I was at the St Kitts Marriott in late Oct 2009. The weather was beautiful, as was the resort. We had an upgraded ocean view room in the main building but in all honesty, calling it ocean view was quite a stretch. I would say more that it was a garden or pool view with ocean in the FAR background. Having said that, the room was very nice, the property is vast and gorgeous, the beach is excellent.

(As a Plat, I felt this wasn't much of an upgrade but the weekend we went, there were several large weddings and it was Parents Week for the local veterinary school so the resort was quite busy.)

There is only one restaurant on-site for breakfast but choices were varied and quality was good. The all-inclusive will limit you for dinner but the on-site dining choices were very good as well. (Certain restaurants are closed on certain nights so do your homework and plan accordingly.) We chose to go off-site for a few dinners; some local places were casual and lots of fun, as well as VERY reasonable. You call as to whether you'd prefer to be locked into having every meal at the resort or if you'd like some local flavor. We chose the latter and were quite pleased.

Don't miss Happy Hour at the main pool, from 4-6p with drinks for around $2.

I'd definitely return. I feel this island is a hidden gem and Marriott is the only 'name' resort that has a property here.

Have a great time!

Marriott St Kitts
 

Flyer Wife - thanks for the review and the happy hour tip :) gosh I know how much that will help..

The manager at the prop has guarenteed us an royal ocean view suite as a platinum and am hoping the view is good (my wife is spoilt by my travel perks and she is expecting a lot). Do some bldgs have better views than the others?

Did you rent a car? Any reco on local places is welcome as i am inclining (as you said) to savor local island food...

The wife and I went to St. Kitts a couple of years ago as well. We also enjoyed the trip very much. It is a great island.

As a Plat I was also upgraded to an "Ocean view" room in the main building. And it also really overlooked the pool with the ocean on past that (and other smaller buildings.)

We did not rent a car. We used a taxi to get into the city for restaurants and shopping. In general, I would say that if you are staying for 5 or less nights, then the hotel's restuarants could be just fine and will give you enough variety. But if you are staying longer or really want a local flair with your food, then I agree with flyerwife and suggest you look at local restaurants instead.

As for specific places of interest, while I enjoyed the restaurants we visited, I've long since forgotten their names. I'm really bad about that. :o

Not necessary to rent a car. You can make friends with the cab driver who picks you up at SKB and, if you like him, you can make him your cabbie for the entire trip. They'll give you their card or just arrange for pickup. They are pretty reliable and they appreciate repeat business. The cab drivers will also direct you towards local spots (restaurants, shopping, sights, etc.). This island really is that small :)

We went to some nearby restaurants just down the street (Shiggidy Shack features fire eaters on Thurs and another which had a buffet on the beach for $8 and $5 drinks...can't recall the name off the top of my head but the Marriott staff can direct you). :)

The island is small so the whole experience is different than one in Aruba if that's something you can use for comparison. For variety I would suggest eating at different locations. The resort is nice but you might feel a bit closed in by the end of the week if you do the inclusive thing. It would be like a high class camp.

The shack down the road (which is also on a different beach) was good. Romantic with it's shackiness and candles on the table. Then for a very nice place I think the name was Marshall's up on a cliff. When making reservation, ask for a table with a view overlooking the dropoff. I just looked at our pictures and it looks like the sun was just starting to go down.

We rented a car just for one day. This was at the hotel. It was one of the smallest cars I've ever ridden in but no problem, everything's small. Even the streets. We picked it up on a Sunday morning to go to church and then have a ride around. Met some very nice people at church and one nice gentleman showed us a beautiful place for lunch after. That was all we needed. It doesn't take days to explore. Get in rental line early. We had just one clerk who had to check each renter and get them situated. I think I remember some sort of garden on the opposite side of the island but we didn't stop. We did stop at the fort for a tour.

We took the catamaran tour to Nevis. The one where they warn you about the bar on Nevis and then the drinks on the sail back. We had our own snorkles/fins with us. We didn't see much of exciting interest when we stopped to snorkle. Then it was 3 hour stop on Nevis. Nevis has less to do that St. Kitts so many of the passengers just stayed at the bar where they dropped us. We snorkled around at the beach. Not much as it's mostly just sand but it was something to do. Take something to lay on the beach as there's nothing. Oh yea, there's a fine hotel with pool and lounges but it's for guests only. The ride back was more drinking and music. A couple of the passengers probably don't remember much about the trip. We've participated in catamaran tours on several trips and this was the most underwhelming. Maybe they've improved, we were there several years ago.

They were building a port town at the time we were there. It was for the cruise ships that would be coming now that the island had decided to go the tourist way instead of the agriculture way. All this you can check with the concierge.

My family stayed here 3 - 4 years ago. It's a great, undeveloped island and a very nice resort. I believe we had an ocean front suite (kitchen, dining area, washer and dryer) on the first floor but we couldn't actually see the ocean from the suite. There was a grassy area/yard outside the slider but a fence (security? privacy?) blocked the view of the ocean. Maybe you can call the hotel ahead of time and specify a rooms with actual ocean views.

We did not rent a car but the roads on the island were very good. I think you actually have tp get a temporary license to drive on the island. That might have changed. Taxis were easy, friendly, and I believe reasonable. We took a tour of the island, most taxi drivers will do this for agreed fee. Some are better than others and there are recommended guides on you can find on a travel forum that exists for St. Kitts. I'll see if I can find it.

