SanDiego1K

More pictures have been added to their facebook page today. I'd like one of these rooms with that view, please.

plemos

Dear Leah Lenihan,

One month ago, I booked 4 rooms, for my family and friends, at the Westin Costa Navarino, from 9 to 16 July
I noticed that this hotel was expected to open on June 4 and the opening has been postponed to July 1.
However reservations are only accepted from July 23.

Does it means that the hotel will be in soft-opening from July 1 to July 23?
If so, can I expect all facilities (restaurants and swimming pools, SPA) to be fully operational prior to July 23rd?

Thanks
Pedro Lemos

StarwoodCostaNavarino

Dear Mr Lemos,
I appreciate your concern with regard to the delayed opening. We are fully booked for July until the 23rd which is why we aren't taking reservations so there is no need to worry.

I can assure you that all facilities will be open during your stay. The Anazoe Spa and the restaurants in the Agora (the village) open on June 2nd. (The restaurants in the Romanos Resort opened on May 20th). The swimming pools in the Westin will open with the hotel on July 1st. The Golf course also opened on May 20th.

Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in advance of your stay.
Kind regards
Leah Lenihan
on behalf of Starwood Costa Navarino

StarwoodCostaNavarino

In case anyone is wondering how to get this view, this is one of our Premium Infinity Suites. All of our Premium rooms benefit from the unobstructed sea views and various categories and room types are available - just ask for

• Premium Deluxe
• Premium Infinity Room (with private pool)
• Premium Infinity Suite

Interconnecting options are also available if you are traveling with children.

Kind regards
Leah Lenihan
on behalf of Starwood Costa Navarino

alterman

The problem with booking award stays in Westin resorts is that everything else is very expensive. A breakfast can cost you more that 50 euro per person.

StarwoodCostaNavarino

To confirm -although most of our rate plans include breakfast, if you book with points breakfast is not included. However our breakfast charges are not as high as suggested here, the prices are as follows;

The Westin Resort, Costa Navarino;

• Continental Breakfast €17
• American Breakfast €22

The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort

• Continental Breakfast €20
• American Breakfast €25

Best regards,

Leah Lenihan

chanp

Your property looks pretty nice. I may stop by in Aug. Thanks for your feedback here.

andymo99

Leah, how confident are you about the drive time to Athens? If I have an international flight (to USA) departing ATH at 12:30pm on a Tuesday, is it realistic to stay at The Romanos, Costa Navarino the night prior? What time would I realistically need to leave the hotel in order to arrive at the airport a few hours pre-flight, accounting for rush hour (?) traffic? Would a 6am departure be safe, or would I need to leave earler? Could I get away with any later?

Thanks,
andymo99

sc flier

From the Costa Navarino Twitter page:

Celebrate the opening of The Romanos with a free souvenir of your trip, just mention twitter in your reservation http://bit.ly/cyL2if

No idea how long this offer will be honored.

ajamieson

These hotels look stunning and I can't wait for the opening

Although guests are being accepted, we all know that a decent Starwood is not officially open until SanDiego1K has been and given us a report
Thanks sc flier for the tip about the closer airport (IATA code KLX) which I could not find on the Westin website, and to StarwoodCostaNavarino for being here ^ There seems to be a daily hop from ATH on Aegean in the late afternoon.

Is there any more information on the ease of getting to the resort and around the local area? It sounds ideal for those willing to tour by car, which I prefer not to do on holiday, but the tranquility appeals to me so it would seem worth the extra effort. Or should I stick to the Blue Palace close to ATH?

StarwoodCostaNavarino

Hi andymo99,

Although in theory you should be ok, my concern would be how long before your flight you need to check-in, drop back a rental car etc - also leaving at 6 would leave you very little room for error (if you were to get lost, hit traffic coming into Athens...) it would probably be safer, and less stressful if you were to stay in Athens the night before.

Leah
on behalf of Starwood Costa Navarino

StarwoodCostaNavarino

Greetings from Costa Navarino,

As mentioned Kalamata (KLX) is the closer airport (approx. 50km /31 miles). The Aegean Airways flight departs Athens at 16.05 daily (flight time 40 mins).

For getting around you have several options, for those wishing to rent a car we have an agreement in place with Hertz who offer our guests preferential rates and have a booth in the resort. You can of course organize to pick your car up from the airport.

For those who would prefer to leave the driving to us, airport transfers are available to the resort, and guided tours of the area are available every day (options include Methoni, Pylos and Koroni Castles, Kalamata, La Sapienza island, Mystras, Olympia, Ancient Messini and The Diros Caves.)

Please don't hesitate to contact me again if you would like any further clarification on the above.

Leah Lenihan
on behalf of Starwood Costa Navarino

andymo99

So good to have you here Leah. We'll be flying Business Class, and so I'd be comfortable checking in by 11am for a 1230pm flight. We'll have to struggle with the decision of whether to drive back the night before vs. getting up super early.

sc flier

Just so it's clear, The Romanos opened in May. The Westin's opening date has been delayed to July 1. (This difference can't fit well into the already-long thread title.)

Blue Palace is not near ATH. Blue Palace is on eastern Crete. It's about a 90 minute drive from Heraklion to Elounda.

plemos

We will stay at Westin Costa Navarino from July 9 and so far I experienced an outstanding support from Leah and the hotel staff trying to accommodate the logistic nightmare that is flying to Kalamata with Aegean Airways.
Two weeks prior to the arrival date, my impression of the hotel staff is already VERY GOOD.

Aegean Airways initially planned to serve Kalamata twice a day. We booked our flights to and from Athens based on Aegean flights to Kalamata and we also purchased Aegean tickets Athens – Kalamata – Athens.

Then Aegean decided to cancel the morning flight. They said for operational reasons, it’s obvious they are lying and it’s for pure financial reasons. The load factor doesn’t justify 2 flights per day.

Now we are obliged to spend one extra night in Athens in our way out.
We had to change the connecting flights for the next day and pay an extra 832 Euros.
Between the extra nights in Athens and the changing fee, thanks to Aegean Airways this trip will cost us an extra 1,492 Euros.

Thumbs Up for the Costa Navarino
Thumbs Down for Aegean Airways