levilevi

Heading there just after new years.
1) any current contacts for manager/upgrade begging ahead of time ?
2) anyone know if teh club corner suites can have a connecting room? I'm booked into that and added a second room (we are bringing the inlaws along).. but would much rather have them connected/nearby... we were there a couple years ago, just us and 1 kid at the time, and we stayed in that corner suite in the club tower, just couldn't recall the layouts of the floors.. i *thought* I remembered the floors being kind of small, so not sure a standard room (inlaws booked into that w/ my points) could even be on same level.
3) transfers from CUN - i know i know, separate threads there, but I'm booked now with USA Transfers,but anyone use the service via the hotel (someone from Ziva just emailed me the offer). Seems about 2.3x the cost of USA transfers.... but nicer?

abbydancer

I think the corner club suites have a connecting room. We were in a king next to one, and I recall a connecting door.

There are about 6 rooms on each floor, except the top 3 - those have the corner Master suite, a double and a two bedroom suite. (The double connects to the master suite). The top floor is a penthouse.

We took USA transfers and were happy with them. They tell you that in the airport you have to go outside to the person with their hat and clipboard. Others as you go by will say they are with them. They are not. The USA transfers guy was exactly where they said he'd be.

txhyattlvr

1) You already have a Corner Suite in the Club Tower.... those are some of the most gorgeous hotel rooms on the planet IMHO. What could you possibly "upgrade" into beyond that? Regardless, minus Globalist status I doubt you'd get anything higher than that without a major fee (even w/status I wouldn't expect anything above a corner suite). If you have a kid then Turquoize isn't an option and I don't think it's nicer than a Corner Suite anyway...

2) Yes I do believe they connect to an adjacent room.

3) USA Transfers is a great. On time, clean, good price, and easy to locate on arrival. If you really need a Towncar or Navigator then use the hotel... but personally I wouldn't as most would consider that a real waste of cash for a 20-25 minute ride.

levilevi

Thanks -- just to clarify on the upgrade, its the second room... in other words, I'm booked into the Club Corner room... so I'm happy. I booked my in laws into a standard points 25k room. I'm likely needing a "favor"/upgrade to see if I can get that room to be connecting or at least on the same floor/near our suite in the Club tower.

So... any contacts/emails out there?

levilevi

Just finished a stay there... great service, food, atmosphere... I've reviewed before and others... I'll add... it seems they keep hitting the right vibe here... feels "nicer"/higher end, but not stuffy, too serious at all.

uppereastsider

Great to hear. Will be there next month thanks to globalist free night Award. Loved the atmosphere last time, upscale (especially the drinks/food), but it felt very "chill, casual and cool" all at the same time. You can sip champagne and eat pasta outside for lunch, or sit poolside and eat from a food truck while downing margaritas. Eat dinner at a diner style restaurant, or have the feel of a "night out" at the habachi place... or my favorite... sit on outdoor swings and drink tequila and eat tacos

mag_nate

I have mostly great things to say about our most recent trip here. Staff was all really wonderful (though the whole hand over the heart thing was a bit much) and I was generally impressed with all of the food (except for the French restaurant which was stuffy and generally bland).

I sent an e-mail about two weeks before our trip to the concierge asking about any room upgrades that would be available. We were booked into the Ocean Front Double on cash so I figured I may as well ask and see if anything better was an option, though I didn't have any expectation as I am an explorist. The concierge forwarded our request onto the room controller who offered a Club Ocean Front Double for free and I happily accepted.

When we arrived I was a bit surprised to see that we were assigned a room in the pyramid building - it was beautiful but I wasn't sure why we were offered an upgrade and then not properly assigned. I sent a quick e-mail to the room controller politely letting her know that what happened. She apologized and said there was some kind of change made to our reservation and it reset our room type, but she had blocked out a swim up room as well as a club room for us to tour and decide where we wanted to move to.

I can say that between the club room and the standard ocean front room I probably would prefer the standard ocean front room. It is markedly closer to the actual ocean and the only real difference I noticed was an upgraded nespresso machine vs the standard room's basic coffee pot. Though I'm really not sure why you'd use either when the coffee bar makes excellent espresso beverages all day. The swim up room was really incredible, though, and we decided to move there. The pool was heated and it was really amazing to come back to your room late a night and just hang out in the pool for a bit. The personal hammock was pretty awesome too!

We'll absolutely be back and will be booking straight into the swim up pyramid room or possibly giving the turquoize swim up room a shot!

Just a few last minute notes:

1. Aqua body board yoga/fitness was terribly embarrassing but fun as all hell
2. The gym was very well equipped with a bench, incline bench, crossover machine, and leg press
3. Bring reusable straws as the resort does not provide any! We bought a pack of 12 on amazon and used the included cleaning brush to wash them every night. All of the staff mentioned how great of an idea the reusable straws were and I was glad we had them
4. For three people, we went through less than $100 in tips over four nights and I felt like we were being quite generous while drinking a fair amount ($5 per full service meal and $1-$2 per round of drinks seemed fine)
5. The pools close at 8:00 but if you have a swim up pool you can keep going (just be respectful to people sleeping in the rooms above obviously)
6. I'll echo the poster above - USA Transfers was easy/affordable and I was shocked by how well put together their app was. It has a GPS tracker for their greeters at the airport and allows you to confirm your pickup times/notify them of your landing

uppereastsider

Great upgrade as an explorist! I just got back from two nights here and was upgraded to a swim up room as a globalist... exact same pool as you posted. Found it to be an incredible room and way better than the club room I had last time. I would seriously consider just booking into that room as well. You spend so little time in the room that a bigger room upgrade is meh/unnecessary, , but it was really wonderful to come back and retreat to the swim up pool area in the evening or after dinner

gspurr

mag_nate Do you have the email address of the room controller? I have three rooms booked next month and have a few questions. Thanks.

mag_nate

I sent an e-mail to the general concierge box at [email protected] and heard back from the following individuals:

Francisco Corona, Lobby Concierge: [email protected]
Marisol Garcia, Rooms Controller: [email protected]

gspurr

Thanks for the help!

ihdihd

txhyattlvr

I don't think they do that anymore... didn't last time I visited. Honestly the it was some of thew worst lobster I'd ever eaten and the steak wasn't any real upgrade either. Used those coupons several times. No loss if they eliminated it IMHO...

uppereastsider

I definitely haven't been offered that in either 2018 or my 2019 visit. Also agree with other poster - the lobster and steak are subpar anyway.

cruisingmickey

I was there last Sept 2018 and received the vouchers for the lobster and steak. The steak is for a tomahawk. It was pretty bad. I definitely wouldn't pay for it so you're not missing out on much. The lobster voucher could be redeemed at Tradewinds and the french restaurant. We decided since the steak was so bad at Tradewinds, we would try redeeming the lobster at the french restaurant. The lobster was also pretty bad so you are also not missing out on much.

I really enjoyed my room and the resort grounds, but the food was just okay. I was pretty disappointed in most of the food establishments. The Italian restaurant, food truck and taco place were pretty good though. I also liked the coffee shop, but other than that, Tradewinds was meh, the Asian place was not good at all, buffet was okay and the french restaurant was disappointing. The dessert shop was cool, but most desserts were just okay. I did not try the place that looks like a Johnny Rockets.

We also used USA Transfer and they were great. I would definitely use them again.