Regent to Debut in French Polynesia with Regent Bora Bora in Late 2027

Regent Hotels & Resorts will arrive in French Polynesia in late 2027, when InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa reopens as Regent Bora Bora. IHG has signed an agreement with its long-standing partner Pacific Beachcomber to carry out the transformation, giving the brand its first address in the islands.

The resort closed on 1 June 2026 for extensive renovations, and that work will carry it through to its return under the Regent name. For travellers who plan South Pacific journeys well in advance, the signing provides a firm marker: one of Bora Bora’s established overwater resorts is being remade as a Regent, and the timeline is now public.

The setting is the constant. The property occupies a private motu on the eastern edge of Bora Bora’s lagoon, and all 84 of its villas stand over the water, each with direct lagoon access. The outlook takes in both Mount Otemanu and the open Pacific. IHG describes the experience as exclusively overwater, which places every guest above the lagoon and makes the choice of villa a question of aspect and outlook.

What changes is the way the resort is run. Regent Bora Bora will carry the brand’s signature hallmarks, beginning with Personal Havens, the name Regent gives to its accommodation. Each stay will be overseen by a Regent Experience Agent, a single point of contact from pre-arrival to departure. The third hallmark is With Compliments, the brand’s approach to thoughtful inclusions.

Of the three, the Experience Agent is likely to matter most to the way a stay here unfolds. A journey to Bora Bora tends to be arranged long before departure, and a single named contact who holds the whole itinerary from the first enquiry to the final morning is a practical advantage. It also gives returning guests continuity, since preferences are held by one person across the length of the stay.

IHG says the resort will blend intuitive service, immersive dining, exceptional design and experiences that connect guests with Polynesian culture. The renovation is described as extensive, and the design and dining are both named among the elements the new resort will be built around. The cultural programme is the part that ties the brand to its location, and it is the area in which a Regent on a private motu has the most scope to distinguish itself.

One feature of the existing property will carry straight through. The resort was the first hotel in the world to implement seawater air-conditioning, a system that cuts the electricity used for air conditioning and refrigeration by around 90%. IHG has confirmed that it will stay in operation at Regent Bora Bora. For guests who weigh the footprint of a remote island stay, this is a substantive credential, and one already proven on site over the resort’s years as an InterContinental.

The signing also says something about the two companies involved. Pacific Beachcomber has been IHG’s partner for more than two decades, and the decision to move this resort to Regent keeps that relationship in place while lifting the property into IHG’s top luxury tier. Regent Bora Bora joins a portfolio that includes Hong Kong, Santa Monica, Phu Quoc, Cannes, Shanghai and Bali. Rajit Sukumaran of IHG described the signing as reflecting a selective approach to growing Regent, in destinations where the brand can be distinctive.

For now, the useful facts are the dates. The resort has been closed since 1 June 2026 and remains so until it reopens in late 2027, so anyone considering this particular motu should plan around that window. Travellers who know the brand from its city hotels will have a first Regent in French Polynesia to consider, and those who knew the resort in its previous form will find the same lagoon, the same view of Mount Otemanu and 84 overwater villas, under a new name and a new standard of service.

Source: IHG