My wife and I stayed here end of September for 4 nights after having been on a cruise. We wanted to relax a bit before flying home to Austria. So we have picked this place after reading reviews of this and other hotels on Bora Bora. We wanted to stay in a smaller more privat place compared to the big hotels. Eden Beach is a good value for money. Not luxury but maybe 3star.

We were greeted friendly by the owners wife. She explained everything in detail and showed us our bungalow which was the first one next to the restaurant. The bungalow was ok - big bed, not TV, no aircon but a fan on the ceiling that was very ok for us. All windows had nets to protect against mosquitos. The owners also provide you with insect repellents, so we had no problem with mosquitos. I was only once bitten during the whole stay.

Food was very good, although a bit pricey, as everywhere in Bora Bora. The cook did his things good, especially the fish Mahi Mahi with vanilla was very good.

The owner Vlad was very helpful and friendly. His wife was friendly too but she alway was a bit "cool". Water in the shower did not heat, Vlad came and fixed it instantly.

The only real downside was that every night the water broke down and there was not water till next day morning. Although Vlad gave us a bottle of water for the teeth and toilet it was very annoying not to have water in the toilet.

We booked a tour Vlad recommended to us and it was really a good tour. It was good organized. Vlad brought us by boat to the pickup point where the tour operator already waited, and after the tour he picked us up with almost no waiting-time.

All in all we would recommend this place. We got what we searched for. A nice small place, quiet, with wonderful sunsets. If you just want to be on the lazy side, read a book and relax, this is the place to go. If you are in search for more comfort and OWBs you have to go to one of the bigger and more expensive hotels.

Eden Beach Hotel is a family owned business that felt like a bed and breakfast. It's a small resort with about 6 bungalows that were in use. The bungalows in the back were under renovation during our visit.

Positives:
- Picturesque Location. This hotel is situated on a motu with a beautiful view of Mount Otemanu and the Bora Bora lagoon. It is very scenic, private, and quiet. I loved the view we had just sitting out on the beach. The view is really unbeatable. They also have a cute little pool facing the mountain and the lagoon. Hotel grounds are well landscaped and well kept.

- Access to both the lagoon and the Pacific Ocean. We like to explore on foot and we only had to walk a few minutes to the back side of the motu to see the Pacific Ocean and its roaring waves. I don't think we would've been able to see the ocean if we stayed at the other resorts on the main island.

- Warm welcome and thorough orientation to the hotel. The owner Vlad poured us juice and provided us with a lot of info about his hotel and its services (free kayaking, free ride to go snorkeling). They put out mosquito repellents at the front desk which guests can use.

- Owner and his wife spoke English in addition to French. So we got along fine there even though we don't speak French.

- Good food for dinner and generally with their warm plates. Food prices seem comparable to the big hotels on the island. However, alcohol prices seem expensive.

Negatives:
- Inconsistent Service. Given that this is a small family-run resort, you're dealing with the same people for your entire stay. The quality of our service seems to correlate with our spending at the resort. Service wasn't so great when we weren't spending money there. The owner checks in with you multiple times a day to see if you want something to eat/drink. I can see how some would appreciate that service, but it felt too in-the-face for us. We prefer to be left alone and approach the staff when we need something. There were also times where I felt like I was imposing on the owner, having to go to him for everything (bookings, rides to the main island). Although the owner expresses willingness to help us with our bookings, we had to keep checking back with him to make sure it was taken care of. When he made a mistake with one of our reservations, he was reluctant to call back to rebook. Other times he was apologetic for things. So service was unpredictable. At times we felt like a bother or an inconvenience to the owner, which was unpleasant.

