It felt like we had seen every version of luxury pricing until arriving in Bora Bora last week. Our quiet lagoon-front Airbnb isn’t luxury at all—just simple and lovely, with soft breezes drifting through open windows and a fair $375 nightly rate that included tax and a small cleaning fee.
Then we looked across the lagoon at Four Seasons Bora Bora and considered moving there for three nights to see what that experience is like. Bora Bora wins for drop-dead gorgeous scenery, and we’d still rank Four Seasons at the top for sheer beauty, but also for the most audacious resort fees we have ever encountered. Nothing could have prepared us for what we read.
The 10% that changes everything.
At Four Seasons Bora Bora, the base overwater bungalow for our off-season dates started at about $3,633 a night, and many rooms easily climb to $7,300 or more depending on view and season. Then comes the resort fee, a flat 10% added to every category, or roughly $360 to $730 a night before any other charges even begin. After that, layers of service fees, regional taxes, and a nightly city tax quietly accumulate.
Seeing that full breakdown took us from surprise to disbelief. Four Seasons does disclose every fee early in the booking process, and that transparency deserves acknowledgment. But the sheer scale of what gets charged is staggering.
Helicopter transfers, breakfasts delivered by canoe, and private dinner setups sit alongside smaller but telling extras: fruit that appears in your room and tropical flower arrangements, ranging from about $105 for a small display to nearly $200 for a larger one. When even flowers and fruit feel monetized, elegance turns to excess.
The 26% penalty no one warned you about.
Here is how it adds up: 10% resort fee, 10% VAT on that fee, 5% service charge, 4.9% regional tax, 5% room tax, and another smaller per-person nightly city tax. Together, that’s 25.9% piled on top of the room rate, plus the per-person charge. For the three-night stay we were considering, the extras came to roughly $2,850 before even factoring in the multi-thousand-dollar-per-night room charge.
In total, those stacked charges added nearly $950 a night, or $2,850 for three nights, a cost that feels impossible to justify.
As one Beat of Hawaii reader named Dennis said, resort fees are just a plain and simple money grabber, and you are not getting anything in return other than the right to walk in and pay more. Seeing the final numbers, we knew exactly what he meant.
How the numbers stack up across destinations.
Hawaii resorts that charge fees typically add a flat $50 to $60 nightly resort fee at full-service hotels. It is annoying but predictable, and it certainly does not grow alongside your room rate.
Bora Bora is a shock in comparison: a $3,633 room plus 25.9% in mandatory add-ons, totaling about $2,850 per stay before you even spend on food or drinks. For premium mountain-view bungalows, the resort-fee component alone can run up to $600 a night.
In the Maldives, most resorts layer on service charges, GST, and a green tax that has recently increased to about $12 per person per night. Combined, those charges often push total add-ons to roughly 26–29%.
At Atlantis Bahamas, the resort fee is mandatory. The Coral charges about $60 a night, The Royal around $65, and The Reef and The Cove about $70, all plus 10% VAT.
Las Vegas, once the city of cheap rooms and perks, now routinely charges resort fees of around $50 or more. In many cases, those fees are taxed again, meaning the fee itself becomes nearly as much as the room rate you thought you were paying.
Hawaii’s $50 fee versus Bora Bora’s $2,850 shock.
After seeing what Bora Bora adds on, Hawaii suddenly feels restrained. At home, those resort fees that once drew so much outrage now look almost reasonable. A flat $40 to $60 a night at some Hawaii hotels may still irritate travelers, but at least it stays the same no matter which room you book. In Bora Bora, the higher your room rate, the higher your penalty. The percentage system turns luxury into a tax bracket, and there is no ceiling on how much you can pay.
Reader Al told us that resort fees should always be included in the total price and that Hawaii should require hotels to do so by law. That kind of transparency is already starting to happen with new federal rules.
When luxury became code for hidden costs.
