Review: Arion, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Part II
This hotel review is a continuation of my review of the Arion hotel at the Astir Palace. To read Part I click here.
Pool, Restaurants and Grounds
The Astir Palace resort complex is quite large. Aside from the Westin and Arion hotel buildings and the Bungalows, there are several restaurants, a sports center and tennis club, and even a helipad!
There was almost no one in the pool at the Arion, and just a single lady bobbled around quietly with her baby when I was there. The temperature wasn’t rib suck-in cold, but cool and refreshing. You couldn’t beat the view either, since the infinity pool looked out over the bay.
One towel per guest is provided in the room, neatly rolled in a basket, but it would have been nice to have had a pool towel station hear the pool to get additional towels. After I got out of the water I wanted to sit on a lounger for a while but with just one towel I had to use the same one.
I took a walk up to the Westin portion of the property, and they had a lunch buffet on offer between 1pm and 5pm, but no restaurant where we could place orders.
The pool at the Westin was similar, but was a little bigger with more seating.
Rather than swim at that pool too, my husband joined me and we took the elevator down from the pool area to the ocean walkway.
There were plenty of sunbeds available, and cabanas framed with gauzy coverings were open as well. The swimming area close to the beach was roped off to separate it from the deeper waters, and kids enjoyed the beach as well. The air smelled of sunscreen and sunshine, and the wooden walkway wound around the perimeter of the water. There were a couple restaurants to choose from, and Restaurant 37 was in an ideal spot just before the beach. It beckoned with a menu featuring grilled fish and meats, so we stopped and enjoyed a delightful lunch there.
Although it would have been awkward looking into all of the yards of the bungalows that day, I returned during the off-season and was able to get some pictures of how they look. The rising hillside is dotted with the bungalows, and each one is a bit different. Some are two and three in the same building, with a shared pool. Others don’t have a pool, but are standalone accommodations without shared walls. Note that the pools were being cleaned during my visit, so normally they’d be filled with water.
Here’s a sample of how one of the bungalows looks inside.
Some of them have amazing views of the water, while others are tucked behind trees and don’t really have a view of anything at all.
All bungalows connect via the pathways that lead up to the main building, and down to the beach and waterfront below.
Even if you don’t have a bungalow but are housed in one of the main hotel buildings, there was still plenty of space to find a little spot to call your own for the afternoon.
Later that evening, we ordered room service for dinner and dined on the patio. The view was pretty incredible, and the food was quite good as well.
It was a good way to end the day and the stay, as we left early the next morning.
Hotel Stay Summary
The Arion hotel property was a beautiful place to stay. The rooms were clean and quiet, and although the bed was on the older side the huge balcony made up for it. Wifi was decent, food and service were quite good throughout the stay.
The Astir Palace complex has a lot of potential, and I’m sure the new Four Seasons will be a stunning property once all the renovations are complete.
