Thank you Pat and Bobcat. We have just confirmed the exchange. No room number yet. Have seen people walking across the GC and road on the way to the beach many times.

Since we gave up our Pelican (SBR) rooms we have to rely on trading to SXM now. Stayed at Royal Islander last trip. Looking forward to The Towers

Figured we show start a new thread and let the Belaire thread stay on subject if anyone else needs info.

Any other info is appreciated. It gets decent RCI reviews as well as decent Trip Advisor reviews. SOS, rooms a little dated. It's a TS resort, not The Ritz. We understand a bit dated. Not like we hang out in the room all day.

TS Rentals
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You are welcome. When exchanges become difficult we rely on Endless Vacation rentals part of RCI, open to the general public, no fees, no membership, I have seen Towers on this site -and with AARP discounts take 25% off bookings, I put this option up if you should ever need it and for general readership.

Thanks Bobcat. Thats great info.

Rick and Grace,

A while back I saved a general Towers info sheet I had written too many times. I'll try to find it later and either post it here or email it to you.

And depending on your unit number, you may be surprised to discover, surprisingly enough, spending time in the room can be very pleasant, too. I can't tell you how many times we've taken a book or a magazine out to the balcony with great intentions of reading for an hour or two and have fallen asleep before reading a full page. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

We almost always make breakfast in the room and eat it on the balcony. Last year at Royal Islander we were on the balcony early every morning watching the cruise ships come in. In the late afternoon after beaching all day we usually had a cocktail and watched them leave again. An ocean view would be nice. Lagoon too.

Pat, how are the rooms? As I said, we used to own at Pelican and they were rather dated before the renovation. After that they raised our maintenance to something stupid and we gave them up so we never so the renovations.

Dated is not something I worry too much about. Broken or dirty is another matter entirely. Every review I read said dated but clean. I'm ok with that.

Oh and I forgot to say thank you in advance for the info sheet.

Rick and Grace,

I wrote this a while back after answering these questions about a gazillion times. I've gone through it quickly and up-dated a few things and hope you're able to make use of it.

The two bedroom units at the Towers are huge - the front door and hallway leads into full kitchen w/dining area, and huge living room with flat screen tv with the main balcony off the living room; guestroom has two twin beds made up as a queen also with a flat screen tv in the armoire and a dressing area; a full hall bath (used mostly by guestroom occupants); master bedroom with ensuite bath and dressing area as well as king sized bed and flat screen tv, and a small standing only balcony.

In general, The Towers is about 25+ years old now - it's a single building that features a lovely pool, pool bar and a small minimal work-out room. There are no restaurants on site but you can purchase burgers, dogs and fries and perhaps salad plates at the pool bar, and there was talk they were starting to prepare breakfasts as the pool but having taken a peak at their new menu, I thought personally they breakfasts were a bit over-price myself, and having been there again since I first wrote this, please, don’t anyone depend on them serving breakfasts at the pool. It might happen and then again, it most likely, might not.

There is an activities desk run by Terry that hosts a Monday morning activities spiel on the pool deck complete with a flute of champagne, coffee and sometimes, pastries - she really knows what goes on and if she doesn’t have an immediate answer to your question, she'll get one fast. There is a laundry area but I have never used it though judging from photos someone posted here within the past few months, it looks just fine, and my understanding is you need to purchase tokens from the front desk staff. Again, I haven’t used it but I understand it’s not inexpensive so you might want to consider an outside laundry service.

You absolutely NEED a car to stay at the Towers and you can arrange a rental through the them or on your own wherever you choose. It's a 5 to 10 minute walk down the driveway, across the road and across the fairway to the beach, however, IMO those few minutes seem like a lifetime walking back when you're hot and sweaty and sandy and carrying all kinds of 'stuff' that we all take to the beach.

The beach at Mullet Bay is very nice but it has a temper (temperament?) and character all its own and can be like a bathtub in the morning or like a roiling whirlpool a few hours later.

There are two food/drink/chair rental concessions on the beach at Mullet and there may be a porta-potty but it costs a dollar and the rumor last I heard says you might prefer to go back to your room if staying at The Towers, but if not, remember to bring tissues and wear shoes.

