KarensuePDX

I am booked at this hotel during the month of January. Wil be accompanied by a friend. making 2 queens or doubles beds our choice. We have not been to St John, or Carribean..I am finding
reallly mixed reviews on The Westin, any one care to share their thoughts?
Am using miles and points all nights with the exception of one will be all points, (14,500) Good use of points? how is the hotel as far as upgrading plat members
? Any advice on which rooms are more desireable and those to avoid?

Happy Holidays to all

KarensuePDX

vxmike

I was there in December. Typical Caribbean non-service but otherwise a decent property. The grounds and rooms were nicely kept.

My friend who is SPG did not receive an upgrade. I received an upgrade booking via the Amex FHR program and then got my SPG PLT friend an upgrade as well after I inquired if we could be placed in the same building. My understanding is that Platinum means almost nothing at this resort.

I didn't think this property was the best value out there especially considering the $40 daily resort fee. It was a very average stay and average value.

KarensuePDX

Can you tell me what building is the nicest and which to avoid? sounds like there is quite a difference! Also, it sounds like my status (Plat) will not do much good... will using my Am Ex spg card help at all?

vxmike

Honestly I don't know about the various buildings. I was upgraded to a pool view in building 15 but didn't check out any of the other buildings.

Amex SPG won't get you any add'l upgrade over being SPG Plat....it really sounds like you'll be out of luck on an upgrade there

beofotch

How do you think upgrades will work with the new "Guaranteed Suite" Program for SPG Platinums? I know the program goes effective March 1, 2012.

My fiancee and I are staying there for our honeymoon in May. We are both SPG Platinums. Hopefully we can get a "guaranteed suite".

beofotch

bump for any recent experiences or suite upgrade requests there...

beofotch

So I managed to get availability for our first night in a standard room using 12k spg points instead of a $650 spg50 rate villa. So now we have 4 nights x 12k spg. I have requested a confirmed suite upgrade for all 4 nights ,and it shows it will be (if available) a king size 1br suite + pull-out double sofa.

Any recent experiences in a 1br king suite?

vg247

Here's my thorough review as posted on Tripadvisor:

We are SPG Platinum members staying 3/19-3/25 during this visit and were put in a "villa room" which had a full size king bed and sofa-bed that sleeps 2. Our Villa was way up the hill which had to be reached by a long walk or they had golf cart types that drove guests up and down the villas every 15-20 minutes (we found walking faster than waiting for this service) -Note: hotel was only at 60% occupancy. The room had a full kitchen with all utensils and even a dishwasher with full washer and dryer. For all these amenities, this resort IS ideal for families,etc. Hotel staff were very polite and kind as were people on the whole island. There are large pools and and nice private hotel beach, which diving and snorkeling excursions among many others can be arranged as well.

Now the negatives- for the price paid at $800 or so a night..the hotel charged in addition each night $80 of which $40 was for tips (tip for what, room cleaning at $40 a day??) and $40 for what they called a "resort fee"--this is awful as they were mandatory charges everyone was obligated to pay (and really GOT NOTHING for out of the fee). As Platinum guests we didn't get any additional perks aside from the free wi-fi.

The hotel has a personal Westin Ferry service at $120 for RT per person which picked you up at St Thomas airport and took you on a ferry to St John, from there transportation is included to the hotel. **Though we communicated with the hotel and received confirmation of our pickup, on the day of our arrival to the airport..NO One was there to pick us up! We ended having to use local transportation and utilize the public ferry which tacked on an unnecessary 4 hour to getting to the Westin as the taxi was a shuttle type and made numerous stops, then the local ferry didnt use a direct route so that took longer than the Westin ferry would have taken (since the Westin ferry goes directly to the Westin). The same issue happened on our departure: we paid for the ferry service and transportations from the Westin to airport and confirmed with the front desk all departure times, then on that morning we were not even on the passenger list. If we did not check to reconfirm, we would not even have been allowed to board. On both occasions all the front desk could tell us we that they must have had mis-communications internally..not even a sorry or attempt to reconcile anything...This is not the service one tends to expect from a hotel charging $800/night. **bear in mind what was said earlier, the hotel was only at 60% capacity and this was the price and service we got.

