The Crane unit assignment assistance needed

I have a reservation at The Crane in October. My husband and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary and we so much want a unit with a plunge pool. I emailed reservations and they said I could upgrade for $58.00 per night, blah, blah, blah.
I know there has been success with compleimentary upgrades posted on this sight.
Does anyone have a managers email or insight into getting a complimentary upgrade?
Please help me.

Beachlady said:

I have a reservation at The Crane in October. My husband and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary and we so much want a unit with a plunge pool. I emailed reservations and they said I could upgrade for $58.00 per night, blah, blah, blah.
I know there has been success with compleimentary upgrades posted on this sight.
Does anyone have a managers email or insight into getting a complimentary upgrade?
Please help me.

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We will be at the Crane from October 30 - November 5. This will be our first visit to The Residences at The Crane and our second visit to Barbados. Will our visits overlap?

We will be there from October 16 - 23. Please be sure to give me some tips from your visit. Are you visiting on a RCI exchange?

Sorry; I guess I'll need to give you the tips!

I hope someone with insight will chime in also about unit assignments for exchangers

My husband and I also will be celebrating an anniversary and want a plunge pool. We're still trying to determine whether or not to commit to buying airline tickets, but feel we need to do this soon since it is Easter Week.

I was going to contact the resort regarding assignment of the unit. I would think that through Points, based on the number of points used, a particular 1BR room type would be assigned. I would like to have an idea how this is handled before calling. Knowledge is power!

Beware- the plunge pools stay very cold. They are not heated and the sun does not hit on most of them long enough to heat them up.

Just curious do you all own the crane or exchange in? What would pull the crane? I have a friend that bought 2 weeks there around February form the developer

Joan

I am a HGVC owner and exchanged in with points at exactly 10 months.

I am also an HGVC owner and exchanged via RCI.

Exchanged in at exactly 10 mths w/RCI Points

I have read that the plunge pools can be cold because of being covered without direct sun. What about those 28' pools? Someone must know about the assignment of units based on exchanging in with Points. Right?

Caribbean,

I still can't decide on this resort/Barbados. It's kind of like when I confirmed a DVC 2BR exchange for Easter week this past year. Wow! I did it! But after thinking about it for a few months, I cancelled it. Our family just isn't into Disney World any more. Plus, the Disney experience would not be something the two 16 year olds would be interested in at all. We went to the Bahamas for Easter week instead and stayed on Cable Beach in a 3BR/3BA oceanfront townhouse that, for our family of four, was the perfect place. Although many reviews were negative about this place and I kept wondering if I had made a mistake in confirming it, I now believe that if I went back to this area of the Bahamas, that place is the place that I would want to stay. We hung around the resort, which had a waterfront pool and a little Tiki Bar and did some sailing/boating/snorkeling excursions. That was about it and we all had a great time.

We're trying to determine if the Residences at the Crane/Barbados is going to be "all that." I put that out there on TUG earlier and only got one response.

We don't participate in resort sponsored activities too much. We do enjoy using resort amenities. We enjoy active excursions/activities while visiting new places. We're looking for a place where the two of us can enjoy ourselves away in a warm area in March/April/May.

Am I just interested in the Residences at the Crane because I got it and it appears to be a "high end" place? Or would we have a better time going somewhere else in the Caribbean? I can't figure this one out yet, but I don't want to wait too long to buy airfares. There's few flights from our area that are reasonable flight times and are within our desired budget for Easter Week.

Caribbean,

Have you been to the Crane? Are there Islands/resorts that you have been to elsewhere in the Caribbean that met your wants/needs more so than the Crane? I know personal tastes differ, but I'm on the fence on this one and could use input from anyone who has been to the Crane. It just seemed like hubby and I having our own private pool attached to our accommodations would be crazy fantastic!

Thanks, All

Crane - "on the fence"

I wrote a review of the Crane that is posted and dated from our visit on 7/10/10. Send me a note if you would like more information about the resort.
Its hard for me to judge if you would like it or not; different people are into different things. We have had other RCI exchanges in the Caribbean, including Aruba, Grand Cayman, Cancun (twice), Playa Del Carmen, and St. Maarten. You mentioned Disney is not really your thing, but we are headed back to Disney yet again in the spring, so maybe our tastes are different!
I think I can say that Barbados was not my favorite of all our trips, but I'm certainly glad that we went, and I don't regret it. The resort is massive, the pools are peaceful, and we enjoyed the quietness of the entire area, as opposed to the constant traffic of a place like Cancun. Good luck with your decision!