You are entitled to free beach chairs - the green ones only - and not the ones set up with umbrellas in front of the concession stands. You can rent an umbrella daily from the concessions for about $8 to $10.00 a day or from the Towers activity desk for the week. The Towers beach chair man, often Wayne, will set it up for you. The chairs are locked and you have to find him to get them (or one of the guys at Rosie's if you can't find him...) but he will set you up and even your umbrella if you smile and ask nicely. And of course, tips are always very much appreciated.

The Towers itself is an older ergo dated property - the rooms are well maintained and have recently gotten new bedding and appliances and new soft goods since, too. They are always immaculate and have everything you need to enjoy yourself for the week, flat screen TVs, stereos, DVD player perhaps, internet which once upon a time was free and I think they now charge $35.00 or $40.00 for a week of unlimited usage, and yes, it can often be spotty at times depending on the number of users.

They have fully equipped kitchens with dishwasher, microwave, stove with oven, full-sized fridge w/icemaker, and all the utensils and dishes to be able to prepare a meal if you so desire; airco throughout; blow dryer in each bath and plenty of towels in the unit as well as beach towels available on the pool deck. Fresh towels and trash removal are done daily and the beds are stripped and changed once midweek along with a full refresh of the unit. Read your check-in info packet to know which day your unit will be done. The maids do not do beds or dishes daily but if you want full-service you can arrange and pay for it at the front desk. Personally, I don't think it's worth it but we tend to be very neat and I have no issue making the bed.

And the best feature to me is every unit has at least one porch/balcony depending on the floor you're on. Our family's units range from the 6th to the 8th floor (daughter and son in law have one of the two three-bedroom units up there) and those high up balconies are wonderful.

The Towers setting is pretty serene and the pool deck is perfect for napping or reading and is generally NOT very busy and as of our Dec. 2015 trip, there's been a recent infusion of new umbrellas, chairs and chair mats, and if you see one 'saved' check with the pool staff as this is not allowed for more than an hour while people might go back to their room for lunch or drinks. After an hour, they're supposed to make it available to anyone who might want to use it.

What you have to know is this property has a sad history because of a major storm in the general area and it is not spiffy/glitzy and new, but it's still one of the best timeshares on the island, IMO. The staff will go out of their way to help you if you approach them with kindness and a smile and a please and thank you, and their honesty is beyond question and without a doubt. And the place itself is more than comfortable.

If you're a walker to begin with, you could easily walk from The Towers during the day to either Cupecoy Beach and/or the Atlantis Casino area and all it has to offer, or to the Maho shopping area and all its different options including a casino and lots of dinner and drink choices. The thing is, DO NOT do this at night - the roads are narrow and don't have sidewalks and cars fly through the area and you really can't see well enough to walk the golf course in the dark, which isn't a good idea anyway. In the past there were a lot of problems with disreputable individuals hiding in the derelict buildings but I think that's pretty much a thing of the past now that all those buildings have been demolished.

I love my Towers time and enjoy returning there at the end of a busy island day spent wherever doing whatever, whenever, but absolute truth be known, there are some days when we're so busy chillin’ (aka limin’) at the Towers that we don't even leave in the first place, and an afternoon nap on the balcony is not at all unheard of.

Okay, those are a lot of generalities and I don't know if there's anything there you were wondering about or not but please, if you have any other questions or specifics to add, I'll be more than willing to answer as I can.

The entire area from the archway at the end of the Maho shops all the way up to the medical school just before Atlantis/Cupecoy is pretty generally referred to as Mullet Bay, most of which are roads and the golf course, and the beach there, obviously, is Mullet Bay Beach.

Trust me, the rooms are considerably more than just a place to sleep at night and I would suggest to you, because of the college new construction next door, the better rooms right now are numbered from -04 through -09 and obviously, higher is always better for the views which are pretty darned nice for the most part. The studios are large for studios and you still have a full kitchen and a bath with shower but no tub.

And regarding some people wanting to check it out, I'm sure they'd have no problem with that and truthfully, I'm thinking if you were to park in the parking lot just beyond the front door and go into the building to the Front Desk, they might, if they had a free staff person handy, even be able to show you a room for future reference.

And if they couldn't do that, as long as you let them know who you are and what you're doing there they'd have no issue with you checking out at least the pool and bar areas.

To get to the pool just follow the sidewalk the length of the building and out to the pool deck. There are restrooms there and the work-out room is back there, too, along with the towel cabana and the pool bar. They offer happy hour for some drinks from three to six pm but remember, not all drinks are included.

