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David Routon from Bentonville, Arkansas
"I read a lot of reviews before we booked and have read several since we returned a few days ago, and I think there is enough truth and hyperbole to cover both extremes. Before we booked I agonized over the positive and negative comments trying to figure out who to believe and to what degree. I'll give you my impression as someone who has extensive experience working in the hospitality industry (both restaurant and hotel) and as someone who has very limited experience with booking all-inclusive resorts. My wife and I didn't want a place that had perpetual frenetic activity (there are plenty of options for that) or that things closed down at 1030pm because our experience is that the majority of people who want to continue drinking at that hour after a full day in the sun tend to get noisier and more obnoxious by the hour-not caring who they bother.
We arrived about noon on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. Didn't want to have anything to do with the onslaught of American tourists and their families getting away for the holiday. As an American myself, that really goes for anywhere and I know of what I speak here. So instead of the hotel being 80% /- occupied, it was around 40%. For those reviewers that I read who came with large groups, I would suggest that their impatience was further fuled by the discontent among them all complaining to each other-about most everything. I'll get to service later.
We were told that our room wasn't ready yet as check in was at 4pm, but we were given a brief explanation of the grounds and surrounding area by a nice young lady who was essentially trying to get us to agree to attend a time share meeting with a 'Gold Card' discount as an incentive. We were prepared for a sales pitch of this type and politely listened and said thanks. Had no interest in a time share, and quite honestly I have yet to have anyone give me an accetable explanation as to why anyone should buy one of these. We got our bracelets attached as some have mentioned, but we carefully took it apart and just strapped it back together when we went to eat. We went to the restaurant to get something to eat and then headed back to the front desk and checked in at 2pm without issue. We asked for an ocean view (which it sounds like everyone does) but our room only could see the ocean off the balcony between the buildings. That wasn't a big deal for us because we planned on spending much more time in the ocean than looking at it from our room anyway.
The rooms do have a mustiness to them which we attributed to the room being closed and the dampness that seems to follow ocean hotels. They would do better to open up the rooms ahead of time to air them out because our room was much better after a day of keeping the sliding door open. I would not recommend putting anything in the dressers however because they were very musty. The rooms are laid out nicely and the furniture was fine by us. How nice does the furniture need to be when people are coming in from the pool and beach in wet or damp clothes? The bed was fine, not overly plush but comfortable. There were plenty of blankets and pillows. We only asked the maids to make the room every other day during our week long stay and they did a very nice job. There is a digital safe in the room which is nice and when the bellman brought our bags he was very friendly in showing us how the safe operated and asked if there was anything that we needed to know about the room or anything else.
We slept well in the room with the exception of the last couple of days due to people in the room above getting up at 6am and apparently not terribly concerned about anyone other than themselves. A lot of banging and dragging things on the floor for some reason accompanied by the water noise of showers draining and toilets flushing. A little annoying but that's communal living to some extent.
We attended the show the first night and that was enough for us. Not that they weren't trying or it wasn't amusing for some, but we really like peace and quiet so other than one more evening when we came down to eat after the show was over we ate at the Bella California restaurant the remainder of the time. The show area is brightly lit and is set more like a large outdoor wedding reception which didn't appeal to us. The food was okay, salads were very good, but I can understand people not enjoying the main courses because they were pedestrian at best from what we experienced.
The Bella California restaurant is beautifully situated. We had warm days and very comfortable evenings along with a full moon so it couldn't have been better. The view is terrific even if you aren't on the railing overlooking the beach but because the restaurant was quieter when we were there, we sat along the railing most of the time for both breakfast and dinner. As for the service, the first thing that you need to remember is that you're in Mexico not San Diego. This means that you need to exercise some patience and maybe enjoy the surroundings instead of freaking that you haven't been approached the moment you sit down. Allow me to repeat-YOU'RE IN MEXICO ON VACATION, SO RELAX. For those people, who I have observed more than I care to, that think that if you can't get an appetizer, entree, dessert, and two or three rounds of beverages delivered in 20 minutes so that they can move on to their next grazing point-don't go to Mexico. Stay close to an Applebee's where your complaints will have more influence. We had great service every day. The servers helped us with our Spanish and took time to converse within the limitations of their responsibilites toother tables, and gladly took care of anything that we asked for. We tipped in all cases, including the omlette bar, but nothing too exceptional so as to get better service than we deserved. Or maybe that was the exception, we didn't ask anyone else. But I can't say enough about the pleasantness of the entire staff around the grounds. If you made the point of saying 'hola' to anyone there they all responded and were very nice. For those who have complained about not getting a table along the rail of the restaurant, try not going to a larger hotel for Thanksgiving week when they're full. We had no such issues as an all inclusive guest.
