sc flier

You're right. Thanks. That's what I had thought, but I saw a link on their main Tenemos Villas webpage that said "Limited Participation." However, when you drill down on that link, I see that it says, "This hotel does not participate in Starwood Preferred Guest. For more details, please see Starwood Preferred Guest." They should correct the main page. I'll correct my list. I don't think that you can get a bedroom there for $700/night, but maybe so. And if that were in my budget, the inability to earn $52 worth of Starpoints would probably not be a significant factor to me.

I don't believe that any opening dates are definite with any property. But the latest reports about Martineau Bay / Vieques is that it will remain open through March 2007, close at the beginning of April, and reopen in late 2007 or the first half of 2008. I would think that 2008 is more likely, but there should be a lot of financial interest in reopening for the peak winter season.

Kagehitokiri

there are 2 4BRs and 1 5BR

the range is something like $2800 - $5000 IIRC

pretty reasonable comparatively speaking

sc flier

Sure enough! Rates are shown here for the full villas. I'm not sure what the options are to rent rooms individually. Perhaps not an option at all.
http://www.enchantinghideaways.com/v...ngs/l0274.html

Higher prices quoted here...
http://anguilla.villascaribe.com/Con...t-25-1-735.htm

Only $10K+/nt for Xmas and New Years. You might could talk them down from that a bit.

Kagehitokiri

Ah, my numbers must be old. Rates now seem a little high. Definitely for Christmas. $70K/wk for 4BR at St Regis, $80K/wk for 8BR at Altamer.

And no, you cannot rent the bedrooms, only the villas.

sc flier

I mentioned St Maarten and Dominican Republic both having Dec 2006 openings on the schedule.

Edit: St Maarten has had a rocky soft opening, but it did in fact open in December. Roco Ki in Dominican Republic now says Dec 1, 2007.

MarkRichmond

Both Grand Cayman and St John are good places to stay. We liked the Island of St John better but the overall stay at Grand Cayman was slightly better due to the fantastic beach.

jcoltrane

Looking to use 60000+ SPG points to take my wife and 18 month old son to the Caribbean this summer and was hoping for some opinions on where to go. Been to the St. John Westin and had a great time, but looking for something different.

Currently choosing between Grand Cayman and the new St. Maarten Westin.
Never been to either island or either hotel... any opinions? Anyplace better for a July visit? (looking for cheap airfare from SC.) Thanks!

sc flier

Welcome to FlyerTalk, jcoltrane!

Take a look at this similar thread.

Use the Search feature here in FT to check out existing reviews of these properties. You haven't given a lot of detail about your interests for this trip. How many days are you planning? What activities interest you? What characteristics of the destination are most important to you? Do you have elite SPG status?

Unless you are dead set on leaving the country, you might also consider Key West. I personally like the Westin Grand Bahama Island (Our Lucaya), and there are often reasonable prices for airfare to Freeport. The pool area at the adjoining Sheraton is very kid-friendly.

The Caribbean in July? Are you just trying to escape the SC heat? (Disclaimer: I'm in CAE and sometimes fly out of CLT for better fares or nonstop flights.)

TxnTravlr

Odd, it is showing only 3 properties to choose from (Sheraton - Our Lucaya, Westin - Our Lucaya, or Westin Rio Mar/Puerto Rico), but shows in the description "your choice of 4 of the Caribbean's finest resorts".

Did you get confirmation that the resorts you mention are available on this promo?

TxnTravlr

Another thought...

The Puerto Rico property is showing as a category 4 (10k points)... with the "special" 5 night promo, you are actually spending 10k points more for the "$300 in hotel credit".

I assume that is a good deal, if you plan to eat there or will otherwise spend the credit, but not as good of a deal as I would have expected...

sbtinme

Please note that the Westin Rio Mar will NOT be an option going forward. It is about to become a Wyndham and undergo some needed renovations and, hopefully, a staff attitude readjustment.

Not yet mentioned is also the somewhat newly converted Aruba Westin. The St Maarten Westin looks great, I think.

Airfares can be very cheap to Grand Bahama Island and Starwood certainly rules the roost there with the two Our Lucaya properties -- both are solid hotels and the Westin especially so. What I do NOT like about this location is the dearth of really anything to do. No exceptional diversions at all. Lots of little stuff to do, but even then, none of it of much interest. At least to me. If you're looking for a good place to take a family for a long weekend and do little more than read books, take naps, and splash in the pool, then this place is ideal. However, if your idea of a quality vacation involves interesting watersports, great shopping, a wide range of quality restaurants, and some nightlife options, this is NOT your place.

Starwood has always been especially weak in the Caribbean. Seeing some new players in the past year is welcome. Let's hope for more.

sc flier

I didn't interpret the OP to be saying that he was particularly looking at the "Caribbean Vacation" elite award for 60K. I interpreted it to be that he had 60K+ points available that he wants to spend on some stay in the Caribbean -- regardless of the award type selected.

I personally don't think that the Caribbean Vacation elite award is a very good value. Even less so now that the Sheraton GBI Our Lucaya is appropriately down to a Cat 3 level and that the Westin Rio Mar is leaving Starwood in May.

I'd like to see some suggestions for a replacement Caribbean elite award. One of my nominations would be for a five or six night Mexican Hacienda discount award that allows you to change hotels while still getting at least the fifth-night-free discount.

If the new elite award does still include a hotel credit, it certainly ought to give a better value than the current 1.5 cents per point.

sc flier

In the pipeline:

Dominican Republic:
The Westin Rōco Ki Beach & Golf Resort -Opening Sept 4, 2008

St Lucia:
The Westin Le Paradis St. Lucia Beach & Golf Resort - Opening September 1, 2008

Anguilla:
LEFT STARWOOD. Will not become a St Regis: St. Regis Temenos Hotel & Villas

Puerto Rico:
W Vieques / Martineau Bay -- Opening Dec 10, 2008
A couple others on mainland PR -- including a St Regis.

Barbados:
Le Meridien Barbados -- Opening 2010

Bahamas:
Cotton Bay Villas, Eleuthera, a Luxury Collection Resort

Baha Mar, Cable Beach near Nassau -- 4 properties. The Sheraton Cable Beach (renovated and re-flagged from Radisson) opened summer 2007. Other properties to follow.

Plus SVO properties in Aruba and Cancun.

And on the Pacific side will be a St Regis in Costa Rica.

TxnTravlr

Hawaii, similar to the European holiday (total of 7 nights -- mix & match -- at a reduced rate). And, while we're at it, a free upgrade on airfare, too!

sbtinme

Thanks, sc, for this listing. I guess I, too, had seen all this before, but was pleased to see it again. I'm on the road this week and don't have 5 seconds to spare --- off the top of anyone's head, should we be expecting most (if not all) of these to be SPG Participatory??