05
Jan
2012
A while back, I replied to someone else's query about the same thing with a lot of details about the different rooms at Columbus Isle. Can't seem to find that now; so here's a brief summary:
All the "Club" rooms at Columbus Isle are exactly the same in terms of size & layout. They are all in 2-storey buildings, and ALL of them face (& have views of) the ocean.
All of them are close to the beach. The main difference for the difference price categories for "Club" rooms is that the ones they call "Garden View" are on the ground floor, and the ones they call "Ocean View" are on the 2nd floor. That means that 2 rooms in exactly the same location will be a "Garden View" on the ground floor, and "Ocean View" just one floor up. (2nd floor, in the US style, is what Europeans would call the "first floor" - i.e., one floor off the ground level)
So basically these all have the same view, and you can see the ocean from ALL "Club" rooms. It's just that the view from one floor higher is a bit better than the view from the ground level (may have some shrubs or a tree partially blocking on the ground level). However, one floor higher means you also have to walk up and down stairs (one storey) to get to your room. Whether that's worth it for a slightly better view or not is up to you.
To further complicate things, for a few of the buildings they have designed some of the rooms as "Deluxe". These particular rooms may be slightly closer to the beach (maybe 20 feet closer; maybe a bit more), so they may have a slightly better view, but not that much. In the "deluxe" category, they have also kept the separate designations of "garden view" or "ocean view", which again correspond to whether the "deluxe" room is on the ground floor or one floor higher. Otherwise, these rooms are exactly the same size and layout as the other "Club" rooms. BUT for the "deluxe" category, they now have added some amenities: robes, rugs on the floor, a flatscreen TV, and "turn down service", which means the housekeeping ladies come to your room twice a day instead of once a day. Again, whether or not these additional amenities are worth the extra cost of the "deluxe" rooms is entirely a personal decision. (I personally think it's not, since they are exactly the same size rooms as the other "Club" rooms and even though they call them "deluxe" it's just a nice comfortable Club Med room, as they all are, and won't be a Ritz-Carlton level of deluxe. But that's not what most people come to Club Med for, right? Again your choice.) You do not need to have a "deluxe" room to have an ocean view and a nice terrace, although some of the "deluxe" rooms do have better ocean views than some of the non-deluxe "Club" rooms, and the views will be better on the 2nd floor ("ocean view" category) than ground floor ("garden view" category), whether "deluxe" or not.
Now don't confuse any of the "Club" room categories with what they call the "Classic" rooms. The "Classic" rooms at Columbus Isle are not as close to the beach (although still not far), and do not have terraces. (All "Club" rooms do have terraces, regardless of other category.) The "Classic" rooms have no ocean view, and are in one-story bungalows behind the beach-front "Club" rooms. The "classic" rooms are the cheapest.
If you can afford it, any "Club" room would be nicer than any "classic" room - the terrace being a major factor in this. (All the rooms have coffee/tea makers, whether "classic" or "Club" rooms.)
Columbus Isle is spread out along a spectacular, undeveloped beach. Which location you prefer depends primarily on what activities you'll be spending most of your time doing. All the rooms are close to the beach. But if you are a diver, for example, you would probably prefer the side of the Village closer to the Sea Center. If you like to water ski, you might prefer the other end of the Village. The main restaurant/bar/pool/reception area is in the center; the rooms are spread out in two directions from that center.
Don't know if any of this has helped or just confused you more....
Adria
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