pyite

hm, that kinda sucks.

seems as though i might be better off putting my hsia rebate towards breakfast.

bryand83

I would just go for the points unless the $10 a day for two bagels is material. They do have a free happy hour, though nothing major, every day so at least you still get a free drink?

Definitely rent the jeep and go explore the private beaches. Try to get one other than red as I was told at a bar in esperanza that's how they identify people staying at the W.

taipeiflyer

their breakfast (if only 2 bagels), definitely does not satisfy the minimum standard for plat breakfast. i would make sure to order all that i am entitled to, and if there is a problem, to open a customer service complaint.

Songer5

I'm not sure you're correct. The platinum breakfast is a "continental" so I would say they're complying (albeit barely).

Songer5

+1 on the Jeep rental. If you plan to rent a jeep from the on-site rental shop, then definitely make reservations in advance. They were sold out each day of our trip last year.

Also, there's an Avis down the road as well. We used the hotel to book through them and they came to the W to drop off the car and would drop us off as well upon return. Also, the rates I got in person are MUCH better than the ones I found online for the same location.

taipeiflyer

no- the platinum card says a minimum of coffee, juice, pastry, yogurt, and cereal.

bryand83

No doubt you can fight that fight and they did sell coffee so my guess is they comply but the breakfast in the main restaurant is pretty decent, overlooks the ocean, and isn't terribly expensive so thats where I would recommend.

pyite

thanks for everyone's input on this.

bagel and juice is probably not worth it, but just to clarify what i seem to have read in previous posts, i will receive some level of credit from the resort fee as internet is a plat benefit?

thanks for the info on the jeeps as well. i am definitely planning to rent one, and i was thinking about renting from maritza. it seems they will pick up/drop off at the w as well. has anyone used them?

reuthermonkey

Make sure to ask about the credit up front. They are unlikely to offer it. Additionally, make sure that if you choose to MAGC, that you confirm with the front desk the next morning. I did not verify while I was there, and they fought with me over the MAGC points stating that I did not opt-in at check-in.

It's a great property on its own, but they don't treat Plats particularly well.

jibi

Any word on if Bio Bay is back to full strength or is it still quite dark?

Duke777

Just did the bio bay last weekend. Even though it rained most of the weekend, the bio bay was glowing at full strength (probably better than when I last did the bio bay 4 years ago). We saw a ray and tons of fish. It's an awesome experience!

Duke777

I posted a review last December and ultimately came away from the W Vieques not impressed. The hard product is nice, but the service and platinum treatment is the worst I've experienced. My girlfriend and I both love the island, though, so we decided to return for her birthday and Valentine's Day. It's a lovely island and resort ground are very nice, which you can read more about in my previous review.

Quick summary: I booked 3 nights on points several months in advance through my Ambassador and applied SNAs. Rooms were going fro $600-$1000+ during the weekend. Unfortunately, the hotel was full the first night and the front desk was inept at moving us to a better room when something opened up later in our stay. No recognition of my girlfriend's birthday. Basically no platinum recognition with pathetic breakfast and alternative amenities. General indifference of people saying one thing and failing to deliver. I'm pretty easy to please, but this hotel just makes me angry.

Room: The hotel was completely full the first night and there was a wedding. Unlike last time when we were upgraded to a Garden Suite, we were stuck in the Tropical Oasis in Villa 17 (far from the lobby, near the small pool), which is the lowest caliber room. It showed. The room was very large, but there was lots of weirdly used space. The TV was stuck against a wall, which made it really difficult to view from bed. The bathroom isn't very private (no door on the shower). Make sure you're comfortable with the lack of privacy.

There are very few windows. As a result, the room is quite dark and lacks much character. I would NEVER pay even close to the $600+ a night the room was going for.

Unlike last time, we didn't encounter any bugs on the ground floor. The outdoor patio did have several dead bugs in the chairs.

There were 2 FIJI bottles of water with no price and 2 Dasani. Our water was never replenished (just like last time). This is the only non-Aloft hotel I've stayed at that seems incapable of replenishing water each day. Unacceptable for the price + the $60 / night resort fee.

