Tag Archives: BosGuy

If you do visit Vieques, nearly everyone will tell you to book the bioluminescent tour in mosquito bay.  Unfortunately we were not able to capture by photo the tour experience other than the one of me goofing around before the tour started (see below) so I’ve swiped this image which doesn’t exactly resemble the kayaks we used but is close enough to give you an idea of what this is like.

We arranged our tour at the W Hotel and the cost, which included transport to and from the hotel, was $50 per person.  We were picked up and dropped off about 20 minutes away from the hotel in a large field with our friendly guide who was preoccupied with getting the group assembled (there were 7 of us total).  He then invited us into what he referred to as his “Shaggy” – think Scooby Doo – van; for the record it actually had shag carpeting inside.  Our guide drove us through a narrow bumpy path to mosquito bay where we hopped into kayaks and spent the next 45 minutes exploring the bay.  Our guide was both humorous and knowledgeable.  We really enjoyed the entire experience and loved kayaking out under the stars.

Suggestions / Comments: We took the 6PM tour with kayaks and this gave us the opportunity to return to our hotel by 8:30pm to grab a dinner and talk about the experience.  While I believe some still snorkel or swim in Mosquito Bay, it is strongly discouraged as it is disturbing and disrupting the ecosystem.  The company we used and, which I’d recommend is called Bieque Eco Trips.

The W Hotel in Vieques includes a spa, which was directly behind our room and which I passed each day when I would go to use the property’s gym.  I promised myself if I worked out each day while visiting, I would treat myself to a massage before leaving so on our final day I arranged to have a one hour massage.  My masseur was a youngish looking man named Marcos.  After meeting in the spa’s lobby, he escorted me to one of the private rooms.  While Marcos was more than competent and worked out a surprising number of knots in my back, the experience was worthwhile because of the setting.  The grounds, the private room and of course the fantastic, private outdoor shower, which I used after the massage made the experience even more relaxing and peaceful.  I have to admit the rest of the day I felt fantastic and slept like a baby that night.  If you are curious about visiting the property and using the spa, you can see a full range of their services by visiting their website here. 

I recently returned from my stay at the W Spa and Resort in Vieques, Puerto Rico, and I wanted to share my thoughts about this property.  The grounds are immaculately maintained and the property is beautiful, but if you are to book here, I would strongly recommend the rooms that overlook Whisper Beach in buildings 100, 200, or 300 — they not only have spectacular views, but are much more private. Our room (221) was on the second floor and although you cannot see it in the photos above, the balcony is quite large and fairly private.  This sense of seclusion was only enhanced by the fact that the property was mostly empty while we were visiting which was more than fine with me.

Sergio spent most of his time laying out by the two beautiful pools. I spent more time relaxing in one of the many hammocks or sitting by the poolside bar, although I did make sure to spend some time each afternoon at Whisper Beach / Cove, which our room overlooked.  The water was warm and shimmered with those blue-green colors you associate with the Caribbean.The property is quite expensive, but I was able to use my Starwood Points to ensure that all we had to pay for was nominal fees and whatever we ate and drank.  In spite of the cost, I still am glad to have visited this property and thought spending 4-nights was the perfect amount of time.  If I’d spent more time, I would have wanted to get off of the property to explore the island more. If that would be your intent, then I would suggest renting a house rather than incurring the costs associated with staying at a resort.

Getting There: We were able to fly non-stop from Boston to San Juan Puerto Rico then connect with Cape Air to the island.  The W actually has a sleek lounge for guests waiting to leave or to be picked up and driven to the property which is about 1 mile away, making the entire trip really easy.  The W can also easily arrange transport off the property; depending on where you go and how often you want to leave the property, renting one of the many jeeps (also available at the property) might be a better decision.  For our two jaunts off the property arranging taxi transport ($10 each way for the two of us) was more sensible.

More To Come: We really did have a fantastic trip and I plan on writing a bit more about the food, the spa at the W and of course the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.