Windjammer Landing...what's the deal with the #/people per room? I'm confused!

[kccpa]

Hello Windjammer regular's...

Wow, I'm terribly sorry to hear about the rain issues and the impact on the resort and fellow TUGger vacation plans.

If someone could help me with a question I would really appreciate it. I've been looking into trading into the non-inclusive "section" of the TS. What confuses me is that in the information on RCI where they say that they charge a minimum of 2 persons per room. I'm thinking of taking a solo trip to the Windjammer...non all-inclusive...so how can they charge me for two people?

The resort sounds like it's family oriented so it doesn't seem like a "singles" type of resort. All I want to do is get some R&R after going through some serious breast cancer stuff the past two years.

Is this the place for me? I'm looking to veg on the beach, snorkel and maybe do some scuba if I'm feeling up to it.

Does the resort allow singles?

Your help and insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...and happy holidays!

Kathy

 

[caribbean]

Kathy-

That spounds like the AI plan. If you could post the actual reference wording maybe someone could answer.

We were just there in a non-AI villa that we reserved through points. We had to pay a fee for each week that supposedly was to cover the electricity and maid service. Found out later that the owners pay for all of this in their maintenance fee. So WJL is just ripping you off by charging this fee to incomming exchangers and pretending it hasn't already been paid. I knew ahead of time the fee was due, but thought it was like a lot of other Caribbean resorts where everyone pays for the electricity, owners and exchangers. Left a really bad taste in my mouth.

Other than that we didn't have any per room charge. What are you reading and where?

 

[Caribbean Lover]

R&R

just a thought but you might be better off looking at Ti Kaye if you really want a relaxing holiday. The snorkelling is much better and you don't have to be all-inclusive. Not available on points though. There are however about 120 steps down to the beach so your level of fitness might be important here. they have lovely hammocks on the balcony to relax in. The price is by cottage or room but it is not the standard hotel setup.

Windjammer have "ocean view" rooms that might suit you and the charge would be on a room basis I think there are two different points numbers depending on whether you are staying all-inclusive or not.

 

[riverside]

This might be what she is referring to: (taken from an available exchange on RCI)

RST OFFERS OPTIONAL ALL-INCLUSIVE PACKAGE 2005: US$100 PER PERSON/DAY.PLUS 10% OF SERVICE CHARGE PLUS 8% GVNT TAX FEES AVAILABLE BY CALLING RST. INCLUDE: MOST FOOD, LIQUOR & ALL WATERSPORTS RUN BY RST. CHILDREN ACCEPTED AT THE RST. ARRANGE YOUR FLIGHTS INTO VIGIE AIRPT NOT INTO HEWANORRA. ALL INCL. FOR CHILDREN 4-12 IS US$55.00. THE RESORT HAS 2-3 LEVELS WITH NO ELEVATORS AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR GUESTS THAT HAVE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS. 2005: MANDATORY NON-REFUNDABLE UTILITY/HOUSKEEPING FEE OF $180.00 FOR A 1BD, $215.00 FOR A 2BD AND $250.00 FOR A 3BD. DAILY HOUSKEEPING OF UNITS IS PROVIDED. MANDATORY 2 PEOPLE PER ROOM VISA, MC & AMEX ACCEPTED.

Not sure what they mean by Mandatory 2 people. It almost sounds like they don't accept singles. But I would think if you could rent from an owner it wouldn't have any restrictions.

You might try e-mailing this person at the resort. She handles reservations:
beverly@windjammer-landing.com

It would be a wonderful resort to sit and relax. Especially if you had a unit with a pool. I'm sure that Beverly could give you the information you want.

 

[kccpa]

Thanks Riverside...the RCI blurb you posted was exactly what I was referring to and why it didn't make any sense to me. I will send Beverly an email to see if I can get clarification.

I'm a "weeks" trader so point resorts don't apply to me. Maybe one day I'll make the jump but I got too many TS's as it is.

Caribbean Lover - I've never heard of Ti Kaye...is that a TS? Is it also on St. Lucia? I'll see what I can Google.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Kathy

 

[caribbean]

I'll take a guess. I think it applies to the units that are mandatory AI. Example 1BR you get charged for 2 people, 2BR charged for 4 people, 3BR charged for 6 people. So if there were just 3 people and you traded into a 3BR, you would be charged for 6 people. Seems like I heard this somewhere about another resort where they charged AI by the number of BRs with the rule being 2 people per BR. But I would definitely check with them in advance to confirm that it doesn't apply if you trade via weeks.

 

[Caribbean Lover]

Ti Kaye

Sorry to have potentially misinformed you, no Ti Kaye is not in the timeshare scheme - i hadn't realised you were swapping using the weeks system. WJ only has a few 1-bedroom villas with plunge pools, most are 2-bedroom. Some of the 1-bedrooms have jacuzzis. 1-bedroom newer ones in the new fourplexes are the ones to request if you are contacting the resort. They are the ones that honeymooners tend to get upgraded to.

Hope this helps.

 

[ailin]

1-bedroom newer ones in the new fourplexes are the ones to request if you are contacting the resort. They are the ones that honeymooners tend to get upgraded to.

Sorry to jump in here, but this caught my attention. My husband and I will be there in February on our slightly belated honeymoon (married last month). Do these newer units have a plunge pool/jacuzzi/good view? Are the upgrades easy to come by? I would think February is pretty busy.... What's the best way to contact the resort, by phone or e-mail?

