Advertisement
Published: March 30th 2015
Edit Blog Post
#paradise
Overwater bungalows on a turquoise clear water la Orana my friends (Tahitian hello)
Summer 2011.
I remember I was back home on vacation and that day was drinking coffee with some of my friends out in the town when I got an email on my phone from the corporate office in Miami that I will embark on the ship somewhere middle of October from San Diego, California. Big news! I got assigned to a contract on Celebrity Century and I was damn happy about that. Mostly happy because the ship will cruise all the way to French Polynesia. That means only one thing, my dream destination, Bora Bora.
I start sharing the news with some of my friends that I have met on the ship and fortunately everyone of them was slowly assigned to that ship too… Surprise! 😊 I couldn't wait to get onboard and experience those magnificent islands. When I finally step on the ship I was truly fascinated from the places where we were docking. We did three months of cruises around Australia and New Zealand and it was time for the repositioning cruise back to Alaska. But first, one more stop in French Polynesia. I talk to some of
my friends what is the plan for the day when we dock in Bora Bora. Since the last time we just went to the Matira Beach which is a public one i wanted to go to the best resort on the island - St.Regis Bora Bora Resort. The last time when the ship docked there I called at the resort but they have told me that the place is shut down due to australian actor Russell Crowe was renting it for couple of days, all by himself. Amazing 😊 Not surprised, because the resort was also featured in the film "Couples Retreat".
This time I decided to play smart and book our day at the beach in St.Regis at least two weeks in advance. After long emails with the guest service executive Mr. Patrick we came to a solution that me and my friends which was group of 11 was going to have lunch at the traditional authentic inspired Polynesian resonant "Te Pahu" at the vila house by the beach.
That morning when we arrived with the ship in Bora Bora everyone was so exited. We split into two groups and decided to wait each others at the
#bestcrew
Devon, Chris, Corry, Lindsey and Jerome on the left; me and Shaun in the middle; Martin, Iveta, Liz, Dennis and Jerome on the right. mainland base where a complementary shuttle boat will take us all to St.Regis Bora Bora Resort. While we were waiting for the boat to take us to the resort we saw one of our colleauge Cezar doing an excursion with some of the guests from the ship. He jump out of the truck and he joined us. We were lucky having him there 😊 The security guys were speaking french and only Cezar was able to understand them since he used to live in France. After talking with them, he inform us that the yacht will be arriving soon. From the second you arrive in Bora Bora and step on the yacht that whisks you away to the St.Regis, you realize that you are in for a truly unique experience. The views are very pictures and majestic. Upon arrival the receptionist staff show us the property.
The resort itself, wow… Most stunning resort I have ever been at. Impeccable grounds. Beautiful landscaping. Gorgeous views of the main island and mountain. Large main pool with swim up bar and private beach. Also another more secluded oasis pool, very romantic and intimate. The beaches...just wow! The most crystal clear, amazing water
View on Mount Otemanu from the yacht I have ever seen and the fish in the lagoonarium were lovely. The first impression was stunning. It "blew my hair back" so to speak. Like a dream world. We were completely impressed and loved every second of being on this amazing property. This is a first class world destination.
After that, we were escorted to the waterfront restaurant "Te Pahu" right by the beach were we had our lunch. We were welcome with a fresh flower lei and cold scented towels. Than the restaurant manager showed up and warmly greet us and explain the lunch menu. The food was outstanding but it's expensive. There really is no where else to get food unless you take a boat to another resort (and their food is equally expensive).
The special of the day was the fresh lobster with gratin potato. Jerome decided to have that dish so do I. It cost nearly 150$, so what, we are once in Bora Bora, specially at this amazing resort. We were offered with complimentary starters such as chicken satay with paint sauce. I was amazed when I check the cocktail list. Oh My God! This is one of the most extensive cocktail
#arrival
Getting closer to St.Regis list I have ever seen. We start ordering lots of cocktail. The names were very unique and the flavors and aromas very mysterious.
After the lunch everyone rush to the beach, cause we were running out of time. The resort has everything. You can go out on a paddle boat, SUP, hobie craft, jet skis. It's really peaceful and relaxing. Within this lagoon, the water is a stunning turquoise, varying to deeper shades of blue depending on the depth of the lagoon and maybe a bit on cloud cover. Most of us went for board paddling and it's start raining a bit and the color of the water turn into misty green. And we even saw a rainbow over the overwater bungalows.
I want to focus on one very strong recommendation. Please, please do yourself a favor, unplug and just let the beauty of Bora Bora surround you. Forget the laptops and cell phone. Lose track of time. Wander and relax. Disappear into this beautiful place and you'll talk about it for the rest of your life. Mark my words 😊
Well, it was time to leave the paradise so I went to thank Mr.Patrick for the
hospitality and having us there for lunch. He even escorted us back to the yacht and ask for the honest feedback of the place. Most of us were asking silly questions how to get a job here 😊 This is a beautiful part of the world, experience as much of it as you can! It was truly Garden of Eden!
If paradise exists it is called Bora Bora! I would come back in a heartbeat!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.062s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0367s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb