ROYAL BORA BORA

We booked this hotel as a reasonable options to the high end resorts in Bora Bora. It is walking distance to Matira beach and had a small beach where we could snorkel. I thought the front desk staff were nice but could have been friendlier. The rest of the staff were very sweet and they gave good service. The resort was clean and the rooms were spacious with the requisite amenities. They provided beach towels. The food in the restaurant was decent and one could always walk to popular restaurants near Matira beach. Overall it was good value for money for very expensive Bora Bora.

A true hidden gem on the main island. Extremely under rated, should easily be a 4 star hotel. The entire staff was friendly and helpful. The rooms were wonderful. The beach was small but private. The food was outstanding for all meals and drinks prices were reasonable. Lowaina was extremely helpful with all our needs before and after arrival. We would highly recommend this hotel over all others on Bora Bora! There is a dock were most tours will pick you up.

We spent seven nights at this hotel as a family of four, and overall, we were satisfied with our stay. Considering the price we paid, the hotel met our expectations and offered good value for money.
The rooms were pleasant and well maintained—clean, comfortable, and serviced daily, which we appreciated. Breakfast was satisfactory; while the selection remained largely the same each day, it is important to bear in mind that the hotel is located on a remote island, so an extensive variety should not be expected. We also dined at the hotel for dinner and were very pleased with the meals, experiencing no issues whatsoever.
The hotel grounds are truly lovely, with lush greenery throughout. The garden area, where the rooms are situated, is particularly beautiful and clearly well cared for, as are the beach and the swimming pool area, all of which are maintained daily.
The only drawback we encountered was related to staff courtesy. Upon arrival, we were welcomed warmly and professionally. However, during our stay, we considered booking a day trip through the activities center but ultimately decided as a group to pursue other plans. From that point onward, the staff member responsible for activities became noticeably cold and unwelcoming, displaying a form of politeness that felt forced rather than genuine.
Overall, we would recommend this hotel to travelers seeking a budget-friendly option—it delivers exactly what you pay for.

Stayed for two nights in early November. A wonderful location, with a market 500 feet away and 10 minute walk to a restaurant and Intercontinental Resort. The breakfast was excellent — a very wide selection of hot and cold and breads and fruit. Rented a kayak for a 20 minute paddle over to the coral and fish. Reasonably priced, as were the drinks sitting out in the chairs on the beach. We don't speak French so a little limited in communication with staff, but the front desk personnel did and were helpful. If we come back we would stay here again. No need to pay 1, 000 a night for an overwater bungalow when this gem is available.

I stayed at Royal Bora Bora for two nights. The hotel is about a 15-minute drive from Vaitape, and I took the hotel shuttle, which cost 1, 750 XPF per person — honestly, taking a taxi would have been cheaper. Early check-in wasn’t available, but we could leave our luggage in a storage room next to the lobby.
There is a small private beach right in front of the hotel, but it’s quite small. We decided to walk about 10 minutes to Maitra Beach, where we swam, relaxed, and watched the sunset — definitely worth it. Along the way, there are some local restaurants where we had dinner; the food was delicious and much cheaper than the hotel restaurant.
Our room was across the road from the main area, which was a bit inconvenient, and unfortunately, the bathroom had a strong sewage smell after using. Inside the room, we found mosquitoes, centipedes, and spiders. I was bitten by mosquitoes several times, and since I have an allergy, my skin got very swollen and itchy. Eventually, I had to buy mosquito repellent. The hotel is surrounded by a tropical garden, which makes it beautiful but also means a lot of insects. Personally, I don’t recommend the garden-view rooms for this reason.
The breakfast was decent, and overall, the hotel offers fair value for money. However, it feels a bit overpriced for tourists, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who has mosquito allergies or really dislikes insects.

We had a lovely stay here in October 2025. The overall service is great and the hotel amnesties were covering all our needs. Big rooms, clean and having nice views over the garden.
The beach is very nice, so is the pool and the whole hotel.
Staff is super frendly and we really liked the food at the restaurant.
They can help you book all kind of excursions and activities, including bike rental or different types of island/ lagoon tours.

