Arrival: March 9 – 16 We arrived around 2AM ,3 hours late with Canjet out of Fredericton NB. No real explanation, but our flight was pretty uneventful. Upon arrival at the hotel we were greeted by very friendly front desk staff and check in went very smoothly. Our suitcases were tagged and the porter brought them to our rooms.
Rooms
We had rooms in Building 8, which is one of three new buildings. We had a king size bed, flat panel TV and a beautiful balcony. The rooms were very spacious and the bathroom had a whirlpool tub as well as plenty of hot water for showering. We had plenty of towels and always had two faceclothes,shampoo, lotion,body wash,sewing kit and shower cap replenished everyday. There was a mini bar which included 1 Coke,1 Sprite,2 bottles of beer and 1 liter bottle of water. These were stocked every day we were there.There are other items in the mini bar like chips, choclate bars, juices etc.,but there is an additional charge for those.There was a coffee maker, coffee,sugar and whitener as well. There was also an iron, small ironing board,umbrella and hair dryer provided.There is a charge for your room safe, but it is well worth the piece of mind.It costs about $3 a day.
Restaurants and Bars
There is the main buffet restaurant,breakfast has a good amount of options to choose from,everything from continental to full breakfast.Dinner at the buffet varied from day to day,but always could find something to eat. We always ate lunch at Mangos Beach Grill,they served pizza,fries, chicken,fish nachos with cheese sauce,hot dogs,hamburgers etc.There is 3 ala cartes , we ate at 2,the Seafood and the Santa Fe both were good. Tried to get into the Italian twice,but no room.Since you don’t make reservations,you have to go early to get a spot. Very limited selection of international drinks,so if you have a favorite, you might want to take one from Tax and Duty Free for your room. Premium brand drinks like Kahlua,Baileys, Drambuie etc are $5.US an ounce.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Oasis section of beach is actually quite nice compared to some resorts down the beach. The week we were there,it was very windy making some pretty good waves.The pool was beautiful and large,but really needs a swim up bar. The pool is quite sheltered so it can get rather hot and there is not alot of shelter. The grounds are beautiful and very well maintained.
Other Comments:
The only complaint I have about the hotel would be the harassment everyday leaving breakfast from the Vacation Club. It’s like they lay in wait until you leave breakfast and swoop in to get you to "talk to their people" for just a minute of your time.We have been to other resorts where we have been approached but it is usually only in your first couple of days and these guys tried all week.Even one day we were coming back from a walk up the beach they tried to give us a tour of the hotel until they found out we were staying there. If you walk down the beach there is a market,it’s interesting just to go down and barter with the vendors. There will be guys on the beach that try to get you to go to the market across the foot bridge,just say "no thanks" and keep going to the Orange Market.