Thank you and I will read your review. I had read the others prior.

Janann said:

I wrote a review of the Crane that is posted and dated from our visit on 7/10/10. Send me a note if you would like more information about the resort.
Its hard for me to judge if you would like it or not; different people are into different things. We have had other RCI exchanges in the Caribbean, including Aruba, Grand Cayman, Cancun (twice), Playa Del Carmen, and St. Maarten. You mentioned Disney is not really your thing, but we are headed back to Disney yet again in the spring, so maybe our tastes are different!
I think I can say that Barbados was not my favorite of all our trips, but I'm certainly glad that we went, and I don't regret it. The resort is massive, the pools are peaceful, and we enjoyed the quietness of the entire area, as opposed to the constant traffic of a place like Cancun. Good luck with your decision!

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I've considered Cancun in the past, but I don't really think that is somewhere that would currently interest us. We did a Tradewinds cruise in the BVI's two years ago and that was right on target for us for the most part (the constant hard sell on the trip and once we got back to home port was the only negative). The couple that were Captain and First Mate indicated that St Maarten was their favorite place in the Caribbean. A lot of folks here on TUG seem to love Aruba. I'd love to visit Hawaii, but that is not doable for awhile because I would definitely want 3 weeks for travel to and from the East Coast and visiting a couple of islands.

It would be hard for someone to really assist me in determining where to go since I'm not really quite sure what it is that I want from this upcoming vacation.

Egret1986 said:

It would be hard for someone to really assist me in determining where to go since I'm not really quite sure what it is that I want from this upcoming vacation.

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Hello. I can't really help you with your decision to take or not take the Crane as I've not stayed there. But I've been going to Barbados for many years now. I can tell you that the Crane is in an out of the way area, but as Barbados is only 21 miles long x 16 miles wide, nothing on the island is very far. The Crane is beautiful, and the beach very nice. There are many day tours you can take to round out your vacation - catamaran cruises that including swimming with turtles, land tours to visit Orchid World, Harrison's Cave, the East Coast with it's huge waves, historical buildings. The weather is always great, the beaches excellent, and there are many restaurants of varying price ranges. There is the Oistins Fish Fry that is a great evening to sample fresh cooked fish with peas & rice & veggies and local entertainment. There are also golf courses.

Thanks to TUG for the exchange

Tacoma said:

Just curious do you all own the crane or exchange in? What would pull the crane? I have a friend that bought 2 weeks there around February form the developer

Joan

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I traded into the Crane with HGVC. I seem to remember that I saw something on the TUG message boards about the Crane being traded on the points side of RCI rather than weeks, and after a little checking I was able to get a unit online at 10 months out. We were there in July.

Well, Chrisky, if you have been going to Barbados for many years....

Chrisky said:

Hello. I can't really help you with your decision to take or not take the Crane as I've not stayed there. But I've been going to Barbados for many years now. I can tell you that the Crane is in an out of the way area, but as Barbados is only 21 miles long x 16 miles wide, nothing on the island is very far. The Crane is beautiful, and the beach very nice. There are many day tours you can take to round out your vacation - catamaran cruises that including swimming with turtles, land tours to visit Orchid World, Harrison's Cave, the East Coast with it's huge waves, historical buildings. The weather is always great, the beaches excellent, and there are many restaurants of varying price ranges. There is the Oistins Fish Fry that is a great evening to sample fresh cooked fish with peas & rice & veggies and local entertainment. There are also golf courses.

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....there's got to be a draw there. We've never swam with sea turtles and we love sailing excursions. I love beautiful beaches and it being rated in the top 10 best beaches was a definite draw. A week away with my husband, just the two of us, alone, is a much anticipated treat in and of itself. I've been timesharing for 27 years and out of all those years, we have only experienced one exchange that was disappointing. We rarely, go back to the same place/resort because there is much to see and so many places we've never been.

I just need to stop placing so much pressure on myself for this to be "the trip" and just go and enjoy being away for a week with my man in a beautiful place at a beautiful resort, enjoying ourselves. Geez! I'm going through something right now......mid-life crisis?..... ..... I don't know.....