A new feature was turn-down service, which included two small pieces of chocolate. We left one night's set of two out on the room table one night and one was missing. Someone ate our chocolates??

Resort Fee: The amenity fee of $65.40 (after tax) covers wifi, towels, chairs, snorkeling equipment (that you can take to other beaches), tennis rackets, and maybe some other things. You also get a free transfer to and from the airport (5 mins away). There's a nice lounge with free drinks.

I asked about the alternative amenity, which was side-stepped at check-in, and was told it's 20% off of spa services. No thanks.

Platinum Recognition / Service (or lack thereof): This hotel shouldn't participate in SPG or it should note that it's limited participation. Very little recognition that I was a platinum and a repeat guest.

I had mentioned multiple times to my Ambassador and noted in my reservation that we're celebrating my girlfriend's birthday. Nothing in the room. Not even a card or note saying welcome.

No upgrade because the hotel was full the first night. That's fine. I ask at check-in if they would move us if something better opened up since the hotel didn't look busy the rest of the stay. The front desk staff (who is apparently the platinum ambassador) says she'll note on our reservation and let us know. I had already told my Ambassador to note this on the reservation.

We check the next morning and there are a few rooms available - ground floor by the pool - even though the app shows a few better options. We decide to wait until the last day since the hotel looks empty online. No one has bothered to call us and the front desk seems lost about our request.

Finally, on the morning of the third day we ask (because there's no way any one is going to bother to contact us). We're told there's a third floor pool/ocean view oasis available. Meanwhile, the app shows several oceanfront rooms. At this point, we just accept the third floor pool/ocean oasis room and are told it'll be ready around 4 and someone will let us know.

We call at 4 PM and are told they'll check on the room and call right back. 30 minutes later and no one has called so I call back. Basically no one at the front desk has any clue what's going on and they finally say it should be ready a bit later.

At 530, I check again (no one calls so you have to be proactive) because we have to leave to go on a Bio Bay tour (great btw). Room is still not ready. Our original room has been cleaned, but apparently the new one hasn't? The excuse is that it rained (which I assume applies it led to flight problems). It's an island, it rains all of the time (2-7 inches per month).

The front desk promises the room will be ready when we're back around 9. Ultimately, we decide to go out to dinner and don't get back until 10. At this point, it makes no sense to lug our bags. At 11:15 PM we get a call asking if we got our keys. I respond that it didn't make sense to move so late. I guess it's nice they finally called instead of the other way around, but that's quite late to call.

Ultimately, the front desk did wave the resort fee for our 3rd night when I told her we would not make the same mistake to stay at the W again.

The breakfast amenity is either snacks at the W Cafe or $15 per room per day at the main restaurant, Source. Is it that hard for $600+ a night to offer the continental breakfast buffet (doesn't even include hot items)??? They couldn't even properly enter the $15 breakfast credit and I was charged on

No recognition of my girlfriend's birthday or a welcome letter or anything showing our business is valuable. Mediocre service at the restaurant. The seat was wet so we requested a towel (would've used a napkin if our table had been properly set). The hostess says of course then never bothers to return. General incompetence about arranging a taxi. We asked several hours before and the concierge said no problem. No taxi was there. Bellhops don't understand the concept of opening doors for women.

Someone up thread mentioned a free cocktail hour. I never heard or saw anything.

Sorry I'm rambling. We received much better service at a Residence in Odessa Texas than the W.

Simple suggestions for the hotel:
-Have a dedicated platinum (even gold) concierge. This seems to work very well at other hotels. I never had any clue who I should talk to. It'd be nice to have someone who knows my name (never greeted by Mr. Duke777). Perhaps even have, gasp, a platinum happy hour to get feedback from your guests and provide a little token of appreciation. I've loved this feature at other hotels (especially SE Asia - I know it's unfair to compare service to those great hotels). It's also nice to meet other travelers. Has anyone even seen the GM? Look at SPG and Tripadvisor to see how poorly this hotel treats SPG members.

-Stop skimping on the breakfast amenity. Provide, at the very least, the basic cold continental breakfast in the restaurant. I have to go eat yogurt or a tiny pastry at the W Cafe at a very expensive hotel? I'd overlook the worthless platinum alternative amenity if the breakfast was at least salvageable. Is skimping on platinum benefits a W thing? It sure seems that way and is one of the reasons the W is quickly becoming my least favorite brand.