After comparing so many destinations, a pattern emerges. What began as small “amenity-related fees” has quietly become a second room rate disguised as fine print. The trend stretches from the South Pacific to the Caribbean to Las Vegas, where reader Sherri pointed out that resort fees now often equal or exceed the cost of the room itself. Travelers everywhere are starting to see it for what it is: a test of how much the market will tolerate before saying no.
Everywhere we look, the definition of resort fee has drifted into absurdity. It is no longer about amenities or service at all. It is about how far luxury can push before value finally pushes back.
Why this matters for Hawaii travelers.
Hawaii just became the default transparency winner. The islands’ long-criticized resort fees might finally work in their favor. The Federal Trade Commission’s new Junk Fee rule took effect on May 12, 2025, and now requires U.S. hotels and short-term lodging to show the full price, including all mandatory fees, before you book. It doesn’t ban resort fees, but it does end the practice of hiding them in the fine print.
That means travelers comparing destinations will finally see the real numbers up front. When a Maui resort shows $495 all-in next to a Bora Bora listing that climbs past $3,700 after taxes and add-ons, the contrast speaks for itself. Hawaii may still charge resort fees, but at least they now live in daylight. After years of taking heat for those charges, Hawaii could end up setting the new standard for honesty in luxury travel.
At what dollar amount does a resort fee cross from annoying to offensive?
Bottom line: Paradise doesn’t belong to only the five-star crowd.
Bora Bora may carry a luxury reputation, but it doesn’t have to come with luxury prices. There are stays here for every kind of traveler. We were so surprised by the add-ons and rates that we dropped the idea of moving to the Four Seasons entirely. For us, the quiet $375 Airbnb directly on the lagoon at the best beach on Bora Bora has been the absolute luxury.
Tell us: what is the most outrageous resort fee you have ever encountered? Drop your worst experience in the comments. We’re building a hall of shame.
Photo Credit: Beat of Hawaii at Matira Beach on Bora Bora.
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Years ago on my second trip to Bora Bora I was swinging in my hammock a couple feet from the water at a 7 dollar a night campground using my tent. A tourist couple walking down the beach from their over the water bungalows (about 500 dollars a night asked me what I was paying and after I told him he said to his wife, “if we ever come here again we’re bringing a tent! Bora Bora is one of the most beautiful places in the world but as with Hawaii Greed has taken over there just the same as everywhere these days. Glad I traveled so much when things were still reasonable.
It’s clear that Four Seasons B-B has a very specific clientele in mind: folks who literally don’t care how much it costs. There are a surprising number of such people. They are also the ones buying up expensive property in Hawaii.
Sorry to hear a good justification for Hawaii’s greed. Sugar coating the situation in making Hawaii look inexpensive compared to a 3rd world country isn’t in good taste. Don’t compare Bora Bora to Hawaii. It’s two different experiences and not even close to being the same. Justification or consent to over charge tourist’s IMO I don’t agree with.
Its not Hawaii’s greed, its the coorperate owned and operated resorts greed. Locals staying resorts in Hawaii pay all the same fees and taxes too, not just tourists. Just saying. Those resorts get major tax breaks and subsidies for water consumption and seem to be exempt from the water restrictions faced by rest of the community ( thinking of Maui specifically ). Theres a difference between green fees for visitors that fund the state and resort fees. Don’t care for resorts and their fees, find accomodations elsewhere.
Corporations make profits on the mainland and worldwide to be able to afford the rent, taxes, utilities that Hawaii imposes. It gives Hawaiian’s choices in what chain restaurants offer on the mainland so Hawaiians don’t have to travel across seas. Most of the stores have mainland products by huge corporations right in local grocery stores. If it weren’t for corporate run businesses or products then how many Hawaiian’s would really even be employed? If it weren’t for big corporations Hawaii wouldn’t even have gasoline to operate vehicles with. Hawaiians benefit from this too in product choices etc. so please stop the corporate greed stuff.
