When you want to take a truly over-the-top vacation, there are a few options: an off-grid safari, a cruise to the ends of the earth, or a far-flung island escape complete with overwater bungalows, white-sand beaches, and turquoise seas. The South Pacific offers the latter, and it does so perhaps better than any other corner of the world, largely thanks to a number of luxury hotels that take travelers’ fantasies and turn them into reality.
How Voting Works
Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Nearly 165,000 T+L readers completed the 2023 survey, an increase of nearly 25 percent over pre-pandemic voting levels. A total of more than 685,000 votes were cast across over 8,500 unique properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).
Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, or safari lodge based on their location and amenities, and they were specifically rated on the criteria below:
- Rooms/facilities
- Location
- Service
- Food
- Value
For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.
Andre Klotz/Courtesy of Four Seasons Bora Bora
What Readers Loved
Resorts in French Polynesia, specifically the island of Bora Bora, made up the majority of this year’s list of the best hotels in the South Pacific, as voted by T+L readers. That includes the winner, InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa, where “the food, service, and spa are impeccable,” one reader said. Next on the list is St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, which has the largest overwater bungalows in the region (the smallest here coming in at a whopping 1,550 square feet), as well as a “wonderful staff,” another reader wrote.
Fiji is also represented, with Kokomo Private Island Fiji in the No. 3 spot. A 140-acre paradise with just 26 villas, the hotel may be the “best private island holiday in the world” — or at least one T+L reader thinks so. Read on to see which other properties were voted as the best resorts in the South Pacific — and why the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa topped the list.
The Winner
InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa
Courtesy of Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa
Picture this: You wake up in an overwater villa and step out on your deck to take in the view of Mount Otemanu, Bora Bora’s most iconic peak. According to one voter, it’s an experience that can only be described as “unforgettable.” Although, that word could be used to describe many of the property’s offerings — snorkeling and scuba diving among technicolor fish, parasailing over the island’s turquoise waters, and getting a massage while watching marine life through a glass floor. Dining options range from gourmet French cuisine to casual beachside bites. “Food was incredible, and service was top notch,” one reader wrote. So, the only thing better than waking up to that view? Going to sleep and getting to do it all over again the next day.
T+L Reader
Food was incredible, and service was top notch.
— T+L Reader
The Full List
1. InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa: Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Reader score: 96.27
2. The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort: Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Reader score: 95.80
3. Kokomo Private Island Fiji: Yaukuve Levu Island, Fiji
Reader score: 95.76
4. Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora: Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Reader score: 95.48
5. Conrad Bora Bora Nui: Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Reader score: 94.00