posted 02-25-2005 15:55
As many of you know, we were fortunate to have been able to trade into the Westin St. John as our first Starwood timeshare week. We purchased in Kierland last April and reserved there for Presidents’ Week, 2005. Shortly after the sale, I began calling for either Harborside or St. John and, on the fourth call, I got the 3 BR in St. John.The rooms upstairs were to be occupied by my son, daughter-in-law and their 3 month old baby in one room, and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law in the other. Then I read (on TUG) about the lack of a solid wall between those bedrooms and I literally got sick. I had this vision of people that I had invited to paradise getting no sleep and getting angrier at me by the day! My in-laws had to delay (and later cancel) their trip due to an illness in the family, so we had the unit to ourselves.
We flew non-stop from Newark to St. Thomas on Friday, Feb 18. Perhaps it can be done less expensively, but for us it was a no-brainer – we took the Westin ferry. The desk is located adjacent to the baggage carousel. They take your luggage and put you on a 10 minute taxi ride to the ferry. We had about 45 minutes to kill before boarding the ferry. There is a small market for provisions (mostly for the yacht owners at the marina!) and a small restaurant (Tickles) that even has a special menu for the Westin crowd. No – it’s not more expensive, just that it’s filled with quick items. Try a frozen cocktail. 45 minute ferry ride to the Westin. The Westin ferry is in Crown Marina, significantly further from St. John that Red Hook. I believe we paid $72 per person, but as I will write later, it included a “free” trip near the end of our stay when we went to tour St. Thomas.
The welcoming at the Westin St. John is fabulous. You get off the boat and there is a reception area right there. Rum or Virgin punches given, you give your name and someone comes over to welcome you and take you to your unit by motorized cart. We found out at the end that she was on the sales staff – no wonder she was raving about the place. Her first question was when we purchased the unit – she was pretty amazed that I had managed to trade into it. We arrived at the unit, opened the front door right onto the deck area with the private pool and the hot tub. The looks on my family’s faces were not to be believed. I quickly ran upstairs to confirm that they were, indeed, two separate rooms and felt enormous relief. On Sunday, we finally found out that my in-laws had to cancel the entire vacation.
The unit is even more impressive than the website photos. Very modern, sleek and roomy. Off the laundry room, there is a hall with maybe 20 closets that we later found out were for rental by the multitude of multiple week owners looking for storage of some items between visits! There were two issues about the design of the unit that seemed off the mark. In the downstairs master bedroom suite, the entire bathroom (except toilet and shower) is open to the bedroom. This means if someone needs to use it during the night, it is impossible to turn a light on without lighting up the entire room. Very stupid design – I actually tried to navigate one night in the dark and walked into a door, opening up a cut on my forehead! But the master bathroom shower is probably bigger than my first apartment! As stated, the new units now have two totally separate rooms upstairs and each has its own bath. However, one bathroom has a lovely shower but the other has a bathtub only – not even a shower head. Anyone in that bedroom wishing to take a shower will have to use another bathroom. Seemed silly. Since my kids had two bedrooms, it didn’t matter!
We had free broadband internet access. Nice big televisions in the living room and each bedroom. Last year I stayed at the Four Seasons at Troon North in Scottsdale. This unit was definitely more upscale. While the service was not quite as attentive as FS, it was very high-level. People went out of their way to help and almost all were very friendly. That extends to the entire island – if someone saw you looking lost, they offered to help. Of course, at the FS there is daily maid service. The one time “tidy” really wasn’t a problem – it was just not congruent with the rest of the luxurious experience that we had.
People have complained about the beach at the resort. The only problem with the beach is that the others on the island are so magnificent! But we really didn’t spend much time there. As I said, we were there with a 3 month old, so the layout of the unit was absolutely perfect for us at this place and time. On the other hand, there were many moments that I felt removed from the entire resort – as though we were in some private enclave that could have been anywhere! And it is, indeed, a decent walk to the pool/sea complex. We neither sat at the main pool nor the beach, so I can’t report on if there was any trouble getting a chaise or an umbrella as I’ve seen at some resorts.
I went to the Vacation Ownership sales office and explained that I had no desire to have a 90 minute meeting and didn’t want any inducements – just to get the prices. They were happy to accommodate. I went upstairs and spoke with the salesman and the manager. I was asking about week 7. Here’s the news – they range from $50,000 (hurricane season, I guess) to $122,000 for week 7 – and they don’t give one single StarPoint as a bonus. Having loved the area and realizing that the amount was far, far beyond what I consider reasonable (or affordable!), I called the number in one of the Virgin Islands magazines for the Marriott that will begin construction at Frenchman’s Reef, St. Thomas. Figured pre-construction would be the way to go and still be reasonable. They can’t sell for another month, but after that they expect 2 BR prices to be $30-35,000 and they are no longer even taking names for weeks 7, 51 or 52! They are sold out before they begin.
Made me realize that maybe my timeshare buying days are over – it’s just getting crazy. Better to take that type of investment and make a down payment on a 3 BR in a nice area in Florida. Nice vacations, the kids will love visiting and I wouldn’t have to worry about getting the “week”, etc. With 3 timeshare weeks I think I have enough. But I certainly hope I get lucky someday and get to go back to Westin St. John.
Okay – quick bites.
1. Rented a car (Durango) at the Westin for 3 days. Picked it up Sunday at 11 AM and when we returned it Tuesday morning, they only charged for 2 24 hour days. Never used the car to go into Cruz Bay – pain in the neck to drive and park. Used it to tour the island and, for us, two days was plenty. But again, we were a bit limited by the baby.
2. Took a one day cruise to the Baths at Virgin Gorda and snorkeling at Norman Island with Cruz Bay Watersports – directly at the Westin. $110 per person + $20 for British customs. Great day and certainly worthwhile
3. US Park Service guided hike on the Reef Bay Trail. Absolutely wonderful with a great guide. All downhill (except the approach to Reef Bay at the end) and very manageable. At the end, a dinghy takes you out to a boat that then brings you back to the US Park Service Visitors’ Center. We called one week ahead and only made the wait list, but it worked out. This is a must and plan ahead.
4. Restaurants, in the order we went to them:
Equator at Caneel Bay – lovely meal, beautiful scenery although it was a bit late when we went.
ZoZo’s – this is a must – best meal we had in terms of food, service and view. No kids.
Balcony on Cruz Bay – in Wharfside Village, Cruz Bay. I’m a limited partner in Wharfside Village so I expected top notch treatment. But we waited 50 minutes for a table and I was not happy. They were short on staff, but the meal ended up being excellent. They bought us a bottle of wine for our troubles. Owner is Michael. Restaurant only 1 year old. I’ll go back.
Beach Café at the Westin – open air café on, of course, the beach. Go for the sunset. Tuna steak was exceptional and here we just went for the view.
Vergilios – Italian restaurant in St. Thomas that we went to for lunch. Very popular and excellent Italian food. Lots of business people there – the only neckties we saw on the entire vacation!
Finally – this trip would not have been anywhere as good if not for the help, input and guidance from so many of you. My family was astounded that I planned things out so well. They toasted me the last night saying they often make fun of how much time I spend on this bulletin board and how obsessed I can seem about this topic. Yet at the end of the vacation, they were all grateful for the time spent, as I am to all of you. Let me know if you have any questions.
Steve
Timeshare Users Group Bulletin Boards
posted 02-25-2005 15:55
posted 02-25-2005 17:24
posted 02-25-2005 17:36