We looked around a 1 bedroom while housecleaning was there. (We were just walking down the beach and saw housekeeping and asked if it was vacant and if so could be take a look.) It was pretty amazing. Private pool. Much much larger than a casita. Perfectly maintained, and a lovely architecture. I have two thoughts: one is, the casitas are so nice that unless you are an absolute privacy freak, or really really want the pool or the extra space that I am not sure of the value. My other thought is the upcharge is not ridiculous and the villas are actually pretty good value given the significantly larger indoor and outdoor area and the pool.

The chef did 3 custom dinners for us, all no extra charge over the package (island romance). Two Thai dinners and one seafood dinner. One Thai dinner was in one of the private areas by the main clubhouse, and the seafood dinner was in the grotto--again no extra $. Overall I found the food fresher, "lighter" with nice light sauces and regional tastes, and just a higher quality than the year before. They were always respectful of our desired level of spiciness, and basically asked "what do you want?". Oh and Hairish imported my favorite Belgian Beer for me prior to our arrival so that I could enjoy one every night before dinner. They did charge for that, but no more than the beer would cost anywhere else in the world. Huge kudos for that.