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Emily on the Lower Deck of our Emerald Overwater Bungalow at the InterContinental Thalasso
- Introduction
- Planning
- A Bad Start & a Few Hours in Los Angeles
- Air France Lounge – Los Angeles
- Air France Business Class – Los Angeles to Papeete
- Getting to Moorea
- Hilton Moorea
- Hilton Moorea, Panoramic Overwater Bungalow #87
- An ATV Tour in Moorea
- Whale & Dolphin Watching in Moorea
- Eating in Moorea
- Moorea to Bora Bora
- Bora Bora Airport To InterContinental Thalasso
- Emerald Overwater Bungalow #204 at the InterContinental Thalasso Bora Bora
- Jet-Skiing in Bora Bora
- A 9 Hour Bike Ride Around Bora Bora
- Eating in the InterContinental Thalasso
- InterContinental Thalasso Coral Garden Suite
- Around the InterContinental Thalasso
- Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort
- Royal Overwater Villa, Hilton Bora Bora Nui
- Dinner at Villa Mahana
- Eating in the Hilton Bora Bora
- Is Food Expensive in Bora Bora?
- A Day in Papeete
- Air Tahiti Nui and Southwest Flights Home
- Conclusion & Blog Giveaway!
Video review of our Emerald overwater bungalow #204
Emily: We were driven to our overwater Emerald bungalow from the check-in area in a golf cart. The ride was very pretty and I was excited because we’d be staying in one of these overwater bungalows.
Emily Outside the Overwater Bungalows
Daraius: Emily and I each used our 1 annual free night from the Chase Priority Club card for 2 nights at the InterContinental Thalasso which we booked ~2 months in advance. We booked another night for 30,000 points a night when the rate had dropped earlier this year (a mistake).
The current rate is 50,000 Priority Club points per night in a Coral Suite which sells for ~$800 on the InterContinental website. But the Coral suite is not an overwater bungalow, so I emailed the hotel to negotiate an upgrade to an overwater bungalow.
I had requested overwater bungalow #205 when I confirmed that I’d pay the ~$175 per night fee to guarantee an upgrade from the Coral Garden bungalows to the Emerald overwater bungalow. Bungalow #205 was the last Emerald bungalow in the row of bungalows which didn’t face any other bungalows in front of us.
However, we were assigned bungalow #204 instead, which was really spectacular, and we had nothing to complain about. The room was very modern and new.
Emily: The bungalow was huge! It had a separate room with a sofa, chair, flat screen TV, and desk.
The Living Room
There was a glass-top coffee table with fruits which we ate for breakfast one day to save paying for breakfast.
Glass Coffee Table & Welcome Fruits
There was a small table as soon as we entered which had water and a basket to store stuff.
Small Table
The bedroom was large and faced the clear bluish-green colored water.
Our Bedroom
Our bedroom had a huge window that looked right out onto the water.
View From our Bedroom
The bedroom also had an entrance to the bathroom.
Bathroom Entrance
The bathroom was also large and luxurious with his and hers sinks.
Emily in the Bathroom
Some hotel rooms are the size of this bathroom!
The Huge Bathroom
There was a walk-in shower.
The Shower Room
And a large bathtub.
Huge Bathtub
The amenities were Algotherm which also lends its name to the Deep Ocean Spa at the InterContinental in Bora Bora.
Algotherm Amenities
The highlight was our own private balcony with deck chairs.
Deck Chairs on the Balcony
There was a table to eat on.
Table on the Balcony
And stairs that descended into the water for swimming and snorkeling.
Stairs Leading to a Lower Deck
We could see a few other overwater bungalows from our deck so it wasn’t completely private.
Emily on the Lower Deck
Our room was modern, private and comfortable. I especially liked the attention to detail, for example, the cushions on the deck chairs.
What we wouldn’t give to go back to our overwater bungalow at the InterContinental Thalasso!
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I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! 
hi, Daraius, thank you for your nice post. I have a question about Emerald overwater bungalow. This is one bedroom or two-bedroom bungalow? If we have four people, my husband and I and my parents, is this big enough? Thanks!
Been following these posts and it looks like you had a great time. However, it’s overcast in every photo you posted so far… did you ever get the weather we all dream about when thinking about Tahiti?
Thats a nice bungalow. And you seemed to have scored a nice deal on Pts and Cash to upgrade. Nice work.
Daraious,
Very nice pics! Couple of q:
1. Did you get to see lot of fishes or marine life (turtles, stingray etc.)around the bungalow or while snorkeling around the area?
