25-cent hotel rooms in the U.S. Virgin Islands
To celebrate the release of the newly minted U.S. Virgin Islands quarter, the Department of Tourism has a promotion offering a limited number of 25-cent hotel rooms on the islands. For 25 days only - until Nov. 2 - travelers can book a maximum of three nights at participating hotels for 25 cents per night. You have to travel by Nov. 15 and the offer does not include resort fees or taxes. In addition, guests will receive a $25 dining credit and $25 activities credit. Also, reservations must be made at BookIt.com and must be air/hotel packages.
Hotel choices for the "CENTsational Sale" include Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, Carambola Beach Resort & Spa, Hibiscus Beach Resort, Hotel Caravelle, Marriott Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Beach Resort, Secret Harbour Beach Resort, The Palms at Pelican Cove, Windward Passage and Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & SpaNow. (Some hotels may have blackout dates.)
Now, I asked the tourism folks how many rooms were actually up for grabs and received an e-mail stating: "We can’t say at this time how many rooms/packages are available." As for taxes and fees, the average tax is about 7 percent, while fees vary. For example, the Secret Harbour Beach Resort has fees of $28 per night. If you're looking for a quick island escape this could be a great deal if the rooms are there and the airfares are not inflated in some way to make up for the cheap hotel. As usual, read the fine print.
Photo courtesy USVI Department of Tourism
Comments
This did not seem to be such a great value. I went to the site, booked a 3 night stay in one of the approved time periods, and it was over $1,000. Just did not appear to be a great deal.
I saw packages as low as $329 + $80 taxes/fees per person when I checked earlier today for a 3-night stay at Wyndham Sugar Bay, traveling from Baltimore. Added to that were $100 in airport transfer fees. That's the problem with booking a package, it's usually difficult to itemize what you're paying for each element. If the rooms are truly 25 cents, that would mean the airfare cost is $328.25, well within the range of believability. -MDZ
Posted by: Traveler | October 12, 2009 5:21 PM