The breakfast at Bella California was a delight. For those who were eating pancakes or french toast out of a heating tray, go figure that they were 'rubbery'. They have fresh juices and fruit, omlettes made to order by a very kind gentleman (we did our best to ask for the ingredients in Spanish which was part of the amusement but not at all necessary) and good options for side items, why would anyone eat pancakes out of a warmer and then not expect them to be horrid? I've never had pancakes or french toast anywhere that were worth eating if they aren't freshly made. It isn't cheap to eat breakfast there, about $20 if you pay, but for seven days we ate breakfast on the edge of the ocean with very nice people bringing us anything that we desired and that was way too good to pass up. We spent at least two hours there every morning.
For dinner, we too were a bit surprised that it was an Italian restaurant. Unfortunately the seafood entrees were a bit disappointing and we would have liked to see a Mexican fare installed or an improvement on their Italian at the least. The wine selection is pretty limited but we aren't terribly picky. The buffet was nice and we usually had that along with ordering an entree so overall we enjoyed ourselves. Again the service was very good and anyone who isn't won over by the server's personalities is just determined to be upset. We never had a rude, lazy, or inconsiderate server during our entire stay. And they never rushed us to go even when we were just relaxing over our third or fourth coffee.
A few times we relaxed on the lounges on the beach and ordered drinks and food. Could have been faster but we didn't care and we appreciated the trek the server had to make to get to us. I was disappointed that the beer was draught and not bottled. I don't think that they go overboard on the liquor for the drinks but getting drunk in the sun isn't my idea of a good time anyway.
The beach has a step incline and it is an aquired talent to remain steady as the flow heads back out to sea. I would agree that I would watch my kids closely if they were playing in the water. There isn't a rip tide or anything like that, and if you swim well at all it just makes getting in a little more challenging. That being said, if I had kids and going to the beach was an integral part of the experience that I was looking for then I wouldn't choose this resort-and would probably have done my research ahead of time too.
We rented some things from the Baja guys down on the beach near the resort and they were good guys. We picked three things that we wanted to do: parasail, jet ski, and snorkeling, and then negotiated a price for the package. We paid for all three and got receipts to use over the next few days which were redeemed without any hassle even though it turned out to be different guys for the next few days. For parasailing, go when there aren't cruise ships around if possible. Jet skis are jet skis. We just took a self guided tour for an hour. Snorkeling is much better in the earlier part of the day because the sun goes down this time of year early and the shadows prevent you from seeing as well around the rocks where the fish are. The boat ride to get to the snorkling area was interesting because they throw in a brief tour of the area which was interesting.
On the last day I screwed up by not having enough cash set aside for the shuttle back to the airport. I had a debit card but I forgot to set it up for international use; and a credit card that would work perfectly fine-if the shuttle accepted credit cards. I went to the front desk and tried to explain my problem to a bellman who was very nice but couldn't help. He directed me to someone who I believe was a front desk a manger, she was no help. Then to the check out desk-strike three. So I went back to the room and called down to the front desk to ask again and was patched through to the gentleman who manages the bellman who was busy when I was down there, and he was fantastic. No problem at all, and in fact took me to the same front desk manager who wouldn't help me in the first place and had her create a voucher and then charged my room which is what I was trying to accomplish in the first place. And they had a form to fill out so maybe I didn't explain myself well enough, but the bell captain was super. I tried to tip him with the little cash I still had but he refused to accept it!
So the biggest pros are the staff, location, and depending on your desire to get some rest, the fact that they close things down earlier than some places. Your stay is going to be much nicer of you don't go when the place is packed but I would suggest that would be the case in most instances anywhere in my opinion.
The biggest cons are the dinners aren't anything to rave about and they could improve the drinks.
The time share people are persistent in a non confrontational sort of way such as a note under the door every other day. We used the back elevator because it was closer to the water but we also avoided the salesperson in the lobby which was a plus I guess.
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Posted: Mon, Dec 03, 2012
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