Kids at St. Regis Bora Bora: A Good Idea?

~ Chris Wada

One of the biggest decisions for a vacation for parents is to figure out if the kids should come along. Let’s walk through it for the St. Regis Bora Bora.

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It’s popular to bring kids

It was a little unclear to us when we brought our kids if they would be the only ones at the St. Regis Bora Bora. But that certainly wasn’t the case. Even on our United flight from San Francisco to Tahiti, there were plenty of children on the flight. And then when we arrived at the St. Regis Bora Bora? We saw more than a dozen other children on property.

The places we saw more younger children tended to be at (1) breakfast each morning, and (2) at the Lagoonarium. Additionally, our land villa neighbors also tended to have children in their rooms. As a reminder, here are the room types that are large enough for a family of four:

  • Beachside Villa 1 King + Sofa Bed
  • Overwater Deluxe Villa (Island view)
  • Overwater Deluxe Villa (Otemanu view)
  • Overwater Premier Villa (Otemanu view)
  • Overwater Royal Otemanu 1 Bedroom Villa with pool

You’ll want to look at room types that include a reference to a sofa bed. Then, because the Marriott website doesn’t display options correctly for four, book for three and contact borabora.liaison@stregis.com to add the second child.

There is no more kids club at the St. Regis Bora Bora

If you do some independent research, you’ll see third-party articles that talked up the kids club at the St. Regis Bora Bora. Heck, when we booked our stay, the resort was advertising it themselves. However, as it got closer to travel time, we had difficulty in finding details. And when we arrived, the front desk confirmed they removed it. So, for avoidance of doubt, there is no kids club at the St. Regis Bora Bora.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say we would definitely have not gone to the St. Regis Bora Bora if we knew there would be no kids club. But, it certainly is disappointing. The hotel claims to have a babysitter who could watch the kids, but they never mentioned it to us as an option. Still, the kids club was free and we’d rather not incur another nickel-and-dime expense if we wanted to visit the spa.

The babysitter also wouldn’t replace one of the nicer features of the kids club–an opportunity for our children to interact with other kids. That’s something that a kids club would have enabled. Oh well.

Gifts on arrival

When we arrived to our villa, the kids found a couple of welcome gifts waiting for them on their bed. A stuffed sea turtle for Char…

…and a stuffed shark for Alex. But the surprise didn’t stop there because of what came with those stuffed animals.

Free ice cream for kids

Each child received a letter, which was an invitation for them to come get some free ice cream. Children under 12 receive free ice cream exclusively from Aparima Bar. The eligible hours are listed as 11:30AM to 10PM daily, which is roughly the hours of Aparima Bar. Our butlers Chloé and Marion did not-so-quietly whisper to the kids that they could go multiple times each day if they–and their parents–allowed.

How did this work in practice? As well as advertised! If you’re dining at Aparima Bar, there is a menu that helps show the potential toppings for ice cream. It does not show the smoothies or milk shakes, but those options follow the ice cream and sorbet flavors.

It was a daily occurrence for the kids to come get some ice cream. Sometimes we sat and dined, while other times we took it to go. We went multiple times and didn’t get a charge on the folio.

The mango smoothie was also pretty delicious, even when Char got both a smoothie and an ice cream at the same time. Not sure how she convinced us that would be a good idea.

And if we dined at the restaurant and tacked on some ice cream for the kids, the check never showed the add-on for the kids.

Now, you might be asking if children can order the ice cream for the parents. Our butlers even said it’s acceptable before the thought crossed our minds. Jenn and I didn’t take advantage of it since our kids tended not to eat the whole thing, but it’s nice to have the option. We wouldn’t abuse the privilege, however.

Kids activity booklet and scavenger hunt

One specific activity that kids are given at check-in is an activity book. Inside the book is a collection of typical things like coloring pages, a word search, and information about the area.

The front desk also mentioned there is a “special” activity inside, where the kids will need to go on a treasure hunt around the property. The middle of the book shows the locations, which are all around the Lagoonarium.

Head over to those spots and you’ll find information boards that provide detail on the Lagoonarium and the region.

Then children just need to enter the information into the booklet. This is easier for grade-school children than it is for toddlers, obviously.

Head back to the front desk upon completion to get a DIY bracelet kit and another small coloring book. The kids enjoyed the hunt, but it really only lasted about as long as it took to walk around the lagoon.

Dining

What we enjoyed about dining at the St. Regis Bora Bora was not that there was simply a kids menu, but that it varied based on restaurant. It gets boring real quick for the kids when they eat the same thing every night. But having variety that goes along with the theming of the restaurant means that the resort does indeed pay attention to kids.

On top of that, it’s great that kids also get free breakfast. When combined with my Marriott Titanium status, it meant free breakfast for all of us daily. Sweet!

For more information about specific options included with each kids meal, check out the following posts:

Activities on the island

We brought our kids to each activity we did on the island. There aren’t any that are specifically kid-focused, but there are plenty that are interesting enough for kids. The most interesting one for them was the flower hat making activity. They didn’t have much interest in the champagne sabering (obviously), but they were able to watch and hang out as long as they didn’t drink any.

The St. Regis Bora Bora also has a list of paid activities that you can purchase through the resort. Some of these activities are appropriate for children, but many have age limits that restrict the youngest children.

So, if your children are fine tagging along with you, they will generally have enough to do. But don’t expect kid-centric activities.

Closing thoughts

We were fine bringing our children along to the St. Regis Bora Bora. With the removal of their kids club, there’s not much that is truly kid-centric at the hotel anymore. And that’s a bit disappointing because some children might end up bored if they have to tag along with their parents. There is little ability for kids to meet other kids while on vacation.

They do have an activity book and treasure hunt, but don’t expect it to provide hours of entertainment. Two of the better inclusions for children is the welcome gift and the ice cream. It’s also nice that kids get free breakfast, which is perhaps most relevant if the adults also get it for free.

In total, we’d say it’s not a bad idea to bring your kids. If we had to go back knowing all of this, we’d likely still do it. But we recognize our opinions don’t reflect everyone’s thoughts, so it’s ultimately your call on whether you want to want to bring the kids. If you do, you’ll likely find other kids at the resort, so don’t feel weird about bringing them along to paradise.

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