InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa

The resort occupies Motu Piti Aau, a private motu on the Bora Bora barrier reef, reached by boat from the airport, with the Otemanu view across the lagoon. It was the first property in the world to use deep seawater air conditioning at resort scale, drawing cold water from 900 metres to cool the buildings — a system later adopted at The Brando and elsewhere.

The property closed on 1 June 2026. It is not returning as the InterContinental: the resort is being converted to Regent Bora Bora and is scheduled to reopen in late 2027 with 84 villas, all over the lagoon. Pacific Beachcomber remains the owner, and both brands belong to IHG, so the change is a repositioning of the same asset rather than a change of hands. Around eighty overwater villas made up the inventory before closure, along with the thalassotherapy spa that gave the property its name.

The first seawater cooling installation. A genuine engineering first in hospitality, and the reason this property matters beyond its rooms.

Closed under one name, returning under another. The motu and the cooling system remain; what ends is the InterContinental. When Regent Bora Bora opens, it takes a record of its own in this register, and this entry becomes the predecessor — an operator change makes a new record, not an edit.

Sources

• IHG — closed 1 June 2026 for comprehensive renovation
• Infos Tourisme, 2026 — "closed on June 1, 2026"; converted to Regent Bora Bora with "84 villas, all located above the lagoon"; "scheduled to reopen in late 2027"; Pacific Beachcomber remains the local owner and partner; IHG owns both InterContinental and Regent; Regent's first property in French Polynesia
• CORRECTION 2026-10-05 — the entry stated that the register carried "no reopening date until one is confirmed in writing" and described the closure as a renovation the property would return from. Both have been overtaken: the reopening is stated for late 2027 and the property returns under a different brand. The declared absence of a date was true when written and false four months later.
• CHECK — the successor, Regent Bora Bora, has no code in this register. Requested from the Library; until it is issued, the successor is named in prose and carries no link.

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Booking

Private Island Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the island and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.

Classified by The Resort Collection House · The Register · Edition 2026 · LHL-I-178
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