We are Westin Vacation Club owners and just back from our yearly vacation at the Westin Lagunamar. We've always had amazing family vacations at Lagunamar, it's one of our favorite resorts. All our previous stays at Lagunamar have been great, but this time there were just a few snags.
On our check-in day, there was an issue with the system being down apparently due to a planned Marriott upgrade of some sort. There was a sign on the check in desk regarding the system being down, but there had not been any mention of it in the "Know Before You Go" resort update emails we received in the weeks leading up to our arrival. Check in was confusing and not nearly as seamless as in the past.
We had put in a request with our concierge a couple of weeks prior to our arrival asking to have our family's 2 rooms in the same building, preferably on the side of the resort near the "quiet" pool. He had emailed us back that he had sent over our request. When we checked in, though, our 2 rooms were in 2 different buildings on the other side of the resort, and they said they had no room preferences noted on our reservations or notice from the concierge. We asked if they could please change our rooms, and they told us the system was down and they had no way to see what other rooms were available. After a lot of confusion, they somehow found us connecting rooms in Building 100, which is actually as far away from the "quiet" pool as possible, but we were glad that our family would at least be near each other.
We asked if we checked back the next day (when the system was supposed to be back up) to see if rooms were available on the other side of the resort maybe we could move, and they said no, it would be too hard to move us.
Another issue while the system was down was that no one could charge anything to their rooms, they could only use a credit card--no cash-- until the system went back up. In the grand scheme of things none of this was a hardship, but it would have been nice if Marriott had notified folks beforehand about it so it wouldn't have been a not-great surprise when checking in. I felt sorry for the check-in staff, who were doing their best. It was obvious that the upgrade issue was no picnic for them.
We had another hiccup this year regarding restaurant service. According to our "Know Before You Go" email, Viento was supposed to be open for dinner service every night. One evening when we went there, we were told the restaurant was no longer open for dinner, only for take out salad and pizza. We asked about Oceano, and were told it was open for dinner a'la carte that night. When we got to Oceano, however, it was "Steak Night", which meant no a'la carte dining. So we did Steak Night, which ended up being not so great. We ordered a rib-eye steak, the lamb, and the grilled chicken. After an hour wait, our waiter came back to our table and told us the steak and lamb were ready, but the chicken was not, and it was going to take much longer to cook. Our daughter, who had ordered the chicken, said at that point to just forget the chicken, as we had been waiting so long already, she'd just have a little of the steak and the lamb we ordered. The waiter said that was okay, but he'd still have to charge the whole price, chicken or no chicken. He then said that he had another steak already grilled, and he could bring her that. She said okay, since he was going to charge the whole price for the chicken anyway. (I think maybe he had actually put her down for a steak, realized too late, etc.)
Despite these few issues, we had a wonderful stay. We had perfect weather, great pool days, fun and relaxation.
As always, the staff at Lagunamar was outstanding. Hernan the pool concierge, Isaac, Williams, Jaime, and Miguel the pool waiters, and Jorge the pool bartender are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. The Westin Heavenly Spa staff is also an asset to the hotel, providing wonderful, relaxing pampering. We truly feel that the staff at Lagunaar plays a huge role in what keeps people coming back.
We'll be back.
