gleff

I seem to recall that awards booked at spg.com are not subject to resort fees, since those fees aren't properly disclosed on the website. Has this changed, or does this property just ignore that procedure?

wma

Hi, I go away every Christmas Break with my family. For the last few years it's been the Westin Rio Mar in Puerto Vallarta. I'm looking for a change and Cable Beach seems like an alternative.

Has anyone stayed over Christmas Break? Is there enough staff? Are there enough chaises or do you have to get up at the crack of dawn to reserve on? How are the restaurants? You get the picture of what I'm asking. Anyone been there?

DivMiler

I used Cash and Points just before Christmas 2007, and my wife and I had to pay the $15/person/day rate.

DivMiler

I was there Dec 19 - 22, 2007, and the hotel seemed pretty empty (no searching for beach chairs, quiet). Makes me wonder why we got a standard room instead of a Platinum upgrade to a suite, but anyway...

We left for home on the Saturday, Dec 22, and it was getting more crowded. We were told by a waiter in one of the restaurants that the day after Christmas is when things get pretty full.

The restaurants were pretty expensive. Ms. DivMiler is a vegetarian and there were few vegetarian options. A pizza in Amici's was the cheapest entree on the menu, and can feed two (there were 2 or 3 vegetarian pizza choices).

troyb

For those who have stayed here lately, how was the Platinum recognition at this property? Free breakfast?

From what I can gather, it seems like it is just an average property. I am considering a quick weekend trip and it looks like it will either be the Sheraton in Nassua or to Cancun at a non-SPG property.

troyb

Any thoughts on the quality of the restaurants? I mean, I'm not expecting incredible food, but I'm just trying to gauge if it's even worth eating there. It would be nice to eat at the property for a night or 2 because I'd prefer not to have to take a taxi to dinner every night.

Flews

$15 per day per person. Just paid em for my last 10 night stay at this resort.

Cheers,

Flews

Mrs. Flews and I were there over Christmas. 10 nights. Had a good time. Good experiences with all the questions you ask. I have a review on another thread.

This is a newly reburbished property with a few growing pains. Staff need some training.

We'd do it again.

Cheers,

Flews

We were upgraded. There is no free breakfast or lounge at this property.

The SPG "line/sign" at reception is a joke, as it is at most resort properties.

Lots of suites coming on stream with the new renovations, so the odds will get even better for good upgrades.

Cheers,

troyb

Just got back from this property and had a couple of observations:

Price: Used Cash+Points, so the price was pretty reasonable considering the rooms were going for around $300. As other posters have alluded to, be mindful of the $30 resort fee. I'm not sure exactly what this got us, but there was no option to not pay it.

Room: Plenty of trouble with this one. Was told that there were 0 suites available in the hotel and was given an "SPG" room, which turned out to be the last room at the end of the hall. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, however we planned to go back and forth to our room quite a bit and with the way the hotel was set up, this was a longggg walk. Was going to keep the room, however upon return the first night noticed a bunch of ants and more importantly, several nasty stains on the sheets. Asked to be moved to a new room and was again told there were no more suites and was given another standard room, except it was the FIRST room right next to the elevator. Ended up calling Sheraton reservations, who noted that there were suites available for purchase. I again inquired with the front desk, who again said there was nothing available. I called the SPG Platinum desk, who liasoned with the hotel and managed to secure me a standard executive room/suite. This was just a larger room but with a couch and slightly better balcony - I was happy with the room but not with the hassle of getting the SPG Platinum benefits.

Club: No club at the moment, however I was told that they are working on one.

Resort: As expected, Sheraton quality, which was average. Nothing spectacular, nothing sub par. Was pleasantly surprised with how empty it seemed to be, there were always plenty of chairs and you were never close to being on top of other people as long as you didn't want to be right the main pool/bar. I was also pleased with the renovated lobby, it was clean, airy, and had tons of seating.

Food: As expected, food was relatively expensive, but in line with other spots in the Bahamas. The Italian restaurant on site was OK. The Dolphin cafe near the pool was pretty tasty. The buffet was actually a good value - $25 for lunch. We also ate at the Asian restaurant at the Wyndham which was also OK. If I were to return, I'd be fine eating at each of these locations, but only once each - more than that and I'd start to get annoyed at the cost/quality ratio. We did venture out to Mesa Grill at the Atlantis one night, which seemed to be even better than the one in NYC.

Staff: Very poor. As mentioned above, we had a lot of difficulty getting the SPG Platinum benefits. Other employees such as those manning the towel shack and concierge just seemed to have a bit of an attitude. I chalked it up to a cultural difference. However, the food and beverage employees were excellent, which was surprising because their tip was set at 15% for almost all meals.

In summary, I would probably return if I were able to secure a Cash+Points reservation and would recommend it to others, however I would make sure to caveat that recommendation with some of the points above.

thaliajen

I just spent an hour researching this property with the search feature but didn't find a lot of the info I was looking for. As always, feel free to point me to an existing thread -I researched "Sheraton Cable Beach" and Sheraton Nassau" but haven't come across a Master Thread. So far I have read that the place is due for an overhaul and one is planned, and that it is nice but not as nice as some other properties. And, I'm looking for as recent info as I can find.

What I'm looking for is information about the pool area and the rooms and if Plats have a good success rate with upgrades to suites. Also, I wonder about table limits in the casino (blackjack limits in Freeport were never lower than $15 during my recent stay) and if anyone has done a trip report/review of this hotel.

If I did miss the master thread please direct me to it. In about 3 weeks I'll either be headed for Nassau or Mexico or Las Vegas- I get to put in my request so I'm trying to get info on this hotel. (The other places I know pretty well.)

Any info would be greatly appreciated- thanks!

sc flier

I easily found this thread by searching for "cable beach" (in quotes). Might I nominate it to be added to the sticky of Master Threads?

It has a few reviews from earlier this year. Anyone have additional comments? I've been to Nassau before, but I haven't been to the Sheraton yet. I've been considering it if we find a good deal for flights, though. There's some great scuba diving on the west end of the island. Lots of sharks!

Thaliajen, the whole hotel was renovated when it was converted from Wyndham. They closed off one wing at a time for renovations. I'm not sure about how everything around it is. (casino, other hotels, pools, etc.)

SanDiego1K

I've now created a master thread on the property, and merged the current question about the hotel into it.

SanDiego1K
Starwood Moderator

thaliajen

Thanks- Since my earlier post in July I actually ended up at the Westin in Freeport for a few nights, and 2 weeks ago I was at the Westin Aruba. Both hotels were lacking in customer service but at least Aruba was incredibly beautiful. Anyway, I'm definitely headed to Sheraton Cable Beach next week and would love to hear more recent information if anyone has any.

I'd really appreciate info on the property, the pools, how a Plat member is treated in regards to upgrades, info on the all-inclusive part (it wasn't mentioned in my reservation) and about the beach, activities and if there's any place near to get water and soda, etc. (I've heard that food is very expensive at all the hotels in the area.)

Thanks!

DCATravel

I would generally give most resorts in the Bahamas a low ranking for service. Two speeds at most places...slow and stop. I've stayed at the Ocean Club, Atlantis, and Cable Beach and never received what I would call decent service. It's a shame as they would probably receive more repeat visitors if the service level was much higher.