If you do not make it through this lengthy review, the quick advise is BOOK AT THE LIFESTYLES RESORT AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND DON’T SAY YOU WEREN’T WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This resort has great potential, though falls so short in customer service that I could not recommend it, nor will return without significant changes. On the plus side, the rooms in the Presidential Suites are very impressive, with plenty of marble and hardwood, befitting a 5 star resort. The grounds are well kept and nicely located on a hillside overlooking the ocean. Sadly that is about all I have on the plus side. Below are negatives, in categories: ROOM BUMPING!! YES, YOU SHOULD ALL BE VERY AWARE THAT THESE REVIEWS ARE VERY TRUE, THEY WILL IN FACT BUMP YOU WITHOUT EXPLANATION. We had read the reviews on room bumping, so thought if I could confirm in writing it would be different….NOT! In our case, even more disturbing is that we had been very diligent and taken the extra step in confirming IN WRITING BY EMAIL, that we would be assured the room we booked. We have the email from the member who rented to us received in response from the Customer Service Manager Vance Paul that confirmed the room would be as booked for her guests (us). However, upon arrival with my wife and two young children, we were told that the 2 bedroom suite that we booked two months ago, AND CONFIRMED OVER A MONTH AGO, was not available. Instead, we were given a 1 bedroom suite with two double beds for the kids and a pull out bed that my wife and I would "enjoy" for the week. No apology. No compensation. No explanation. Just take it because that is all we have. What else can you say but unbelievable. Now if that is not enough, how we were notified is even more pathetic. We checked in at Front Desk, not a word said, though we handed her our confirmation email of the 2 bedroom we booked. Then over the the VIP desk, and still not a word said. Then, as we were waiting in the lobby for a ride with our luggage to our room, the VIP rep approaches me and says "oh by the way, you are not in a 2 bedroom suite. You will have a 1 bedroom with a pullout bed. Once again, I can only say unbelievable. Not to 5 star standards. Poor entertainment We attended two shows and both were poorly done. Looked more like on of the first rehearsals. Kids activities The Kids Club has a page of daily activities, but don’t be fooled, they will do very little of what is on the board. Most of the time the children watch movies or play Nintendo INDOORS.
Our children did enjoy the one day spent at Ocean World seeing animals and the hour of horseback riding, other than that day, they did not want to attend to stay indoors.
Arrival: ROOM BUMPING!! YES, YOU SHOULD ALL BE VERY AWARE THAT THESE REVIEWS ARE VERY TRUE, THEY WILL IN FACT BUMP YOU WITHOUT EXPLANATION. We had read the reviews on room bumping, so thought if I could confirm in writing it would be different….NOT! In our case, even more disturbing is that we had been very diligent and taken the extra step in confirming IN WRITING BY EMAIL, that we would be assured the room we booked. We have the email from the member who rented to us received in response from the Customer Service Manager Vance Paul that confirmed the room would be as booked for her guests (us). However, upon arrival with my wife and two young children, we were told that the 2 bedroom suite that we booked two months ago, AND CONFIRMED OVER A MONTH AGO, was not available. Instead, we were given a 1 bedroom suite with two double beds for the kids and a pull out bed that my wife and I would "enjoy" for the week. No apology. No compensation. No explanation. Just take it because that is all we have. What else can you say but unbelievable.
Now if that is not enough, how we were notified is even more pathetic. We checked in at Front Desk, not a word said, though we handed her our confirmation email of the 2 bedroom we booked. Then over the the VIP desk, and still not a word said. Then, as we were waiting in the lobby for a ride with our luggage to our room, the VIP rep approaches me and says "oh by the way, you are not in a 2 bedroom suite. You will have a 1 bedroom with a pullout bed. Once again, I can only say unbelievable. Not to 5 star standards.
Rooms:
This resort has great potential, though falls so short in customer service that I could not recommend it, nor will return without significant changes. On the plus side, the rooms in the Presidential Suites are very impressive, with plenty of marble and hardwood, befitting a 5 star resort.
Restaurants and Bars: Food: Limited dessert choices, and unchanging nightly. Not to No "theme" nights. Virtually identical selection in the buffet nightly. Limited cheese & meat tray…Processed cheese slices and processed ham/salami. I have yet to see a resort buffet that did not have at least a few selections on a cheese tray. Not only was selection poor, but it was the large processed slices. The salad bar was not much better. Could not put together a simple caeser salad as there was no croutons or bacon bits, and the parmesan cheese was strong and musty as to be unedible. Very little seafood, unusual for a tropical island. I saw only one fish dish, no shrimp trays, no lobster or crab on any night in the buffet. The only lobster I had all week was at the Simply Gourmet restaurant, and it was overcooked and soggy with a creamy white sauce. I thought it may have been an off night, and given lobster is one of my favourites, I ordered it a second time two nights later, and yes, same overcooked lobster tail.
One buffet item that was great was the Swiss Chalet style rotisserie chicken.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: VIP limited access It seems unless you have the coveted gold or black bracelets, you will be stopped from entering various beaches or utilizing various bars and restaurants. It is at times difficult to "know your place" as I paid for a VIP bracelet but could access all the VIP areas. One of these was the Harmony Beach. One of the anticipated amenities by our two young children was the Ice Cream Shoppe, but unfortunately it is located on Harmony Beach which is only accessible by members.
Other Comments: Timeshare salespeople Last but not least is the tactics of the salespeople. Yes I understand that they have families to feed and need to drive sales commissions, but my lord it is incessant. They wait outside the exit to the buffets and hound you to go on "the tour". Through either bold persistence or utter ignorance they continued to ask me even after I told many of them how unhappy I was with the room, food and customer service. They did not stop the entire week.
Summary:
In summary, this may be a great vacation for those who wear gold or black bracelets (members and shareholders), but given that most of them have paid anywhere from $50,000 to more than $100,000 for that privilege, I’m sure their experience may vary greatly from mine.
VIP Customer Service: Customer Service By far, the biggest disappointment was the lack of customer service, particularly at the VIP Desk. We typically pay the extra for the VIP or Concierge service when we travel, and without close competition, this was the poorest VIP service i have experienced anywhere. A brief example; upon checking in at the front desk, we were told to move over to the VIP desk where we would get all the welcoming information. Unfortunately it was 5:55pm and the VIP rep’s shift was ending at 6pm, so she quickly showed us a map of our room location and told us her shift was done and we should return tomorrow. This clearly showed a lack of training, as we should not feel rushed at the VIP Desk. Not to 5 star standards.
By far the most egregious act of poor service came from none other than the Customer Service Manager Vance Paul. After we complained to customer service about being bumped from our booked room, we were told that Mr. Paul would be contacting us directly to discuss the matter. The entire week passed with no contact. Once again, not to 5 star standards.