HOTEL

Let me clear up some of the past reviews about construction in the Dawn Beach area. The Westin is completed. Construction is over, with the exception of some outside painting of their condos. There is no noise coming from the Westin. The new addition of Princess Heights ll which is higher up on the hill has light finishing work going on. They are removing rock and dirt by hand from the behind PH ll to make way for a landscaped lighted waterfall. The occasional tapping of a hammer or squeal of a drill, but nothing that is disturbing. We were told it would be over and completed in April.
Upon arrival we were met by staff that assisted us with our luggage to our room. The Refrigerator was already stocked with Coke, Diet Coke, Lipton Green Tea, Heinekein Beer and Bottled Water. Very nice touch. Let me tell you what a beautiful place this is and is going to be. We stayed at the new building, Princess Heights ll , between March 03 – 10, 2008. ( 5th Floor End Unit # 1106 ) The views from the new addition are incredible! All ocean and Dawn Beach views right over to St. Bart’s. Beautiful mountain views over Naked Boy Hill and scenic views over to Dawn Beach Estates. The Westin is there but not a distraction for us. All floors have gorgeous views. Some of the units are finished and furnished. All the floors are marble and the walls and countertops in the bathrooms have soft beige marble. It’s furnished beautifully - very neat, clean and chic with clean lines, not cluttered or dark. The unit has floor to ceiling blackout drapes in beautiful and unusual colors and fabrics. Both bedrooms have 32 inch Sony Flat screen TV’s mounted above the dresser and the Living Room has a mounted 40 inch Sony Flat screen TV with a DVD player. There are two balconies. The main balcony is larger. It has six chairs and a six seat table which we used as the ocean view diningroom area. It is located off the Living room, but can be accessed via slider thru the Master Bedroom . It has gorgeous views of the ocean, Dawn beach and St. Bart’s. The other balcony is smaller and is located off the Guest Bedroom. It has a table and two chairs and has the same gorgeous views of the ocean, Dawn Beach and St. Bart’s.
The units are 2 bedroom / 2 bath . They can be rented as a 2bdrm/2ba or can be rented as a 1 bdrm with beautiful marble double sink vanity bathroom with shower&jacuzzi, full kitchen, living room and oceanview dining area or can be rented as a studio with oceanview balcony, same beautiful marble bathroom and full kitchenette ( including SS sink, SS microwave, 2 burner glass top stove and SS tall mini fridge). Both the Main Kitchen and Kitchenette are fully stocked with all the dishes, glasses, cups , pots, pans and utensils for the Chef in you, including coffee maker, toaster, and blender that sit countertop. Main Kitchen has SS Refrigerator, 4 burner glass top SS stove with oven, SS dishwasher, SS deep double sink, SS microwave with coffee maker, toaster, and blender that sits on sleek granite countertops, there is a three seat granite breakfast bar as well. Sheets and towels were brand new, very nice and plentiful. ( I hate when other hotels don’t give you enough towels ) Airconditioning works great - almost too great! Really cools it down quick. The unit has two zones, one for the Guest Bedroom and one for the Main Living area and Master Bedroom. That way if you are with another couple you can regulate your own A/C temperature. We had our sliders open at night to capture cool breezes and ocean sounds. We were surprised to find that there were no bugs or mosquitos . Housekeeping staff is exceptional at Princess Heights. They are friendly, reliable, neat and professional. The Front Desk staff is fantastic . They are helpful, thoughtful, professional and very accomodating. They helped us with several things during our stay on the Island. You can’t get better employees than at Princess Heights, from the Maintenance man to Housekeepers to F.D. Staff . They are precious and necessary to the continuing success of Princess Heights. Everyone there goes out of their way to make sure your stay is wonderful.
Unlike Princess Heights l , Princess Heights ll has an elevator for it’s 6 floors. And it works perfectly. For the fitness enthusiasts , you can always walk up the stairwell if you want. You can park your car on the upper lot and hop the elevator, very easy. Pool area had a few people, but for the most part, we had the pool area to ourselves. The pool is huge, quiet and immaculate. The condition of the pool is like new and water temperature was perfect. Nice to swim in a well taken care of pool. Fitness Center had all the necessary equipment, I looked in, but since I was there to rest, relax and eat , I thought I had better not enter or the gargoyles would scream. LOL !
The weather was good, the occassional downpour of rain here and there, but it never lasted for more than 15 minutes. Just enough to take the “hot” out and water the plants. We hit Dawn Beach several days . Sometimes we walked over thru the Westin and sometimes we drove over to the Westin and parked in the parking lot. We had lunch there several times and gambled there at night. Ocean is a wonderful restaurant and the oceanside Tiki Bar had wonderful sandwiches and drinks.
I am heading back in May and will stay at PH ll to see the finished product with landscaping in. I cannot wait ! It is such a beautiful place, best on the Island. Don’t hestitate to stay here. Exceptional place – views to die for.

