Originally Posted by
franzose
Hi there,
Read your post #1108 in the other thread but I am not sure to fully understand why you would choose the LM over the Westin?
You said, the rooms in the Westin are much bigger and more suitable for accommodating children (separate sofabed, no $75 fee). Plus the Westin is more boutique style.
Food was equally good and snorkeling only slightly better at LM (although seeing photos it is not much of a difference to me?).
Maybe I missed something, appreciate any further insights.
We had a great time at both and I wouldn't hesitate to return to both if I had the funds to do so, but there were a few things that come to mind that would lead us to choose LM over Westin if we had to choose one. For context, we were at Westin in June 2021 and LM in March of 2022 so there were differences in pandemic restrictions/hotel operations and sea conditions.
- Accessibility to the sea. The water off our villa at Westin was not swimmable. It was rocky and pretty rough. LM had more of the quintessential OWB vibe where you could hop from your villa into the water and chill in sandy bottom, waist deep water. On this note, while the villa at Westin was huge, the deck was un covered and largely unusable for large portions of the day as it baked in the sun. Obviously, a villa facing a different direction solves some of this.
- Size. LM is much bigger so more to explore. We were travelling with a 10-ish year old.
- Dive Center. The LM team was top notch and took amazing care of us. I nearly drowned on a not very well run snorkel trip at the Westin, which probably colored my perspective, but we still talk about how great the LM Dive Team was.
It's less of an indictment on the Westin and more of a commentary on the good feelings we still have about our stay at the LM. Staff at both were fantastic and took great care of us. If I were on a honeymoon and the primary objective was to spend time in an oversized villa and familiarize myself with my new spouse, the Westin might win out. But, alas, I am not...