Marriott St Kitts [Master Thread]
 

Opening December 2002

http://www.marriotthotels.com/dpp/Pr...rshaCode=SKBRB

Cool.

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Not sure where I'm going, but I'm gettting there fast.

"284 Rooms, 187 Suites...."

Consider the upgrade possibilities. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

St. Kitts Marriott Opens When?
 

Does anyone have any info about what the problems have been with opening the ST. Kitts Marriott, and if it will in fact open this season? A while back when the hotel was supposed to open in 2002, I booked into the hotel from Feb 24 on. Now the latest info on the hotel web site has moved the opening date back to Feb 22, just 2 days before we are scheduled to arrive. Even after all the delays, the opening appears to be a partial opening.

thoughts on St. Kitts Marriott Resort?
 

Hey gang,
I've booked a mountain view room at the new marriott resort in St. Kitts for sept for my honeymoon. Does anyone have any thought/reviews on the hotel or the island. I know it is still in the process of opening, so this may be a little to early to query reviews. thanks.

From the Marriott website;

"****PLEASE NOTE: OUR FEBRUARY 22, 2003 OPENING IS A LIMITED OPENING!! The following is scheduled to open on February 22, 2003: Main Hotel, Royal Resort Casino, Beach, Swimming Pools, Calypso Restaurant, La Cucina Restaurant, Bohemia Beach Bar & Grill, Lobby Bar and Retail Shops. The following is NOT scheduled to open until MID 2003: Spa, Golf Course, Tiger's Nightclub, Kids & Teen Club, Keys Cigar & Rum Bar, Blu Seafood Restaurant, Royal Grill Steakhouse and Garden Houses****"

Property has not opened as yet so I doubt you will get any reviews until the next couple of months.

We're booked into this property 1 day after it opens. Although we had planned to use Rewards points for the stay, we decided to pay for the room because of the bargin prices they were charging. We'll let you know how we like the property.

Thank you Life-Plat, I would really appreciate your thoughts on the resort after you return. I've booked the room with reward points and I will be a gold level member when we visit. I'm hoping to be upgraded. I've got a request in for a beach view room, but am told that they are sold out for when we will be there (early sept.)
thanks again and hope you guys have a great time.

We were on St Kitts last January. There are more monkeys on the island than people. Don't put your drink down on the beach....they're alcoholics! Just kidding.

Not much to do if you like nightlife of any kind. Looked to us like their was only a couple of bars in town. When we were there the small city (only about 5 blocks square) they call a capital was really dirty. I'll be interested to hear what impact the Marriott's opening has on the attention given to the downtown.

People are very very friendly....and poor!

They make and sell a great cane spirit (basically rum) called CSR. Only sold there and is worth a try if you like rum.

Please post a report after you return!

Looks like Marriott is having trouble assuring that all will be fine for the opening at St. Kitts on Feb 22. Their director of marketing called me and discussed with me that many of the facilities will not be open and that there may even be power outages, as they have had experienced trouble with their generator.

HOWEVER, in typical Marriott fashion they have tried to make this a wonderful vacation for their guests by providing the room FREE. Also they said they would throw in some food, as well as pickup from the airport. They also offered to book us at another Marriott for the same dates with Marriott picking up the difference as well as the airline change fee.

WHAT AN OFFER!! This is one of the many reasons why I've been loyal to Marriott for more than 20 years.

