johnsky

I have a reservation at the Westin Our Lucaya for the last week of December (staying on points). Yesterday I went to lookup some information about hotel services and there is a notice stating the hotel is leaving Starwood at the end of December 2008. Based on the poor reviews in the forum, maybe this departure is a good thing.

Question though... if I had a confirmed reservation on points that entended into 2009, would they cancel my reservation because the Westin sign is coming down? (Fortunately this is not the case for me; I'm just wondering.)

There seem to be so many properties leaving Starwood lately. Has anyone noticed this, or is this "churn" fairly typical?

Starwood Lurker II

Hi johnsky,

I have no definite answer so YMMV. But I would recommend that you write to the property directly to confirm your award reservation early.

Like William has mentioned before, when a property ceases to be a Starwood-affiliate and a participant in SPG, they could very well honor all of their previously-booked award reservations. But, no one knows where they are sitting on this at the moment.

I would also recommend a back up plan in this case.

Hope this helps.

[email protected]

TooMuchTravel73

Good Bye! IMHO this property won't be missed!

asforza

I just checked the website, and this hotel is leaving Starwood on June 30, 2009. So, reservations into the beginning of 2009 should be fine.

Sooks

I am taking the extended family to the Westin Our Lucaya over thanksgiving week. We have 6 rooms reserved, and I pretty much blew my point balance on this trip. It would be great to have at least one suite for the family to gather in the evening. What is the best strategy for getting an upgrade? Is it through the platinum concierge, or is there an SPG coordinator on site? Appreciate any advice you can offer...

sc flier

They had an on-site SPG coordinator in 2005, and I assume that they still do. Call the hotel's direct 800 to ask for the SPG Coordinator or the GM. http://www.ourlucaya.com/contactus/index.php

bpoe19

It's kind of sad that the Westin and Sheraton are so bad, because they are in a such a great location there. Between double billing me and my in-laws for the exact same service, just pure lazy service--they call it laid-back--a stolen wedding ring, and a wedding coordinator who would not even return a call, I wouldn't return to either. My parent's have been in dispute about a $1500 AMEX charge that magically appeared four months later from them for almost a year now...no love lost here when or if both leave.

asforza

I just got home from my family trip to this property, and wanted to write a summary before I forgot all the details.

Overall, the property is lush and beautiful. The grounds are beautifully kept, and immaculately clean. However, as mentioned, the hotel is starting to show signs of wear, i.e. paint peeling on the metal beach chairs, scrapes on the closet doors where it connects with the room door, etc. Honestly, nothing that a little TLC couldn't fix.

The employees were wonderful, and could not have been kinder. Friendly, helpful and always smiling. Everyone from the bartenders to the waitstaff to the front desk clerks were very responsive.

Housekeeping was a little spotty, moreso around replacing things such as glassware, toilet paper, etc. I had to call the front desk to ask if I could have replacement glassware and plastic cups, and they were brought up immediately.

Having the Lucaya marketplace across the street was a godsend, as the food choices are expensive on the resort, and the Sheraton is closed for renovations, which makes the number of restaurants limiting. The restaurants are reasonably priced, and there are tons of choices. It was especially helpful for a family of 6 who wanted to stay on some kind of a budget!

I also lost my shirt in the casino on the property, but we won't revisit that!

Overall, we had a really nice, relaxing vacation, most of which was spent on the beach, reading, shopping and just laying around. It's a great resort for families and older couples, I believe, but I agree with everyone that it should be a Category 3, not 4. Lovely, yes, but not up to the standards of a Westin 100%.

b8b

I am attending a convention there Jan 16-20 - will the Sheraton renovations be done? Is the Sheraton a better choice than the Westin? Is there an SPG Lounge accessible by Gold?

Sooks

So, the extended family (brother, sister, mom, dad, wife, kids - 5 rooms total) and I just returned from a week at the Westin, and I have to say that I believe this property has been unfairly maligned.

The good:

• The property is wonderfully located, with a beautiful, well maintained beach (far better than, say, the Westin St John).
• The pools and the grounds are lovely.
• The market across the street makes it easy to leave the resort.
• And the staff (with some notable exceptions, see below) was attentive and accommodating.
• Not to mention that we received some upgrades, which always puts a good spin on the stay, especially when traveling with family.

The bad:

• The building we stayed in did have some obvious deferred maintenance: The showers in each of the suites was in need of a regrout, some of the elevator buttons didn't work, there were spots that could use a repaint, etc. But there was nothing that made the stay unpleasant
• Although a 15% gratuity is automatically included in all food and beverage purchases (and the receipt explicitly states that it is for the staff), there was one bartender who got positively rude when my mom elected not to give him more than the included 15% tip). He was the exception, not the rule.
• I am still trying to get my "stay" credit for the rooms which I paid for. I am hoping this will be worked out by the good folk at spg.

I approached this vacation with much trepidation after reading the reviews on this board. I didn't tell any of my family about it to get their untarnished views. Overall, the entire fam, thought this was a great resort and asked that we go there again next year. There is nothing wrong here that couldn't be fixed with a little oversight. I will miss this in the Starwood lineup.

Trip note: The adjoining Sheraton was closed for 'renovation' over Thanksgiving week, and the guests who were booked there were accommodated at the Westin. Unfortunately, the Sheraton closing meant that the water slide as well as the laundry facilities were not available. However, even with the extra guests and a NCAA women's basketball tournament lodging at the hotel, it was never crazy.

flyerguy

anyone know what they're becoming? going to hilton maybe?

German-FLyer

According to some rumors in another forum IHG was interested in the property, with the Sheraton possibly becoming a Holiday Inn and the Westin a Crowne Plaza.

I stayed at the property a week ago and had a very nice stay. We got upgraded to a 2-room suite which had a lovely view. The location is great, but the property is starting to show some wear.

Still I don't understand why some FT members think the property won't be missed. With 2 out of 3 *wood hotels (or 1 out of 2 properties) in the Bahamas leaving the program, I think some SPG members will greatly miss the possibility to use points in the Bahamas.

I asked the receptionist at check-out what would become of the property, but she just replied that they didn't know yet which chain would step in and that the resort would operate independently starting July 2009.

sc flier

That wouldn't surprise to me. The Sheraton used to be a Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. The Westin tower didn't exist at that time.

The inland Royal Oasis hotel near downtown Freeport was a Crowne Plaza which shut down after hurricane damage in 2004, but it was finally bought in 2007 with a promise to repair and reopen.

Wyndham has an all-inclusive nearby. From a management perspective, I'd think that they'd be interested in the properties in Lucaya.

sc flier

The Westin Grand Bahama is now the Radisson Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort. The Sheraton Grand Bahama is now Our Lucaya Reef Village.

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jlgrandam

I am one of those SPG members