Please read the full review to understand. We are a family of 5. 3 adults and 2 children. Stayed 2 weeks. We requested 2 rooms in the same complex which is not out of the norm. Problems from day one!
Stay somewhere else
Your Arrival:
Upon arrival 1 room was in on complex and the the other 400 meters away in a different complex. The children had to be separated and this caused problems. I instantly went over to management who was impossible to assist me. Delaying my request and saying the everything was booked. Later I found out it was at half capacity. The next morning I had a meeting a 9am with the hotel manager and he strolls in around 10am as if everything was normal. The only complex to carry 2 rooms was the ocean view section and I had to pay an additional large fee, even though, one room was made available instantly and second the following night. The rooms where loft suites as ordered from Toronto. A useless luxury as you have no view from the loft and are looking at the slanted ceiling. Upon checking in, the rooms were very hot and the A/C did not work well. Outside was 35c and inside was 27c. I complained and the situation was repaired marginally in 5 hours.
Rooms:
The rooms where loft suites as ordered from Toronto. A useless luxury as you have no view from the loft and are looking at the slanted ceiling. Upon checking in, the rooms were very hot and the A/C did not work well. Outside was 35c and inside was 27c. I complained and the situation was repaired marginally in 5 hours.
Restaurants and Bars:
The restaurants were plentiful and the food was clean and good but… the reservation system was horrible. You had to be at the steps of each restaurant by 6:00pm and wait in a long line to make a reservation for a later time. Let me just explain that this resort is very large and each restaurant is spread across the complex of at least 500 acres. To access the restaurants was by a little train which came by every 15 minutes. There is no advance booking for the restaurants unless you are on the couples(adults only side) We paid way more than the Royal price but could not stay there as kids are not permitted. We were penalized for having kids at all reservations. The problem was that we generally stayed at the beach till 7pm , so it required me to get dressed to get on the train and make reservations which was generally offered to me 2:30-3:00 later. Impossible!! Then return back to the beach or room.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: The beach is wonderful, clean and water was warm. The sports complex would open at 9:30am and close at 11:00am. What the hell!! To get a ball for volley, you had to chase around the resort to find a member of the team. The water sports section was part of the lower end resort which was a 20 minute walk away. By the time we would get there it was either reserved, out or unavailable. B.S. We gave up after 3 days of trying. We paid for a banana boat ride which caused many delays and problems. They said it would be available in 5 minutes and every few minutes he would say five minutes again. We waited over 1 hour & 20 minutes. I came here to relax and catch up on same sleep, but had to wake up every morning at 6 am to run down to the beach ( which was a nice jaunt) to get an umbrella with chairs as they were taken up very quickly. The children needed the protection offered by the umbrella’s. Beach Towel service – horrible: They would open around 9-9:30 in the morning and usually closed at 3:30. In order to hand in the towels you had to be there between those times even to exchange. If not, you had to hold on to them till the next day soggy, sandy and smelly.
The beach bar was few and far, the drinks available were also very domestic. One type of beer and a few sweet liquors to mix. Rum Vodka and Gin. That’s it. If you wanted anything special like a mojito or other drinks, you had to walk all the way to the main lobby bar which was far and the only place available for those drinks.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: Never book the dune buggey tour through the resort. The machines are very unsafe and rusted out, no seat belts and the machines look like they where put together from scrap metal parts. My wifes seat bounced off the track and she hit the top bar with here head. No helmets. The tour was to some extremely poor farmers yard with a few trees and chickens running around, not a real cocoa plantation. Every corner there was someone trying to sell you over priced garbage. Even after arguing with them that I wanted to go back to the resort and get a refund, they said no!! (Very unsafe)
I spoke to the management who said that they are not aware of the conditions of these excursions offered in their resort.
Other Comments: The service personelle were usually friendly but the majority of the time, they made you feel as you owe them big time for being there, major attitudes. 5 star food 5 star beach 4 star room 2 star bars 2 star service 2 star childrens program 2 star internet/business access Managements answer to everything was NO!
This is definitely not a high quality resort for the high price. Stay at a Dreams or RIU Palace for less price and better service and food.