Our confirmation has us down for one of the older units, no plunge pool. It would be great to get something better. But with all the great reviews, I'm sure we'll be happy either way.

Thank you!

 

[riverside]

All of the newer one bedroom units have a plunge pool. Not sure about the view from the very newest (think I read they were more isolated and private but no ocean view?) Good luck getting an upgrade. When we first exchanged there we were assigned an older unit and the only way they would upgrade us was for a fee. You might find out if they will and if they charge, how much. Depending on how much they want it would be worth it to me, having spent a week in both kinds of units.

You might try e-mailing Beverly at the address I gave above.

 

[PBlais]

A couple things:

Ti Kaye - I've been there several times by boat for lunch but never stayed over night. It is not a timeshare but is a pretty neat place on the very edge of a tall cliff overlooking a nice sandy beach. It is where all the larger snorkle trips come by boat and it is a steep climb up and down a long set of stairs.

The facilitiy is very basic located at the end of a long road in the middle of no where. The view is exceptional! This would be a good place to veg out and do some swimming. The beach is nice but not huge. You can't walk to any place that is close.

Windjammer - There are two ways to trade into Windjammer landing. The hard way is a real time share week an owner has deposited. They don't deposit all that many but now that some owners are on RCI points they do it more as you they about 2 for 1 vs a noraml timeshare week. You had to pay to convert to points and we decided $7K per week was too much to pay to be on points. We never trade our two weeks in Feb. - doubt we ever will. You still get stuck with a few fees but you don't have to be all inclusive.

Owners don't pay anything extra above the maint fee and don't have to go all inclusive. I'm not a fan of all inclusive and we don't. I may drink that much but couldn't eat that much. It's 3 meals with drinks. Note everything on your bill has an 18% tax / service charge added to it as well.

The easier way is the all inclusive way. 80% of all the units are NOT timeshares and are owned by the hotel. It's why it's not so easy to trade into. When they are vacant they get dumped into RCI as all inclusive with a minimum of two people. Sometimes it really is about the money. A one bedrooms with a pool go for about $400 / night at the hotel with a buy 6 get one free option. Some variations depending on time of year but not a lot.

After 9/11 they had a lot of them but over tha past few years far less. One of the airlines used to have a one week package price wthat was a very good deal. I don't think it is around any more. They book up all year and there are no "slow times". They are a very kid friendly resort and few places in St Lucia are at all kid friendly. The larger units makes it a good place to take kids. This means they are as busy in summer as winter. Folks from Brtiain come there as much as folks from US and Canada. It's easier for them to get there by air than us. It's a direct shot from Gatwick.

 

[Caribbean Lover]

Windjammer Update, just got back!

Just Back!

Hi to all – this is going to be long!!!

Building Works
Well, back home now in freezing weather. WJ was, in the main, very good. The building works are continuing but are confined to one part of the resort not too far from the main pool. The works are screened off from the main area. There are many trucks coming in along the main road (which is also being refurbished) and they are pouring rocks to form the foundations for the replacement villas which will be built over the coming year. The noise disturbance was mainly from the rocks being tipped out by the trucks but was less intrusive further down the beach. Near Jammers it was quite loud.

Embers bar has expanded to include a covered tent area providing more shade for diners. However, this has taken the natural shade provided by the palm trees away and therefore there is less shaded area for the beach-chairs. Windjammer needs to address this as, by 11am, there was little shade available.

The staff tried very hard to overcome the current difficulties and, with a few exceptions, were friendly and cooperative. Unfortunately the shuttle service was slow as there were 3 shuttles in for repair and only 1 operating after 11pm which was annoying when many people were coming out of Jammers bar after the entertainment had finished. The shuttle drivers did their best with enthusiasm but Saturday and Sunday check out and check ins were affected.

That said, the food was good and the quality for all-inclusive continues to be very good value. Papa Dons restaurant was packed and attracted more customers than Dragonfly! Chef Bobo Bergstrom has now left to open his own place on the island but a new head chef is coming in soon so expect some menu changes!

Watersports continue to improve their facilities. New hobiecats and windsurfing boards were in evidence. The sea was very murky with a slow swell during the first week of our visit so we confined our water explorations and activities to the second week.

More building work and timeshare villas
There is, apparently, further building work going on on the land between Windjammer and East Winds involving building more villas and, possibly, a new Spa. This will start in late summer.

The new fourplex and some new 2-bedroom villas are now built and are lovely. However, bear in mind that the upkeep of the timeshare villas is VERY important and, having had our villa for just over 7 years, there were some major maintenance issues which the Timeshare staff were most unwilling to either acknowledge or help with. Their attitude was very rude when help was requested and our complaints were not passed on to the relevant parties. I admit that they are good salespeople but their “after-sales” attitude leaves a lot to be desired. Senior management did sort things out eventually but do watch out for this when considering buying in this resort. The humidity and weather of the Caribbean causes stuff to wear out quickly and many owners were unhappy with the level of maintenance on their villas. This is important when considering resale 5-10 years down the line.

Hope this helps - it is still a great resort!!

 

[PBlais]

We head down a week from Saturday. Thanks for the report. The excitment always increases as we get closer. Looking forward to seeing some of the new stuff. Always good to see old friends too. Fixed weeks do have the advantage that you have old friends when you get there.

 

[Caribbean Lover]

Windjammer

Hi Patty

Maybe one year our weeks will coincide