going to St.Kitts on friday, is the upgrade worth it, suggestions please
 

We will be arriving in St Kitts this weekend and have booked an ocean room. Is the upgrade ($75) worth it? Any suggestions concerning restaurants or activities would be welcomed.
Thanks

The upgrade is DEFINITELY worth it if you like seeing and feeling the ocean breezes.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

These rooms (ask for a corner room) seem to be larger and have more privacy than those in the regular section. Enjoy your stay!!! (If you're a HGold or Platinum, why not just ask for a free upgrade?)

search (upper right hand corner of page) would have yielded following:

The best dining on the island can be found at Ottley's Plantation Inn, simply exquisite AND PEACEFUL (no kids) http://www.ottleys.com/

------------------
Visit FlyerTalk Dining http://flyertalk.com/diningfr.shtml
“I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.”

only went to st. kitts once and didn't see what a non-upgraded room would be.
but, we stayed in one of the outer, smaller buildings facing the ocean. it was a terrific room. if you've got the cash, then yes it is certainly worth it. especially if you have a full moon over the water.

The upgrade is worth it! By all means, go for it.

Any St. Kitts Marriott recent reviews
 

My family is staying at the St. Kitts Marriott in mid Oct. and I was wondering if anyone has any recent reviews. I know there were a bunch of posts about a year ago saying the service needed improving, and there was a little talk about the resort in the "Which Marriott is best in the Caribbean" post, but I haven't seen anything with details lately.

Also, some specific questions I have about the resort:
1) Are there activities for kids on the resort?
2) How are the restraunts? Since they are probably expensive, are they worth the money?
3) What are the two top must see things on the island?
4) Do you need a car rental for the island?

I know I may be asking for a lot of info here, but any helpful replies are appreciated. Thanks.

Fried

My family and I returned 2 weeks ago. We had a great time among some of the friendliest people anywhere. Realize that this is still an emerging country, not a St. Thomas or St Maarten - 4 power outages during the week, no shopping to speak of, etc., but a bunch of friendly people trying very hard, almost always succeeding, and a place to kick back and relax.

The resort itself was great - they upgraded us to a 2-room suite overlooking the South Pool, with an ocean view, which really helped with 4 of us. I had no problems with service levels, but I/we are relatively undemanding - our Plat amenity that we ordered when we checked in (3pm) and would be delvered in "15 minutes" showed up just as we had hopped into bed at 9pm. No big deal. Other room service orders were as at any normal Marriott - 25-35 minutes.

Feel free to PM me with any follow-up questions.

My 5 yr old had plenty of fun just playing in the various pools. There is a kids program that takes them for an entire day - a different theme/program every day - but we spent much of our time exploring the island so we didn't use it. There is an arcade for older kids, and a location to check out board games, ping pong, shuffleboard, cards, etc., etc.

There is a casual place on the resort (Carribean comfort food as they call it) - chicken sandwiches, burgers, pasta salads, good kids menu, etc. that we hit for lunch a few times - $8-12/person, kids are free. The Italian place was pretty decent and the Pizza Shack was about as expected (hard to be real good or real bad with pizza). With a 5yr and 7month-old, we didn't venture to the fancy places. We mostly looked off the resort for food.

Hard to pick two - The Fort, the Batik, the train ride, Turtle Beach (700lb pig and monkeys roaming around the beach), a full-day catamaran trip to Nevis (say hi to Elvis if you go), a rain forest hike, and a full day in the car lapping the island taking pictures were our major outings. I'd say the Nevis trip and Turtle Beach are the "must-do's"

Don't think you "need" one (lots of cabs around), but we always get one. It gives a lot more freedom - we were able to run down to the IGA to stock up on water for the baby, grab some snacks, go out for a late night drive up the mountain to see the stars, go to and return from the beaches when we wanted to, etc.

St Kitts Marriott
 

My wife and I were there for 4 days in March. The service was rough at the start. We had paid extra for an oceanfront room, and didn't get it. As a Platinum Elite, we complained a bit, and got moved the second day, and were offered a free dinner.

Overall, the concierges are great, restaurants satisfactory, the resort is beautiful.

They have plenty of activities for kids. The island is still rough around the edges. The fort was neat. Second the trip to Nevis.

Have fun!

Thanks, I appreciate the input. Knowing what to expect will help our planning. Any more comments are welcome as well.

-Fried

Thanks all for the input--I booked my Feb award stay today!
I just hope my airline is still around in 5 months...

Thanks, CPRich, for taking the time to give a detailed review. I feel like I got a good lowdown on the resort and the island. Sounds like an interesting place to visit.

Marriott St Kitts
 

To those who've been to the Marriott St Kitts, please offer up any suggestions to make my trip in February one to remember. Which rooms to request (or avoid), Manager name (helpful?), best offsite restaurants to NOT miss, great dive (SCUBA) operators, fun places, things and places to avoid, good nanny (baby sitter) services, rip offs, etc.

Does anyone have an email for the manager of the property so I can email ahead for a nice upgrade. Done the Ritz Carlton St Thomas for the past 6 years, but needed a change.

Travelling with wife and two young boys (4 and 6) so if there are any kiddy suggestions please toss them in too.

Cheers,

:cool:

Marriott St Kitts
 

To those who've been to the Marriott St Kitts, please offer up any suggestions to make my trip in February one to remember. Which rooms to request (or avoid), Manager name (helpful?), best offsite restaurants to NOT miss, great dive (SCUBA) operators, fun places, things and places to avoid, good nanny (baby sitter) services, rip offs, etc.

Does anyone have an email for the manager of the property so I can email ahead for a nice upgrade. Done the Ritz Carlton St Thomas for the past 6 years, but needed a change.

Travelling with wife and two young boys (4 and 6) so if there are any kiddy suggestions please toss them in too.

Cheers,

Maybe this suits better in the hotel forum?

I thought I had written up a St. Kitts Marriott trip report but can't seem to find it (you can search under my ID and words other than 'Kitts' if you have free time).

I'll try searching again when I have a few free minutes, or will type up some highlights when I have time, maybe tomorrow.

They contacted me a few weeks ahead of time to find what flight I was on, etc., so getting in contact shouldn't be a problem. Things may be busier now, but I was upgraded to a 2 room suite with just an email request ("We can't promise anything, but we will make a note..." and there it was at checkin).

SKB is certainly "a change" from St. Thomas. I've been to both, very different.