We stayed at the Hotel Royal Bora Bora for 3 nights and it was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting too much as we were going to do an overwater bungalow at another resort after this but this hotel is very good value for the money. The rooms are across the street from the lobby, pool and restaurant but that is not a problem as the road is not busy. The rooms were large and clean with air conditioning and it was quiet. The beach was small but good for swimming and/or snorkeling. The restaurant was good not great but ok for breakfast buffet — lots of choose from. The location of the hotel is excellent. There is a small grocery corner store 2 minutes up the street and Matira Beach is about a 15 minute walk away. The road has a marked area for people to walk safely, with lights at night and there are several good restaurants within easy walking distance. We felt very safe even at night. I would recommend especially if you are on a budget.

If you’re looking for an adventure launch-point, this place is effective. Within walking distance you have: a market with good premade lunch options, a scooter rental place, a few boat tours, 1-2 restaurants (not many options on Island generally). We did not book tours thru the hotel, however the snorkel company we used was happy to pick us up from the hotel. The scooter rental met us down the road at Mai Tai. It was interesting to explore the nearby closed Sofitel. Kayaks are available at hotel for a fee (even for guests) but they don’t rent them when there is wind. This side of the island tends to be windier/rainier.
If you are looking for a serene and relaxing place to hang out during the day, you’d be better off spending up for one of the nicer hotels/resorts. The beach is small, a bit crowded, and not great for swimming or snorkeling. The rooms are across the road from the beach, all face a garden and aren’t the most comfy — we had a resident cockroach the whole stay. We didn’t want to be “at” the hotel during the day, which was unfortunate given the rainstorm, so we had to find dry-ish activities to keep us busy (scooter, snorkel boat still went out).
Staff was mostly pretty friendly. The restaurant is decent! Overall the 3 nights we spent were “effective” for our excursions but we would have rather gotten a rental house for similar price, or spent up for a nicer stay.

This hotel was better than I was expecting. I was really pleased with the standard of accommodation. The rooms are arranged in small house like structures around a central, lush, green garden with the mountains behind. They are located over the road from the main hotel buildings with the restaurant, but this is not inconvenient. There is also a fresh water drinking fountain available to fill bottles etc. Very useful.
The room was spacious, clean and comfortable. The bathroom is well designed, with a good shower. There was an outside sitting area that looked onto the garden. It was very private and quiet. There are relatively few places to stay on Bora Bora in the price range of this hotel. I believe it is good value for money.
The breakfast was good, with a nice variety of dishes, fruit, cereals etc. Each day there were also hot dishes available and these changed, so it was not always the same bacon and eggs!
Given that in French Polynesia in general the variety of food is quite limited as almost everything is imported, I thought the standard of food was very good and there was a nice range of dishes on the restaurant menu. I ate one evening meal and several lunches.
The views from the small beach are lovely, especially in the evening. The hotel is small, most are non the island, so there isn't a feeling that there are crowds of people. The atmosphere is very calm and pleasant. The staff were very polite and helpful.

Positive — Air conditioning works very well, comfortable bed, quiet at night. Nice pool and beautiful private beach with lounge chairs and umbrellas. Great location with two supermarkets nearby. Pick up from Vaitape was pre-arranged and was there waiting for us. Scooters and bikes available to rent right at the hotel, which makes it very convenient.
Now to the negative… Rooms are outdated and need remodeling. Very low water pressure in shower.
Breakfast has a variety of foods, but very low quality.
We understand Bora Bora is a very expensive area and the Royal Bora Bora is only a 3 star hotel, so we would be forgiving of the items mentioned above, however the service has great room for improvement, as every time we asked a question we feel that we were an inconvenience to the staff. That is the main reason for our 4-star review.
If we ever come back to main land Bora Bora, we would consider another option.

Stayed for 3 nights in the rooms across the street (not water side) and used the beach, pool. And restaurant. Loved it!
Our room was clean, quaint and comfortable. Easy to walk over to the water side.
The staff was awesome and had way better English skills than I did French.
Good location for walking to beaches, grocery, restaurants and rental transportation.
Really happy there is still a locally owned resort that is great! Will use every time I come back.