FOOD

Daniel's by the Sea -
We both ahd Red Snapper Special - it was delicious! The light sauce on the fish was delicious and added just enough to make the meal perfect. Service is always consistantly good here.

Auberge Gourmande -
We both had the Dover Sole - filetted tableside - they did it once again-a fantastic meal! We go here every trip because they are consistantly perfect. Food is incredibly delicious. Service here is fanatastic.

Big Fish -
I had the Red Snapper with Bernaise, my S/O had the Kobe Ribs. Both meals were incredible. I found myself liking this Red Snapper even more than Daniel's. The fish was alittle thicker in size and tasted delicious. Service here was lacking as it took one hour from the time we placed our order to the next time we saw our waitress when she served us our food. The food was worth the wait!

Rare-
It was my birthday. Princess Heights called ahead to tell them it was my birthday because at the end of the meal ( even tho I was full ) the owners father ( whom is a lovely man ) brought over a dish full of homemade vanilla icecream with a sparkler lite ontop and had all the waiters sing Happy Birthday!! What a surprise! It was a beautiful jesture by a very nice man and I thank him for that. Back to the meal which was delicious! I had the filet mignon and my S/O had the sirloin. It was like eating at The Palm in NYC. Steaks were cooked to perfection and incredibly tasty. We followed that off with sweet potato fries, asparagus w/ bernaise and fried plantains. ( The fried plantains were like the ones they serve at The Columbia Restaurant in Florida ) DELISH!!! Service here is A+. This is how all the fine restaurants should be run.

Big Fish -
Yep, we headed back there again! Even tho the service was awful we thought if we got there early enough the service would be better. This time when we walked in, there was a marked difference in their attitude. They were very nice, pleasant , atttentive and seated us directly. They all recognized us from our first visit. Our male server was a pleasure. They were not as busy, so I will chalk up the first visit to an "off" night. This has become my favourite restaurant on Island for fish. We ordered the same thing, Red Snapper with Bernaise, and if possible, it was even better than two nights previously. We split a caeser salad, it's the best on Island.

Mr. Busby's - late lunch
I had the caesar salad with chicken and my S/O has the tuna melt and we ordered a side of ribs. Everything was great. Food is consistantly good. Nice place for a quick meal. Service was great.

Westin's Beach bar - lunch
We had the Vegetarian wrap which is fantastic! This is all I order when I go there because it is the BEST!. Service at the Westin is fabulous.

Mr. Busby's - breakfast
We tried their breakfast and it was great! Very affordable and great views that early in the AM.

MISC

We hit Atlantis Casino once, but mostly went to the Westin Casino. Won some Lost some. We stayed mostly at the PH pool or went across the street to the Westin pool and sat on Dawn Beach. Took a tour of the Westin condo model. It was ok. They look very worn already for being only 15 months old. We drove around the Island several times to check out all the new building and I must say that the Cupecoy area is just awful. They really destroyed what used to be a beautiful area. It's a concrete jungle with all the highrise buildings and the HUGE developement of the yacht club near the french border. We got stuck at the Simpson Bay Bridge when all the boats were coming in - it took about just over an hour. UGH! There has to be a better way to get those boats in. LOL ! I got some lovely pictures and video. All in all it was a great trip! I look forward to going back in two months.