rating. I felt as though the resort itself deserves five stars because everything looked very attractive and was well maintained, and all the staff that we dealt with were friendly and helpful. But I'm giving it four stars because of its location. On one hand, its location on the main island has some real advantages because restaurants, stores and other amenities are easily accessible, but its location also means it's exposed to the east winds that are prevalent in French Polynesia. During our six-day stay on Bora Bora, there were at least three days when the winds were blowing so strongly from the east that it wouldn't have been comfortable at all to sit out on the deck of our overwater bungalow at the IC Le Moana. The winds also affected our enjoyment of the viewing window in the floor of our bungalow because they often made the lagoon water so wavy that we couldn't see the fish clearly when we looked down through the coffee table. We had no complaints about the resort itself, but our enjoyment of Bora Bora was definitely affected by the resort's windy location. We were in lagoon-view overwater bungalow #22, and the bungalow was absolutely beautiful. It was situated in a very nice spot along the walkway, facing north and looking out over the lagoon toward Bora Bora's mountains. The bathroom of the bungalow was large, with very good mirrors and lighting and plenty of counter space. It had two basins, a bathtub, and an unenclosed shower. There was a clothesline in the bathroom. In our bungalow there were two umbrellas, a good-sized safe, a hair dryer, an iron and ironing board, a flashlight, a clock, two bathrobes, two pairs of slippers, two life vests, and something that appeared to be a large tarp. There were also two water bottles that could be filled with drinking water at the ice machines/water stations. Two of these stations are located along the walkways to the overwater bungalows. The electrical outlets in the bungalow were European style, so we had to use our adapters to plug in our shavers, curling iron, etc. The living/bedroom area of the bungalow was attractive, and it contained a desk and chair as well as the bed, sofa, and a cabinet that had a mini-fridge inside it. The viewing window below our coffee table was a good size, but there wasn't much coral beneath our bungalow. You can turn on a switch that lights up the area below this viewing window at nighttime. The fridges in the bungalows aren't stocked with any free bottled water or other beverages. A lot of information about the resort can be found on the TV in your bungalow. Additional info (the resort's restaurant and bar menus, info about activities that you can book, car rentals, bike rentals, etc.) can be obtained by scanning the QR codes that are found on a sheet of paper on the desk in the bungalow. The bungalows and walkways are very well maintained. We even saw a staff member standing in the lagoon and scrubbing down the ladders that can be lowered from the decks of the overwater bungalows into the water. The public areas (pool, reception area, beach, etc.) at this resort aren't as impressive as at some of the other, more expensive Bora Bora resorts. Because of its location on a fairly narrow strip of land, this resort doesn't have, for example, the sprawling expanses of lush vegetation that you might find at some of the resorts on the motus. The buffet breakfast is available from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. daily. It was very good. It offered a good selection of foods, and there was some variation in the dishes from day to day. We ate one dinner at the resort's Vini Vini bar and restaurant. At the Vini Vini, salads cost 2090 to 3600 CFP, poisson cru was 2700, poke bowls were 2790 to 2830, a classic burger with fries was 2340, a fish burger was 2450, a chicken club sandwich was 2790, croque monsieur was 2610, fish entrees were 3380 to 3980, rib-eye steak was 4200, vegetarian dishes were 2040 to 2790, most side dishes were 680, pasta dishes were 2030 to 2470, tacos were 3000, pizzas were 1620 to 1890, most desserts were 1400 to 1790, ice cream and sorbets were 430, and ice cream sundaes were 1650. At the resort's Noa Noa restaurant, fish dishes cost 3280 to 3980 CFP, meat dishes cost 3250 to 4490, vegetarian and vegan dishes 2040 to 2700, most desserts 1400 to 1790, and ice cream and sorbet cost 430. The resort offers a Polynesian show and buffet on Tuesday and Saturday evenings in the Noa Noa restaurant. The cost is 8200 CFP per adult (not including beverages). The buffet menu is different on each of the two nights. We attended the Tuesday show. We thought the buffet was excellent and the show was okay. We had seen a Polynesian show on Moorea the previous week, so maybe we would have been more enthusiastic about this show if we hadn't seen a similar one such a short time before. Use of the Le Moana's paddleboards, one- or two-person kayaks, snorkelling equipment, life vests and life jackets is free. You can get them at the same beach shack where you get beach towels. We used one of the two-person kayaks, and there didn't seem to be any time limit on how long we could have it. We used it to paddle over to the coral gardens behind the former Sofitel Private Island so we could snorkel there, which is well worth doing. There's a great variety of beautiful fish at the coral gardens, and we also saw colourful giant clams and a moray eel there. When we were checking in at the Le Moana, we had to sign some safety rules that cited a law saying non-motorized watercraft and sports equipment can't be taken more than 300 metres offshore, so we didn't know whether we'd be allowed to paddle over to the coral gardens. But on the first calm day, we saw that other people were using the resort's kayaks to go there, so we decided to take a chance too. You need to be alert for motorboats and jet skis when kayaking across the lagoon (and also when snorkelling). When you get to the island that's beside the coral gardens, the shoreline is rocky, but you can find openings where it's possible to pull up the kayak and beach it among the rocks while you swim out a very short distance to snorkel in the gardens. Because the shoreline is rocky, water shoes are a must. There are some corals and slippery rocks in the shallow water along the shore, but it's not too difficult to get through this shallow part and out to deeper water where you can snorkel freely. Matira Beach (the public beach) is just across the road from the Le Moana lobby. When the wind is blowing from the east, this public beach is far less windy than the resort's beach. I briefly tried snorkelling at the public beach, but the section where I snorkelled just had pieces of dead coral, and I saw only one fish. I don't know whether the snorkelling would have been better