We saw Brimstone Fort, took the catamaran to Nevis (Sunshine's is the bar with Killer Bee drinks which were so strong, I could only drink half), my husband and son hiked the volcano with a guide. There are plenty of reasonable beach bar restaurants as well as elegant restaurants on beautiful old sugar planatations.

I also think you need to pay an exit tax of $20 per person, so you may want to have some cash on you.

We loved St. Kitts.

I found this website helpful when planning our trip and tripadvisor.com.

http://sknmyislands.com/

Was the volcano on St. Kitts or Nevis? Same with the restaurants and plantations--did you mean St. Kitts or Nevis?

Thanks.

Don't kill yourself to get to Nevis. We took a ferry over (nice ride, but I bet the catamaran was better ;)) and there is literally NOTHING to do there. The Four Seasons Nevis was closed due to hurricane damage and may be open by the end of the year, but is strictly for guests. We found nothing else on the island that was of any interest, except for Sunshine's Killer Bees (and I managed to down two of them :eek:). If you do go there, arrange with the cabbie for a pickup time or you could be stranded at the bar forever ;)

St Kitts Marriott - Royal Ocean Suite
 

Hi - we are staying at the St Kitts Marriott last week in October. I am using my points and I am platinum and hence asked them to upgrade me to the Royal Ocean Suite in the main building.

I just realized that the St Kitts Marriott has one main bldg and other smaller bldgs. The smaller bldgs maybe closer to the ocean. The main bldg is a bit further away.

I was wondering if anyone has been to this property and can answer the following:

Is it better to be on the 5th floor of the main bldg (royal ocean suite) and facing the pool/ocean or would it be better to be in the smaller bldg that is much closer to the water.

I would love to have flawless ocean views with direct access to the beach but I think the quality of rooms are much better in the main bldg (esp the look and feel of the royal ocean suite)

I am kinda confused so any help is appreciated..

Thanks,

The main building is quite a distance from the ocean and you will not have 'flawless ocean views' nor 'direct access to the beach' if you stay there.

I think you've asked for quite an adventurous upgrade. Good luck getting it. I'm a multi-year Plat who had a paid stay there last Oct. I told them I was celebrating not only my 50th birthday but my husband's 50th as well as our 25th anniversary and we did not get any recognition whatsoever. Didn't really care, but if someone's promised you a Royal Ocean Suite, make sure you have it in writing ;)

Beautiful resort, btw, and a great island. Have fun.

Flyerwife's assessment matches my thoughts as well, though "quite a distance" may be a little misleading. You can see the ocean from the main building rooms (from the upper floors at least) and while you are not right on the beach, it isn't like you're very far. But if you want to as close as possible to the ocean with a good view, you would need to be in one of the few remote buildings that are right next to the ocean and you would probably want to be in a 2nd floor unit as well.

Any room type with Marriott that has the word suite in it, I just automatically assume I won't see it. Just don't want to have any expectations I guess. So I would be interested if anybody has ever been upgraded to these rooms and how strict this hotel is with the no suite upgrade policy. I have heard good things about the hotel otherwise.

FWIW, every hotel is different - am going to Curacao Marriott in 2 days, my room has already been upgraded from resort view to oceanfront. Am Plat and also indicated on virtual conceirge form it was 10th wedding anniversary. Sure that time of year also has a lot to do with it, though it is a holiday weekend.

Hope you have a good time.

Thanks for everyone's response here. I would like to address some of your questions regarding services that Marriott provides to Platinum guests.

Firstly, I have been very happy over the couple of years that I have been plat. Last year I used my travel package at the Maui Marriott. The experience was OK - I spoke with the hotel manager directly and requested an upgrade. I was upgraded but the floor was not high. Hence I was not completely satisfied. The manager credited my rewards account with 50,000 points for the inconvenience - this was a nice gesture.

For the St Kitts marriott - I did the same, spoke with the hotel manager directly and currently I have been confirmed in the Royal Ocean Suite.

Here is the thing though with Marriott - if you send an email or even call the hotel front desk- they may not be able to make many exceptions - I would suggest speaking directly with the property managers - this has worked really well for me in the past - sometimes to my surprise.

So the person travelling to Mexico (I think ) in a couple of days- call the property manager and make sure he/she understands this special occasion you are celebrating. I was at the Calgary Marriott spending our 2nd wedding anniversary - I informed the property manager - and requested that my plat arrival gift be a bottle of champagne and choc covered strawberries (if possible) - this was done... and it was a very nice hotel and we were in the presidential suite...

Good luck!!

suggestions on upgrades at st. kitts
 

I am checking in to St. Kitts Marriott on Saturday and am looking for an upgrade. I purchased the room and all inclusive with points. I am there Saturday to Saturday. I am a gold member; there are 4 cat of regular rooms. Garden view, resort view, pool view ocean view. Because of the point savers the resort view was only 5k more than the garden room for the whole trip. So have a resort view that I paid points for. Any suggestions or recommendation on how I can get an Ocean view room? I read St. Kitts Marriott is pretty stingy with upgrades. I am not looking for a suite (but it would be nice ) I am just looking for a ocean view with maybe a balcony.
Thanks