2. How much did the food cost for each of the meals?
3. Is there any OWB that can accommodate 5 people (2 adults, 3kids)?
Thanks.
@jennifer – It is a one bedroom bungalow. That said, when you book the bungalow it says that you can have a maximum of 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 kids. I suspect there may be an extra charge for a roll away bed.
@Lee - The weather was much better during the last 4 days of our stay, but it was windy when we were there. That said, it was always sunny, though it would have been nice if it was a little warmer.
@MileageUpdate – It was among the best bungalow we’ve stayed in.
@ff_lover – There’s aren’t much fish by the bungalows at the Thalasso, but they do have an artificial pool where they have placed fish. Food was expensive (~$40 for breakfast & ~$25 for a burger). I’ll have a more detailed review on the food soon. I believe most Overwater bungalows say that they will accommodate 2 adults and 3 kids. However, there may be an extra charge for a rollaway bed.
@ff_lover
We stayed in 203 and there wasn’t much marine life in that area. We did see a sting ray by our room when we were walking on the walkway. There was good snorkeling by the bridge and by the chapel. The Moana had better marine life. We even saw a small black tip reaf shark below our bungalow at the Moana. The Thalasso is nicer but the Moana has better charm.
The awesome thing about the Thalasso is that they have sting ray feeding every day at 2pm. However, the sting ray show up closer to 1pm and they just swim in the area till their feeder arrives. You are able to pet them, feed them, and they even swim up on you. (Similar to a dog jumping on you) An amazing experience.
@Lee
We were there in the end of May. I would say we had one perfect day, the rest of the stay was a mix of clouds and sun. Only the last day was cloudy and rainy. This was over a 7 day stay.
Hi D, I have a question. So when you paid cash to upgrade the room, did you get the point and stay credit towards elite status? I know award room does not count towards elite status or points for Hilton and Intercontinental but wonder what if you pay cash to upgrade the room?
dear daraious,
did you check Coral Suite? Is that two-bedroom suite?
Hi Darius,
Your blogs have been so informative and I’m in the middle of my first credit card churn thanks to some of the tips and tricks you taught me here and other blogs you linked me too =) I applied for two Citi AA cards, Chase sapphire preferred, and US airways using your links thus far and will prolly do a a small business churn in a 45 days (I think that’s what you recommended) with the American Express Gold, Citi AA, and Chase Ink Bold. But currently I”m close to meeting all the sign up bonuses and will have close to 110k AA miles, along with 50k US air and 48k UR points. My entire quest is I want to take my soon to be fiance on a trip to Tahiti next year and I can’t find a concrete cost in terms of miles using AA awards. Do you know the cost in miles for say a business class to get me there? My gf will be doing a churn soon too so we’ll both have about the same number of miles =). Any suggestions to help a noob out=)
Thanks again for all your effort and knowledge and opening up a world of possibilities for a guy with low income in a high income world.
@Robert
This write-up should answer some of your Q’s http://milevalue.com/getting-to-tahiti-with-american-airlines-miles/
I apologize if posting this is against any blog rules
this is quite similar to Maldives resorts , hope you had a great honeymoon, by the way do they have all inclusive option?
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@Corridor! – Thanks for helping out!
@Li - I got points, but no stay credit.
@jennifer – I didn’t go into that suite, but online it says it is 2 bedroom. Most folks don’t want to stay in the Coral Suite because it is not an overwater bungalow.
@Robert – Thanks for reading! I’d wait 90 days between churns. I wrote about using American Airlines miles to Tahiti in this post. Also see the “Planning” post in the Trip Report series. AA miles are helpful for the flights and Hilton & InterContinental points for the hotels.
@Lee – No worries and thanks for helping out!
@zane – Thanks! There was no all-inclusive option, unfortunately.
@
So refreshing to see a post with pics of you guys NOT holding up your truckload of CCs and debit cards and Bluebirds that you are pumping nonstop to all of us. I read this post next to the toilet just to be safe, but I’m glad I didn’t have to use it!!!!
@gregorygrady – Thanks! But I’ll try harder next time!
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Nice writeup D, this place looks awesome.
Question about the annual free night certificate from priority club. Does it come bound to the name on the cc? Or can essentially anyone use those certificates?
@E – I believe you can add a 2nd guest to the reservation who may be able to check in for you.
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Darius solid post, how deep was the water off the lower deck? I’ve been trying to find info on this and it seems like nobody talks about it. I’ve read the other IC hotel is over chest deep water, hope you can provide some insight.
@Phil - I really can’t remember. I’ll ask Emily and post an update.