jetBlueNYFL

I am staying at this property 8/2-8/4. Never been to St. Maarten and very excited. How's the weather this time of year? Hopefully no hurricanes. Also, why the crazy cancellation policy???

sc flier

See this thread about their sometimes-strict cancellation policies. (Or is it always strict?)

sithjedi333

I stayed there in late May, this was probably low season.

Service was very friendly and good, I think they have taken the early feedback and made improvements. The rooms are fine, nothing special, just standard Westin with a small couch and one sink. If you get an ocean view/partial ocean (NOT a ocean front) room, you are basically facing the pool with a minimal view of the ocean. If there is a wedding or some type of party in the pool or beach area you will be hearing loud music till late in the night. This was kind of uncool.

The beach is nice, relatively unoccupied, good sand and water, sunny, plenty of chairs, good service. Beach food was just ok.

The resort is pretty far from anything else so you will need to rent a car or get taxis. The wait for taxis can be pretty long, especially on Sundays, so call ahead. Bottled water is extremely expensive ($7/bottle) throughout the resort.

There are 2 types of concierge, the hotel concierge who was great and really helpful, and the other guy who sells excursions, who I think is outsourced and is absolutely lazy and unknowledgeable, worse than your normal "island attitude".

Overall, this is a convention style hotel (there is even a big gambling area between the check in desk and the rooms/restaurant), it is nothing like the St. Regis, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton etc, so don't go expecting too much and you will be fine.

jfulcher

Anyone know how many classes up from a basic award room it would be to get a suite? Thinking of going for our honeymoon early next May and I don't want to gamble at getting a decent room so figure I'll pay the points now - just trying to figure out how many.

blort

Good luck. I stayed at this property back in March and was told they only offered the "standard" room for points redemption -- no ability to pony up more points for a better room.

Starwood Lurker

Only at hotels that allow upgrade awards to be booked. Not all do. This one, regrettably, does not.

But, to answer the question, a standard suite would usually be 2X the number of points as a standard room.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

HanL

If you are a "lucky" Plat (like me) you'll get a 1 bedroom suite at check-in. ^

Nice suite with large fridge, microwave etc.

One drawback: No windows in the living area. Just a balcony in the bedroom.

Good luck

jfulcher

I hope so - going there for my honeymoon so wanted to try and make it as special as possible. Hopefully they'll pay attention to the comments I'll have put in the reservation when I call and book it. I'm such a procrastinator when it comes to calling in for stuff - I'd so much rather do it online!

Irrover

Stayed here for one night (7/26) on an award after a week on a sail boat charter. Plenty of free and close parking (off-season helped -- $10 valet).Arrived about 10:30 am and was told we were upgraded to ocean front and that the previous guest hadn't checked out yet. Front desk volunteered to hold luggage and would call for us at pool when room was ready. Enjoyed the pool and had lunch at the pool rest. Nothing exciting (about $32.00 for a ham and cheese, a Curry Chicken Wrap, iced tea and a rum punch type drink -- had to pay cash since not checked in yet.). room still wasn't ready and was deciding whether to ask for any room but decided to drive back to Phillipsburg for wife to do more jewelery shopping. Picked up a bottle of wine for the room.

Checked in. Walked the long walk down to 3192 (? - third from end on top flr North bldg). Bellhop brought our checked luggage quicly. Room was nice with King bed and large balcony (only last three rooms had the large balcony) with view of beach. Bathroom had tub and seperate 5x5' walkin shower. Definetly nice after being on the boat for a week.

Walked up over the rocks to Mr. busby's and caught the end of the 75cent Carib's. Beach was rough and windy (felt good on a hot July day). Happy hour had 1/2 price on beers but only about $1 off mixed drinks. Had an early dinner before the "fancy" restaurant started. Decent bar food. Walked back to hotel and caught the end of the MGR's champagne reception at the pool with a Sax player. After watching the sun set (well not really since beach faces east), went back to room and enjoyed our balcony with late night drinks. Next morning noticed that the coffee maker was a pod type but the starbucks coffee was the 4 cup type...we made due. Plenty of packets of coffee but only two coffee mate singles.

All and all a nice stay and we were glad we waited for the upgrade

gozetta

The best room in the place is 3040. I was debating on whether to post that or not since I want to keep it my little secret, but then again, I've considered all the benefit I've received from this forum and thought I would share. Still a "basic" room, it has two patio areas, two outdoor eating areas, one overlooking the pool and the other at the corner of the beachfront. Closest room to the ocean and quick escape through the fire stairs direct to the beach (no re-entry though).

jetBlueNYFL

Hi all,

I just stayed at this property for two nights and would like to share the following feedback here. Sorry if any of it is repetative, as this thread is extremely long, and I do not post here so often.

Beautiful hotel! I have no status with SPG (only a handful of points), but am a very loyal customer to Starwood. Got an instant upgrade to oceanfront at checkin. This being on the $149 promo rate! Very accomodating and welcoming staff. Shawn, the manager, was very professional. Director of food and beverage even waived my dinner bill for the second night because of unsatisfactory wait time. Food was delicious and service was friendly. Pool area is beautiful. Casino is nice, but the pit boss was sketchy - did not want to offer comps because I was only staying 2 nights and not a week Hotel manager was able to work out a few comps at checkout. I don't have a problem with the $20 resort fee, but I have a HUGE problem with the astronomical rates for phone and internet usage - $6 for first minute and $4.50 per minute thereafter on the phone. Internet also seemed like CRAZY prices if you don't schlep a laptop down to the Caribbean for a quick vacation. Other than that, it is a wonderful resort. Due to the location, I only wish the hotel offered a shuttle service to SXM/Maho Beach/shopping/restaurants/French side. Not even on-demand or so frequent, but once or twice a day would be nice. Charge guests say ~$15 per person roundtrip; would be better than dealing with local cabs.

Overall: 8.5 out of 10

jfulcher

A question for one of the Lurkers - I booked an award stay for this property and got their crazy cancellation policy however when I got the confirmation email it stated there was a deposit of $1100. Is this normal for an award stay? Or is this just something wrong with the computer system. I find it kind of weird to hold $1100 on my card for 8 months on an award stay. Especially for the non-peak season. Also the person on the phone never mentioned a deposit which is why I'm questioning this.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Starwood Lurker

This resort, along with the St Regis Aspen and The Westin Casaurina, Grand Cayman, charge a deposit on all paid reservations and their cancel policies are similar as well: You lose the monetary value for the entire stay plus tax, as opposed to one or two nights, if you don't cancel in time, depending upon the time of year.

Because of this, the deposit requirement is hard-wired into all reservation types, including Preferred (free) Night Awards; however, they do not charge the deposit in advance of your arrival on Preferred (free) Night Awards. If you experience anything different, then I would call Corporate Customer Service and allow them to intervene on your behalf. 800-328-6242.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

tommy777

Interesting thread. A troll who rates it as good as a St. Regis and a gnome who was extremely p*** off because he received no upgrade and therefor slaughtered the property.

Had plans to head down to this property in February.

My question:

How much would you pay for an Ocean view room here?

Starwood Lurker

You didn't say when in February, but the only time frame that I could find availability for an Oceanview room here that month was February 1 - 5. You could pay US$532 at RACK rate or you could use an SPG50 award to reduce it down to US$266.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]