Room upgrades worth the $$$??

tcnoble · August 2014

Just looking for some opinions on paying for that next level of room category for your honeymoon. We are going to Secrets Maroma Beach and currently have the junior suite ocean view booked... But playing with the idea of upgrading. Those of you who have booked, or have honeymooned, what's your general feeling on upgrading?? I know some of it comes down to personal preference, just curious what others may say

ETF I can't do math and the upgrade we were eyeing is out of our range. Bummer.

JoanE2012 · August 2014

tcnoble said:

Just looking for some opinions on paying for that next level of room category for your honeymoon. We are going to Secrets Maroma Beach and currently have the junior suite ocean view booked... But playing with the idea of upgrading. Those of you who have booked, or have honeymooned, what's your general feeling on upgrading?? I know some of it comes down to personal preference, just curious what others may say ETF I can't do math and the upgrade we were eyeing is out of our range. Bummer.

Make sure you let the hotel know it's your honeymoon. You never know, perhaps you'll get an upgrade if one's available. Or, you might get some other perk. Doesn't hurt.

WinstonsGirl · August 2014

I've never upgraded while travelling, cos for the most part, we sleep there and don't do much else in the hotel, so as long as it's clean and quiet, I'm good. I think it would be really nice though.

AprilH81 · August 2014

We paid $300 to upgrade to a swim up room (we booked a garden view) when we Honeymooned at Excellence Punta Cana. To us it wasn't worth the money, we didn't get any more amenities and actually ended up losing privacy at the end of the week because of the travel of other guests in front of our room. I wish we had just saved our money.

delujm0 · August 2014

Kind of depends on what your plan is. We basically wanted to be alone, so for the safari portion of our honeymoon i booked a room with a private pool rather than the regular room so that we could just hang out by ourselves instead of at the big pool. I thought it was worth it. It was an extra $200/night.

If it's in your budget and you're getting some extra amenities out of it (private pool for example) it could be worth it. I wouldn't have thrown down extra money just to get a slightly larger room though. There would have to be someting demonstratively different about the overall experience for me to pay the extra cash.

lyndausvi · August 2014

I generally do not find upgrades worth it unless it's to a club level (normally comes with food options like free breakfast, snacks throughout the day) or on cruises where the rooms are fairly small or to move to an outside room.

On our HM we stayed in some rooms in Europe and Africa that were the size of a postage stamp to a full blown suite and everything in between. Sure the suite in on safari was amazing, but I would not have been able to justify the larger suite. The small rooms in Paris and Amsterdam suited us just fine for our needs.

but it really depends on how you travels. Activities and meals are way more important to us then the size of the room. I feel we get more out of upgrading meals (i.e. going to a fancier place) or upgrading seats at a show, booking a cabana for the day, doing a special activity (helicopter ride for an example) then we do having upgrading our room. After the wow factor of the bigger room it's hardly noticeable for us.

tcnoble · August 2014

Thanks for the replies!! At this point we would be upgrading for a room located in a building closer to the ocean - we already booked an ocean view room, this would just put us a closer (ocean FRONT is a $2k upgrade. Yikes). It would cost $500 - and while I loooove sitting on the balcony listening to and enjoying the ocean, $500 would cover a lot of (if not all) our "fun" money while we are there... So I think we will forego the upgrade this trip.

AprilH81 · August 2014

tcnoble said:

Thanks for the replies!! At this point we would be upgrading for a room located in a building closer to the ocean - we already booked an ocean view room, this would just put us a closer (ocean FRONT is a $2k upgrade. Yikes). It would cost $500 - and while I loooove sitting on the balcony listening to and enjoying the ocean, $500 would cover a lot of (if not all) our "fun" money while we are there... So I think we will forego the upgrade this trip.

Yeah, if it is just a closer building I wouldn't do it either.

dragonavicious · August 2014

For that price, I agree that it's maybe not worth it just to be moved closer. I mean, you are going to the beach anyway right so an ocean view is nice. For me that would be enough because I would want the extra money to go on adventures and buy fun stuff. But if you guys just want to relax and enjoy each other's company then a big room may be worth it for you.

tcnoble · August 2014

AprilH81 said:

tcnoble said:

Thanks for the replies!! At this point we would be upgrading for a room located in a building closer to the ocean - we already booked an ocean view room, this would just put us a closer (ocean FRONT is a $2k upgrade. Yikes). It would cost $500 - and while I loooove sitting on the balcony listening to and enjoying the ocean, $500 would cover a lot of (if not all) our "fun" money while we are there... So I think we will forego the upgrade this trip.

Yeah, if it is just a closer building I wouldn't do it either.

The room would still be an ocean view, but it would be closer and in a "preferred club" building. I've read countless trip advisor posts and the general consensus is that the preferred club isn't worth it. I just have a fear, after looking at the property map, that we will end up with a room in a building furthest from the beach lol so it's a constant debate about if the $500 is worth the peace of mind.

AprilH81 · August 2014

Don't do it, stay strong! lol

As long as you can see the ocean you will be fine.

tcnoble · August 2014

AprilH81 said:

Don't do it, stay strong! lol

As long as you can see the ocean you will be fine.

I know, I know. I just have to think of all the things we could do with $500!

SBmini · August 2014

Here's what I would do- keep your Junior Suite and ask about an upgrade when you get there. Throw in that it is your honeymoon. If they have an upgrade available- that room probably will not be sold and they will be likely to give it to you without extra cost. It is likely easier for them to book a lesser room last minute than a full on suite. I've gotten a lot of upgrades by simply asking.

kaos16 · August 2014

Also, Secrets has a pretty cool honeymoon package. I don't recall any cost associated with it, we just had to show a copy of our marriage license or invitation. They gave us some neat little perks. I'd look into that.

tcnoble · August 2014

SBmini said:

Here's what I would do- keep your Junior Suite and ask about an upgrade when you get there. Throw in that it is your honeymoon. If they have an upgrade available- that room probably will not be sold and they will be likely to give it to you without extra cost. It is likely easier for them to book a lesser room last minute than a full on suite. I've gotten a lot of upgrades by simply asking.

Great idea!! But how do you ask for an upgrade without implying you'll pay for it?? What's the best verbiage to use?

SBmini · August 2014

I just ask if they have a better/bigger room available. What you get depends 100% on the staff and availability. Go in there expecting a Junior Suite and then you won't be disappointed if they don't have anything or if staff won't upgrade you. I've had it happen to me a few times where the room I booked was not up to expectations. Either the view was less than I thought it would be, or neighbors were noisy. I politely asked if they had something better because of above issue and boom- nicer room on a higher floor no extra charge. Once, when staying in Vegas for my sister's 21st birthday the room we got was disgusting! There were black hairs in the tub, lights that didn't work. Just foul. We called down to the front desk right away, they sent someone up, who took one look at the room and promptly put us in the biggest suite they had available. In short- it never hurts to ask, and it never hurts to be honest when conditions aren't up to your expectations.

tcnoble · August 2014

That is all very good advice @SBmini‌ !! I guess I just don't want to inquire about a bigger room or any available upgrades and insinuate we would be able to pay for it...

Room upgrades worth the $$$??

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