Hi, just wanted to check whether there are any recent experiences with the breakfast amenity. Will be there for a couple of days soon.
The plat breakfast is really hit or miss with W...

I had no problem with receiving the Plat breakfast amenity.

Thanks. Is it a credit for the restaurant?

Hi

Just wondered if anyone knew how close the nearest shop to the resort is.

Thanks

It's a 5 min drive (1.5 miles), on the outskirts of Isabel II.

I emailed the Resort and they said continental breakfast. Can anyone expound upon that? Buy up? Is this just coffee toast and juice?

Anybody who has been here recently, what was your means of transportation out to the island? $350 for a round trip from SJU seems like a rip off to me. I could make the trek over to SIG to say a few bucks but is the hassle worth it? What about the boat ride. I've read up on this thread and some say it can be quiet choppy. Any experience there?

What's the best, most efficient and cost effective way to get here when flying in from CONUS?

Where did you decide to stay? We were choosing between the same and will be leaving for Vieques. I was thinking about splitting between the two.

Introduction Recently ahd a 3 day stay here at the W Retreat and Spa Vieques. All in all the stay was nice wioth a few mishaps but I am happy that I took the prop plane from San Juna Isla Grande to Vieques. I chose to fly from Isla Grandes as teh round trip flight was half the price as it was if flying from San Juan International. Check In Check-in went smooth and I got a wonderful partial ocean view upgrade that was a huge suite. Room I am not sure if it was a Wow suite or what exactly but it was a 1.5 bath and included a bar, seaprate dining area, living room, a huge bedroom as well as a patio since I was on the first floor. We didn't spend much time in the room but when we were there it was very comfortable and secluded. We were close to the adults only pool. Service Service is where some things fell apart. We did many things around the island, rented a golf cart, did the Bio Bay tour and rented scooters another day. We also spent a few hours one day at the on site spa. This started coming apart with miscommunication from the concierge. She had stated that all transportation was included in teh price of teh Bio Bay tour whihc was great since I never have cash with me and refuse to use ATMs that charge me a fee. After teh tour, we returned to the hotel and driver of the van was very demandning that I owe him $20 for teh ride to and from for my girlfriend an Dining Sorce was the restaurant on site and we ate here 2 times for dinner. They had great local dishes as well as a good selection of american and other international food. The local Mofongo with Shrimp was great as was the Mofongo with Churrasco. We also ahd the Cajun lobster which was prepared wonderfully. The living room here was also nice, it was indoor / outdoor and was a great place to sit during the afternoon showers. They also had great local drinks here. Location Location was out of the way but perfect. Not easy to get to since there are no flights here from the US mainland. The 25 minutes flight from either SJU or Isla Grande was quick but if you havent been in a small 6 seat prop plane it might be a little anxiety indicing for you. Overall I would definately return here to stay at the resort and possibly rent a Jeep or another golf cart. I will stay away from the 'taxi' drivers on the island as they are agressive and everyone (the concierge and them) are not on the same page as to what is included in pricing. The resort itself is beautiful but definately a different experience from the W Retreat and Spa Koh Samui.

Bolding mine.

Forgive me, but it sounds like you had a very nice stay here...with excellent service except for the one simple service miss with the transport cost for the one excursion. Did I miss anything else?

I think most of us would be quite pleased with a 3 night stay that involved only a single service miscue. It's even possible the taxi driver was at fault here and not the concierge?

You also mention that it's a different experience when compared with Koh Samui. Could you elaborate? One would expect Puerto Rico to have a different experience from Thailand, after all.

My husband attended a conference here a year or so ago...and was very impressed with this property. That surprised me, since he isn't particularly a big fan of W, otherwise. Like you, he'd return gladly. Like you, he found food/beverage to be quite impressive--surprising in such a remote location. Like you, he very much enjoyed the spa. Like you, he enjoyed several excursions. He also had a pretty much seamless service experience. But it sounds like your service experience here was actually pretty good but for the one transport cost misunderstanding?

Based on your review, I'm not quite sure why this property isn't up to par with other W Retreats?

While I cannot speak for the op I would guess a few things might be the service is on a whole different level in Koh Samui than Vieques. The breakfast cannot be compared either.

While Vieques is laid out with many rooms close to each other in blocks and mainly just rooms, Koh Samui is a Villa only property and every room has a pool.

You have 2 restaurant choices in Koh Samui and only 1 in Vieques, same goes for the bar situation. (Discounting pool bars at both)

There is nothing wrong with Vieques, but I think it is completely accurate to say it is not on the same level design, service or food wise as W Koh Samui and for anyone unaware of how these things can differ it is good to draw attention to that so people can go with the correct expectations.

I should add I do like W Vieques and will return, but having been to it several times and also Koh Samui multiple times I fully get where the op is coming from.

I did a trip last May to PR. I split my time between 5 nights at the St. Regis Bahia Beach and 4 nights at the W Vieques. The StR was very nice, but I felt like I was smothered (not in a nice way) by the Butlers. They followed me like little pests, always wanting to know if there was anything they could do for me. It was too over-the-top for me. One even chastised me because he tried to find me all day long (I was on the beach) and I didn't have a smartphone for him to contact me!!! After StR, the W was a breath of bohemian fresh air!!! So laid back. No staff pests. I had a pool-front patio room. So nice to be able to just open the door and walk outside about 25 feet to the pool. Loved just hanging at the pool or down at the beach. Loved the evening comp "drink of the day". Always snagged a chair in the Living Room to sit and sip and order an appy or two and just watch the sunset. 2 nights - the appys were plenty (they had salads on the appy list). The other two, I enjoyed dinner in the restaurant.

Sure, the W Vieques isn't a high-end luxury resort. The rooms are a boho shabby chic, but so appropriate to the location. But, it was very nice and much more relaxing than the StR.

I think the main thing for me outside of the one service error here was exactly that from the staff at the resort, the service. Everything gets done when it gets done. There isn't any sort of rush even when we are in a pinch for time. It took the staff over 90 minutes to retrieve our bags from our room on the way out of Vieques. Its not a bad thing about the resort in particular but I think it is just the Caribbean or Puerto Rico culture. Other W retreats have much better service but as you said, one would expect Puerto Rico to have a different experience from Thailand. I think I was just surprised by how noticeable the service difference was between the two.