HKBong

I have read that this property is fantastic and many people have received exceptional deals via priceline. The question is if they are generous with the Marriott Reward points over there. I believe this varies from property to property.

Any nice requests I should put in to get the best room I can?

opushomes

Not sure what you mean by generous. My NW points have not yet posted, but I assume that they will post at the same rate as those from the Bangkok resort property. Points at normal rate for incidentals.

Buy one of their timeshares and they have a 100k point option as a reward for spending $18.5 for one week per year.

Let's see, you want to Priceline the stay and request extras?? IMHO, there is no need to do this. The rooms are extremely nice. They presently go for $U.S 200++. My Priceline stays less than 2 weeks ago went for $67 & $75++ (we had to pay for breakfast if we wanted it).

I suggest that you rethink your strategy so as not to ruin a good thing for those who follow.

Enough said on the subject.

[This message has been edited by opushomes (edited Nov 29, 2003).]

jkc22

Just returned from a 4-day stay last week. As a Silver (it that even considered status at all?) I was upgraded to a Terrace Ocen View room from Garden View (using W24's). I am very satisfied with the stay, and the hotel staff is truly excellent. My only complaint was the pool staff which can be slow at times.

We ate mostly at the Cucina for Dinner (2 nights), Seafood Market (1 night) and Marriott cafe for breakfast all days, and lunch room service and at the pool.

The Cucina is the most exciting place to dine, which offers a reat variety. The Seafood Market was not so interesting. Marriott Cafe is not recommended for dinner. I would advise all to book a romantic dinner a day in advance for an unforgettable experience. At 2000B per person, it is a good deal.

Room service and pool side menus are very reasonable. Pizzas are tasty and very cheap! All in all, I would return to this resort to use my W24's without doubt.

LH747FTL

I couldn't agree more with the previous poster. I usually e-mail hotels a bed type, smoking request and MR number in advance, but leave it at that.

If you get an upgrade because of your status, be grateful. Also if you do get points/miles, IMHO this forum is *the last place to report it*. After some lurkers find out this, they'll most likely try to correct the bug not to give the miles/points.

Have a nice stay, it's a fantastic resort.

airbust

I am scheduled for 6 days in mid February.

Just wondering if anyone else has stayed at this hotel recently?

Is the beach amazing? Are the pools amazing? What is the gym like? Are the rooms nice?

I am hoping this is not yoru standard Marriott resort property. I am expecting something a little more.

Also, any advice on activities while in Phuket?

airbust

Is anyone familiar with both properties? Any thoughts?

Snoopy

See my answer in the Thai Royal Orchid forum. There are also some relevant posts in the Starwood Forum under this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum74/HTML/009161.html

And btw, I think you have been around long enough to know that cross-posting is a no-no



[This message has been edited by Snoopy (edited Jan 29, 2004).]

Pointfreak!

I thought about going to the JW, but ended up saying "Phuket" and went to Vegas instead.

>>BADDA BOOM! Thank you GOOD NIGHT!<<

Land-of-Miles

Just booked into the JW Phuket and noticed my room rate includes return transfers. How does this work? Do I need to contact the property to arrange a transfer or do they run some shuttle type arrangement?

Also does anyone have an email address for the concierge/guest services at this property to arrange restaurant reservations etc?

JonnieB

I believe this is the email address: [email protected]

I had an email exchange with them about my transportation as well. Just email them and tell them your room rate includes transportation. They will ask for the arrival date and airline. Upon arrival in Phuket there is a large Marriott Timeshare booth on the left side right before you walk outside. Just check in with the nice people there and they will escort you out to the van. They'll have ice cold water and a cold towel waiting for you! Enjoy your stay. We stayed in the Beach Club and loved it. Do a search in the forum on the hotel. There is more information than I can type. Also make sure you go to Linda's restaurant and the end of the Marriott property. It's fantastic food and a fraction of the cost and the family that runs the place are typical Thai. Always smiling and so so nice.

There are not alot of restaurants in the area to choose from. The Marriott is fairly isolated in its location. Good thing is that taxi's are very cheap and with the monster exchange rate you will receive, it should be no problem. There is a free shuttle that the hotel provides to Phuket Town and one other place that I can't recall at the moment. You have to book in advance and as it's free, I suggest you book early. They only run 4 or 5 times a day so the timing isn't always what you want. We ended up taking a taxi back. It was 400 Baht which at the time was $10 US. Not bad at all and it's about a 40 minute drive. Overall it's a fantastic property. If you have more questions feel free to email me directly. Email address is in my profile. Enjoy your trip!

wzwjon

Bumping this topic. I am keen to travel to Phuket in late June. Any recent reviews/recommendations? The hotel must be a real gem to attract supporters who are willing to travel an hour to town!

Thanks!!

lmk

Bumping this thread for any more info -- I'll be there in November!

schoflyer

Imk:

How did you book for Nov. Priceline?
I've got an award stat at the Sheraton but am trying to pickup the JW on Priceline and then cancel the Sheraton?

Can you give me your booking rates/dates?
PM is ok if you don't want to post.

Thanks,

Scho

lmk

I didn't book it on Priceline yet -- currently I have a cancellable TFB (two for breakfast) rate reserved at $119/nt for mid-Nov., thanks to the discount codes thread I saw here (by the way, I reserved this way back in Jan or Feb I think, & now the same dates are showing $230/nt). If I end up being able to book it on Priceline -- which I hope I will -- I can cancel my current res.

Delta3MM

I'm currently staying at the Vacation Club portion of the JW Marriott Phuket. I was here last October and bought two weeks at the timeshare.

Biggest change to me is they now have HS Internet in the rooms and wireless in the common areas. In room it is 642 Bhat/day (about $16/day; supposed to be for 24 hours, but seems to be daily) vs. 1000 Bhat/day for common area wireless access. Internet service is sometimes spotty, going out for as long as 2 hours at a time but the last few days has been up all day.

Lots of activities to participate in if you're interested: everything from cooking classes to mountain biking and tennis clinics. Most activities are free, with the cooking classes being an exception. For those of you who have never been here before, there are no motorized sports on the beach - it is a protected environment, so it's really quiet here. There are three main restaurants and a couple of bars and a small, but excellent deli. Vacation Club owners get a discount at most of the restaurants and even the spa (10%), but 20% at the Marriott Cafe (which is EXCELLENT). All the food here is great. The buffets are great!

The Marriott is very remote: you either stay here or spend a lot of time and money traveling elsewhere on the island. There is a free shuttle to both Phuket town and Padong beach, limited to 4 people per room. But you need to make reservations a day in advance (at least), there is a 100 Bhat fee if you don’t show and only a few times per day. Most people will wind up taking the shuttle one way and a taxi back (about 800 Bhat for an air conditioned taxi from Padong Beach). But staying here at the resort all the time isn’t that bad.

A couple of other cool things in the timeshare: you can order a meal cooked in your room; they send a chef and assistant and you choose what you want from a huge list. It was really exceptional. There also is a combination washer/dryer in the unit, but the dryer function is not very good - so they offer a free drying service. Just call, they pick up your wet things and return them dried and folded (or on hangers if you with) within four hours (this is just for the timeshare)!

For those of you who are geeks like me, I also figured out how to wirelessly network three laptops (OK two XP/Intel laptops and a Mac) to the single HS Ethernet connection without using a wireless hub or router. Probably easy to some of you guys, but this was really cool to me and I didn't even think it was possible. Too long to explain here - plus not the right forum. PM me if anyone wants the instructions. Don't bother if you've never been in the control panel of windows, though.

Sorry if this is too long – post any additional questions – I’m here until the 11th.

Billy