St. Kitts - Is View that big a deal
 

Trying to decide if it is worth it to upgrade view on a reward stay.

It lists 4 different views: Garden View, Resort View, Pool View, Ocean View

Wondering if it is worth it.

Will be visiting in early Feb.

I don't get too worked about about resort room views, because we don't spend a lot of time in our room. What kind of traveler are you?

Thank you....I wasn't sure what a "good" cent per point was to go by.
I think the points would be better served in Grand Cayman as the AI rate there is over 550$ a night PLUS taxes. But, we love St. Kitts...so I've booked it using the points for five days and the AAA rate for three. Thanks so much!

I was upgraded to an ocean view room there. But it was so far removed from the water (in the main building) that I had to look past the garden, the resort AND the pool to see it :p

Didn't spend a lot of time in the room at this resort so, for us, it wouldn't have mattered much.

I also spent so little time in the room it didn't really matter.

View here is not a big deal

We spent 7 nights there in April. Agree with everyone's comments here. The hotel sits so far back from the water that you really don't get a good view from an "oceanfront" room.

We actually had an oceanfront room the first night. At check-in they asked if we would like to be upgraded the next night if a room became available. So, Sunday morning we checked and they moved us to a mountain view suite on the top floor. Awesome! Nice patio to sit and watch the sunset behind the mountains.

This is really a great resort. So far, my favorite of all the Marriotts we visited. I would also highly recommend getting the all-inclusive. Well worth it.

Just be aware that Garden View rooms don't necessarily have a balcony. If you reserve at least Resort View or higher, it should have a balcony (or a patio if you are on ground floor). There are separate buildings closer to the water that I think are called Garden Houses, but those are the time share units. We'll be there in two weeks!

One other thing, the hotel itself sells 5 night vouchers on ebay via user id st.kitts_marriott_resort . They are for garden view rooms and bid price includes all taxes and fees. Selling in foreign currency (one uk and one german), but available to bid to us bidders and can pay in us dollars via paypal. Typically sell for $50-$70/night at final bid price. No marriott points except for incidentals, but you will earn credits for the nights stayed.

You can also look in ebay - the resort regularly sells it's own 5 night stays under userid st.kitts_marriott_resort . Final sale price tends to average $50-$70 night (sometimes less) and total bid price includes all taxes. Certificates are good for resort view rooms. They are usually selling two at a time - one in germany and one in the uk, but both will come up in search on the usa ebay site and both are open to usa bidders. You can pay in us dollars via paypal. Very easy and usually a substantial savings off advertised rates, especially with taxes included. We've bought two - both at a good price & the hotel is super easy to work with.

Do you know what the average taxi fare is on the island? We are seeing rental car rates of around $40/day and were thinking of reserving for a few days of our stay to explore the far ends of the island. But if taxi fares are low enough that we can go back and forth for less than $40-50/day then maybe we will ditch the car and the hassle of getting the required international driver's license...

Great info all. I'm contemplating a week-long vacation here next year.

OT, I wonder why the mods here in the MR forum don't merge all these threads into one like they do on the AA forum. Those guys are always merging and it seems to make them cleaner.

It really depends on where you want to go. I do know this: Every driver will give you the exact same quote to go from point A to B.

We paid $100 for a 3-3 1/2 hour tour of the island. Track down Mr. Cool & his wife. It was well worth the money. He'll even make it longer and take you to other places on the island (for a price). Go on a day when the ships are not at port in St. Kitts.

My advise is to avoid renting a car. Picture Kingston, Jamaica without any stop lights and/or street signs. It's the wild, wild west.

Thank you for the info!

II Weekly Getaways to St. Kitts approx $450/week from now until Mid Dec.....
 

They are selling getaways to the Marriott Hotel (not the timeshare) on Interval International for practically every week from now until the second week of December. If you do not have an II membership, a friend or family member with one can purchase the getaway in your name. No risk at all-they are completely transferable and purchased in the occupant's name--not the member's. I think its $50 to put in someone else's name.

The rate for the WHOLE week? Approx $450.00 (Thanksgiving is $499 for the week.)

i found this when a co-worker was looking for a honeymoon location for her upcoming wedding. Unfortunately, no vacation left this year for us. :td:

This is a crude copy and paste from the getaway page of available weeks. Its difficult to tell from this paste, but I can assure you, this is the weekly rate.

Aug 13 2011 - Aug 20 2011
$429.00

Aug 14 2011 - Aug 21 2011
$429.00

Aug 20 2011 - Aug 27 2011
$429.00

Aug 21 2011 - Aug 28 2011
$429.00

Aug 27 2011 - Sep 03 2011
$429.00

This continues every week.

The last week avail at this rate is Dec 11-18.

Do you get points and night credit for II stays? I know its booked through a third party, but II is pretty close with MR.