tfong007

This is great news. Have a 8 day trip in April. Looking forward to a nice break.

hungarianhc

hi all,

dropped down to gold from plat... looking to stay here! how much will meals cost? no free breakfast for me anymore... estimate? easy to access other restaurants or mostly stuck on resort? how much per person is dinner on the island? ok for a six month old baby?

fdem

There is nothing nearby. Food is average price for a five star resort, say 50 us per person without drinks. Being a duty free island wine is not too bad. Food was good but service could sometimes be stretched. We saw many infants when we were there but do bear in mind it is a rainforest with lots of mosquitos

You could email the hotel who can send you menus. Most others had breakfast included so I would try for that (unless staying on points)

LAXGUY

I agree the property is isolated and it would take a significant effort to go to a worthwhile restaurant off-site (15 minute taxi ride each way?). However the similarly situated Datai is adjacent to the Andaman, is accessible by golf cart or by walking 10 minutes along the beach, and has very good Thai and Indian restaurants with cross-signing to your room at the Andaman permitted.

hungarianhc

Yeah I figured that - I was surprised when I went to book for a week from now that there were some very reasonable rates, but that even the more expensive rates didn't seem to include breakfast.

tfong007

I am heading there next week. Try the BRG. My final rate with breakfast is 493 MYR.

hungarianhc

BRG = best rate guaranteed? What is the process for that? I.E. Where to find better rate, how to get match, etc? Enjoy!

lcpteck

Have a good read.

FT BRG Thread
SPG BRG website

tfong007

I have had good luck with Kayak.de. You gotta just keep trying everyday until you see a price discrepancy of more than 2%. The main BRG thread gives you really good tips on how to get a claim approved. Good luck.

tfong007

Just returned from an 8 day stay with the family at this wonderful resort. It is a truly amazing gem of a Starwood property. For families there is easily enough to keep you busy for 8 days. I would highly recommend this property for people with kids. As a platinum member we were upgraded to a fantastic suite on the fourth floor. At first we hoped for the pool suite, but this was even better because of the views. The breakfast was not nearly as bad as many previous posters have claimed. Or they have made lots of changes. Either way the breakfast was more than satisfactory. I normally never stay at the same property twice but I will make an exemption for The Andaman. 8 Days passed in a flash.

I dont recommend going to the main beach or city. 45-60 minute trip and not much to buy or see. Wasted precious time I could have spent at the breathtaking beach.

bmchris

I have the choice between Garden Terrace and Sea View room. I'm only SPG Gold.

Garden room rate I can get with breakfast is $30 more than Seaview room without breakfast.

Any thoughts about which is the clear better choice? Any use betting on an upgrade from the Seaview room?

LAXGUY

If you are a couple, the breakfast is worth more than $30 for two. It's a good breakfast and you'll likely get upgraded to Seaview unless the hotel is full. Also, there is nowhere else to eat breakfast in the immediate vicinity. Unless you like to skip breakfast you'll end up spending more than $30.

However if you are traveling at a peak travel time, perhaps the seaview is worth booking straight away.

tfong007

The sea view is really second to none and IMHO worth the money. Waking up to that view is amazing.

bmchris

Thanks for the replies. Any thoughts about the chance of an upgrade to a suite from the Seaview room?

MOZBOB

Stayed there last March for 9 nights as PLT100. Booked the lowest category room and got upgraded to Executive Pool Suite for entire stay. This was done a few days ahead of arrival, without any SNA. Think it was even more than 5 days ahead of arrival.
Very nice property