Review of Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa, by Daniel Scott

You get a clue as to what awaits you at The Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa when you are waiting at the quay of the island airport for your transfer to the hotel. As other newly arrived guests clamber aboard small outboard-powered boats bound for numerous different properties around Bora Bora, a huge, gleaming white cruiser glides across the lagoon toward the quay. The sight of it alone is enough to stir a slight thrilled in-take of breath. But then you realise that this is the air-conditioned, tightly-upholstered, wood-panelled water-borne Rolls Royce that will be conveying you to your accommodation and you just know that you are heading for super-luxury fast.

At the Bora Bora Nui, part of the prestigious "Starwood Luxury Collection of Hotels", they seem to understand that first impressions not only count but that they linger in the mind throughout your visit. The next thing to strike you is the visual splendour of the resort as you approach it. Its overwater bungalows are strung out like a string of shiny, dark Tahitian pearls in front of a half-mile stretch of vanilla-coloured sand. These are backed in turn by a tangle of tropical plants and coconut trees, rising in terraces up the ridge of the volcanic Motu behind.

Then, as you draw closer to the resort and the cruiser purrs toward the large overwater reception area, you pick out a couple of colourfully-clad individuals beaming a greeting at you across the lagoon. One of them is Tracey Ford, the avuncular American Hotel Manager, and the other is Sarah, one of the delightful reception staff, ready to press a welcome juice into your hand, check you in and whisk you off by hotel buggy to your room.

It is hard not to get excited either, as you push open the door to your villa and first glimpse the sheer style and size of it. In our overwater bungalow what you notice first is the sumptuous use of dark wood throughout, from the polished floorboards to the use of island woods like maru-maru and hand carved kahlia in much of the furniture to the mahogany bedroom pieces custom-made in Bali. It feels immediately warm and comfortable and expensive.

But with that view out across the lagoon the first thing you'll want to do is throw open the full-length French windows and step out onto your wooden deck. At Bora Bora Nui Resort it is impossible to get an average view from any of its 120 overwater, beach or hillside villas. But this one, looking directly out across the turquoise, deeper, darker blues and patches of emerald water toward the frothy break of the ocean proper onto the outer reef, is especially compelling. You don't even have to look that far for a view of the colourful reef and even more brilliant fish - glass hatches in the deck and beside the couch in the living room allow you to look straight down onto it. Even the large pink-marble bathroom has a viewing strip, running alongside the double tub.

Almost from the moment you arrive and discover your "his" and "hers" snorkelling kit waiting for you in the wardrobe, a pattern is set in place for a typical day at Bora Bora Nui, much of which revolves around your beautiful home on stilts. Two or three snorkelling excursions - launching straight off your private pontoon, down some steps from your deck- provide the activity for the day. A lavish buffet breakfast and a light salad lunch at the Tamure Beach Bar are more than enough for the day-time nourishment, and you might do a few lethargic laps of the resort's two-tier infinity pool on either side of that. But there is no compulsion to do anything really other than loll on the deck of your villa chatting or reading. It is the perfect environment for either a meaningful rest and/or (re)kindling romance.

With romance in mind, the Bora Bora Nui has developed a interesting play on the theme of room service by making "Do-It-Yourself" Fine Dining experiences available in the villas. You can order from a range of menus including Tapas, Tahitian Barbecue and Japanese Shabu-Shabu and all the makings and ingredients of the meal are then set up for you on your deck. For our seafood Shabu-shabu, a beautifully-presented mountain of raw scallops, green prawns, muscles, squid and delicate strips of fresh mahi-mahi fish was brought for us to swish around in a boiling broth together with an array of crisp fresh vegetables. It couldn't have been easier or more intimate, cooking and eating this way, under the stars. What's more all the post-dinner detritus was quickly removed by room-service.

In theory, you could spend all day every day in the environs of your bungalow. But for those who want to blend in some action with their cocktail of indulgence, there is plenty on offer too. Sacrificing a lie-in one morning I went scuba-diving with local operator Top Dive, taking two dives and still being back well before lunch. While the first dive was a huge disappointment as we saw virtually nothing in decidedly grainy visibility, the second dive left me feeling elated after an encounter with 8 velvety 3m long lemon sharks and at least twenty reef sharks. An Argentinian couple returned to the resort later that day also exhilarated after their day of deep sea fishing. After a 45 minute tussle they had landed a 4m marlin. More sedate activities available include lagoon cruises and day-trips (including picnics) to the resort's very own private islet - Motu Tapu - a getaway from a getaway.

The theme of indulgence reaches its logical conclusion at the resort's Mandara Spa. Everything about this place radiates warmth and tranquility - from its location at the top of the volcanic outcrop at the back of the resort, overlooking the lagoon, through its open airy reception areas to its wooden-floored treatment rooms. These feature jacuzzis, set in a bay window, and twin treatment tables to allow simultaneous massages for couples.

Overall the atmosphere around the resort is both deeply relaxing and refined. While service in French Polynesia can be patchy, here it remains at a very high level throughout, being genuine and non-obtrusively attentive. A particularly thoughtful touch was being contacted in advance of our massage appointments to be asked if we wanted to be picked-up by hotel buggy. Even the Tamure beach bar nicely reflects the genial twinkle-in-the eye of its manager Stephane.

In spite of its reasonably high number of suites - 120 - the Bora Bora Nui is so cleverly spaced out that it retains a feeling of exclusivity and relative emptiness, even when occupancy is high. There are of course plenty of other resorts around Bora Bora and at least two more ultra-chic developments on the way. But they would have to go a long way to provide an experience and an ambience as special as that on offer here.

For more information on Tahiti and her Islands including latest deals, contact Tahiti Tourisme on + 612 9281 6020 or visit www.tahiti-tourisme.com.au