Closed and Reopening Overwater Resorts: What to Book Instead

A resort can be closed, reopening under a new name, or still open while its overwater villas are unavailable. Those differences decide whether you can book the stay you want.

Here is where each resort stands and what to book if its water villas are unavailable.

Myth: a closed overwater resort is gone for good

Some are renovating, some have reopened under new names, and some have retired only their overwater villas. Check the status of the exact room category before paying.

Check the operator before treating an old room listing as bookable: IHG’s Thalasso notice confirms its renovation, while Sandals Caribbean Cay publishes a planned reopening and Shangri-La Villingili now publishes current villa categories.

The pattern that actually ruins trips is smaller and sneakier. The resort stays open and the overwater villas quietly vanish.

• Closed for renovation, coming back: InterContinental Bora Bora Thalasso, Sandals South Coast.
• Rebranded, not closed: Sandals Royal Caribbean is becoming Caribbean Cay, and Le Meridien Bora Bora returned as The Westin Bora Bora.
• Resort open, water villas demolished: Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu.
• Resort open, water villas closed indefinitely: Adaaran Club Rannalhi.
• Genuinely finished: Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island.

Myth: something new opened where the InterContinental Thalasso used to be

Nothing new opened there. The resort closed on June 1, 2026 for a top to bottom renovation, and it is still an IHG property with the same name on the door.

I would not build a trip around its return. The renovation notice has stayed vague about a reopening date, and villas sitting over that deep outer lagoon are not quick to rebuild.

If a third party site is still selling those villas for next spring, that tells you something about the seller, not about the resort.

My longer breakdown lives in the guide to what to do now that the InterContinental Bora Bora Thalasso is closed, including which lagoon I would move to instead.

Myth: Jamaica lost its overwater villas permanently

Jamaica did not lose them. Both of its overwater properties happen to be offline at the same moment, which is why it feels permanent.

Sandals South Coast is in a major renovation and is scheduled to reopen on November 18, 2026. That is a published date, not a guarantee.

Sandals Royal Caribbean is a different kind of risk, because it is being reworked and rebranded as Caribbean Cay. A rebrand can quietly retire room categories, so the villa you researched may not survive the new name.

I would not hang a wedding on either date. Reopenings slip, and they slip late enough to wreck flights.

The current status of both, side by side, is in my rundown of Jamaica overwater bungalows and when they return, and I keep the Sandals South Coast reopening notes separate because that one moves fastest.

Myth: Holiday Inn Vanuatu closed

The resort is open. Its overwater villas are the part that closed, and that part is permanent.

After the December 2024 earthquake near Port Vila, structural assessment found ongoing stresses in the foundations, and the ten overwater villas no longer met safety standards.

Demolition ran through 2025. No overwater replacement has been confirmed, and I would not assume one is coming.

This is the most useful lesson in the whole post. A resort’s status and a room category’s status are two separate facts, and booking engines love to blur them.

I wrote up the full sequence in what happened to the Holiday Inn Vanuatu overwater villas, along with the one Port Vila property that still has genuine water rooms.

The overwater resorts that really did end

Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island is the clearest case. It has not taken guests in years and now shows up as ceased rather than temporarily closed.

Treat any listing that still sells it as stale data. Somebody forgot to turn off a feed.

Le Meridien Bora Bora is the happier version of the same story. It went dark for an extended renovation and came back as The Westin Bora Bora Resort and Spa.

Same motu, different flag, and a rate sheet that reset upward. Reviews written before the closure describe a hotel that no longer exists in that form, which is why old star ratings are close to useless here.

Resort open, water villas closed: the trap nobody warns you about

Adaaran Club Rannalhi in the Maldives shows why the exact room category matters. Its Water Villas and Sunset Water Villas have been closed since March 1, 2026 while the island keeps running normally.

You can still book the resort. You cannot book the room you came for.

An open resort does not guarantee an open water-villa category. Water villas take the worst of the salt spray, the worst of the sun, and the full force of any storm surge.

Pile connections, jetty spans, and timber decking are the first things a property pulls offline when the engineering report comes back ugly. The beach rooms carry on because nothing is holding them over moving water.

The details on that one are in my note on the closed Rannalhi water villas, including who should still consider the island.

How to confirm a water villa is bookable

Before you pay, check the operator’s current room list and ask reservations to confirm your villa category in writing.

• Brand site: is there still a live property page, or does the link now bounce you to a city landing page?
• Rate calendar: is it open, and how far out does availability actually appear rather than just showing a shell?
• Deposit: will anyone take money for your specific villa category and confirm the category in writing?
• Who answers: does the reservations line reach the property, or only a central call center reading a script?
• Photos: ask for an image of your villa type taken this month. Silence is an answer.

If the resort cannot confirm your villa category and opening date in writing, choose a property that can.

What I would book while the good ones are dark

For Bora Bora, move to a lagoon that is fully operating instead of gambling on a return date. The comparison of Bora Bora resorts still taking guests is where I would start.

For the Caribbean, compare currently bookable water suites in Antigua and Saint Lucia while the Jamaican villas are offline. Check each resort’s transfer arrangements before paying.

And if what you actually want is the room type rather than a specific island, the Maldives shortlist has more redundancy than anywhere else on earth. One island closing there is a rounding error.

Who should skip a reopening entirely

Anyone traveling on a date that cannot move. Honeymoons pinned to a wedding, milestone anniversaries, school breaks, anything with nonrefundable flights already bought.

An early reopening rate may be attractive, but compare its cancellation terms with an established resort on the same dates.

The other group I would steer away: travelers who need a specific villa number or position. Renovations renumber jetties, and your carefully chosen end unit may end up somewhere else.

Things people ask me about closed overwater resorts

Is the InterContinental Bora Bora Thalasso reopening?

It closed on June 1, 2026 for a full renovation and has not published a reopening date I would plan around. Treat any specific date on a third party booking site as a guess, and confirm current status directly with the property before you move money.

Can I book an overwater villa in Jamaica right now?

Not for an immediate stay, because both Jamaican overwater properties are offline at once. Sandals South Coast is scheduled to return on November 18, 2026, and the Royal Caribbean property is being rebranded as Caribbean Cay with its room lineup still settling.

What happened to the Holiday Inn Vanuatu overwater villas?

The December 2024 earthquake left ongoing stresses in their foundations, so the ten villas failed safety standards and were demolished. The resort itself kept operating with land rooms, and no overwater replacement has been confirmed since.

Did Le Meridien Bora Bora close for good?

No, it closed for a long renovation and reopened under a different flag as The Westin Bora Bora Resort and Spa. The location did not change, but room categories and rates did, so reviews written before the closure describe a property that no longer exists in that form.

How far ahead should I book a resort that is reopening?

I wait until the property has hosted paying guests for at least a month before committing money I cannot move. Early rates are tempting, but opening dates slip and the slip is usually announced too late to rebook well.

Do closed water villas mean the resort is failing?

Not usually, because water villas absorb the most salt, sun, and storm damage and are the first rooms pulled offline for structural work. It becomes a warning sign when the closure has no stated end date and staff will not discuss it at all.

The short version

Verify the room category, not just the resort. That one habit would have saved almost everyone who writes to me about a ruined arrival.

And if nobody will put your villa type in writing, believe the silence.

Closures, reopening dates, and room availability shift with almost no notice. I refresh this page as things move, but check the current position with the resort itself before you pay a deposit.