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Though the vast majority of visitors to Bora Bora are honeymooners, including 70 percent of those staying at the Bora Nui, which opened in 2002, “children” is not necessarily a discouraging word. The resort plans to unveil two three-bedroom villas to accommodate families in 2008. Though there is no “kids’ club” per se, the Bora Nui does have a half-mile-long private beach with every water sport known to humankind.

The five-year-old Bora Nui, under the same ownership as the St. Regis (Starwood), is also upscale but has a slightly different feeling. The biggest resort on the island, with 120 villas and suites on 16 acres, it takes a more traditional approach than its dressier sister. All the over-water fales, very Polynesian in style, are identical: mahogany floors, marble baths, four-poster canopy beds and a type of natural parchment known as tapa cloth decorating the walls. All the art is local or from a nearby island. Of the 120 villas, 117 are 1,000 square feet, and all have only one bedroom. A special touch: the resort is the only one on Bora Bora that faces the Pacific Ocean rather than the lagoon, meaning total privacy in terms of not being able to see any other resorts on the island.

For sunning, there is a spectacular split-level infinity pool staffed by gorgeous men and women, and that doesn’t count the professional basketball players who were there on a yoga retreat when I visited. The spa, the first to open on Bora Bora, is small, with only four treatment rooms and no locker rooms or shower area. The formal dining room is run by Stephan Legrand, whose previous claim to fame was opening the Paul Bocuse restaurant in Melbourne a decade ago. He oversees a fusion cuisine featuring French and Polynesian ingredients. A piano player performs nightly in the lounge, which has a bar created out of kahia wood imported from the Marquesas. Rooms from $620.

Rooms to Get: The three royal suites, which are the largest in the resort. One is built into the hillside for better views; the other two are over water.

INDAGARE TIP: Because the Bora Nui is a sister of the St. Regis, guests staying at either resort have visiting privileges at the other.