New St. Kitts Marriott Sets Bar Higher
 

My wife and I returned a few days ago from a stay at the new St. Kitts Marriott. This property is fantastic, and we believe will set Marriott standards in the Caribbean as well as through out the world. We must have stayed at 75-100 Marriotts over the years and this is one of the top 3, if not the best Marriott property we ever had stayed at. The hotel is on a wonderful beach just 10 minutes from the airport and consists of a central building a number of peripheral buildings that are being sold as resort properties. A large pool snakes its way around the grounds covered with a variety of trees offering shade from the warm sun. One of the major features is the tile which took years to lay by Italian tile workers. There are designs the floor tile throughout the hotel with mosaics in prominent areas of the lobby and corridors. Our room was very spacious, with a balcony as large as a 2 car garage overlooking the beach. There is a small Casino, and a 72 hole golf course is partially finished.
We were one of the first to check into the hotel, the first to have a wake-up call, and the second guests to check out. Although the hotel is still under construction, it was real fun to see the efficient Marriott staff of experts from all over the world train the new hotel staff. When we arrived, Marriott assigned one of their managers to each of the guests so that if any problems arose, it qucikly could be rectified. The lady who was assigned to us had the manager, John Toti, meet us. He explained that the hotel was still under construction, but if any problems arose, to immediately page him so that he, himself, could resolve our problems. Other managers also provided service themselves for us including the Food Manager, the Chef, and the Front Desk Manager. Many of the managers who were involved in this opening had been involved in a number of previous Marriott openings, and their experience clearly smiled upon us. Although being one of the first guests in a recently opened hotel might be very trying, for us it was an outstanding experience. At the end of our stay, we felt we had ownership in the success of the hotel, and plan to return as soon as possible.

It is true that some of the wait staff did not have the polish of staff at other hotels, and the elevator floor buttons did not correspond to the room numbers, and that workmen were everywhere, but we never saw these minor inconveniences as problems, but rather part of the excitement of being a part of the opening of this wonderful hotel.

In the past I have had Marriott execs speak about customer service at national meetings for my colleagues. Customer service of the staff at the St. Kitts property even exceeded my expectations!

Marriott has done well in choosing to locate
in St. Kitts. There is no other large full service hotel, the locals are friendly and are anxious to please and will make outstanding employees,and St. Kitts is relatively easy to reach. The major industry of St. Kitts is sugar, but the state supported refinery is now 101 years old and losing $20-30M yearly. I suspect the govenment is hoping that Marriott can hire many of these employees so that the primary industry can change from sugar to tourism. (We also would recommend that a tour of this 101 year old refinery, essentially unchanged during that span of time; we just walked in the front door and were treated to an interesting 90 minutes.)

Thanks for the report!

Great Report!

I was anxious to hear about this property, it sounds like it will be my destination for next winters getaway (if this winter ever ends) Any opinions on how "kid friendly" this place appears?

Thanks again for the terrific review. What did you guys do for a rental car? I've seen that Thrifty rents suzaki's? They seem kind of small and dangerous to me? any advice on that one?

Good report, thanks.

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

I understand if you are a Marriott hound you will probably stay at the Marriott, BUT Ottley’s is an incredible property for a stay.


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Visit FlyerTalk Dining http://flyertalk.com/diningfr.shtml

Thanks for the nice report. I just made an award reservation there for next February.

Hey...I'm ready to go!! Anybody have input as to what airlines service St. Kitts? Thanks...

Your review makes me determined to visit the new St Kitts property this Easter!

Unfortunately, because the property is still in "soft open" status, they have not released award availability. I had to call the property directly.

PS. AA flies to SKB. You can also connect to some of the Carribean airlines in MIA.
To get a rental car in St Kitts, you need a St Kitts issued driver's license, which can be obtained for a $50 fee (at the local police station?).

[This message has been edited by flychic (edited 03-09-2003).]

Also US Airways...

Some of you have asked a number of questions which I can answer.
rives21-We rented from Thrifty and found they made arrangements for a replacement car on Nevis. All we did was have the Marriott call them, and tell them what ferry we were planning to take, and our car number; and they had a van available for us for the day, free of charge when we arrived at Nevis. I parked our car at the St. Kitts ferry at about 7:30 AM, and then simply got into the car upon return. I too saw Thrifty's brochures featuring the Suzuki, but when I received the car at their facility, returned the car at their facility, and looked to see what they had on Nevis, I did not see that they had any Suzuki's, other than Jeeps. The Jeeps were in demand by those arriving by day from the ships docking early in the AM. I had some sort of intermediate-sized Japanese cars (I had a flat tire, and they came out and replaced the car).
As for children-friendly, it was difficult to judge, as I didn't see many kids. They have a long beach, and 3 swimming pools, so I suspect that the anticipate lots of kids.

