Bora Bora is an island paradise. (Sun Media/Dan Leath)

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If you want to get to heaven, you either have to be very, very good -- or buy yourself a ticket to Tahiti and head for Bora Bora.

Lush palm trees wave over a seemingly endless stretch of exquisite white sand beach. The food is fabulous and the service incredible, but it's the tiny touches that put the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort in a league of its own and put it in the class of luxury hotels that are nothing short of heavenly.

Where else in the world would you fly into a tiny island airport to find a gentleman dressed in white, waiting to whisk you away in a gleaming yacht? He's been waiting an hour or more, since the inter-island flights are notoriously off-schedule, but he's beaming anyway, as if you're the most important person he's ever met. Mere royalty, his manner suggests, pales in comparison to you.

The rest of the four-man crew aboard the yacht seem pretty delighted to see you too, as they hurry to load your bags (you didn't think you were going to carry them, did you?) and drape you with a glorious lei made of fragrant frangipani flowers.

ORIENT EXPRESS

The cruise to the hotel is all too quick. In no time, you pull up to a dock where the Orient Express flag is proudly flying and more eager staff members are anxiously awaiting. Your bags disappear as you glide into an airy lobby filled with spectacular Tahitian carvings and artwork, lazy ceiling fans and acres of polished mahogany. In case the two-minute stroll from the boat caused you to work up a sweat, a charming young lady rushes over with a chilled face cloth (Egyptian cotton, of course) and an icy cold coconut drink with a straw.

You needn't mention your name. Everyone knows who you are and just about everything else that's important, too -- like your favourite cocktail, and whether you prefer tea or coffee after meals, and if still or sparkling water would be your first choice with the gourmet meals you'll be enjoying.

You'll never be asked twice. At the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort every detail is remembered.

Your suite will be proof of that.

Seventy-nine perfect little thatched cottages are poised over the clear blue waters of the lagoon on solid wooden stilts. Your suite features oversized sliding doors leading to a private balcony with two lounge chairs, draped in thick white terry towels (Egyptian cotton again!). Flop down and toast in the sun or wind your way down the circular wooden staircase to your own little dock. Schools of vibrant tropical fish drift by in the warm, shallow water begging you to snorkel. Grab your brand new mask, fins and snorkel from the closet by your bed and wade in. Rinse the salt off later under your personal dockside shower.

If you prefer your fishy encounters at a greater distance, swing your coffee table's solid glass top to one side, toss in a few crumbs, and watch hordes of fish swim up for a photo op below.

It's just a bit like paradise.

If this all sounds just too luxurious to be believed, start saving your travel pennies and check it out yourself. Prices for five nights at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort range from $1,800-$4,400 excluding airfare, so while it's unlikely you'll make it a casual weekend getaway, it might well become the fantasy destination of a lifetime.

At the very least, simply knowing about it will give you dream fodder for those long cold days ahead.