gdemander

Yeah. It was a combination of low and high season rates of 22,500 and 27,500 with one night free. So it was:

16-Dec 22,500
17-Dec 22,500
18-Dec 22,500
19-Dec 22,500
20-Dec 5th Night Free
21-Dec 27,750
22-Dec 27,750
Total 145,500

After looking at flights (mostly on AA ) and how to get to the hotel from different airports, etc. I think I may cancel this and opt for Maui instead. Still going through my options now.

I was speaking with the platinum concierge who was not familiar with the property, seeing how it just opened for *wood. So I did not ask about Plat upgrades/amenities.

Edit: I have actually found Continental flights out of Houston or Newark so I am going this route.

toddreg

There is a lot of interest in this property however from reading the more recent posts, information appears sketchy and policies varying from other SPG properties. One would think that SPG would send in a team to "convert" the property over to their system and way of doing things. And this deposit thing will not fly with me either.

I have seen the rates for 2 adults, how about adding a teenager, what does that cost?

Starwood Lurker

My apologies, but SPG and, least of all, I don't have much say in how this hotel will operate. You don't attract top quality hotels to go into business with you by dictating things that affect their bottom line, short of insisting that they follow regional brand standards. As far as I know, brand standards have nothing to say about whether or not a property is all-inclusive or charges a deposit up front.

This is the resort's published Family Plan policy:

A maximum of two adults and two children under 12 years old are allowed in Family Junior Suites or Deluxe Junior Suites. Infants under 2 years old sleep free in existing room bedding. Additional charges of 120 USD apply for children over 2 years old sharing a room with parents. Guests staying in the Family Junior Suite also have exclusive access to the Family Club Lounge.

One assumes then that teenagers would be charged as an extra person in the room and incur an additional cost. Note: This cost may fluctuate from US$120 to US$350 per additional person per room, depending upon the season.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

gdemander

A deposit is one thing, but $13,180 is quite another. Especially when standard room rates for that time period is $700, which for the 7 nights would be $4,900. Considerably more understandable than $13,180, although still quite a lot especially considering the deposit is due three months in advance.

Again, I am sure that it is just some sort of mistake and will all be sorted out.

gdemander

I made a change to the reservation by calling the Platinum desk and have an update.

The woman informed me that since it is an award stay, they do not collect the deposit and that I just ignore that even though it does say it will be charged. I went back and checked other award stay reservations and the confirmations did not mention any deposits like this one.

I am a little wary to trust someone's word when it states in the terms and conditions that I will be charged.

I am still waiting back to hear directly from the hotel, so we will see what they say.

Starwood Lurker

They are not supposed to charge a deposit if it is an award stay. If they do, contact Corporate Customer Service and ask them to have it refunded.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

gdemander

Oh great! I definitely trust your word. Many thanks.

longhorn59

I'm staying there next week for three nights. Booked with points and didn't have to pay any type of deposit.

longhorn59

Just checked in here. Really great check-in process and we were upgraded to a Royal Beach Club room. The staff seem extremely nice and eager to please. Full review to come later after our stay.

smatter

longhorn59, how was it? We just booked a week there over Christmas (on points, of course)

gates1580

I am staying there from 09/17 - 09/20 for 3 nights. We are arriving at Sanjose International and decided to rent a car and drive the distance. The drive decision was mainly because we land around noon which gives us plenty of time before it gets dark and we wanted to enjoy the drive as well which I heard is quite scenic.

Out of the next 4 days, we will be spending 2 days at Arenal volcanoe and 2 days in Monte verde natural reserve.
I will provide a detailed trip report after my trip.
cheers

HomerJ

...as we are considering this property for a stay in Oct.

gdemander

There are a few new posts over on Trip Advisor. Most of the reports have been pretty positive. I also noticed that the Director of Sales for the hotel has responded to a few people, which is a good thing that they are taking an interest in customer feedback.

Astrophsx

Surprisingly this property is not on the non-participating properties list for the triple up promotion.

gdemander

I was able to add two days to my planned Costa Rica trip by moving the trip to the second week of January. With this new reservation, the cancellation policy states that changes must be made three days before the reservation. This is a big improvement over the three months required for a trip the week before Christmas. This is probably because the second week of January is just outside of their peak season.

Just in case anyone was interested.