We urge you to explore your other hotel, villa, and rental options on St John before deciding on this resort in terms of price for value received and for reasons above overall. IF you are an SPG Platinum you will not receive any perks either,etc.

Room Tip: Try to request for a room near the main lobby buildings OR else it will be a hike/long golf cart ride

DSI

and I recall something about getting starwood points for sitting through a timeshare pitch. Is that still available, and what's the best way to take advantage of the situation?

marlee1421

No need to worry. They "hit" you pretty quickly to sign up for the tour and pitch. Just get ready for some big time pressure.

asdfjkl

Hi-- I've gathered from these posts a couple of things:

- Expect nothing but free and unreliable internet as a Platinum at the Westin St. John.

- The resort is nothing special and most of one's time should be spent exploring the rest of the island.

Still, I'm considering a visit for a week on points. I've never been to the caribbean, and this would be a solo trip for some R&R and a little adventure. Does anyone have any feedback on the following questions? Thanks so much in advance.

1) I've read elsewhere that St. John is very safe for solo women travelers, but will I have much fun? If the beaches are sparsely populated, there's only so much swimming, etc. that one can do safely.

2) Will I need a car? Considering it's my first visit, will I be able to find enough to do nearby? How often does the shuttle run? Where does it go? Does it just go to beaches, or also shops and restaurants?

3) Does anyone have a link to detailed instructions for getting to the Westin from the St. Thomas airport by a public ferry?

4) I'm trying to keep expenses low, but will splurge on sailing. I'm competent crew, and prefer smaller (under 35') to bigger boats. Any recommendations on trips or short (1-3 day) lessons? Local sailing clubs? What about windsurfing?

5) I will need internet access at least one day to work. If the in-room access is bad, will the lobby internet suffice? for internet calls? what about AT&T cell service?

Finally, I want to get away some place warm and coastal and use SPG points for the hotel. This forum is filled with avid travelers, so please let me know if you have better suggestions than St. John. I've been to all the Mexican resorts and Hawaii already...

Thanks!

needtoescape

Hi, I haven't been to STJ yet, but as a frequent solo female traveler to the Caribbean, I wanted to share a few of my thoughts. STJ is an island that is near the top of my wish list for a new Caribbean destination, but I would prefer to visit STJ with others. My reasons are:

1) Accommodations – Most people who go to STJ seem to prefer villas, which IMO is better suited for a couple or group than for a solo traveler. I’m also like staying right on the beach. The Westin beach is not good, and the location is not that convenient for doing stuff in town. In general, there are limited hotels/resorts on the island, and there also are limited on beach accommodation options.

2) Driving – Most people seem to think that having a car enhances the experience of visiting all the beaches on STJ and also visiting the town towns. Driving on STJ is not as easy as other Caribbean islands because STJ is more mountainous with some rougher roads. I mostly like driving on flat, straight, paved roads, especially when driving on the “wrong” side of the road in the Caribbean

3) Isolated beaches - I personally would not be comfortable swimming or snorkeling alone at an isolated beach.

In terms of other locations in the Caribbean with a SPG property, I’d suggest the Westin on Grand Cayman. Although the hotel gets mixed reviews, it is on a great location on Seven Mile Beach. Grand Cayman is very easy and safe for a solo female traveler.

I hope this helps with some general feedback.

If you don’t get more feedback on some of your more specific questions on this thread, I think a general travel site like Tripadvisor would be helpful in terms of addressing the solo female, sailing, and transportation from St. Thomas questions.

zachary

I wouldn't worry about the beaches being too isolated -- like being all alone. That's especially true if you stick to the more popular beaches like Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay (both of which have food service). The time of year you are going is low season, so the crowds won't be huge, but you won't be by yourself.

Your comment about having fun was in connection with swimming, but to be clear, if you are looking for nightlife, St. John would generally not be your first choice. Grand Cayman would be better for that.

