Tag Archives: Travel

I’m starting to feel as if I’m living in W Hotels.  I have spent 9 of the last 13 days at W Hotels.  Because of the snowstorm that hit the northeastern US this past weekend my quick trip to San Francisco was prolonged by a few days, affording the me the opportunity to spend a bit more time at the W Hotel in this city.

The lobby and ground floor bar have that distinctive W-vibe people either love or hate,  but which I like.  This particular property has a single arcade table in the bar that has a series of nostalgic games like Galaga, Packman, Dig Dug, Centipede, etc… which I enjoyed playing.

My room was on the 31st floor (3106) and had a nice view of the Oakland Bay Bridge.  The room was of sufficient size and it had all the amenities that I want when I travel for business including a quiet room, comfortable bed, extra outlets at desk level, drawers and a decent size closet with more than enough hangers.

Despite my recent stays at W Hotels, I’m not necessarily one to book at these properties, preferring proximity / location over a particular brand so I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to stay here, but was comfortable and happy to have had the opportunity to check it out.  South of Market – where this property is located – is near good restaurants, provides easy access to the waterfront, great shopping as well as some good gay bars.

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.

Market Metrix hospitality index has ranked the best US hotels.  The survey which was compiled by responses from more than 40,000 travelers placed Drury Hotels at the top of the list.

I’m not familiar with Drury Hotels, which has properties in 20 states but mostly in the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest.  Other very recognizable hotel chains scored well including Kimpton, Renaissance, Hard Rock, and Ritz.  Huffington Post breaks down the findings to show you the top ten hotel brands according to Market Metrix, which you can view here.

Curious to see all the brands that were included in the ranking – click here.

Enjoying the first full day here. The view above is from our second floor balcony which I find unbelievably serene. The weather this morning started out overcast with a few passing sprinkles, but the afternoon has been gorgeous. I’ll write more about the W Spa and Resort after I return home, but as you can see the property does not lack for beautiful views of the water.

Next week at this time I’ll be heading to the airport to leave for Puerto Rico, and after the bitterly cold temperatures of this week I am more than ready to go.

I am longing to feel the warmth of the Caribbean and look forward to having a few days that are free of conference calls and meetings.  On this particular visit to Puerto Rico I’ll be at the W Hotel resort on Vieques.  The image above was taken a couple years ago at El Conquistador Resort at my cousin’s wedding.

After Christmas I mentioned Sergio had surprised me with airfare to Puerto Rico  so I cashed in points to stay at W Retreat and Spa on Vieques Island.  Despite the fact that we’ve been to Puerto Rico several times, we’ve never been to Vieques. I’m curious if any readers have suggestions on things to do, places to eat or go out and of course tips about the W Hotel property.  We’ve reserved a “Fabulous Ocean Front Escape” (their room description not mine), and the resort is highly rated on Trip Advisor.

On Christmas Eve my partner surprised me with airline tickets to Puerto Rico at the end of January. Neither Sergio, nor I enjoy the cold weather and getting away to the Caribbean for a few nights sounds fantastic.

We have not been to Puerto Rico since December 2010 when we flew to my cousin’s wedding.  The photo above was the view from our room at The Conquistador where we stayed.  I love visiting this island and look forward to returning.