Originally Posted by joecool1885

I stayed in 508 (standard reef) for a night, then 506 (grand reef) for 8 nights. In that area, the lagoon view is ok, the problem IMO is that they didn't keep up the island in the middle of the lagoon. So instead of a white sandy beach with palm trees, now you see a rockyish island with some shrubbery and a swing.
There's an outcropping on the other side, and the view of the ocean from those villas includes bright runway lights from MLE at night (could even spot the airport beacon).

I checked the website just prior to my stay, and they were showing availability for every type of Grand Villa (Beach, reef, overwater). You could always offer 2-3K to upgrade (for 7-10 nights) and see if they bite.