We flew AA into SXM (Sint Maarten) and then Winair for a 20 minute flight. USAir has a flight thru Philly once a week, and they had many angry passengers who either arrived early next morming or late the next evening, as USAir sent their A/C on to St. Kitts without waiting for those passengers racing thru the Philly airport for the connection. Those arriving early next morning had slept in the airport at SJU or stayed overnight at Philly and then flew AA thru SJU.

Anyone else been to this property? I have booked an award stay for July 11th to the 18th. I'm curious what has changed since March.

St. Kitts was on my shortlist of Marriott properties because of the reduced award incentive. I ended up booking Costa Rica for my labor day trip, but I will definitely go sometime to St. Kitts in the near future. I would also be curious as to what others have to say about the property.

I'm particularly interested in watersports offering at the property .. sailing, windsurfing. If anyone could comment on these I'd appreciate it.

I was just at this property. No sailing or windsurfing, though you can sail in St. Kitts - which the concierge or tour desk would be happy to arrange for you (not sure on windsurfing).

They are opening another restaurant (believe it is the steak restaurant)and have a lot of activities available each day (including kids activities).

All in all, an absolutely fabulous property.

Is it worth the extra money for the pool view rooms vs. resort or mountain view? Expedia has a rate of $89. a night for resort view for 7/11 to 7/18. I'm questioning if it's worth using the 115,000 points for an award if the rooms are so cheap.

Also, should I pack dressier clothes for dinner at the nicer restaurants?

[This message has been edited by Schutzee (edited 07-08-2003).]

I would still request the ocean/pool view when you check in. If you're planning to spend a lot of time in the room, worth it, if not - I wouldn't bother.

What do you call dressy? It is not ultra casual at night, but I wouldn't call it dressy either. I did wear a dress or a skirt most nights (but I'm not a real casual person anyway) and my husband wore chinos and sport shirt - we both felt comfortably dressed.

People in town do dress up more - no shorts, etc. at night.

Two questions: are pool views equivalent to ocean views? Has anyone been there recently to report on whether more amenities, etc., have been completed?

I just returned from SKB Marriott yesterday. I used an award and paid $25/night for an upgrade to pool view. Upon checkin, I got an ocean view room on the third floor of the "Westbury" building, one of the smaller out buildings. The view was excellent, and the room was very nice. Bath had a large (two person) whirlpool tub, and room had a small refrig. I took digital pictures of the property. If only I knew how to post them! The Italian 'Cucina" ($90) is open , as is the casual restaurant whose name escapes me. The steak restaurant had just opened the day we arrived. I didn't try it. The staff was friendly, but not yet up to speed. I must say they did clean up the vocanic ash that fell from Monsaratt (sp?) very quickly which was no small feat. We at at Ottleys ($180), Marshalls ($110) and Golden Lemon ($120). All were very good. (All prices are for two with no alcohol.). PJ's was much cheaper but quite good. I'm not in a rush to return to ST. Kitts or the Marriott, but I wouldn't avoid it either if a good deal arose.

[This message has been edited by Schutzee (edited 07-19-2003).]

What reduced award incentive?

What about scuba diving? It's not listed under Recreations on their homepage. Anyone know?

Also, there hasn't been a lot of talk about the nightlife. Is there any?

You can set up a scuba diving trip with the tour office. We went snorkling in a remote part of St. Kitts and it was quite nice, though not nearly long enough in my opinion.

