A year ago Hilton Honors massively increased the costs of awards at some of its best resorts. At the time I didn’t know whether this applied to the Conrad Bora Bora, because that hotel wasn’t showing availability for a standard free night for any night over the entire next year. This resort can be a very tough redemption.
Conrad Bora Bora Nui now costs 120,000 points per night. That’s still a high value redemption against the retail cost of a room there (you’ll generally get 1 – 1.5 cents per point and I normally value Hilton points at $0.004 apiece).
The hotel doesn’t seem to really follow standard Hilton rules for award availability. Instead they seem to dump a lot of inventory all at once all of a sudden. That just happened, and now there’s availability starting in November 2023, getting really good in December 2023, and wide open for January – March 2024.
You need to grab it when it’s there if you’re interested. Pay attention to cancel rules, but in general you should be able to book now and then figure out if you can use the opportunity.
I spent part of my honeymoon at Bora Bora Nui back when it was a Starwood property years ago. With Hilton it’s still a cheaper award redemption than it was back then. I returned to what is now Conrad Bora Bora over Thanksgiving in 2019. I lucked into a couple of award nights there and then over the course of six months watched, day by day, looking for additional nights to add to the trip. I finally pieced together what I needed.
I was thrilled with my stay. I highly recommend it, though Bora Bora isn’t for the most active of tourists. “Nui” means large and Bora Bora Nui was the largest hotel in Bora Bora when I first stayed there 18 years ago. They’ve added onto it since. It is in some ways on ‘the wrong side’ of the island since only a handful of rooms offer archetypal views of Mt. Otemanu.
Until recently the hotel was bookable at 89,000 points per night which – when there’s a conversion bonus – made transfers from American Express Membership Rewards something to consider. At 120,000 it’s a bit more of a stretch for that, though some will consider it. Of course for Honors Silver members and above 5th night is free on redemptions.
The best thing about having all of the availability open at once is that you can easily take advantage of these Hilton Honors 5th night free redemptions. When I pieced my trip together it required hunting for rooms a couple of nights at a time which made this more difficult. However it appears that the website won’t price five night stays for many dates in February and March 2024. I’d try over the phone.
(HT: Frequent Miler)
@Gary – thanks! I was able to book 5 nights in February 2024 online. It was a breeze. And “cost” only 480k as a Diamond.
For some perspective regarding that Hilton Honors “massive increase of the costs of awards at some of its best resorts” a year ago, get this:
A HH Diamond (AMEX HH Surpass card holder) paying 120K HH points/night for a coveted award is equivalent to a WoH Diamond (Chase WoH visa holder) paying
120K HH points/night * 10.5WoH points/$ * 1$/32HH points = 39K WoH points/night
For a HH Diamond with the incredible AMEX Aspire Card, the WoH equivalent of 120K HH points/night would be
120K HH points/night * 10.5WoH points/$ * 1$/34HH points = 37K WoH points/night
With WoH’s standard awards recent “bloodbath”, most would consider paying the equivalent of 37K-39K WoH points/night at this French Polynesian gem a steal. The redemption value for a 5-night award stay with the 5th award free in a Lagoon View Suite, which costs $2,673 per night and is the standard room at this property, would be
($2,673 * 5)/120,000 * 4) * 100 = 2.9 cpp ( about ~8 cpp in WoH points)
Include taxes and fees and the redemption value is so outsized, it literally goes through the roof. So much for the “massive” increase of award costs at coveted Hilton resorts! Actually, the main problem with most Hilton ‘aspirational’ awards is not their cost, but their availability. A 5-night award stay at W Maldives with the 5th award night free at 150K HH points/night is a steal…but good luck actually finding available standard villas and booking one!
Oops! Make that “WoH Globalist”!
Why would anyone in their right mind spend 120000 points per night at the property in the rainy season?
Maybe because they happen to like rain? 😉
@Fensie – rainy season often means a few brief downpours, followed by sunshine, it was absolutely lovely the last time I was there in late November.
@Fernsie – because I can’t make it there in the prime season(s). Because, as Gary said, the rain comes and goes quickly. And because I’ll combine it with a trip to Sydney or Auckland and the rainy season in those cities is their winter (June – August). Auckland in February is very nice. Haven’t been to Sydney. And over 5 nights it averages out to 95k a night for me, not 120k. And I have the Hilton points.
And because if you’re from the north even rain at mid 70s is a lot better than the weather you’re leaving.
Interesting, as the Hilton Moorea now seems to offer no standard award space ever. In many ways, the Moorea property would otherwise seem like the better choice. It’s the nicest resort on Moorea (although I think it’s foolish to pay for it, as nice airbnbs will cost a tiny fraction of the cost). Moorea is vastly cheaper and easier to get to than Bora Bora, as it only requires a short ferry ride instead of an additional $450 airline ticket. You can also rent a cheapish car rental at PPT from Hertz (less than $40/day for an automatic), put it on the ferry, and drive around Moorea, where there are some other activities to do. What can one actually do on Bora Bora (at reasonable or no cost) other than lounge, swim, and snorket? I would say the Aspire card’s free breakfast and $250 resort credit would make a Bora Bora visit less financially punishing. Everyone’s heard of Bora Bora, and it sounds like an “impressive” honeymoon-type destination, but is it really a good vacation choice?