Starwood Preferred Guest - Please suggest Gay Friendly Beach Destination with a Starwood hotel

Since you can't search "gay" cuz it's too search... and "gay friendly" didn't turn up much...

Anyone have suggestions for gay friendly beach destinations? The Hubby and I are looking for a lazy, hot weather vacation in January.... and i've got a boatload of miles on DL and AA... so airfare shouldn't be too much of a problem...

We've done PVR, Cabo San Lucas, Yucatan

Never done any of the Caribbean...

and the only reason why i say "gay friendly" is b/c if a country isn't going to support being gay... i don't feel the need to support their economy. e.g., the Grand Cayman property isn't going to see me for a VERY LONG time

You can put "gay" in quotes just like i've done to the left and check in the GLBT Travelers forum.

One word of advice, be careful when taking sand to the beach. ;)

Hkt, hnl, syd

Hkt, hnl, syd

Ohh, how i wish the PhD student husband would have more than one week off! although... HNL is probably doable...

and the only reason why i say "gay friendly" is b/c if a country isn't going to support being gay... i don't feel the need to support their economy. e.g., the Grand Cayman property isn't going to see me for a VERY LONG time
Hmmm... Your profile seems to indicate that you live in the USA. :p

Hmmm... Your profile seems to indicate that you live in the USA. :p

Heffa... totally agree... at least i live in Massachusetts...

Have you looked into Key West (eyw)? Low season right now and good prices. Lots of nice B&B's.

Have you looked into Key West (eyw)? Low season right now and good prices. Lots of nice B&B's.

Agreed! Westin Key West is a favorite of me and my GF and works well for straight or gay folk. Stay away from the Sheraton though, the location is too far from all the fun.

Cape Town, South Africa. Though maybe not worthwhile if you only have a week. Two very good SPG properties in the area. Should be a handful of Skymiles and AAdvantage miles options, including Int'l First Class on AA/BA via LHR (200k miles round trip, but good flights).

Agreed! Westin Key West is a favorite of me and my GF and works well for straight or gay folk. Stay away from the Sheraton though, the location is too far from all the fun.

That Sheraton is a bit away from Duval but they offer a free shuttle to Mallory Square area and the hotel is just across the street from Smathers Beach.

Nothing in the Caribbean is particularly gay-friendly. In that area, I'd say your best bet is probably SJU, maybe with SXM in 2nd place.

Guess it all depends on what you're looking for - simply nice beaches, some gay nightlife, or both.

Cape Town, South Africa. Though maybe not worthwhile if you only have a week. Two very good SPG properties in the area. Should be a handful of Skymiles and AAdvantage miles options, including Int'l First Class on AA/BA via LHR (200k miles round trip, but good flights).

Agree totally. You might need to stretch it out to 10 days (just include two weekends back-to-back). I have been there three times and once was in January. It gets very hot and humid in January and you will get very tanned in a hurry assuming you have the right complexion. Added benefits are LOW prices (bars and restaurants) and a very compact gay area (Waterkant). Do it!

EDIT: OOOPS...just read that this is for January so the below recommendation for Laguna is not optimal at that time of year but the two FL properties should work.

If you want to stay in the US I would recommend the Laguna Beach area. I'm not a huge fan of St. Regis Dana Point, CA (we stay In a non-SPG hotel) but the area is very nice and "friendly" plus it offers a beach, good food, shopping and other things. It's also within driving distance of Palm Springs incase you don't want to spend all your time on the beach. Other US destinations with good SPG options would be FFL and MIA which both have new W's which are typically friendly as well.

Anyone have suggestions for gay friendly beach destinations?

GIG, otherwise known as Rio de Janeiro. AA has direct flights from Miami and JFK. Unfortunately, the beach in front of the Sheraton isn't very good, but they do have a pool, and it isn't very far from the gay beach in front of Rua Farme de Amoedo in Ipanema. If you aren't 'wedded' to Starwood, consider the Caesar Park or the Praia Ipanema (cheaper alternatives: Ipanema Sol or Arpoador Inn).

Agreed! Westin Key West is a favorite of me and my GF and works well for straight or gay folk. Stay away from the Sheraton though, the location is too far from all the fun.

The wife and I love the Sheraton Suites Key West because it's away from the action. We can go down and get our drink on and they pick you and take you back! :) Seriously, the island is very small, the shuttle service works great and the SS is across the street from Smathers Beach. We are staying the Westin next week for the first time! I hope it's as relaxing as the Sher Suites!

The wife and I love the Sheraton Suites Key West because it's away from the action. We can go down and get our drink on and they pick you and take you back! :) Seriously, the island is very small, the shuttle service works great and the SS is across the street from Smathers Beach. We are staying the Westin next week for the first time! I hope it's as relaxing as the Sher Suites!

My GF and I tend to like to wander on foot (we never rent a car or use a taxi once we get to the hotel) and we like the flexibility of being able to head back to the hotel whenever, for whatever and of being able to stay out late and walk (OK, stagger...) home on our own schedule. We're also big fans of the beach at Sunset Key. YMMV! :)

Cape Town is the best. And try to find a place in Camps Bay. Will never want to leave.