Somewhere there are a couple of tennis courts but I'm thinking they're probably not very well maintained and you have to walk down the driveway and a short way through the woods onto the old Mullet property to get to them. There is at least one couple/family that plays 3-4 times a week every April when we're there. The last I knew personally was a couple of years ago when my husband and granddaughter played a few times but I do know the Towers staff still maintains them for the guests. I believe they are the courts from the original Mullet Bay Tennis Village of yesteryear but we're not tennis players so I've not paid that much attention to them.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to ask away.

Pat, I can't thank you enough for that information. You are an encyclopedia of Tower information. I know who to ask if I can think of something you forgot??? Nah I don't think you forgot anything.

I used the laundry facilities yesterday. $3 to wash & $3 to dry. The place is clean. Two washers & two dryers.
If you walk across the golf course please be careful. If there are golfers in sight to your right you could be in danger.
Our unit has a new dishwasher and dehumidifier. The ice maker in the fridge is a champ. If I recall correctly the studio refrigerator does not have an ice maker, but the ladies at the bar will fill your ice bucket for you.
The furniture is of good quality so does not get "updated" like some other places. We have a two BR unit. In our younger years we lived year round in much less. Like Pat, we are Towers fans.

Janice,

TY for the heads-up re the laundry. I've never used it but someone told me it was $5.00 each for tokens for the washer and the dryer plus detergent so it seemed easier to just have it done but I'll keep this in mind for future trips.

Good Morning Pat. I just got a confirmation email from RCI that gave me the Unit number. Unit 609. I see in your notes that it's in the preferred range. Do you think 6th floor is high enough for the views you speak about? Or should we request something higher at check in if available?

Thanks
Rick and Grace

Great view - same as my moms just a floor below. Building only has 8 floors.

Thank you Kim. Does it look out over Mullet or does it look over there Lagoon?

Rick and Grace,

The 609 unit will have a master bedroom balcony view of Mullet but remember, it's a very small porch about perfect for two people to stand on only.

The main balcony off the livingroom will look out over the golfcourse and out the driveway but at the same time, you will see Mullet pond and lagoon and whatever boats happened to be moored there at the time, along with the French hills in the distance. You can actually see Creole Rock from there along with the old tower at LaBelle Creole if you look hard and get your bearings, and in the far far distance, you can see the lights of Anguilla at night.

IMHO, it's the best of all the views in the building but then doesn't everyone feel that way about what they own?! Looking from the end of the main balcony you can see the cruise ships passing by Mullet Beach on their way into and out of town but you have to be quick because they soon disappear on the other side of the airport. DH most enjoys watching the planes take off over the hills - you hear and then you see them as they climb and disappear.

We love to sit out there in the early morning and have our breakfast and count the ships as they pass by. And then again, we love to lay out there in the afternoon and take a nap or a little later sit out there and enjoy cocktail hour and whatever you fancy in the line of cold drinks. I'd love to say we thoroughly enjoy being out there in the evenings, too, for a glass of wine before bedtime, but only on the evenings there's a breeze blowing because with the lights on in the unit, the moskies can be bad even that high up in the building.

I think you'll be more than happy with the view. Another feature of the higher 09s is the fact you can usually turn the ac off and open the sliders to allow the breezes to cool the unit. I think our December trip we only needed the air on two nights out of the full two weeks we were there. I always suggest you check the condition of your screens upon arrival if you might enjoy having the sliders open. If they're not in good condition, let the front desk know - the maintenance men can usually repair them for you. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I "think" if I am correct that it looks a bit towards the lagoon but you could look out to the right and possibly see Mullet. I think it would have a pretty nice view from the 6th floor, probably one of the better views.

Cheers,
T

two floors above and one unit toward the pool. but pretty much your view

And here is a night shot - basically your view off the main porch. I

Night Time

Kim--that seems to be the same picture to me??

Yeah and I give up!!!!

How weird, now the only thing that's there is the night shot. Nice shot though!

Thank you Pat, Todd and Kim for thee information and thee pictures. I am sure wwe will be very happy with everything.

My iPad keeps doubling up my e's. Almost time for a new one.

Rick & Grace, I sent you two videos taken this afternoon from the balconies of 609. Let me know if they did not get to you.

Me, too! Me, too! Please! One snowstorm and I need an island fix!! Hope you're having a great trip. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I have not received any videos. Did you try to send to my e-mail? Maybe you can try to send an e-mail without an attachment to see if I get it. I know it's about the last thing you would want to do.