#7 in Top 20 Bora Bora for a Honeymoon · Overwater · Reopened 2024
The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa
The 2024 ground-up rebuild of Le Meridien, glass-floor bungalows over the lagoon's big sand bottom.
The 2024 ground-up rebuild of Le Meridien, glass-floor bungalows over the lagoon's big sand bottom.
The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa ranks #7 on our Top 20 Bora Bora honeymoon list. It is the island's newest overwater flagship, the 2024 ground-up rebuild of Le Meridien, and the smartest way to book a five-star lagoon honeymoon on Marriott Bonvoy points rather than cash. Best for couples who want a brand-new bungalow over the famous sand-bottom lagoon.
It earns the rank because it delivers the classic Bora Bora overwater honeymoon at a price the top-tier resorts cannot match, in rooms that are genuinely new. The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa is the ground-up rebuild of Le Meridien Bora Bora, which closed in 2021 and reopened in September 2024 as the first new-build resort to arrive on the lagoon in roughly seven years. That means new bungalows, new plumbing and new interiors, without the tired edges that creep into a twenty-year-old overwater property.
The layout runs to 142 bungalows in total, of which 128 sit over the water, the most of any resort on the island, and many of the overwater categories add a private plunge pool. Glass floor panels keep the lagoon visible from the bed. The resort centers on what is now the largest swimming pool in Bora Bora, an infinity pool with a swim-up bar and a waterfall spilling from the second floor, alongside the Heavenly Spa by Westin. For a couple the pull is simple: a brand-new overwater room above one of the most photographed lagoons on earth, at a rate that leaves budget for the rest of the trip.
The single best reason to choose this motu over its neighbours is the water itself. A shallow, sand-bottom section of lagoon lets couples snorkel straight off the bungalow deck at low tide, with rays and reef fish passing below, the kind of in-your-room wildlife moment most overwater resorts cannot offer because their bungalows sit over deep coral or grass beds. That sand bottom carried over from the original Le Meridien and remains the property's defining feature. It is also why the snorkeling here is calmer and more beginner-friendly than the drop-off reefs at the InterContinental Thalasso across the lagoon.
The original Le Meridien was also known for an on-site turtle sanctuary and ecological center. Because the resort was rebuilt from the ground up, confirm the current status of any conservation program directly with the hotel before you count on it, rather than assuming the legacy offering returned unchanged. It is the one detail worth a direct question at booking, and we would rather flag the uncertainty than promise a program that may not have returned in the same form.
Book a plunge-pool overwater bungalow and pay up for a Mount Otemanu-facing orientation if the budget stretches, because the mountain view is what turns a good overwater room into a honeymoon one and it is not guaranteed by room category alone. Confirm the direction in writing at booking. The interiors are contemporary Polynesian rather than thatched-rustic, with pale wood, deep soaking tubs and outdoor showers in the higher categories.
Dining centers on the resort's main restaurant and a poolside bar, with the swim-up bar as the social heart of the property. This is not a resort you choose for a deep roster of restaurants, and because you are on a motu you are effectively committed to eating on-site, so factor half board into the budget. The Heavenly Spa by Westin handles couples treatments in overwater or garden rooms; book the sunset slot on your first full day before the calendar fills. For a couple, the standout ritual is a late-afternoon deck snorkel followed by a spa treatment as the light drops behind Otemanu.
This is the Marriott Bonvoy play among the flagship motus, and it is the practical heart of the recommendation. Cash rates typically run well below the Four Seasons and St. Regis tier on the island, and award-night redemptions became bookable from January 2025, which makes this the realistic route to a five-star overwater honeymoon paid partly or wholly in loyalty currency. For couples sitting on a Bonvoy balance from work travel or a card sign-up, the math here is the most favorable in Bora Bora.
Run the comparison for your exact dates before booking, because the cash-versus-points value swings hard by season. In the high months a points night can be worth far more than the cash rate; in the shoulders the cash rate can win. Either way, the Westin is where the loyalty route actually reaches a real overwater bungalow rather than a garden room, which is not true at most of its rivals.
Snorkel from the bungalow deck at low tide, typically 7 to 10am or 4 to 6pm, when the sand-bottom shallows are clearest. Book a plunge-pool bungalow with a Mount Otemanu orientation, and check the Marriott Bonvoy award rate against cash before you pay.
Across recent verified guest reviews, three themes recur. First, praise for the newness: guests repeatedly note that the bungalows feel genuinely fresh, a contrast reviewers draw explicitly against older overwater resorts nearby. Second, the sand-bottom lagoon and the size of the central pool come up again and again as the features that made the stay, with the swim-up bar singled out. Third, and less flattering, a recurring flag is that the food-and-beverage operation and the young landscaping are the property's weak points, exactly the gap you would expect at a value-tier flagship still bedding in after a 2024 opening.
The other consistent note is on transfers and cost: guests remind future bookers that everything is reached by boat and that on-island dining and drinks are expensive, so nobody should arrive expecting to wander off for a cheaper meal. None of this is a surprise for Bora Bora, but it is worth setting expectations before you pay resort-island prices.
The reasons it ranks #7 rather than #1 are worth stating plainly. This is the value flagship, not the island's most polished address, so the food, the spa menu and the service choreography do not quite reach the Four Seasons or St. Regis level that couples paying full luxury rates elsewhere will find. If your honeymoon budget is open-ended and you want the very best on the island, this is not that resort, and we would point you to the top of this list instead.
Two more caveats. Because it is a 2024 new build, the landscaping and vegetation are still filling in, so the grounds read younger and barer than the mature resorts nearby, something guest reviews confirm. And like every motu property, it commits you to boat transfers for anything off-property, so factor the roughly 20-minute crossing into every plan and expect to spend most of the stay inside the resort. Couples who want a walkable town or a range of restaurants at the door should look elsewhere.
The Westin Bora Bora sits within our broader Top 20 Bora Bora honeymoon list and scored an aggregate 9.4 out of 10 across our three editorial criteria, strong across the board but held below the top few by the value-tier finish rather than the setting. For the alternatives on adjacent motus, see the neighbouring resorts below; for a different destination entirely, the related lists cover the Maldives and Caribbean overwater options.
On timing, French Polynesia's dry season runs roughly May to October, with the clearest lagoon water and lowest humidity, which is also when rates and demand peak; the November-to-April wet season brings warmer water, occasional heavy showers and softer pricing, and can be the sweet spot for a value-minded couple willing to trade a few grey afternoons for a lower rate. Whichever window you choose, secure the room around the three-month mark, because the bungalows with the coveted Otemanu orientation and private plunge pools, the ones that earn this rank, are claimed first, and popular-month availability is quoted in months rather than weeks.
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