omegadeal

I'm staying here soon and wondering if anyone had comments on whether the all inclusive option is worth it. Breakfast is included in my rate, and the hotel offers an all inclusive option for $150pp/day.

Edit: After my stay here I can say that "It depends".... As with most all inclusive packages the price assumes you will have a few drinks. Here is what I found based on my experience:

• Breakfast - about $60 USpp
• Lunch about the same sans drinks which are ~$8 for beers and ~$11 for cocktails

Pros to the all inclusive

• You can go to the Westin and eat at their restaurants

Cons to the all inclusive

• Only good if you have 3+ drinks per day
• Make sure you know what is included and not included (i.e. Jack Daniels is considered premium and not included. Not all the bartenders know so keep the list with you.

Other:

• All inclusive service fee is 10% and automatically added
• Service fees on the checks you sign will have an additional 10% added
• Anything extra you will sign for

coolbeans202

This is exactly what I came to this thread for, thank you!

I am thinking about a birthday trip here in September and looking at the all-inclusive package. My friends and I can definitely hit 3 drinks/day and the additional options of the Westin are helpful.

Chicago Wine Geek

Any recent update? I'm staying here on 1/11 for a company "President's Club" trip. Will report back.

navatwal

Stay clear, this might look pretty in pictures, service is awful! From reservations to front desk, asked for GM’s details and they have still not provided these or responded via email.

Go stay at the nearby JW Marriott or the Andaz where customer service is how it should be and staff are responsive and held accountable!

I am a Marriott Titanium member, I also hold top tier elite status at a number of reputable hotel chains, it is fair to say that I had a few options for this vacation. I frequently stay at luxury resorts eg St Regis, Ritz Carlton etc

I made a reservation after speaking with in house reservations regarding a suite upgrade which I was happy to pay for, I followed the provided advice and I used the SNA awards as the hotel advised they will clear them within 48 hours.

I also sent confirmation via email to which still nobody has responded. I followed up after 48 hours and all suites are sold out and I am on the phone to front desk management who assure me that I am their priority and they will assign me a suite should one become available. In the 6 hours that it took to get a response multiple suites became open and are were subsequently taken.

I then contacted the front desk leadership team one, if you speak with Stephanie Gutierrez good luck, she refused to share GM’s details and she also advised everyone wants to stay here and are begging for suites, multiple elites are here and a few other words along those lines, failing to grasp the point, a truly shocking tone and stance for a top tier elite at a luxury resort, if you value top tier service my advice is stay away!

neuro0

Do I get full buffet breakfast as elite amenity choice? Thanks!

writetorich

I'd be really interested as well. going THIS week booked at JW Marriott
Much more about the actual hotel than than elite benefits?

I know W is not famous in the USA as a kids brand.

1-Is this property more kid friendly?
2-The pool looks really small, does the music "rotate " between pools or is it music blaring all the time?
3- How far is the walk to town? ( we won't have a car).
4- Can you use the Westin pools etc besides just meals?
5- At night how do you go between hotels.?
6- Is the pool heated?
7 Really IMPORTANT, Some SAY THAT you can see a lot of wildlife including monkeys on property? Others say not that much.. I would like to save some time and some exhaustion from lots of full day tours.. Not to mention the $$$

Will be going this week and am staying on points on points at JW Marriott , but it seems tours are LONG rides and expensive.( Long rides because it is the first pick up
Is this hotel a shorter ride to main tour sites.
It seems that the Marriott requires two hours minimum each way for an organized tour because it is the first pick up. So at least four hours in the Van to see sites. And that is the short time!

omegadeal

I can answer a few of your questions...
- I think the walk to town would be pretty far - maybe an hour or so, and there really isn't much there
- The pools are pretty small, but from what I remember there are two of them, one by the main lobby, and the other down by the bar on the beach. I don't remember the music being terribly loud, but they do put on the typical W vibe
- You can walk between the Westin and the W pretty easily and there is a path down by the beach. The security at the Westin is attentive and will check your wristbands when entering from the beach. I don't know if you can use the Westin pools, but the Westin has larger pools from what I remember.
- I can't compare the kid friendliness between the W and the Marriott as I've never stayed at that Marriott, but while the W isn't a family resort there were plenty of families and kids seemed to be having a good time
- Regarding wildlife, you will certainly hear a lot of howler monkeys in the early evenings, though I didn't personally see any inside the resort. I did however see a lot of cotamundi inside the resort, and even walking around the guests, etc.

I'm going to try the Planet Hollywood which is a bit further north next month, which I can't comment on now, but it is another option.

mjz

Yes, for Platinum and above.

bk_mike

Staying here now. some updates based on my read of this thread.

• Hotel seems pretty empty which is nice especially in the common areas.
• Breakfast spread is substantial and compares to the JW Marriot nearby in Guanacaste. Can’t compare to the Andaz. It closely approaches hotels in Asia minus the seafood.
• Staff is warm and friendly and very accommodating. Also very efficient and attentive.
• Beach is better than the JW and nice and quiet.
• Hard product is good and appears well maintained.
• Very family friendly and plenty of families here with small children. This was a big concern for me and pushed me to book the JW last time I was in Costa Rica.

We had planned to move to El Mangrove for the second half of our vacation but decided to cancel and stay at the W.

if anyone has any questions ask away.

ysbyvr

Does anyone know if this property has stopped accepting SNAs? I used some for a previous stay, but no longer see the option available for an upcoming stay.

edemirel

Did you happen to have status and if so did they charge for breakfast for the kids? Planning a trip with a family four and trying to figure out if I will have to pay for breakfast with platinum status for the kids (some places seem to let the kids slide by where as others don't). Kids are 9 and 4, also some places seem to not charge under 5 for food at restaurants is that the case here as well?

bk_mike

Yes I am Platinum. We had 2 rooms for 4 people so the benefits covered us. Each morning we got a bill for the full price of breakfast and there was a lower rate listed for my son. My son was 5 at the time. The breakfast charges were automatically removed before checkout. Breakfast buffet was pretty substantial and there were more than a few days that we had a large breakfast and skipped lunch or dinner.

FWIW the food was very good and pretty reasonably priced considering you are somewhat a captive audience.

LTO100

Do you think the breakfast benefit would extend to 4 people (2 adults & 2 teenagers) in 1 room if I have Platinum status? I’m newer to Marriott Elite and trying to determine if it’s worth it to try to hit Platinum this year (currently Gold) knowing we will be staying at this resort next spring. Sounds like the food is pretty expensive here but the All-inclusive option isn’t going to make sense for our teenagers in particular.

MilesTalk

Any advice on this property with a 22 month old? Currently booked at the JW but having second thoughts. JW seems reluctant to give suite upgrades (somewhat important with a toddler for sleep) while W seems better? (Can't tell if that has changed from earlier posts). Have the SNAs available.

But more importantly, are there and activities for a toddler and also (if you have been with one) are the rooms laid out in a safe enough way? I saw one room with a plunge pool that was next to the loungers - obviously not the safest. So trying to consider things like that in both properties.

green09000

Did you end up staying here and getting the breakfast? We are going with our two younger kids and was wondering as well.