I’m curious. Why is the world picking on Hawaii for its resort fees, green fees and state park reservation and entrence fees? The attacks on tourism worldwide don’t garner as much ire as Hawaii’s minimal steps to regulate it’s massive onslaught of visitors.
I’m a Maui resident for 30 years, and every day, Maui more than doubles its population with visitors. Every day, half the people you see here on Maui are just passing through. Our infrastructure and specifically our water resources are over stretched and in desperate need of repair. These fees can help, whats the fuss about?! Here’s a very friendly reminder that traveling is a luxury and a choice not a birthright. The places you visit need to feed, house, water and grow their local populations.
To be fair Bora Bora is the most exclusive place in the world. You won’t be paying fees like that on Tahiti or anywhere else in French Polynesia for that matter…
Wow, what a sticker shock. There must be enough of those who can afford that sticker price and enough business to sustain the big corporation-run hotels. Ironically, my Airbnb, at $ 250/night, with zero resort fees and big ocean views, which is undoubtedly not Bora Bora but still costs me to run and maintain, seems to attract the purple-haired mid-fifties crowd who make no complaints until they crush your business by leaving a 3-star review because they are not in luxury but want it without the price. They just take it out on you for not giving them Free.
I’ve stayed at the over the water bungalows in Bora Bora. The beauty there is amazing. It’s like something people dream about. Everywhere you look is like looking at a postcard. Would I do it again? Absolutely not. I did it just to have that experience. It’s not really worth the price. If I go back I would AirBNB it. Save thousands of dollars on resort fees that can be spent elsewhere(food, diving, excursions).
I just returned from a quick weekend in San Francisco. While staying with friends, we dined in little off-beat hipster holes in the wall in the Mission. Food and beverage pricing was on par with Hawaii. I’m reevaluating my attitude towards our hometown Hawaii pricing. It’s not as outrageous as I thought.
I’ve been to Tahiti several times, and never splurged for the over-water bungalows. It’s definitely a trap. While I’m sure maintenance costs for overwater accommodations must be sky-high, they can’t possibly match the price tag – especially when you factor in the resort fees, VAT, and local surcharges. Modest beachside hotels are a far better value. Bora Bora has managed to monetize beauty.
Want a Tahiti bargain?
Next month we are going to sail from Tahiti for seven nights around the Society Islands, including Bora Bora, Moorea, etc. It is a small 330 passenger cruise ship, the Paul Gauguin. It is advertised as a “floating overwater bungalow”. All food and drinks are included, plus many other amenities. Prices start at about $3,000 per person for the entire package.. Top rated for service, dining. The ship and staterooms were recently upgraded.
Can’t wait to sit out on our balcony, sipping Pina Coladas, while beautiful
scenery entertains us. Forget any fees , tips, etc., it’s all inclusive.
Wow. That does sound like a bargain.
Yeah, I don’t stay at Four Seasons anymore. All of them are absurdly overpriced. There are hotels with equally high levels of service and luxury for less than half the price, sometimes right next door. (I’m looking at you, Wailea). I can afford FS, and the beds are the most comfortable anywhere, but I no longer go to FS because I leave feeling fleeced at every turn. Just galling.
We have stayed on Bora Bora IHG property and booked through Costco, we book Hawaii through Costco too. Over water bungalow and on the main island so we can walk around without a boat ride from the pricier resorts. Prices vary but $3500 p/p for 5 nights including air is a great deal.
I lived in Tahiti and now Hawaii. Both places are expensive. The BnB ‘s are essential to tourism. Only the wealthy can now effort these islands.
I work in hotel finance, so I usually see through these kinds of markups, but Bora Bora managed to surprise even me. It’s the psychological part that gets you. First thinking it’s one price, and by the time you leave, the total is 25 or 30 percent higher or even more. Yes, the resort discloses it, but disclosure doesn’t make it painless. We travel to Hawaii every year and pay our share of resort fees, taxes, and high meal prices, but at least you can see more easily where the money goes: labor, land, supply chains, shipping. In Bora Bora, it feels abstract, like the price exists because someone knows they can get away with it and that wealthy Americans and French are suckers. It’s a gorgeous place all right, but one visit was definitely enough. Thanks for the reminder.
