Pleasant conversation with Bolongo Bay

[CrystalM]

I'm in the process of decided what hotel to stay at in St. Thomas and Bolongo Bay so far is the first person to get back to me. I am surprised with the service by Katarina Doumeng. She is one of the owners (as far as I can tell from the website). This is the email conversation:

 

From: Crystal

To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Subject: Group Rates

Hi, I'm getting married on St. Thomas on May 1, 2010 and I wanted to find out what your group rates are. I currently expect, based on feedback from close friends and family, to need 10-20 rooms. Thanks.

Crystal

 

 

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From: Katarina Doumeng <[email protected]>

To: Crystal

Subject: RE: Group Rates

Hi Crystal

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. We would love to have you and your guests stay here at Bolongo with us. Before I give you rates, let me know if you are looking for All Inclusive rates or just our regular room rates?

Katarina Doumeng

 

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From: Crystal

To: Katarina Doumeng

Subject: Re: Group Rates

Just regular room rates

 

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From: Katarina Doumeng <[email protected]>

To: Crystal Cc: [email protected]

Subject: RE: Group Rates

If you and your guests make your reservations by October 31, 2008 I can give you following rates (not combinable with any other special promotion)

 

Value room $125.00

Oceanview room $175.00

Beachfront room $205.00

 

15% tax/resort fee and $5.00 per day energy surcharge is additional

 

Let me know if you want me to make an account so your guests can start making reservations for this rate?

Do you already have a wedding site and coordinator? We do offer wedding packages here at Bolongo so if you need help planning your special day, contact our wedding planner Lori Leonard by email [email protected] or by calling 1 800 524 4746 ext 2530.

Katarina Doumeng

 

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From: Crystal

To: Katarina Doumeng

Subject: Re: Group Rates

 

I could have some do the reservations by then (myself, parents, wedding party), but my actual invites are not going out until late Dec/early Jan, what would the rates be then?

 

 

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From: Katarina Doumeng <[email protected]>

To: Crystal

Subject: RE: Group Rates

Depending on availability I might be able to honor the rates above. If I am getting tight I can give following rates:

Value room $145.00

Oceanview room $225.00

Beachfront room $250.00

15% tax/resort fee and $5.00 per day energy surcharge is additional

Katarina Doumeng

 

 

I might be a little too used to chain hotels that are cut and dry about policies and such, but I thought I'd pass on the info to the other St. Thomas brides!

[Prettyhazardous]

Wow some of those rares really increased. Maybe you could check with a TA and see what rates they could get at the same place They may be able to hold more rooms at the lower price.

[CrystalM]

I'm planning on it. I just don't know the 1st place to look

[JoLo908]

I went to St. Thomas in June... Definitely do AI, the island itself is really expensive. (food and such). We stayed at the Marriot and and Secret Harbor. We met people who stayed at Bolongo and loved it. A good place to grab food/drinks in Charlotte Amelie that is not killer expensive and has good food is the Greenhouse. A splurge, but AMAZING dinner and atmosphere is the Blue Moon Cafe at Secret Harbor. Expensive, but one of the best meals FI have ever had.

[CrystalM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoLo908 I went to St. Thomas in June... Definitely do AI, the island itself is really expensive. (food and such). We stayed at the Marriot and and Secret Harbor. We met people who stayed at Bolongo and loved it. A good place to grab food/drinks in Charlotte Amelie that is not killer expensive and has good food is the Greenhouse. A splurge, but AMAZING dinner and atmosphere is the Blue Moon Cafe at Secret Harbor. Expensive, but one of the best meals FI have ever had.

Secret Harbour has already ticked me off. I emailed them to ask about group rates and instead of answering the question they did a sales pitch on getting married there, holding the reception there and that they don't discuss group rates until they have a wedding contract and all the rooms have a deposit.

What did you think of the Marriott? I've heard alot of bad things about it.

I looked into it. Best rates given were about $300-$400/night I think. I asked my fiance about AI, and he said "Absolutely not". He has his eye on some places to eat already.

[m&d2011]

thanks for info ladies! i def need an AI

[mekanabr]

I might be a little behind with this post, but if you are willing to spend the money, the all inclusive at Bolongo Bay cannot be beat. They offer you top shelf premium drinks all day and night and the food is to die for. I literally day dream about the food from Bolongo Bay, it was FANTASTIC! You do have to make a reservation for the Lobster Grill, but its worth the minimal effort. You can eat lobster and steak every night with an app and desert and drinks, all included in the AI plan. My FI still talks about the coconut shrimp from Iggies (it was 3 yrs ago!) The people that work here are super friendly and really accomodating. We stayed in one of the 2 bdrm condos at the far end of the beach and it was very nice. One other cool thing is that you get a nice mix of locals bc the restaurants and bars are open to the public (which is why the quality is so superior to the regular AI). It was really fun to get dinner and then hang out at Iggies or the Lobster Grill and chat with other guests and people from around St. Thomas. One down side was that the beach wasn't as nice as a few others on the island (Saphire Beach etc) but it was still fun. If you are looking for a nice, small hotel for your guests I would highly recommend Bolongo Bay!

[VirginIslandGirl]

The Wyndham Sugar Bay also has all-inclusive. But if your three choices are Mafolie,

Secret Harbour or Bolongo Bay, I would go with Bolongo Bay.

[rtownsend]

Thanks everyone all that info has been helpful! I'm currently trying to decide on a resort for our DW at the end of may 2011. I just got off the phone w/ the wedding director at Sugar Bay but think I may look for extensively at Bolongo Bay as well! Anyone know what the AI food is like at sugar bay?