Thanks!!! Chrisky!

Unit assignment - Building? View? Plunge pool?

Ok,
I have my room, 233. Does anyone know what building, view or if I am lucky enough to get a plunge pool? I need your help!!!

Still looking for some insight on how to request a free plunge pool. Help me tuggers, share your success stories please!

We were there in April and it is a great resort. The units are very nice and you can do nothing or everything. I thought the restaurants were very good and a bit expensive, but you are on an island, so everything will be expensive. The beach is wonderful, you go down and they put up chairs and umbrella's for you and there you sit, a little bit of heaven. One of the local restaurants will bring you lunch,( watch out for the "rum punch"). A plunge pool might be nice, but not essential, as they are in the shade most of the time, we were on the second floor and had a wonderful view. The Crane is not close to anything, but all we wanted to do was relax. We did hire a driver to take a tour of the island, don't think I would do it again. Taxi's are available. We would love to return. Enjoy your week.

Donna

Unit number

Beachlady said:

Ok,
I have my room, 233. Does anyone know what building, view or if I am lucky enough to get a plunge pool? I need your help!!!

Still looking for some insight on how to request a free plunge pool. Help me tuggers, share your success stories please!

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I think it would be building 2, 3rd floor, unit 3.

OK, Tuggers, HELP ME, I NEED YOU

Good? Bad? View? Plunge Pool?

I NEED DETAILS!!!

You might want to email or call the concierge at the Crane who can describe your unit. There's a toll-free number here: http://www.thecrane.com/contactus.asp

I'm doing this from memory, but I think that Bldg. 2 is directly behnd the old building. The higher the unit, the better in that particular building. I could be wrong, but this is how I remember it.
Been there 3 times.



I'm an owner there, but my unit is in the old building, the 1887 original hotel. I like older, historic buildings.

I love it Barbados, but it's not for everyone. It's quiet and peaceful with a good beach. The Sunday Gospel Breakfast is very enjoyable. There are lots of tour operators who will pick up & deliver you back to the Crane. The concierge can show you all available operators. Try the "Barefoot" tour. Fun ! Also, there's a van that will take you and a few others to the grocery store on Monday.

Beware of the rum punch. There's a manager's night there with free drinks.
'Nuff said.

Oistin's fish fry on Friday night is a good way to close out your vacation. Lots of good local cooking (flying fish) crafts; art,jewelry, carved items, etc.

Building location

Beachlady said:

OK, Tuggers, HELP ME, I NEED YOU

Good? Bad? View? Plunge Pool?

I NEED DETAILS!!!

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Here is the link to the resort map. Building 2 faces directly to the pool, and a slight look left will give you an ocean view. Be sure to use the PDF file on this link, and then adjust the zoom to 100%. Its way too small to see on the screen without adjusting the zoom. It looks like an awesome view.

http://thecrane.com/crane_resort/resortOverview.asp

As you look towards the ocean which is in front of the 1887 Hotel part (you can tell by he craggy edge of the cliff) , you can see that the lower units in bldg. 2 don't have much of a view.

The ocean view is the thing to have. It's an incredible view from room #10 in the old part.

You may get a side or front view depending on where your unit is. in bldg. 2.

Talk to them, they are usually very accommodating.

One thing to keep in mind when in Barbados, the Bajans are a very polite and wonderful/kind people (as I'm sure you are, too) and appreciate a "Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening " greeting before moving onto the conversation. Just an FYI.

Room 233 does not have a plunge pool, as it is a middle unit on the third floor. 231 would have the plunge pool, as well as the corresponding unit on the other corner (probably 234 - I think bldg 2 is only 4 units across). Your view will be fine, as you will be closer to bldg 3 than the 1887 building, and therefore your view won't be too blocked. You will get fresh air right off the ocean, and you will look down on the big pool complex. Bldg 2 is also very close to the village and the restaurants, as well as the beach access.

There were issues with the a/c not working well in bldgs 2 and 3 - I know they were working on bldg 3 in the summer, because we couldn't get our usual unit there, but I'm not sure if/when bldg 2 was worked on and if they got everything sorted out. Maybe read some recent reviews on Tripadvisor to see if you can find reviews of recent stays in bldg 2.