As someone who works in Hawaii tourism, I really appreciate how you framed this. It’s not anti-luxury, it’s anti-greed. There’s a big difference. When travelers see Hawaii next to places like Bora Bora or the Maldives, it puts things into better perspective. We might still charge resort fees, but we haven’t lost sight of what travel is supposed to feel like.
I’ve never been to Bora Bora, but I’ve always dreamed of those idyllic pictures of overwater bungalows. Now I’m realizing the dream probably belongs to a different budget bracket than mine. What’s funny is I don’t even mind that. I’m happy to spend modestly in Hawaii, and I think after this I’ll grumble a lot less about doing just that .
We honeymooned at the Four Seasons Bora Bora in 2016, and it was magical, but yeah, we knew we were being taken for a ride financially. Back then, room rates and resort fees were much much smaller, but even then, it felt endless. This article nailed that mix of awe and frustration. You can’t deny the beauty, but you also can’t ignore the costs. It makes my appreciation of Hawaii that much greater.
We saved for years to try once going beyond Hawaii and doing a South Pacific bucket list trip—Moorea, then Bora Bora—and then left feeling both awed and exhausted. The scenery was beyond anything we’d imagined, but the constant nickel-and-diming wore us down. The bill at checkout looked like a small mortgage payment. And restaurants and activities weren’t a lot better. When we go back, we’ll pick a small local place with fewer frills and a spend a lot more carefully.
As someone born and raised on Oahu, I always thought Hawaii had gone too far with resort fees. Then I read this and realized maybe we’re not the worst offenders after all. What really gets me is that these international resorts hide behind “transparency” while still normalizing 25% in extras. Maybe that’s honest on paper, but it sure doesn’t feel honest in spirit.
We actually stayed at the Four Seasons Bora Bora a few years ago when prices were lower, and even then the extras shocked us. You think you’re paying for paradise until you realize you’re being charged for every coconut and flower petal. It was stunning, but I found myself missing the feeling of Aloha we always get in Hawaii. There, even when it’s expensive, it still feels less transactional, more grounded and real. Here it just felt I was money.
We’ve always dreamed about Bora Bora, but after seeing these numbers I’d rather spend that kind of money flying first class to Hawaii twice. At least I’d still have something left for poke and shave ice.
We spent a week in Bora Bora last year and the bills felt endless. Beautiful, yes, but by the time we checked out, I had financial fatigue. Agree that Hawaii’s resort fees suddenly feel like the “budget” option, which is kind of wild.
Have stayed in those Bora Bora overwater bungalows. Even when it was $750 per night fifteen years ago, absolutely not worth it. At $3,633 + 10% resort fee per night, there is no adequate word to describe the outright fraud of such prices.
Also, those who have stayed at these wooden overwater bungalows know the following is true: termites. The termites eat the wood at night. You will see pinholes in your floor. In the morning, you will see tiny wood shaving piles around the pinholes. That’s termite activity. Especially fun when you have the flying termites emerge in the evening.
Don’t throw your money away.
This is why many people try to get hotel award nights for Bora Bora + the like because the award includes or covers the award fees also (until that is cut from award programs). Hilton + Hyatt I believe. I’m sure the number of points is crazy but may still be less than the $$.
BOH Editors, which AirBNB are you staying at on Bora Bora?
While things are changing in and around Hawaii, most readers of this publication reflect on minimal disturbances to their plans, often adding positive comments, as I do. Yes there may be less expensive places to visit. If Bora Bora is your new vacation sanctuary, all the best. For me, I will continue to favor the Hawaiian islands and deal with situations as they arise. Financially, for me, prices have Not risen each year more than 3-5%, including my next yearly visit in January/February. The transition to Atmos has Not affected my points.