My trip to Polynesia booked (almost) all with points, but what a bang the increase at the Conrad Bora Bora

Back in 2023 I had booked the Conrad Bora Bora for 5 nights for only 480k Hilton Honors points, a really incredible rate, too bad I had then been forced to cancel that reservation and change plans.

Unfortunately, today, 2 years later, Hilton has updated the point cost of its "top" facilities and among them of course is this paradise resort in French Polynesia and today the "minimum" price is a whopping 200k points per night, meaning the famous 5 nights would cost me 800 thousand Hilton Honors thanks to 5th night free.

Conrad Bora Bora Nui

Conrad is one of the luxury insignia of the Hilton family, and personally it is one of my favorite ones. Rarely has a hotel of this sign disappointed me And I hope this will not be the first time.

Located on a private bay in Motu To'opua, the Conrad Bora Bora Nui is in an exclusive location and offers sweeping ocean views. Completely renovated in 2016 this is one of the most expensive locations on the wish list of travelers with points.

Stay one night in this facility costs an average of 1,000,000 Hilton Honors points, not a mistake, a million points per night. On the other hand, if you want to pay cash, the price per night is never less than $1,500/1,700 per night. Occasionally, however, dates pop up where staying with points is offered at a "humane" price.

My reservation

As I have recounted in the past few months, I was able to detach 3 business class tickets with Air France to fly from Milan to Papeete at a very ridiculous price, a reason that prompted me to do the crazy thing of book without wasting time, and risk losing tickets, without worrying at all about where to stay. Which then is the story of almost all my travels: I find a ticket and build everything else around it.

And so I emptied the Hilton Honors piggy bank. And I booked two nights at this facility. Of course 400k points is a lot, but I never thought I would spend the approximately 3,000€ cost of the room if paid cash, then considering that these points are not from transferring from Amex, but from accumulating with stays and various promotions over the past two years, I feel more than satisfied.

In Bora Bora we will be doing a total of 4 nights and we decided to break the stay in two to have a chance to also visit a second resort viz. the InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana, this time paid cash, but making the most of the benefits provided by the status Ambassador of the IHG chain.

Perfect timing before the closing of the resort

The Conrad Bora Bora Nui will be temporarily closed from Jan. 19 to April 1, 2026 to allow for the completion of major renovation work.

As of February 2025, the facility is undergoing a phased renovation program, carried out while maintaining the full operation of the facility. The temporary closure will allow the most significant interventions to be completed, ensuring that the guest experience is not compromised. After reopening, work will continue until the end of June 2026, without inconveniencing guests.

So I will have a chance to see part of the renovation operations, but it is clear that common spaces and other points open to the public will be renovated precisely during the two months of total closure.

I will try all the Hilton facilities in Papeete

The end of the year is approaching, and I still have a mission to accomplish., renew my Diamond card. This year accomplice several stays in facilities of other chains (IHG, Melia and others) I went long with my rush to renew the Highest status in the Hilton Honors family.

So the first two nights of our vacation will be spent at theHilton Moorea Lagoon resort & spa. Unlike Bora Bora, where you are isolated, almost like on an atoll in the Maldives, in Moorea the hotel experience should be similar, but with the opportunity to get out from under house arrest and visit the rest of the island as well.

An this stay I also booked it with the points, two nights at less than half the cost of the Conrad, but even then the savings over cash payment will be well over €1500.

The last night, before leaving for San Francisco, we will stay in Tahiti, in the last Hilton hotel there in Polynesia. This time room paid cash, partly because I had practically no points left.

In addition to, about €500 for one night, above you can see the list of upgrades and services that the hotel immediately offered me as soon as I completed my reservation.

The other reviews

In addition to the hotels I will have the opportunity to review the two companies that operate "local" flights in Polynesia: Air Moana and Air Thaiti. The former is the "new" entrant to the skies of the most remote islands in the French overseas territories.

The second, on the other hand, is the historical carrier Air Thaiti, not to be confused with Air Thaiti Nui, a company owned by Air France. I burned 45k Flying Blue miles and less than €60 in fees to redeem the three tickets That from Bora Bora will bring me back to "dry land."

To return home, since I could not find the same award ticket as on the outward journey, I will be flying from Papeete to San Francisco with FrenchBee, the transalpine low-cost airline, which flies from Paris to all French territories scattered around the world. From the U.S., on the other hand, I will return again with Air France and once again with 3 award tickets Flying Blue, still in business but hoping to be able to upgrade with miles (or cash) in La Premiere for the whole family.

Hey bum did you do the math on how much you were going to spend?

Not at the moment, but the main point is. For all these reservations, I didn't transfer anything, I only used points and miles that I had down on my different accounts, this is an important factor, also because it means that they were points accumulated by traveling and not giving up other uses such as transferring from Amex or Revolut or buying points.

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