Disappointed
Apr 21, 2024 Gary D
We arrived on Monday April 15 with such positivity about your resort and the beaches brand. The website stated it was a 90-minute drive from the airport and it took us 2 hours and 35 minutes to get there and over 2 hours on the way back. This was a little misleading. The drivers stated its usually over 2 hours when we boarded. We arrived and was…
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We arrived on Monday April 15 with such positivity about your resort and the beaches brand. The website stated it was a 90-minute drive from the airport and it took us 2 hours and 35 minutes to get there and over 2 hours on the way back. This was a little misleading. The drivers stated its usually over 2 hours when we boarded. We arrived and was shown to our room. We started to unpack and then noticed that we were given a room looking down on an extended part of the building and with no view. We were promised a beautiful garden view. I went to the front desk, and they were able to switch rooms and we had to pack up our stuff wasting a good 90 minutes of our time.
The Food:
This was the biggest disappointment of the entire trip. Beaches is supposed to be known for their world class cuisine. We went to every restaurant and found many of the items no better than cafeteria food. We started at the venetian where they made my dish completely wrong. I ordered a dish in a white wine sauce, and I came out in tomato sauce. The tiramisu was inedible and had the consistency of gelatin. The chocolate lava cake was a cupcake without any filling and oozed nothing when cut open.
At Neptune’s, we had to return my daughter Cesar salad 3 times because they could not make it without cheese. The calamari was like rubber and the meatballs lacked any type of flavor.
The La Parisisse was a disaster. We came to the restaurant at 5:55 and was told it would be 45 minutes until we were seated. We sat down at 8:30. It took 20 minutes to clean off the table and 2 hours and 45 minutes to change over tables.
The resort did not offer authentic cuisine native to Jamaica. There were no fried plantains, no mangoes, they had jerk chicken one day at the buffet, and much of the fruit was brown and rotten looking.
Safety:
There were safety concerns all over the resort. Cracked broken tiles all over the pool (see pictures), decking that is broken, plaster in the pool that needs to be replaced. A screw at the bottom of the hot tub with sand that is not vacuumed out daily. The whole area needs to be resurfaced completely.
Equipment:
We played tennis one day and they gave us 4 tennis rackets that looked like they were chewed up by a dog. Pickle ball nets were bent and destroyed. The tennis balls barely bounced.
Beach closure:
I understand that the water must be safe to use equipment, but it was closed for 2 straight days and our snorkeling trip was canceled and the water was not that rough. When you only have 3 full days, you expect to have water activities.
Weight room:
This is far from a state-of-the-art weight room as described online. The machines must be 15 years old especially when they have the very old ipod/iphone chargers. The cardio machines are all outdated. Please do not make declarations that are not true.
Staff being dishonest:
I went to the front desk to talk about my safety concerns about the resort. I was put in contact with a member to handle my concerns. I spent 15 minutes talking to her (even though I asked to speak to you which they would not let happen) and explained all my concerns. She then went back to relay all my issues to Manager. They came back and said that she told the manager everything and he would be out soon. The manager arrives 15 minutes later and the first thing I ask is, did you employee tell you all my concerns? He looked at me blankly. Then I said, what did she tell you about my complaints? He told me she did not go into details. The employee came back out and told me that she discussed in detail all my concerns. This was a lie. I had to reiterate everything again to the manager. The manager agreed that the waterslide area posed a safety treat to people. The next day, that area is still broken, not coned off, or caution taped. I felt like my conversation went on deaf ears.
The Sandals brand is supposed to be high end with amazing food and great activities. The equipment was inferior, the pools were unsafe, and the activities lacked creativity. They had karaoke one night and the resort could not even purchase a karaoke machine. People who went up there had to know the entire song by memory since there were no words. I asked your staff about the Negril resort, and they all said it is beautiful and the food is better and everything is much more up to date. I feel sort of robbed about my experience and expected a lot more. The staff is lovely and accommodating, but the resort is old looking and in need of a major renovation. I am also truly worried about the safety of the clients.
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