- Service costs add up quickly. We booked this hotel as a "budget hotel" in Bora Bora. However at the time of the booking, we weren't aware that it would cost us extra for transport from the airport to the hotel. I see that the major resorts have boats that pick up the guests directly at the airport. Eden Beach Hotel charges 3000CFP/person for a one way ride to/from the airport. The other option is to ride the free shuttle from the airport to Vaitape, take a taxi to Anau (3000CPF for the ride), and arrange for free hotel pickup from the Anau public dock. The hotel also offers free shuttles to Anau at set times each day. Other than that, you have to pay per ride to get to Vaitape, Matira, or Anau if it is after 6pm. So at the end, it's hard to tell if we saved money staying here or if we ended up spending more on the extra costs. The hotel website lists rates for all their services.

- As beautiful as the hotel grounds are, this hotel is also far away from town. It can be a hassle having to arrange for a ride to the main island each time. While many restaurants offer free pick-up and drop-off, they only do so on the main island. So you'll have to make arrangements and pay for a ride to/back from the hotel if you go out for dinner.

- While our bungalow looked clean, we found a cockroach looking bug in our bed sheets upon our arrival. There were also some ants in the room, but we've learned to co-exist with ants when we visit the South Pacific Islands, so that wasn't a big deal.

- Low water pressure in the shower. Bathroom only came with a soap bar, so be sure to bring your own shampoo, conditioner, and other toiletries.

Beautiful beaches, amazing surroundings. However the hotel could be a bit better. Service is fine, good French, good English.

Out of the 5 places we stayed on 5 islands, this was the 5th best. I feel they are not putting money into maintenance and improvements for their property so at best its average and some parts are poor.

The only 5 is that it had a beautiful view of the island of Bora Bora to look at and a nice sunset. The 2 dinners we had were very good and I don't think our dinnners were overpriced compared to dinnners we had on Bora Bora itself or other islands.


The water in front of the hotel in the lagoon and on the ocean side was not pleasant or usable recreationally.

One of the owners, Vlad, was personable, however, his wife, Donna, left much to be desired. She was brusque from the start. Then, a mask I received from Vlad in the morning fogged up continually and then the strap broke rendering it useless. When I brought it back in the afternoon, Donna said I broke it and that I would pay for it. I was very upset by her attitude. Eventually, she finally provided me with a replacement mask, but she left me with a bad taste in my mouth that stays with me influences this review to some extent.

While Vlad worked to set up our enjoyable paid excursions, I had trouble with believing Vlad at times. They were late picking us up after dropping us off on the pacific side for snorkeling and they did not coordinate with a land taxi to meet us at the public dock they dropped us at. The taxi was at the Le Meridien dock 100 feet away but we could not see them.

Vlad warned us about all dogs but his and said where they dropped us off on the pacific side to snorkel there were no dogs, but there were homes and plenty of dogs. However, none were inclined to bite us as Vlad led us to believe when we first arrived. Other guests told us they walked from Eden Beach to the pacific side without apparent problems with the dogs that Vlad warned us of.

Vlad also said there was no good snorkeling on Bora Bora itself, only on the pacific side of their motu where they had taken us. Not true. We rented bicycles on Bora Bora and found nice spots to snorkel, including near the old bora bora hotel.

Not being able to rely on Vlad was uunpleasant.

We had no power or water to bush our teeth or for the toilet or hot water for the shower 3 of the 4 nights because the equipment was old and broke down and the winds. Vlad and Donna did not seem inclined to repair or rennovate their generator to provide power to the huts or keep the pilot lights lit for hot water. Instead, they just gave us bottles of water for brushing our teeth and the toilet.

The huts were nice, the bed was comfortable, and we made do with what they provided, but we did not get use of the facilities we paid for or that were described on their website.

We felt they took advantage of their remoteness to over charge for drinks.

Bugs biting us outside our room and by the pool remained a significant problem as they have apparently since 2008. Go out on the dock where the boat is tied up to enjoy sitting outside bug free as they have chairs out there for that purpose.

Their boat should have a cover or siding in the event of rain or siginficant wind or choppy waters.


Unfortunately, I cannot recommed the Eden Beach Hotel. I would upgrade to one of the larger hotels on the Motu suggest staying on the Main island of Bora Bora to have better access to snorkeling and excursions.