PS. There is a direct flight on DL from JFK (with re-fueling stop in DKR)

by the way, absolutely not a fan of Key West. too much fuss imo and not much to back it up. besides, the weather in January could be a real dumper

and the only reason why i say "gay friendly" is b/c if a country isn't going to support being gay... i don't feel the need to support their economy. e.g., the Grand Cayman property isn't going to see me for a VERY LONG time

Oh then Singapore is definitely out of the picture.

Plus it will definitely take more than 1 week's leave for a stay here. And Starwood does not have any beach resorts currently in Singapore or for the next few years until...........

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I am surprised no one has mentioned FLL as an option? Lots of nice properties there...

Or you could also check out South Beach...

There is a direct flight on DL from JFK (with re-fueling stop in DKR)

Not anymore:(

This year the flight switched to ATL-DKR-CPT, but sadly even that was discontinued on 28Aug.

Now the only DL flight to South Africa is ATL-JNB, however one advantage is that this flight is nonstop both directions (the only nonstop US-ZA on any airline). You can still connect in JNB to another airline to get to CPT, and the total travel time is about the same as the flight with the stop in DKR was.

I am surprised no one has mentioned FLL as an option? Lots of nice properties there...

Or you could also check out South Beach...


Well, christianj did earlier in the thread ;), but yes, my first thought when reading the thread title was W South Beach, followed by W Ft Lauderdale.

thanks for all the suggestions... i think we decided to break the SPG Points Bank and go for W Vieques... :-)

Maybe SPG should do a gay friendly site? i think travelocity has one...

Please no more Florida suggestions. Over 60% of the electorate voted to ban gay marriage via a constitutional amendment last year.

Furthermore, it is one of only 2 states that prohibit gay adoptions. The other is Arkansas.

Spain has gay marriage! Try visiting Spanish possessions.

Never done any of the Caribbean...

and the only reason why i say "gay friendly" is b/c if a country isn't going to support being gay... i don't feel the need to support their economy. e.g., the Grand Cayman property isn't going to see me for a VERY LONG time

Two things about this statement: 1) you do know Cayman is IN the Caribbean? and 2) I spent a total of 4 weeks throughout this year in Cayman at the Westin and saw several gay and lesbian couples having a great time. One lady went topless, which is really a no-no on that island but she was out there a full week that way. Nobody really seemed to mind.

BUT to answer your question directly, without a doubt: St. Maarten because the French side is about 1/4 mile from the Westin (Orient Bay). Beach seems like 2 miles long, with the last 1/2 a mile totally nude and seemingly gay friendly.

GIG, otherwise known as Rio de Janeiro. AA has direct flights from Miami and JFK. Unfortunately, the beach in front of the Sheraton isn't very good, but they do have a pool, and it isn't very far from the gay beach in front of Rua Farme de Amoedo in Ipanema. If you aren't 'wedded' to Starwood, consider the Caesar Park or the Praia Ipanema (cheaper alternatives: Ipanema Sol or Arpoador Inn).
I don't know why I didn't suggest this earlier when I suggested CPT. I actually just got back from Rio this morning. This is easy to do as a (very) long weekend trip; the time change is minimal, I think 3 hours in January. Unfortunately, as you mention, staying at the Sheraton would probably leave a lot to be desired in terms of accessibility. I stayed at the Ipanema Plaza, which is a solid 3.5* hotel and which I would recommend; it's the closest to the Farme Gay beach.

thanks for all the suggestions... i think we decided to break the SPG Points Bank and go for W Vieques.

You might want to check with Starwood on this because I keep reading that they are actually not going to accept guests until April 2010 now.

Sheraton Pattaya
Not much of a beach, but a coastal property, great pools, beautiful view, great service and close to the entertainment district.

Flying on AA miles to Thailand, you can stopover in SFO (as the "North American Gateway city") for a few days, fly SFO-BKK on the Cathay Pacific red-eye in flat biz cubicles to BKK. Taxi from BKK to Pattaya is about $35 (for a 90 mile drive). Also, BKK itself is awesome (IMHO).

thanks for all the suggestions... i think we decided to break the SPG Points Bank and go for W Vieques... :-)

Maybe SPG should do a gay friendly site? i think travelocity has one...

The problem with this is that the hotel will not be open. They only accept reservations from April 2010.

But if hot weather isn't important, don't want to go too far and be near a Starwood property, Provincetown comes to mind. ;)

Totally hear everyone on what the site says... asked the Ambassador and he said there's something wrong about the data... supposedly starting Nov 19, they will accept reservations beginning Jan 1...

Please no more Florida suggestions. Over 60% of the electorate voted to ban gay marriage via a constitutional amendment last year.Yes, but in Broward County, the vote totals were much closer to a draw (and the anti-gay mayor, Naugle, was term-limited out of office).

The W (new) and the Westin (major remodel) are nice beach-facing properties and Broward has good nightlife in nearby Wilton Manors and other areas. However, late January would not be good as the Westin will be the NFL headquarters hotel for the Super Bowl (the W is sure to be heavily booked as well).