The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa

The Westin Bora Bora is the island's newest luxury resort and a thorough reinvention — the former Le Méridien Bora Bora, rebuilt from the ground up and reopened in September 2024, the first new resort to open on the island since 2017. It sits on Motu Piti Aau, a private motu on the eastern barrier reef, facing Mount Otemanu across an expansive beachfront and its own private lagoon, reached by boat across the water with a Tahitian welcome of conch and song along the overwater boardwalk. Of its 142 bungalows and villas, 128 are overwater — the largest collection on the island — with the biggest glass-floor panels in Bora Bora, king Heavenly Beds, floor-to-ceiling windows and a ladder to the lagoon; 52 of them add a private plunge pool, and the remaining 14 are one- and two-bedroom lagoon-view beach villas with private pools and direct lagoon access. Dining spans four restaurants and a sunset bar: the signature Maere, where the head chef's menus change constantly; Tipanier, a French bistro with a Polynesian twist where breakfast is served; the poolside Te Ava for fresh, energising fare; the laid-back beachside Vara Vara; and the Otemanu Bar for sunset cocktails. Wellness runs through the resort in Westin's signature style — the Heavenly Spa by Westin for massages, facials and body scrubs, and the WestinWORKOUT Fitness Studio — beside the largest swimming pool on the island, an infinity pool above the lagoon. The standout is the Eco Center Bora Bora, a sea-turtle rehabilitation centre where guests meet rescued and rehabbing turtles and join discovery activities led by resident marine biologists. Water sports, snorkelling and diving run straight off the private lagoon, and Mount Otemanu rises beyond for hiking and photographs — a contemporary, wellness-led counterpoint to the island's older resorts, and a natural fit for honeymooners, couples and families alike.