Conrad Bora Bora – good availability for Sep 2019 and Jul 2020

Conrad Bora Bora is one of the most aspirational points properties in any program.  The perfectly blue lagoon of Bora Bora on a sunny day is magical.  Coupled with mountain view and almost nonexistent crowd compared to Hawaii, it can be an ideal relaxing getaway.  To be able to use 89,000 Hilton points, or the free night certificate from the Aspire/Ascend Surpass card, for a $1,000 night here is an amazing value, when the dump that is Hilton LAX costs almost half the amount of points.

{ The view at breakfast }

When I booked a year ago (Aug 2018) for a year out (Aug 2019), award availability was extremely scarce for the peak dry season (July and August).  I pretty much had to book on the day it got released to inventory a year out.  Now there seems to be more availability immediately (probably thanks to the 30 day cancellation policy) and for next summer.

Here’s availability for September 2019:

And for July 2020:

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the 2 IHG properties in Bora Bora.  IC Le Moana has nothing available in September, while IC Thalasso has a few single dates but no two dates together.  For the latter which requires expensive boat ride to reach, it’s probably not worth going for 1 night.  Both typically only release award inventory about 4 months out.

As a reminder, Hilton free weekend night certificates can be used on Fri, Sat, and Sun nights.

Flights to Tahiti aren’t cheap, but I was able to find economy for about $800 from LAX.  I had to route thru New Zealand on the way back, but I’ll take it for the substantial saving.  There are also direct flights from SFO on United and French Bee.  For more info on feasibility for normal people, see this Miles For Family article.

I’ll have a review of my trip to Bora Bora and Moorea soon, including how to get there and how to save money at the resorts.  Stay tuned!