One of the buzziest brand revivals in luxury hospitality just landed its most postcard-ready address yet.
IHG Hotels & Resorts and longtime partner Pacific Beachcomber signed an agreement to transform the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa into Regent Bora Bora, giving the brand its first flag in French Polynesia when the resort reopens in late 2027.
The property closed June 1 for a top-to-bottom renovation. When it returns, the 84-villa resort will be an exclusively overwater affair, set on a private motu along the eastern edge of Bora Bora's lagoon with views of Mount Otemanu and the open Pacific. Guests can expect the hallmarks Regent has rolled out across its portfolio: Personal Havens carved out for quiet retreat, Regent Experience Agents serving as a single point of contact from pre-arrival through checkout, and the brand's "With Compliments" ethos of built-in inclusions.
"Bora Bora is one of the world's most extraordinary luxury destinations, making it a natural home for Regent," Rajit Sukumaran, senior vice president and managing director, East Asia & Pacific, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said in prepared remarks. "Together with our long-standing partner Pacific Beachcomber, we have an exceptional opportunity to transform this remarkable resort while preserving the natural beauty, Polynesian character and sense of place that make it so special."
The signing extends a partnership between IHG and Pacific Beachcomber that stretches back more than two decades.
"Bora Bora demands a very particular kind of luxury, one that respects the extraordinary natural environment and remains deeply connected to Polynesian culture," added Richard Bailey, founder and chairman of Pacific Beachcomber. "Regent's understated and highly personalised approach is beautifully aligned with that vision, and we look forward to creating an experience that is both exceptional and authentically of this place."
One quirk of the property is staying put through the transformation: its seawater air-conditioning system, the first of its kind at any hotel in the world, which pulls naturally cold water from deep in the Pacific to cool the resort and has cut the electricity needed for air conditioning and refrigeration by roughly 90%.
The deal adds another trophy to a portfolio IHG has been assembling at a steady clip since acquiring Regent in 2018 to anchor the top of its luxury lineup. The brand returned to the U.S. with the 2024 opening of Regent Santa Monica Beach and has Regent Karuizawa slated for Japan in 2028 — joining stalwarts and revivals alike in Hong Kong, Phu Quoc, Cannes, and Shanghai.
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