Blue Angel Concerns

[DandyDon]

BA's rooms are larger then the superior rooms at Villablanca? Never been to BA, but the superior rooms at VB are pretty big.

No. BA rooms are very roomy, and while I don't know the footage, I am confident that they are larger than VB's regular rooms, but not the 650 Sq.Ft superior rooms - but he didn't say that.

VB's 650 Sq.Ft rooms can be obtained for much less than BA's rooms, depending on how you book maybe half the cost or less, but there's a lot more to the comparison.

Both nice hotels, but get the Superior if you do VB - worth the extra!

 

[DiverG]

No. BA rooms are very roomy, and while I don't know the footage, I am confident that they are larger than VB's regular rooms, but not the 650 Sq.Ft superior rooms - but he didn't say that.

VB's 650 Sq.Ft rooms can be obtained for much less than BA's rooms, depending on how you book maybe half the cost or less, but there's a lot more to the comparison.

Both nice hotels, but get the Superior if you do VB - worth the extra!

Thats what I was thinking, but since I have'nt stayed at the BA I couldn't be sure. I did eat at the BA restaurant one evening a couple of years ago, and enjoyed the food.

 

[farsidefan1]

Dandydon, that is one LAZY a.. person who finds it too far to walk from Villablanca to BA:coolingoff:. Pretty short walk. The only time I have seen short air was on nitrox fills. Around 2,700.

 

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

If I had to guess, I'd say the superior rooms at VB are close to the same size as Blue Angel's, but the layout is totally different. VB superior is more suite-like. You can also factor in that if you're on something other than the ground floor, the Blue Angel's balconies are bigger--and, of course, have a more direct sea view. The Villablanca superior rooms have tiny, shallow little balconies that are exactly big enough for two small chairs facing one another plus a little knee room (I'm not sure the standard rooms have balconies at all, per se, but it looks like there's plenty of lounging space back there). Also there's more room to hang wet stuff on the BA balconies. The superior room we stayed at Villablanca did have a great daybed/couch, and the refrigerator was nearly full-size, which was nice. I remain more of a fan of BA than of VB, but VB is ok, and I did appreciate the hot tub after getting chilled on a couple of dives. When you factor in weekend bar noise, I think Blue Angel might be the quieter of the two hotels.

 

[DandyDon]

Ann's comparison is right on I think, except we were halfway back by the central stairway at the VB so never heard any noise, and my room has a dining table rather than couch. The bathrooms were huge, but the bathtubs are silly as the water is too restricted to fill one. Only two levels in our building; downstairs had patios.

VB's courtyard is spacious and lovely. In a faster changing location, some developer would tear it all down and put in a hotel with twice as many rooms. I hope nothing changes really.

 

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

Don, we were about three or four rooms back from the stairway as well. Fortunately, they were only playing the loud music one of the nights we were there--the Christmas holidays may have either limited their evenings and/or caused them to party harder the nights they did play, I don't know--but it was thumping loud, and the music kept me up until 2 am despite our only having about three hours of sleep under our belts from the pre-dawn arrival-flight rigamarole. We were diving with a couple of women who were staying back in the standard rooms, and one was kept awake for days (they had arrived earlier), while the other slept through it just fine. So it may be a very individual thing. The VB grounds are indeed pretty. Something people might want to know about VB--they changed their wifi setup halfway into our trip. Supposedly their new system has better coverage going to the rooms, but it's not free. Once they changed it, we could only get free wifi if we were by the hot tub or office. And it was kind of spotty. At Blue Angel, we could never get it in our rooms either, but the downstairs lounge area was so comfortable and communal, we didn't mind.

 

[blue steal]

I do love the large balconies at the BA. I hang all my wet gear there for drying, plus hang out with a beer in the evening. Wifi is good in the BA lobby, but in our room I could only get it if I was close to the sliding door or always could get it on the balcony.

 

[bcaderunr]

OK, I'll chime in. I'm a big BA fan (for the past 5 years) and was unable to get a room there 3 weeks ago. We'd already booked air, so we tried Villablanca with Scuba Mau for the first time. Last few posts pretty much nailed it. The Superior rooms are 1/2 again larger than BA and are quieter, but the balconies are tiny and there's no substitue for the view you get at BA -- anywhere.

We ended up eating/taking away at the BA restaurant at least 3 evenings. It really matches up with any restaurant on the island for local preparations, margaritas and cost. I felt bad for the guy running the VB restaurant. He was very congenial, served up a fine egg breakfast (included with the room) with decent coffee every morning, but I hardly saw anyone eating any other meals there.

The grounds are nice and there is a hot tub (always occupied) but the beach/pool/shore at BA remain my (and the missus) preference. There's something about BA that just works -- in every respect. I'm going back again at the beginning of March -- and just can't wait.

Scuba Mau was great and I'd use them again if BA were not an option. I'm pretty low maintenance and have my own gear. Their friendly, casual operation fit my needs just fine and I got to dive in pretty much the same style as I do with BA -- up to the limits of my computer and air (within reason).

So -- in a nutshell, for essentially the same price, BA would be my preference, but if it didn't exist, VB gets it done as an adequate substitue.

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah, BA is indeed a nice place.

for essentially the same price, BA would be my preference

Well, yeah - if that could be done, it would be nice. Not even close now. I'd not stayed anyplace else for many years until they went up so much. Depending on how I book, I can get a VB superior room alone for less than $60/night including taxes, or with plane ticket package and Orbitz discount for about $40/night as a single. BA's rooms run about twice that don't they? Which is fine, as they seem to be booking ok at the higher prices - just that they are.

I wonder what the problem is for dinner at the VB cafe? It's a one man operation as far as I can tell, maybe just too limited, but I wonder if it'd help to promote dinners on a special board put out at breakfast? You don't have any idea what to expect unless you try it I guess, and most don't.

 

[bcaderunr]

As for costs comparisons, it's a little apples/oranges but here goes. Airfare aside, here's the deal:

VB: $885 - Superior room for 2, with "American" breakfast included: eggs, potatoes, toast, juice, coffee. Anything else off the menu (pancakes, etc.) you pay. This also included 5 days, 2 tank for ONE diver at Scuba Mau. Wife doesn't dive.

BA: $1300 - Room for 2, with ANY breakfast you want with juice, coffee; ANY lunch on the 5 dive days with drink included and 1 dinner with drink included any day of the week. This includes 5-day, 2-tank diving for TWO divers.

Bottom line: $415 more at BA, but it includes one more 5-day, 2-tank dive pkg, ANY breakfast you want every day, lunch for two with drinks on 5 diving days and dinner for two with drinks on night of choice. For me, that's a wash.