My wife and I stayed there for a week. Our room, Nr. 201 was virtually in a building located within a great botanical garden. That spacious room/suite was serviced very well daily and everything in that room worked perfect. Across the road the hotel main structures are located including cool infinity pool. Also, that hotel has a private decent in size beach with clean beautifully white coral sand and coco palms with plenty of chairs to rest on. Adjacent to that beach is a peer where boats taking visitors for lagoon excursions were picked up (very convenient). Included in room price, phantastic buffet breakfasts were probably THE BEST of Hotel Royal Bora Bora, especially since we could have them on the beach! Dinner's menu could have more varieties of dishes; however, the prices were reasonable. Also, that hotel has very dynamic representatives organizing extra excursions, again, reasonably priced. We took a half a day snorkeling tour, and it was a great experience. Finally, the staff was friendly and smiling. Also, the (pool) bar was closing WAY TOO EARLY; at about 9:00 PM.
Jeff from San Diego.

Stunning tropical garden hotel with very large comfortable rooms. The people make this a great place to visit because they have a concierge, Lorainea and she will take you requests for excursions, taxi, dr, or anything available to you on the island. The store is walking distance and all the neighbors were super cool people. Lots within walking distance including other snorkel areas and restaurants for lunch and dinners.
Food is high end for a hotel breakfast with fresh bread and French cheeses. I still want that for breakfast. 🫶🏻

Burgers at the restaurant were amazing. Huge beef patties and very filling. Slightly expensive ($28 USD for the bacon cheese burger) but so filling and good. Most places seem to be similar so at least it’s good food! Great snorkeling off the beach. Saw an octopus right off the dock of the hotel as well as some nudi branches :)

We stayed at the Royal Bora Bora hotel located on the main island for the first four nights of our trip to Bora Bora. We felt the hotel was a good standard for anyone wanting to stay in Bora Bora on a budget. We received a warm welcome at reception when we arrived and luckily for us our room was ready to get into straight away. We checked in at around 9am in the morning. I’m not sure if this is always possible as we arrived on 23 March which is just outside peak season. The room was a really good size, clean, had air con, a balcony and the bed was big and comfy, not much more you can ask for.
We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis but you can stay half board as well. The buffet breakfast offered a good choice and what you’d expect, bacon, sausages, cold meats, pastries etc. They did mix it up with a few different choices each morning but overall pretty much the same choices day to day. I wouldn’t expect the world from the buffet, most was lukewarm at best but what I’ve come to expect in most hotels no matter what the star rating.
We had lunch at the hotel while we were there and I thought this was good quality and reasonable enough prices. The same goes for the drinks.
For the money paid, I don’t think you can really complain about the hotel. It’s a great place to see Bora Bora on a budget and all our interaction with the staff were positive.

Lovely place to stay. The breakfast selection was plentiful. We also rented a car for couple days to explore.
The staff was welcoming and attentive. We really enjoyed the beach and did a little snorkeling too. Overall it was the best fit for us.
Would recommend staying here.

Update 2 days later: they apologized and we got some free drinks — I’m upgrading my one star but still not the biggest fan that I had to fight like this — I feel Bora Bora is the most uppity of all islands so far — not as caring and friendly as the other islands.
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We traveled around South Pacific for a while now and this is unfortunately now a very bad experience in regards to service which is very unusual for these wonderful friendly Islands. Today for dinner we ordered a bottle of wine and when they made us taste it tasted horrific — not just not our taste but as if the bottle just had gone bad somehow. We never returned a bottle and I hate doing this even if it’s not 100% to my liking but this wine tasted just awful and we said so. Well — they said pretty much ‘bad luck’ and they would still charge and we ended up with empty glasses on the table and zero support or service or accommodation for it, and in the end they actually did charge us for it — I’m shocked and we left the restaurant and will surely not go back unless I get an answer here before tomorrow with some sort of compromise — will update if that happens — if not — do not go to this hotel — very bad service.