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Honeymoon Recommendations

LisaRex said:
Have you tried pricing out a RT flight from Chicago to Louisville? Travelocity is showing flights around $200 pp. You could fly down for your wedding, fly back home to Chicago Sunday morning, then take a late morning or afternoon flight out of the same airport to STT.
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I think we thought about that, but then thought of the gifts that we will need to get back with us, if we get any :D, and all the other items that need to be brought down for the wedding. I will keep it in mind though. Thanks.
 
The Canuck said:
I think we thought about that, but then thought of the gifts that we will need to get back with us, if we get any :D, and all the other items that need to be brought down for the wedding. I will keep it in mind though. Thanks.
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Ah, yes, the gifts. I hope you are forced to rent a uHaul for all the loot you'll get. :)
 
Sorry if I missed this, but has anyone recommended the Westin Lagunamar?

We got married in Puerto Morelos, Mexico and did our honeymoon in Cozumel. It was VERY nice!!! ...especially if you're a scuba diver.
 
We didn't view Cozumel as too much of a Honeymoon location. Guess we both have the Spring Break view of Cozumel still stuck in our heads.
 
We spoke to the Owner today and she is going to get us some answers, but she mentioned something about IntervalWorld. Does that mean anything to anyone. When I go online I come up with another website that looks like you can go to different locations other than the Westin/Starwood locations. Is this true? Have we just opened up a lot more possibilities now making it even more difficult of a decision?
 
The Canuck said:
We spoke to the Owner today and she is going to get us some answers, but she mentioned something about IntervalWorld. Does that mean anything to anyone. When I go online I come up with another website that looks like you can go to different locations other than the Westin/Starwood locations. Is this true? Have we just opened up a lot more possibilities now making it even more difficult of a decision?
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Interval is an Exchange company - for you to get the week you want, another owner has to deposit it, so it's a lot more iffy than just making a reservation. Also - 90% of the resorts aren't Starwood quality and there are no guarantees that the week/location you want is available. If you deposit the week and no acceptable exchanges comes through, you won't be able to get Mission Hills back, and you won't have any reservaton at all for your honeymoon.

I woudn't deposit the week, for fear of coming up empty handed. The only way I would go through II is to reserve the week you want to honeymoon at Mission Hills, and then put in an on-going request with II for several acceptable resorts/locations - the more the better. (You can do an ongoing request without actually depositing, until your request comes through, so you don't "lose," the week.) Then, if your ongoing request doesn't come through, you can still go to Mission Hills on your honeymoon.

The other problem with this method is that you won't be able to book the airfare, until you confirm the reservation, which could take awhile, and might make it more difficult to get the best airfare. For a honeymoon, I'd rather go through the SVN and have a confirmed reservation right away.
 
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The Canuck said:
We spoke to the Owner today and she is going to get us some answers, but she mentioned something about IntervalWorld.
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Aw, geez. I hope she's not a resale owner because if so she won't have StarOptions at all. The only way to trade WMH into another Starwood location such as Hawaii or St. John, is through II and that is very iffy and impossible, respectively.
 
LisaRex said:
Aw, geez. I hope she's not a resale owner because if so she won't have StarOptions at all. The only way to trade WMH into another Starwood location such as Hawaii or St. John, is through II and that is very iffy and impossible, respectively.
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Can you explain what a resale owner is?
 
The Canuck said:
Can you explain what a resale owner is?
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Rather than having purchased her unit through the developer (Starwood) she may have purchased it on the resale market. Some resale Starwood owners do not get Staroptions (depending on the resort) and thus can only make reservations at their home (purchased) resort. All other reservations would have to be made via an exchange through Interval (II) in that case.
 
I'm not sure what kind of relationship you have with this person but if she's receptive to your questions, I'd ask right away if she bought her unit on the resale market (as in NOT from Starwood directly). If she bought on the resale market, then that will significantly change your options. WMH is a voluntary resort and the only way you'll get into another Starwood resort is via IntervalInternational, which is one of the two major trading companies for timeshare owners. I'm not all that familiar with II, but I believe it's a bit late to be putting in a request for Hawaii for the fall. I don't think I've ever heard of St. John ever making it into II, so I'd forget that as an option. Harborside might be doable as it's low season there as well.

If she bought her unit directly from Starwood, then she can trade to other Starwood locations within SVN, but she'll need to request the trade at exactly 8 months out, which is coming up next month. It's possible that she simply doesn't know how the system works and you'll have to educate her. And given the circumstances (that she donated her week), she may or may not be receptive to doing leg work on your behalf.

So, before you do any further planning, you're going to have to see what kind of owner she is. That will determine the next step.
 
Lagunamara

Well the day has come.... St. John was booked. Obviously there wasn't much of a surprise there. I am hoping that by the end of October, any issues that they have had or are having will be worked out.

Really would have liked to go to St. John. Sort of feels a little more exotic to me for a honeymoon, but at the same time, this was such a good deal, I shouldn't be too disappointed that we get 11 nights there.
 
