We stayed for 6 nights in August 2006 and were pleasantly surprised. The island itself was still recovering from Hurricane Ivan: the Hyatt was partially-closed with downed trees and so on. We had booked the hotel on Starpoints and were upgraded to beachfront. The hotel staff were very nice, extremely helpful, so check-in was a breeze. In short, the location is amazing: a 7 mile beach is one of the nicest I've been to. The new Ritz Carlton is next door and their restaurants are second to none. We did not eat at the Westin since there were too many other choices around.
The room itself was pretty standard. It was humid as hell the week we were there so it was a bit "musty" (but very clean). The balcony had a beautiful view of the beach and pool. There were always complimentary happy hour drinks and snacks at sunset. The poolside/beachside service was prompt and ever-present.
We spent our time relaxing on the beach and doing tons of snorkeling. There is a large reef about 120 yards offshore where you can see all kinds of fish, stingrays, and lobsters. Snorkeling trips from the cruise ships and other groups actually "drop off" there periodically. You can watch them and then swim over later when no one is there. The water is beautiful, clear with no current -- like a big bathtub! We got bored with snorkeling and did a resort scuba course at Eden Roc (center near town) one day which we highly recommend. Anyway, enough about our vacation, back to the hotel.
Overall, the Westin is an adequate hotel in a perfect location. The hotel itself is a bit dated, the restaurant seems to be nothing special, and the pool is full of kids (which is cool if you have kids). The workout center is small, but useful. If you can stay there on points or points/cash combo it is definitely worth it. Again, 7 mile beach is pretty much paradise. As average as I'm making the hotel out, I'd stay there again just for the location. The Westin does not quite have the cache of the Ritz next door, but then again, nothing on the island is. (You gotta check that place out).
Oh yeah, there is a great breakfast joint across the street with awesome coffee and eggs at very reasonable prices. However, it is PACKED every morning.
Review submitted by Will.
Posted at December 2, 2007 4:54 PM