Regent Hotels to Debut in French Polynesia With Bora Bora Resort Conversion

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced on 16 September that its luxury Regent brand will debut in French Polynesia, after signing an agreement with resort operator Pacific Beachcomber to convert the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa into Regent Bora Bora, according to the company.

An Overwater Landmark Reimagined

The 84-villa property, set on a private motu on the eastern edge of Bora Bora’s lagoon, closed on 1 June for an extensive renovation and is due to reopen as Regent Bora Bora in late 2027, IHG said. All villas will remain exclusively overwater, with direct lagoon access and views towards Mount Otemanu. The resort will also retain its seawater air-conditioning system, which IHG says cuts electricity use for cooling by roughly 90 per cent compared with conventional systems.

Rajit Sukumaran, IHG’s senior vice-president and managing director for East Asia and the Pacific, said the signing “reflects our selective approach to growing Regent in destinations where the brand can create something truly distinctive.” Richard Bailey, founder and chairman of Pacific Beachcomber, said the partnership would create “an experience that is both exceptional and authentically of this place.”

Pacific Tourism’s High-End Push

The conversion adds to a string of luxury signings across the South Pacific in recent years, as international hotel groups compete for a limited pool of ultra-high-end sites in small island destinations that depend heavily on tourism revenue. Pacific Beachcomber, a French Polynesian company, already operates several resorts across the territory, including other InterContinental-branded properties.

Why It Matters

For small island economies such as French Polynesia, luxury hotel investment carries outsized weight: tourism is a dominant share of GDP and employment, and flagship rebrandings can influence how a destination is marketed globally for years. The project also illustrates how hotel groups are using sustainability features, such as seawater cooling, as a selling point in premium segments where energy costs and environmental scrutiny are both rising.