if I'd entered the water at a different part of the beach. For us, one of the advantages of staying at the Le Moana was its proximity to restaurants, stores, and other services on the main island. If you walk out through the Le Moana lobby and down the lane that leads to the main road and then turn right, you'll soon come to a couple of stores and a couple of restaurants. Almost immediately you'll come to the Tiare Market Shop on the left side. It sells things like swimwear and souvenirs. Just after that, you'll come to the Lucky House restaurant (Fare Manuia) on the right side of the road. Lucky House is very popular and is open for lunch and dinner. It has a casual atmosphere and quite an extensive menu. If you want to eat dinner there, it's best to make a reservation because it gets filled up. You can also order takeout pizza there. We ate there three times. A hamburger with fries cost 2000 CFP. Pizzas cost about 1600 to 3000, with most in the 2100 to 2600 range. Most desserts were around 1400 to 1600, and a scoop of ice cream or sorbet was 400. If you continue walking past Lucky House you'll soon come to Magasin Matira on the left. It sells groceries at reasonable prices and is a good place to stock up if you want some snacks, soft drinks, etc. A little farther along the road you'll come to an Avis rental outlet on the right. Next you'll come to La Plage on the Left. My understanding is that you can arrange boat rentals from La Plage. Very close to La Plage is the Maitai Bora Bora restaurant (Tama'a Maitai), which is on the right and is open for lunch and dinner. At the Avis outlet you can rent cars, SUVs, electric vehicles, scooters, bicycles, and e-bikes. The Avis building is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. When we asked at the Le Moana concierge desk whether we would need an international driver's license to rent a car, we were told we'd need one, but when we went to this Avis outlet we were assured that a driver's license from a Canadian province was sufficient. We rented a small automatic-transmission car for a half day (four hours) for 14,600 CFP. This included the cost of insurance and fuel. The coast road that circles Bora Bora is 32 kilometres, and we made the circuit twice and still managed to return the car early. We found it interesting to see the island and get a sense of the homes where people live and the places where they conduct their business. The only area where the traffic was a little congested was at the main town, Vaitape. Before we decided to rent a car, we asked the Le Moana concierge how much it would cost to hire a taxi to make one full circle around the island and were told the cost for two people for a two-hour circle tour would be 15,000 CFP. The concierge can book the taxi for you. If you go out through the Le Moana lobby and down the lane that leads to the main road and then turn left, you'll come to the Bora Bora Beach Club restaurant after a short walk alongside the beach. It's open for lunch and dinner. We ate there one night. The atmosphere is casual and the service was friendly. Fish and chips cost 3100 CFP and a chicken burger with fries was 2500. Canned soft drinks were 550. A boat shuttles back and forth between the IC Le Moana and its sister resort, the IC Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa, at certain times during the day. The schedule can be found by scanning the "Activities and Spa" QR code in your bungalow. It's important to check the schedule in advance because there are long gaps between some of the transfer times. The transfer is free if you have a reservation at the Thalasso spa, but otherwise the cost of the transfer is 3915 CFP per person round trip. If you decide to take the shuttle, you choose your transfer times and make a reservation with the concierge. We went across to the Thalasso resort one day. It's on Motu Piti Aau, and the boat ride takes about 20 minutes. It's a gorgeous resort with beautifully landscaped grounds. At the Le Moana the wind was gusting from the east as usual that day, but we didn't feel any wind at all when we were on the beach/pool/wharf side of the Thalasso resort. If you get too hot at the Thalasso resort, though, you can walk to the "back" (ocean) side of the motu and get cooled off by the east wind. We went to the Thalasso resort mainly because we'd heard that it has a lagoonarium where you can snorkel. The lagoonarium is really a coral nursery where the resort is attempting to nurture many species of coral. When we first saw the lagoonarium (which is in front of a little chapel) we were somewhat disappointed because it didn't look like much, but once we got into the water with our snorkels and masks we enjoyed ourselves because we came across a surprising variety of fish species. Most of the corals aren't that colourful, but the fish made the snorkelling worthwhile for us. The water is shallow, and we took our time swimming around slowly for an hour or more. Fins aren't allowed in the lagoonarium. Regular sunscreen isn't allowed, but eco-friendly sunscreen is available free of charge where the pool attendants hand out towels. We tried snorkelling in the lagoon on the other side of the wooden bridge from the lagoonarium, but we saw only one fish and no interesting coral in that area. As I said above, we found the staff at the Le Moana friendly and helpful. They all spoke reasonably good English, so we had no communication problems. The power in our bungalow went off one day in the late afternoon. We reported the outage at the reception desk when we went for dinner, and the staff had our lights back on by the time we returned from our meal. They told us the power hadn't been restored to the plugs in the bedroom area yet but they'd be fixed the next day. Sure enough, a repairman came to our bungalow the next morning and worked on the electrical connections until those plugs were working again. We didn't ask for a late checkout but were very pleasantly surprised when the staff gave us one voluntarily. They extended our checkout time to 2 p.m. because our flight wasn't leaving Bora Bora until 4:10 p.m. If you need smaller bills or coins, the reception desk will change bills for you. The resort no longer sells fish food. According to the staff at the reception desk, feeding the fish through the window below the coffee table is no longer permitted. We understood this to mean that the law prohibits this now. We're not sure whether we'd stay at the IC Le Moana again if we ever returned to Bora Bora. As I said at the beginning, the resort itself was excellent, but its location makes you vulnerable to the effects of the east winds, and that can really limit your opportunity to enjoy the overwater bungalow experience to the fullest.

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