The Canuck said:
Well the day has come.... St. John was booked. Obviously there wasn't much of a surprise there. I am hoping that by the end of October, any issues that they have had or are having will be worked out.

Really would have liked to go to St. John. Sort of feels a little more exotic to me for a honeymoon, but at the same time, this was such a good deal, I shouldn't be too disappointed that we get 11 nights there.
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Can you please clarify what happened? :shrug:
 
DeniseM said:
Can you please clarify what happened? :shrug:
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Sorry I think I might have confused you. I was talking about the Lagunamara and any of the issues that they have had or are having. The one that comes to mind are the pools and them not being heated.

St. John was booked and there was nothing that was available. Which, as much as I hoped wasn't going to be the case, it was. I was at least pre-warned that it would be difficult t get into from you all. Guess I thought in this tough economy, that wouldn't be the case.

I am sure Lagunamara will be an excellent trip, I will be on the water slide a lot. :D
 
So you are saying that you made a Staroptions exchange for Lagunamar for 11 nights? 1 Bdm.?
 
DeniseM said:
So you are saying that you made a Staroptions exchange for Lagunamar for 11 nights? 1 Bdm.?
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I don't know how it all shakes out. It is a 1 bedroom and we get it for 11 nights. I don't know if it is StarOptions, or something else. This has been very tough for me, since I am one that typically likes to be in control of things, and not being able to make the call, is frustrating. For example I don't know if our contact asked if there is a studio available at St. John or only asked for a 1 bedroom.
 
Congratulations on getting Lagunamar. I think you'll be very happy there. Glad the stress of waiting is finally behind you.
 
This is important - you need to ask your contact to call Starwood Owner Services and have Starwood send you a confirmation in your name so you know exactly what you have. Starwood's email is unreliable, so if you have access to a Fax machine, you might ask them to Fax it.
 
DeniseM said:
This is important - you need to ask your contact to call Starwood Owner Services and have Starwood send you a confirmation in your name so you know exactly what you have. Starwood's email is unreliable, so if you have access to a Fax machine, you might ask them to Fax it.
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We are suppose to be getting all the information today in regards to confirmation number and what not. Our contact stated that she will be out of the mix from here on out, and that unless we need to change the reservation or something like that, we are on our own. That makes me feel a little better since now it is in our control. As it gets closer we will make some calls and see if we can get a nice view since it is our honeymoon.
 
The Canuck said:
We are suppose to be getting all the information today in regards to confirmation number and what not. Our contact stated that she will be out of the mix from here on out, and that unless we need to change the reservation or something like that, we are on our own. That makes me feel a little better since now it is in our control. As it gets closer we will make some calls and see if we can get a nice view since it is our honeymoon.
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Be sure you have a copy of the actual confirmation from Starwood.

Be sure it's in your name.
 
DeniseM said:
Be sure you have a copy of the actual confirmation from Starwood.

Be sure it's in your name.
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My fiancee just forwarded me an email that was sent to our contact. It came from "ownerres@starwoodvo.com"

It has it addressed to my fiancee in what will be her married name. Kind of weird seeing that. (of course a good weird. :p ) We have a confirmation number, arrival date, check in time, departure date, check out time, with information about the resort below.

I am assuming this is the standard email that is sent. Is there anything else that we should be looking for?

If we want to let the resort know that we won't be there until Monday, when should we call and inform them of that? Also since it is our honeymoon, is there a better time that we should ask about getting the best room with a view?
 
That sounds like the right confirmation.

I would call the resort now and put in your request.

Then, about 2 weeks before arrival, I would Fax it.

What room type did you get? Look for "Villa Type."
 
The Canuck said:
If we want to let the resort know that we won't be there until Monday, when should we call and inform them of that? Also since it is our honeymoon, is there a better time that we should ask about getting the best room with a view?
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I'd wait til about 6 weeks prior for both. I'd call the hotel directly to tell them that you won't be arriving til Monday. And I'd fax them my request.
 
I hope I read the thread correctly...

Make sure you let them know that you are not arriving on the reservation date (repeatedly) - if I recall correctly - if a person does not show up for their reservation within 48 hours the room is given-up. I had a renter that couldn't make it - and didn't notify the resort (or me) that they were not coming - the resort held the room for 2 days and then gave it up.

Be aware that coming late may not be the optimal for getting the best room location since an 'out-of-site - out-of-mind' mentality may come into play - and that resort staff work in shifts. So make sure it is clearly noted with hotel management when you plan to arrive and that you are on your honeymoon (with your location request).

Congrats.
 
When you are in the party mood while at Lagunnamar, be sure to visit cocobongos. I would also try to fit in a few excursions while you are down there. We particularly liked Chichen Itza and stayed overnight at the Mayaland Hotel. It is a great experience especially if you add on a visit to caves or ceynotes.
 
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