This Margaritaville is only six years old, but it was disappointing to see how rundown it has…read morebecome in such a short period of time.
Our first impression started at valet. There was only one luggage cart available that could accommodate hanging clothes, and it was broken with a damaged wheel and bar. We had to wait for another cart to become available before we could unload.
After checking in, we headed straight to the pools. The lazy river, which was already short and narrow, had water that was dirty and surprisingly warm. We decided to move to the larger pools and stopped to get towels, only to be told there were none available. We came back later and still no towels. Staff said they had run out in less than five minutes. We ended up waiting around the towel station until we were finally able to grab the last three towels available for our party of eight.
When we returned to our rooms, we found that each bathroom only had two towels, even though we had clearly told the front desk that four people would be staying in each adjoining room. We had to call housekeeping and wait for additional towels. We also had to request blankets for the sofa beds because the bags only contained sheets. This was another detail that had been communicated during check in but still wasn't prepared.
The housekeeping issues didn't stop there. Our rooms were never serviced during our stay. With eight people split between two adjoining rooms, trash piled up quickly, towels ran out even faster, and the rooms became messy. A simple housekeeping visit to empty the trash, replace towels, and refresh the rooms would have gone a long way.
The rooms also showed signs of poor maintenance. The mounted shampoo and body wash dispensers barely worked, making it difficult to get even a small amount of product out. The bathroom fixtures were stained and looked rusted. The shower head was so clogged with mineral buildup that only about half of the nozzles actually sprayed water. Our balcony door also didn't close properly.
The lake views were beautiful and easily one of the best parts of the stay. However, the premium pricing for activities, boat rentals, and watercraft, combined with very little guidance or guest service for exploring beyond the resort, made it feel like guests were left to figure everything out on their own.
What disappointed me most wasn't that we experienced a few problems. Any resort can have an off day. It was realizing afterward that many of these same issues have been mentioned by other guests for months. The towel shortages, housekeeping delays, maintenance problems, and worn rooms are recurring complaints. It doesn't seem like these are isolated incidents, but rather ongoing issues that management has not done enough to address.
For a resort that's only six years old and charges premium prices, I expected much better maintenance, organization, and customer service. Instead, it felt like the property is aging much faster than it should because the upkeep and operations are not keeping pace. We paid resort prices but didn't receive a resort-quality experience. Unfortunately, based on our stay and the consistency of similar experiences shared by other guests, the likelihood of us returning is very low.