The hotel itself was decent enough, the customer service/management staff leaves alot to be desired……don’t expect to be protected as a guest. I would strongly discourage staying at this hotel.
We had an incident in the hotel lobby when getting off the elevator one night and turning around a corner to have a large ceramic vase fall on one person in our group. While one member of our party reported the incident (and injury) to the closest front desk representative, the rest of our group went to the room. The hotel representative never checked on the injured person, nor came to the room to ask us what happened. Two days later the hotel customer service called us to say we now owed them $1,200 (american money) for the damage. This was not our fault, the vase was deteriorated (old and decayed – we have the pictures to prove it) and in a very inappropriate location. The vase fell on the person in our group with the slightest brush of her arm as she turned the corner. After the hotel agreeing (with several conversations with customer service) that this was ‘accidental’ and not the hotels fault and not our fault, they would do us a favor and reduce the charge to $500 (american money). Twice we asked to speak directly to the hotel management (administration), were told they would speak to us and then they didn’t show at the appointment we made. We were told by customer service that the management ‘was too busy with bigger and more important issues at the hotel’ to talk with us. Upon check-out we were told that if we did not pay the charge, security would be called. Therefore, we ended up paying the charge under duress as we wanted to leave the country. The incident, and the response of the hotel customer service/management completely ruined our vacation. Beware travelers, this hotel will not protect the guest, and in fact blame you for their poor maintenance conditions!!!!!! Apparently it is hotel practice to add charges to your room and then threaten ‘security’ when you don’t agree with them – as a guest in a foreign country, you have NO recourse!
Your Arrival:
This was our first time at an all-inclusive. We were only given a list of resturants upon check-in (which didn’t indicate which were open or closed) and left to ‘figure things out’ for ourselves. It would have been nice to have a little more direction upon arrival.
Rooms: When opening the door to our room, the mustly smell was overwhelming. Everything has a musty smell, right down to the towels. The mattresses have a plastic covering on them and are very hard.
Restaurants and Bars: While the hotel promises five resturants, not all of them are open as listed on the hotel website (we wish we had been told this ahead of time, or at least upon arrival). The food was decent, but it was disappointing to not have the variety we expected. All but one resturant was buffet, and there is not enough variety to hold your interest for seven days.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: The hotel grounds are beautiful and the landscaping is well maintained. The hotel itself was clean and there was constant cleaning of the lobby/grounds. Pools – The first two days the pools were clear/clean, and after that it went downhill!! By the day we left, the pool was so murky you couldn’t see the bottom. The water smelled and it was disgusting!!! DISGUSTING!!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: Spa – One day we made appointments to have massages at the spa. The front desk seemed very disorganized. When we went in for the massages, again disorganizaion. We weren’t really told where to go and what to do – we were finally left standing in the bathroom/locker room for about 7 minutes waiting for someone to get us. The massage itself was wonderful, the spa could use some organization. Not exactly the ‘spa’ experience you are hoping for – and the prices were not as reasonable as we anticipated. Entertainment – Decent during the day (although they cater to the locals more than the tourists). The staff tried to get people involved in activities. The ‘shows’ at night were more like a high school lipsynced production than any kind of professional show. We tried to watch one and left shortly after it began. The audience interaction part of the show was ok, but every night was the same.
Other Comments: The hotel offers discounts to locals, especially during the slow season and weekends. Several days during our stay this was very apparent. Be prepared for noisy children running in the hallways at all hours of the night. The hotel staff defintly caters to the locals more than the tourists. While it is understandable that the hotel would offer discounts to locals, they should treat ALL guests equally.
Staff: The maids were good, although we had to ask several times for towels/washclothes as some days we didn’t have the appropriate amts. The servers were both good and bad. Some were excellent and very attentive (especially the bartenders), and some were very slow. For example, the first two days we were there, we were served poolside by a waiter, the rest of the trip we never saw any waiters at the pool. At the buffet resturants, sometimes a server would bring you beverages, sometimes you had to get your own.