Bottomline, please do not spend points or the outrageous cash on this hotel until they care about their guests. There are so many better options. Management just doesn't care and it shows in the very mixed reviews. Visit Vieques, but stay at a guesthouse. Hopefully with the increasing popularity of the island, the W will have some competition because it has potential.

bk_mike

I had a similar experience last year. Only on top of everything the OP mentioned my outbound flight was canceled. On the ride back to the hotel I made a reservation with the Plat line. Upon arriving at the hotel I was told there are no rooms available and your reservation (for 2 rooms) can't be honored! I was willing to accept other accommodations (there are no other hotels on Vieques) but the front desk's attitude was simply there is nothing we can do for you. Even the plat line was shocked at the response from the font desk clerk who was supposedly an assistant manager. The GM finally came out and offered us drinks at the bar while they looked for options. After 2 hours I was offered one room with a king bed for my entire party of four adults. It took another 3 hours to get a second room. During our wait we sat in the lobby and had dinner and drinks. The hotel comped one round of drinks on a bill that included dinner for four. It was about 9 when we finally got our rooms and the GM was again nowhere to be seen.

Like the OP mentioned, great hard product but like my recent review of the Westin Grand Cayman it makes me wonder why I even bother with status.

phatty

Just got done staying at the W Vieques 5 nights on points. I lost my platinum status last year because I no longer travel for work (was 100+ nights a year) so I'm still new to being a worthless commoner with SPG. I miss upgrades, and judging properties for not upgrading me!

Overall I enjoyed the stay. Room was really nice. Biggest surprise to me was how secluded the beach was. There are basically two beaches - both very isolated by rocks. This is probably a selling point for the majority of people, but it made me realize I kinda prefer huge beach resorts where the beaches spread out for days and there are large crowds. The W Vieques is definitely void of large crowds (at least in early May - which I think is the onset of off-peak). As is the island of Vieques; very small place and not much to do there. (which was fine by me because all I wanted to do was relax on property)

I don't go on beach vacays to judge the speed of food delivery or the cleanliness of house keeping; I enjoy the slow pace and like to keep to myself. But I can understand the complaints about slow service. Though it's really not that bad. And I wouldn't have noticed any problems with the house keeping (in fact, I'd have done the green option to avoid house keeping if they offered this property offered it) were it not for the fact that I was sun-burned af after the 1st day. I noticed on the second day that they restocked everything but the moisturizer. I had to call twice to get a few more of them, and after that they still didn't restock them daily. Oh, and with that $60 daily resort fee they seriously need to include sun screen.... Seems like a huge over sight.
I didn't rent a car. Read on here that there's a super market close by, so as soon as I arrived I did a 30 minute walk that way to stock up on liquor and lunch items. I imagine this saved me several hundred dollars. The walk to the super market isn't that bad, but walking back with a ton of groceries was kinda a pain. Cabbies in Puerto Rico seem like a racquet; I think one way is $10 even though it's like a 3 minute ride. I would suggest not tipping when being overcharged this much.

Again though, really enjoyed my trip. The pools are nice - especially the upper one (which I think is heated - or maybe it's just in a hotter spot). And the airport lounge was a very nice touch. Glad I stayed there, but I doubt I'll ever go back. For the number of points and the resort fee, I feel this property is probably the lowest value of any SPG Carribean beach resort. Pains me to say that cause I really did like it.

craz

After reading thru the last few pages wish I could stay elsewhere, but I have a family wedding there so IM SOL.

Booked with pts , just wanted to know if theres any way to get the resort fee waviered especailly since I wont have time to do anything outside of the wedding.Its for 1 night, now if they give me an extra early check-in, like I asked for then I would be OK with the $60 fee. But even if they are empty (its an early March date) from the sounds of most posts it doesnt look like they will give anything that they dont have to, so why give them $60 when I wont use any of what it covers

They actually wanted me to be there all weekend, I offered Sun only or not at all, thats why I will have little to no free time when Im there