- El Tamarindo continued

Dining / Public Spaces

There is one full service restaurant (very good food & service) at the hotel and another restaurant at the golf course (we never made it there). Room service also available from 7:30 am – 10:30 pm. We ate all our meals at the main restaurant and had no complaints. The menu changes daily to provide a variety of options each night, and you can feel free to order off the menu too (they’ll try their best). Wine was very high priced (one of the cheapest bottles was a Chateau Ste. Michele Merlot for 810 pesos) so drink the margaritas!

You can also arrange for full picnic lunches to be prepared (under $15 US) or arrange for private dining on the beach or at your bungalow, surrounded by candles. One of the candlelight packages was a “Great Steak Adventure”: mixed green salad, a cheese and grape platter, grilled chicken breast and Arrachera steak, Mexican spicy sausage, Mexican sauces, tortillas & guacamole, and bananas flambé for 550 pesos per person.

Off property dining is quite limited; the town of Barra De Navidad is 22 miles away and it has some options (and cheap grocery stores – there is no place to buy supplies on or near the property). (You’ll pass a couple more gas stations between Tamarindo and this town). One couple highly recommended taking the boat at the end of this town to a small island off-shore where there were 5 – 7 good restaurants right where the boat pulled into port.

There is a gift shop, a spa (massages offered indoors or on the beach), a PC with free internet access, and a “beach club” in front of their private pier. This club provides (for free) snorkeling gear, kayaks, Hobie cats (!) and other water gear. The infinity pool is big considering the number of guests likely to be in it at any time (didn’t see more than 4). The lounge chairs and lounge beds by the pool were very comfortable; big fluffy beach towels provided. The pool staff comes by and drops off ice buckets containing several bottles of water for refreshment. The private beach here is spectacular, and I’ve seen my fair share of beaches.

There are tennis courts, a golf course, mountain bikes available, nature treks, and boat cruises that leave from the “beach club”. Two couples raved about a boat cruise they took of the nearby area (2 hour private boat cruise is 1800 pesos, 4 hours is 2500 – they raved about the full 4 hour tour). For horseback riding, you need to go to El Careyes.

The property is a perfect honeymoon spot! Host your wedding at El Careyes and honeymoon at El Tamarindo: both are places you’ll long remember. I did see two families with children here, but the tone of the resort is clearly geared to couples.

To give you some reference on pricing on the property, massages are 900 pesos for 50 minutes or 1150 pesos for 80 minutes, a Corona in the mini-bar was 35 pesos, wash/press a shirt is 24 pesos. The service fee of 15% and tax of 15% is added to everything.

I’ve posted 11 photos of the property on-line: http://photos.yahoo.com/takingchancesontheroad

If you still want to see more pics, check out SPG or : http://www.mexicoboutiquehotels.com/thetamarindo/


Check-Out / SPG Stay Credit

At check-out, I double-checked on the Platinum amenity and still no one knew what it was. This is clearly an educational opportunity at all of the properties I stayed at. I also tried to book a “50% off” stay in the future and was advised that the request would have to come directly from Starwood; the staff couldn’t even provide ideas on what dates might be available.

The stay / points haven’t made it to my Starwood account either (my credit card has been charged). I’ll follow-up with SPG for assistance here also.

El Tamarindo - Overall Impression

As much as I liked the Careyes, Tamarindo provided a much more “exclusive”, “refined” and romantic atmosphere. There were maybe 28 – 32 guests on the property (and it is spread out) and we felt like we were at a private club for the very wealthy. It is an outstanding property. My suggestion is to stay at both if you can (Careyes first) for a taste of both resorts.


- Sheraton Buganvilias (again)

I planned this trip with the last two nights in PVR since I wasn’t sure I would like spending a lot of time in the jungle with no much to do. This time, for $50 more than my Towers reservation, I had booked (on SPG web page) a suite package that came with a full breakfast each day. I highly recommend booking the suites over the Towers level rooms.

At check-in, no one had any clue what a Platinum amenity was. I was also told I had booked the best room available so no upgrade was possible. But, after asking, she made a call and found out that, as a Platinum member, I could use the Towers lounge.

The two room suite came with a king size bed in the bedroom, a queen size bed in the living room, two bathrooms and a full kitchen. The only clock was on the microwave. The A/C worked great in the bedroom, but the living room must have been 5 degrees warmer. If you stay here, I’d check the A/C level before getting comfortable.

The next day, I stopped by the front desk to inquire why my points hadn’t been posted from my stay the week before. They asked me to provide a copy of my receipt, made a Xerox copy and then said they would post the points for that stay (points showed up shortly thereafter). However, the GM was there so I asked him about a Platinum amenity. He advised that there wasn’t one. When I pressed him, he asked me if I wanted the extra points. I advised that I did and he said he’d take care of it (they haven’t posted yet). Worse yet, no points have posted to my account for the second stay at all. Sorry, Starwood, but I’m going to have to ask for assistance again.

For the money, this isn’t a bad property. The Tower lounge is nice, the pools are very nice (both have swim up bars), the free buffet breakfast that came with my package was outstanding (and on Sundays, for 195 pesos, they have an all-you-can-drink champagne brunch with a mariachi band and a huge selection of food), it is conveniently located and there are lots of shops on site (to include a grocery store and a deli). Make sure your A/C is working properly and you’ll be okay as long as you remember how little you are likely paying.

One more tip: there is a sales pitch for a timeshare unit (I was offered a free 3 night stay in a timeshare unit if I took the 90 minute tour; passed). However, if you go to the new tower and stop by the “info” desk opposite the National Car rental desk, the lady there was handing out free “20% off Food & Beverage” cards (charge must be billed to your room) just for saying hello to her.