With regard to driving, as noted above, driving on the left is different, but you quickly get used to it. Cabs will generally be cheaper than a jeep (that's pretty much what everyone rents), but you won't be able to explore the same way. A compromise is to rent a jeep for only 1-2 days and take cabs the rest of the time.

Public ferry to St. John is simple, although it can take a while. Get your bags at STT. There will be cabs (vans carrying multiple people). Tell the cabbie that you want to go to the Red Hook ferry terminal. They will pair you up with others going to Red Hook. The ferry leaves Red Hook for St. John pretty much every hour and is $6 (I think). There are plenty of cabs at the Cruz Bay, St. John, ferry terminal to take you to the Westin. On St. John, a cab means an open air truck -- you sit in the back and share the ride with others. Fares are set by the government.

I really like St. John. I've been to Grand Cayman and, while 7 Mile Beach is nice, St. John is a prettier island overall with a number of very nice beaches.

Olip

The GF and me were just in the Westin St. John. Because we were 2 and the Westin charges 120 $ per person for the transfer and we wanted a car at St. John anyway, we decided to rent the car directly at the STT Airport and to go on our own. Be aware that only Budget and AVIS allow you to take the car to St. John. Hertz does not.

The drive from STT Airport to Redhook (the place where the barge ferry departs) takes approx. 45–60 minutes. The barges (3 different companies) go every 30 – 60 minutes, schedule can be found on www.vinow.com. Fare is 50 – 60 $, plus 3 $ port fee in St. Thomas.

Driving in St. John is, as others mentioned, on the “wrong” side, but easy, because there is not much traffic and everybody drives very carefully. However, do not rent a Lincoln Town Car or something of this size because the roads in St. John are steep and narrow.

Overall, we found it very useful to have our own car in St. John because we could go anywhere anytime and there are really a lot of nice places and beaches to explore.

Olip

As I mentioned in my previous post, getting to the Westin St. John is pretty easy.

But as others mentioned before, getting a room upgrade as a SPG Plat is obviously not.

Here is my experience:

Booked 2 nights on C+P and 1 additional night using the Amex FHR Rate. Room category was a Garden View room. Logged in into SPG just before arrival and saw, that they upgraded us to a “Pool View” Room. Checked availability then and saw, that indeed there were no suites available, but the best room was a DLX Ocean Front. Even 3 of those DLX Ocean Front were available to be booked.

When checking in, we were told again that we had been upgraded to a Pool view room. I responded, that the best room I could see on the internet was a DLX Ocean front and that would be the room I want. The receptionist told me, that I had booked a garden view room and that we already had been upgraded by 1 category and that there would be no further upgrade possible.
I told the person that this would be a clear violation of the SPG T&C and that I wanted to talk to the F/O Manager. It turned out that the person we spoke to was already the F/O Manager.

What then followed was a pretty unpleasant discussion. I explained the person, that the SPG T&C’s clearly say “best available room” and not “1 cat up” and told him, that I am not going to accept his argumentation. Now the receptionist suddenly argued that there were no higher room categories available. I asked him, how they then could sell those rooms over the internet and not only 1, but 3 of them, but got no proper answer to my question.
He then suggested to me, that I could place a customer complaint to SPG. My response was, that this would be exactly the first thing, what I would do when in my room.

Surprisingly, he then suddenly “found” a DLX Ocean Front Room in the #16 building and checked me in without any further discussion.

As for the other SPG Plat perks, I can tell, that the free BF (if you choose it as your amenity) is the Continental buffet, which was pretty decent. If you want the warm stuff, you can upgrade to the full buffet by paying 8 $ extra.

Pay attention that reception gives you the right card (like a voucher) which must be shown to the waiter, otherwise the BF will appear on your bill and you will have long discussions when checking out.

Internet worked good, even with multiple devices.

Regarding the 4 p.m. checkout I cannot say anything. In my case they had no chance to refuse it, because my last night was an AMEX FHR booking and here the 4 p.m. c/o is guaranteed, not on availability