Natalie Neves

Five years ago, my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary my going to Bora Bora. We started in Tahiti and stayed on the main island, then saved Bora Bora for last, and it was absolutely one of our best trips ever. We stayed in an overwater bungalow, which was itself already an incredible experience, and St. Regis absolutely spoiled us from the minute we got there. I felt like I was in a James Bond movie!

When you fly into Bora Bora, the airport is on an island, so there are water taxis that take you from there all the way to the different resorts. The concept of hotels and resorts are just totally off the charts there, and like nothing you would ever see in the United States. We were there for 12 nights and getting back to reality after we came home was a major challenge. We were on the plane asking ourselves, “Really? We have to leave this beautiful, magnificent place?” We probably would have stayed forever if we could have, and people don’t always say that after a typical beach vacation.

Getting there is a very long trip, and it's a very high-end trip as well. The bungalow minimum was $1,200 a night, and a lot of people don’t want to spend $10,000 just for a hotel stay. After I came back, I sold it to honeymooners anyway, even if it was a little beyond what they were looking for, just because it was such a wonderful trip and I wanted to share that experience with other people. Once you've done something yourself, and you've really loved it, you can refer it to other people and they’ll love you for it too.