As for nightlife, there is some in Basseterre (about 10 minutes from the Marriott) and there is live music some nights at the hotel. The Marriott is opening up a nightclub, but it isn't open yet. All in all, rather tame nightlife, but I was okay with that.

just got back from the st. kitts marriott and it was great! as platinum, they upgraded us to an ocean view room in one of the out buildings (we were in cockleshell). If you go, i really suggest getting one of these rooms with an ocean view. we happened to be there during the full moon (harvest moon) and it was really neat to see it's reflection on the water. it was very, very bright. it lit up the whole beach very nicely.
the staff was great. it was kind of funny though, because it seemed like they were all showing up for their first day of work, lots of kindness, but often no clue.
we spent 6 nights there and did not get bored. there wasn't lots to do, but it was extremely relaxing. we went horseback riding one day which was fun and over to Nevis for a day. in the end, i highly reccommend visiting.

rives21
I will be at this property for 5 nights in early November.
Are the majority of the restaurants now open on site?Your thoughts on ocean view are appreciated.We are going to pay this round.For any $89.intro offer,too good to pass on.
Any one looking for more of an update,I would be happy to post here on my return.

the windjammer cafe, steak restaurant, and italian restaurant were all open. the italian restaurant was very good. i wasn't that impressed with the steak place though. also, there is pool side bar/cafe which serves food. the seafood restaurant was not yet open while we were there. funny, but after 2 weeks in the caribbean we found ourselves really missing some asian food. chinese or japanese. also, at the marriott, we ordered room service often and it was consistently good.

Didn't see this in any of the above posts, but I received a mailing from MR about this property a few days ago. It offered an intro rate of $99/nt (including pool view upgrade and 2000 point/nt MR bonus, promo code MWRI) or a 20% discount on a Point Saver award redemption (code MRWD). Both offers valid until December 20th. Wish I had time to go down there this fall - sounds and looks like a great property.

As Platinum, I've always scored upgrades at Marriotts overseas. Is this resort generous about upgrading their Platinum guests? Did anyone get upgraded to suites while using awards at the SKB Marriott? Otherwise, how much more to upgrade to suites?

Looking forward to trip next week. Will post photos of resort when I get back.

Just came back from Marriott St Kitts. Beautiful resort, but my experience is nothing like what some of you have experienced.

Perhaps I did have a pre-conceived notion of what a "Category-6" property should be like. IMHO, Marriott SKB is "physically" a Category-6, but service-wise, it is at best a Category 3. I was so disappointed, I spoke to the hotel GM office on the 3rd day of my stay.

Don't get me wrong, the staff has the best of intentions (and not for a lack of trying), but the "island attitude" inversely correlates with 5-star hotel customer service. The front desk staff is most helpful and friendly though.

At the risk of sounding like a whiner, a sampling of "problems":
1. At check-in, there was "remnants" in toilet from previous guest.
2. Assigned wrong room (asked for 2-bed, got King). Upgraded to suite after 2 nights.
3. Room service took so long (45 min), ice cream half melted when it arrived.
4. Slow service, especially at pool bar.
5. No hot water for 36 hours.
6. Assigned room in building with broken air conditioning.

It has been over 6 months since the resort opened, some of the problems I've encountered should have been resolved/improved upon. I think I'd still like to return, perhaps in another 6 months, to see if it has improved.

Photos: http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/flyertalk_flychic

[This message has been edited by flychic (edited 10-15-2003).]

I was worried your photo link was going to have shots of the "remnants." http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif



[This message has been edited by snorkmaster (edited 10-15-2003).]

as previously posted,I will(might ,now)be at this resort Nov.10-15.
Another couple is travelling with us(late add on ).When I tried to book their room,I found out that the hotel is completely sold out on these dates.A wait list of +20.
What observations would those that have stayed offer to this sold out situation.
From what I read ,I sense that staff cannot handle a less than 100% occupancy.
I placed my friends at a different resort and would consider changing venues.(at great cost to me dollar wise,points wise,double Visa and perhaps status wise as I need those nights to reach 50)
I was hoping for a relaxing laid back time.Seems not to be at this property at this time.

any updates on this property? I am staying in January and am interested in general feelings of the property/rooms/staff, and what restranaunts are open?

Thanks for your help.