GOOD, BAD & UGLY, Plus SCAM Alert
GOOD: After enjoying the resort in 2018 and even in 2019 when the food wasn't as good, our group returned in Dec. 2021. The resort & rooms are gorgeous. There are many excellent workers, and we have become friends with some of them. Except for some sub-par dinners in 2019, the food in 2021 was back up to 2018 levels.
BAD: Service has gone downhill. We had a group of 5 people in 3 rooms over Xmas 2021. At check-in, we were told our ocean view rooms were 2nd floor. Having been there before, we knew 2nd floor has no ocean view. They said there were no other rooms available, and because we requested some rooms with queen beds and they have very few of those, that's why we were in 2nd floor rooms. They said these room were in the same class as ocean view. This is a very deceptive practice. Rooms with no ocean room view should be called resort view.
We said king beds were OK. Finally, they said they could move us after 2 days. I asked if we could receive comps for wine or spa for not getting ocean view rooms for 2 nights. They refused. This would not happen at a five-star resort like the Ritz Carlton or at The Breakers. These resorts would compensate guests for not having the booked rooms available.
If you prefer a resort with loud night club music in the afternoon, this is the place for you. They also have a quiet pool, but in our 2021 visit, it was nearly impossible to get a quiet pool seat. Most days it was also impossible to get seats at the beach. (You can hear the loud boom of the club music at the beach, not exactly a great way to relax.)
Most days there were no beach workers to help with chairs or umbrellas. In the past, they had a small tiki-like stand where workers were stationed. I saw a beach supervisor one day and told him there were no beach workers all afternoon. Next day, same situation, no workers.
One day we got seats quickly at the beach. We put items on the chairs and went for our Covid tests. When we returned someone had thrown our items on the beach and took our chairs. We had to drag empty chairs and put up umbrellas ourselves. Other guests were helping us.
One day at the pool, we had to move chairs, and I could not reach high enough to put up the umbrella. Finally, a waitress helped me, but I had to hold the table and chair so she wouldn't fall as she put up the umbrella. No pool workers around! Several other guests were also complaining about the chair situation.
The UGLY: Christmas day one of the beach waiters made a crude sexual remark to me. I was not planning to complain about any of the bad service described so far, until the last day when our things were thrown on the beach etc. etc. I texted my local host and said I wanted to speak to the beach manager. No one showed up until about 45 minutes later, then that manager told me he was in not in charge of the beach workers, he was only in charge of waiters. I spoke with the resort manager on duty between 5:00 and 5:30 pm on our last day. I told her that we were 3-time guests who were very disappointed in the services this time. There was nothing she would do to comp us. The only thing they did change our 5:30 dinner reservation to 8 PM for that night. In addition, she said she would send three bottles of sparkling wine and guac to my room for our group. She asked me when I would like delivery, and I said as soon as possible. We called at 6:30 PM to see where the order was. Room service said they would try to get it ASAP, but it was planned for 8:30 pm. She knew we had an 8:00 pm dinner reservation! We received the three bottles of house sparkling wine and guacamole at about 7:40 PM, leaving us only about 15 minutes to enjoy. None of this order was special as it is all available in the restaurants. What a waste!
I contacted the hotel after we left and told them about our issues. They refused to do anything.
The SCAM: We spoke with Emiliano before we left, and some of us signed up for a special offer with resort credits to return. He told us we could cancel in 30 days if we changed our minds. I contacted Leading Destinations, the agents who handle the offer, and asked for pricing for a certain week in Nov. 2022. The agent Daniel said that he could not give me the price until I accepted the offer. I said if he did not give me the price, I would have to cancel. The next day he gave me the price. One in our group also took the special offer but decided to cancel. Daniel said twice she could not cancel. She is now disputing it with her credit card company. This is a scam. Do not sign up for it. I don't believe a word they say.
I get that no vacation is perfect. It's great if service is good, you get the room you booked, and you're able to get a chair at the beach/quiet pool. This is what we paid for, but we didn't get it. If you complain, management does nothing. The answer is NO for any type of compensation. They do nothing to make you feel like a valued customer, even for a 3-time visitor. read more