Renovations have begun at the five-star, 120-room Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa – a standard setting, award-winning resort that opened in French Polynesia in 2003. The new design will be done in a contemporary island motif and feature villas with a true, Polynesian style “flatscreen” – a retractable wall in the bedroom that unveils a breathtaking lagoon view from both the bed and the bath – as well as plunge pools on the deck complete with a catamaran-like overwater net for lounging.

The renovation project in this resort – known for its unique location on a hill around a sacred cove and for a series of “firsts” in the Tahitian resort category – began in November with landscaping and exterior maintenance in the “peninsula” of 300 series rooms on the West side of the property. Between February 1 and April 30, 2015, the interiors of all 42 villa bungalows in the 300 series will be redone, with new bathrooms, new furnishings and new lighting. The plan to redo the interiors “wing-by-wing” or “section-by-section” of the resort will greatly minimize any disturbance to guests booked in the other sections of the resort.

The sleek new update to the resort famous for its authentic Polynesian ambiance will include a new room category with 8 villas that will feature:

Private plunge pools on the decks
Bed and bathrooms facing the lagoon
Larger terraces and sundecks
Catamaran-style nets over the water – for a unique way to relax and soak in your surroundings that celebrates the “sleeping on a boat” feel of staying in an overwater bungalow.

The authentic Polynesian resort is known for setting firsts, from being French Polynesia’s first all-suite resort; having the first floating lobby and overwater check-in; the first half mile long white sand beach; the first full-service spa; being the only resort with a hilltop wedding chapel and a private islet ideal for romantic dinners, and now the first two-story overwater bungalows in French Polynesia.

Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa, www.hilton.com