Weather started clearing up Sunday, so you arrived on a good day. ;-)

You must be right near me. :-) Agree about the coral, it’s so sad. Feels kind of dystopian. But the fish make up for it. Right in front of the spa is excellent, too. Hordes of schools of fish of all types.

Manta safari is on for Wednesday at 8 am! They only have 3 people but decided to send the boat out anyway. It's about a 20 minute ride so much shorter than the whale shark excursion.

I received a mini-bar menu from the hotel and it says spirits are $49 in room - can someone confirm if that was the case? That's a bit more than Westin, but less than STR and JW.

That was the minibar price in January for 375mL bottles. (The 20% Platinum F&B discount does not apply to minibar purchases.)

Note that minibar soft drinks are free at the W so you have free mixers with your spirits -- not sure if that's the case for soft drinks at the other properties.

Thanks for the info! That is not the case at the other properties, and the prices are insane!

Anyone here for Christmas?
 

Title.

anyone here for Christmas wanna hang?

I just arrived with my girlfriend, we can grab a round at the bar if you're still around.

Guys - I am about to book W for 7 nights in Feb 2020 the travel agent is quoting me HB package. I am a Tit Elite so still wondering

1) how it works, is it just a $ Value or fixed menu items
2) With 20% discount for status and BF included does it still make sense, or shall we just got Ala-Carte

1. It's not $ value its a fixed menu of items you can select and an additional surcharge for anything that falls out of that (special event dinners, lobster, wagyu, etc.)
2. I would highly recommend going Ala-Carte as with the HB package there are many limitations on what is included and what costs extra also between the free titanium breakfast which is a buffet of many options and free snacks that are offered throughout the day we didn't need to splurge for a big dinner.

Agree with this. If you eat a big brunch (it's the best meal of the day), then you can wing it on dinner and still eat well. I was only Gold when I was there and I paid for breakfast, but it's not expensive at all for what it is - U.S. $30 all in.

There are two happy hours a day, one by the pool at Wet 4-6 and one at Sip over the water 8-10. Most days I had a (well two) drinks at each happy hour, and they have interesting spiced roasted nuts at Wet. I had a "formal" dinner only two nights, once at Kitchen, once at Fire. At Fire, the key is knowing you get all the sides with your order - I didn' t have an app or dessert and it would have been overkill. The steak was meh but at that the value was fine. I didn't drink at dinner. The other times I just had something at the bar - Sashimi platter at Sip, or the Maldivian tuna salad at Wet (my favorite thing at the resort, though a Maldivian friend said it isn't really Maldivian). You can actually order off of any menu from the resort sitting at Sip.

I don't eat sweets so I didn't partake of the free popsicles/ice cream bars in the afternoon.

In the end my F&B bill was I thought quite reasonable.

TL/DR: Eat a big brunch. Eat the free snacks if you like them. Take advantage of happy hours. Don't overdo with formal dinners - it's the appetizers, desserts and drinking at dinner that kill you (even water, I fell for "do you want water" thing one night - the only annoying thing about this otherwise lovely resort).

What is the deal at happy hour? Any food deals as well, or just beverages?

I noticed a few reviews from last year that mentioned platinum/titanium were given cards that said 35% off F&B when they checked in. Can anyone confirm if that's the case, or is it just the 20% off now?

Just two for one drinks.

We are headed there the 4-10 and I'm trying to mentally prepare for F&B costs. Does anyone have menus? Is there a breakfast buffet? Do gold elite members get 15% off F&B? We are anticipating 2K USD for the two of us.

Oh and do the snacks (granola bars and magnum bars) still exist?

If you pm me your email address I can send you menus. Alternatively, you can contact reservations at the hotel and they will gladly send you PDF copies of everything.