controller1

I agree. Even though I've had the timeshare properties go above and beyond my expectations several times, it has always been when I've been staying as an owner and not as a hotel guest.

boston aa flyer

Just finished a 5 night stay there. Booked three rooms. One studio with points. One, one-bedroom suite cash points stay with bonus points and one additional room under the family second room rate.

First off... we asked if the one bedroom villas had a walled off component to the bedroom. There are some one beds that we've stayed in that you cannot completely close off, which is critically important when you have twins in cribs. Staff at the hotel said no. So, we booked the third room. Prepaid rate was told by my ambassador that the full amount would be charged now, and then i would receive the 50% credit at check out. Apparently the rate system cannot do rates that are dependent on you having a second room attached to it.

show up... check in took FOREVER even though there was no line. slow staff. couldn't figure out if two of the rooms were connected. Then we get to the room... no cribs. then we go to the balcony hair all along the balcony drain as if someone shaved their body on the balcony.

there are full fridges in the suite but for some reason, the ice machine is off. So we turn it on and ask for ice in the meanwhile. $15 charge to deliver ice.

the property itself is actually very very lovely. huge pools although not nearly enough deck chairs for a hotel this size that is apparently always sold out; and given that most days you cannot go into the surf in cancun, that's a problem.

as it relates to platinum.... they offered me 50% off breakfast for me and one guest. none of the other people in the other rooms were eligible.

also note... my family rate was supposed to give me free food for the kids... everytime we asked, no one knew about it.

food on site was fine but thin. you cannot plan to stay on the property the whole time. drinks were sub-optimal and expensive. go with a beer... better yet, there's a liquor store across the street.

hubby got a massage which he thought was good for the price.

gym was so so... broken door to enter the entire trip...always something with an out of order sign on it.

for some reason they have split the concierge team into two locations and even though we were in building 2, they constantly suggested we go to the concierge in building 11... not building 6.

keys got deactivated before we checked out... which isn't usually a huge deal but when you've got twins with you... it's a pain.

checkout, bills were completely wrong. recharged me again for the kids room... instead of giving me 50% credit. claimed i booked SPG50 and not the family one... actually no... i never book SPG50 and even if i did there was no 1000 point deduction on my account. they kept saying the front desk manager was coming but took forever had to leave. been back a week, still no resolution... giving up and just asking AmEx to take care of it. i've got all my paperwork from SPG and my ambassador, so it will get cleared by obviously a total pain.

So glad to see that there's a JW Marriott just down the road... never going back to Lagunamar.

controller1

The housekeeping staffs of all Westin timeshare properties we've frequented always empty the refrigerator ice bin and turn the ice maker off between guests. Would you really want to use ice in a bin that perhaps had been touched by the previous guest?

boston aa flyer

how do you even go in to a hotel room if you're that grossed out by the ice bin?

Sam P. Goodman

Yep, seems to be standard protocol for all of them. If I'm on my game, one of the first things I do when I get to my room is turn the icemaker on.

Carl Christensen

I have read some horror stories on Tripadvisor about Hertz and some others. Does anyone have advice and recommendations as to whether to rent a car or not and who to go with?

Family of 5 traveling for week leading up to Christmas. We have 2 studio villas reserved.

Boraxo

We visit every year and never get a car (with one exception - see below). You absolutely do not need a car when you stay here unless you plan to drive down the coast to see the ruins. The airport shuttle is pretty cheap (you can pre-book through the property) and will save about an hour vs. renting a car which sometimes takes forever. You can take cheap taxis or even the bus if you want to go to restaurants or shopping up the hotel strip. Then again there are two malls within a short walk (one across the street from the property) so no need to get in car at all to dine out or shop.

According to the reviews I've seen, all of the car rental companies are pretty bad. We rented a car last year in order to drive to Tulum as I hate tour buses. You can see my review of mediocre Hertz franchise in the Mexico forum, and that would probably be a better place to seek advice.

imaginaryhomeland

has anyone else gotten this email offer for the Lagunamar Westin?


"5 Days + 4 Nights in Cancún for only $229

PLUS your choice of 5,000 Starpoints® or a $75 Resort Certificate"

after a quick google search i see the hotel has standard rates topping out at $275/night.

this seems too good to be true. anyone else encounter it?

imaginaryhomeland

i see in the fine print that there's a requirement about attending some timeshare presentation.

"Attendance at the preview and sales presentation (lasting approximately 90 minutes) is required to receive this special offer, or you will be charged the seasonal rate for accommodations and will not receive the Starpoints® or Resort Certificate. If married, cohabitating or in a life partnership, both parties must attend together to receive this special offer."

KelownaGuy

Attended the timeshare presentation last year. It does last about 90 minutes but is not a terribly hard sell, compared to some sales presentations I've been to. Worth the 90 minutes of your time to get the points and that great rate.

daprophecy

Where did you see this fine print? I got an offer for same dates but for $319. I clicked through all the links and don't see a mention of a timeshare.

Dlougach

I see mixed reports regarding Platinum breakfast. Is it 50% discount or complimentary. Is it continental only or full?

Boraxo

Concur. We just did the presentation, the standard offer is 7500 SPG points but you should be able to get 10k points by asking for it (offer open to everyone except guests who have done a presentation in the past year).

FYI, the current price for 148k staroptions (enough for an annual 2BR in Platinum season) is $51.9k, which is +$15k from the 2006 pre-construction price. Maintenance is $2100/yr. As they've completely sold out the units here, they are now selling all 4 SPG Mexico properties as a collective home resort. Good luck getting space in Cancun when 4x people are trying to book the same room 12 months out.

azeckel

Was there 2 years ago now, but it was a complimentary continental with an option to upgrade (for $$) to full.

Dlougach

Thanks. I would nevertheless appreciate if someone who stayed less than one year ago could confirm this.