Westin Update
The following photos were taken over the past 2 days - there are now plenty of guests at the Westin. We stopped by there this evening to check it out, and wandered a little bit. Once you are inside, and at the pool area, it is nowhere near as disastrous seeming as it looks from above. I did not see any rooms however. Walking around it is easy to see the rush - there are fixtures missing in the hallways and bathrooms, half the machines in the casino do not work, I saw an elevator or two that were closed off, and areas that are unfinished cordoned off. We got a drink at the bar in the lobby - I tried one of their signature drinks - pretty tasty but not worth the $9.20 it cost me (that price includes the 15% service charge automatically added to the bill) - and the bartender didn't even pour the remainder in the shaker for me! Jeez. A gin and tonic ended up costing $5.50. The "fine dining" restaurant is open - it is billed as French/Vietnamese and the menu looked nice, but with entrees all at around $35 to $40, it ends up being one of the higher priced restaurants on the island. The lobby was full of people working on laptop computers and the beach bar and swim up bar are open. The beach is small, and I'd think any insurer would balk at insuring the pool, Jacuzzi, beach bar etc - it's too close to the water. I think this will be the end of my "Westin is open" updates - what I am interested in now is seeing what will happen with beach access, with the Oyster Pond Road and with the "villas" which are being built.
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5 comments:
Awesome- thank you
Jess...Thanx for the pics. Did you feel welcomed even though you are not staying there. Where did you park? Did they question whether you were a guest or where you were heading? Thanks again. See you soon. Wendy
No prob, anonymous!
Hiya Wendy - we just drove right in to the parking garage, they have Sheriff Security guards who just directed us to a parking spot (interesting as they also still have Checkmate working security there as well). We kinda look like tourists but were not driving a rental car, still, no questions. Once we were inside everyone assumed we were guests though I had the camera out. I wanted to chat up someone so I could get inside a room and take pictures, but my skillz are not well developed enough!
I am staying at the hotel and am actually in the first picture of the lobby. The hotel is NOT ready, my family had 3 rooms reserved and it took us over 2 hours to finally get taken to 3 rooms that were all cleaned and ready. One of the rooms we were taken to was not finished and had no furniture in it. Worse than the facilities is the staff, who do not understand how to operate a hotel. None of them are able to follow up with requests or able to recommend any local area attractions (since most are not from the online). We were suppose to stay until the 3rd but have cut our trip and are planning on returning to the States before New Years. We paid for our hotel using starwood points and the hotel has agreed to refund them.
Jess, if you have any restaurant recommendations we would love to know. The dining at the hotel is impossible and you can not get through a meal without a very large headache due to the staff.
Holy cow, anonymous, I am sorry to hear you are having a crap time. When you said the staff is not helpful, did you mean they are not from the island? - You wrote "(since most are not from the online)" I assume you meant island. This is actually an important point for me since the hotel promised to employ St. Maarteners.
OK let's see - you are here for a few days more? What kind of restaurants are you looking for?
In the Oyster Pond area there are the following:
-Dinghy Dock in the Oyster Pond Marina - it's a bar with a good local following, casual food, the hottest wings currently available on the island, they offer a special every day like a fish filet or mussels.
-Tabba Khady http://www.tabba-khady.com/ this place is a nice atmosphere for dinner, wide range of choices for dinner, not the finest dining on the island but probably the best in Oyster Pond.
-The Oyster Bay Beach Resort has a resort restaurant, no idea how it is, and King Beau Beau's - Beau Beau is a local carnival king, they have a fairly generic menu supplemented by a show with dancers and music, not sure if it is all nights or selected nights.
- Mr. Busby's on Dawn Beach is a basic place (ribs, grilled fish, grilled chicken etc) which turns into Daniel's By the Sea at night, serving Italian food. I have not heard bad things, I have not heard great things.
-Le Planteur in Oyster Pond (follow the signs for Captain Oliver's) is a French/Creole place, some good items on the menu, I stopped going as I was impatient with the service but then again I am an impatient person - very atmospheric and imbued with St. Martin flavor
-Captain Oliver's restaurant - not worth the money
Outside of Oyster Pond:
-go to Pinel Island for the day and have lunch at the one restaurant there, I hear it is pricey but worth it
-go to Grand Case for dinner - my favorite places are: Spiga, Le Pressoir, L'Alabama, Auberge Gourmand, ***Le Cottage*** (top of the list) - also, it's nice during the day, some of the fancy places offer lunch and there is also am area with some local joints serving up excellent grilled fare plus plantains, stuffed crab back, rice and peas, etc.
-In the Anse Marcel area is Le Taitu, casual and good, and also Sol e Luna, good food, extremely romantic.
-go to Loterie Farm for fun activities (hikes, ropes course) plus lunch or dinner, it's a unique place onthe island
Wow, I am tuckered out. Listen, write me at jess at sxmliving dot com for further info/help - I love this island, it's a shame for you to have a bad time here.
Best of luck to you and your family!
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