Kaitlyn Holland
Google
My family has been coming to Jamaica for over 17 years, and it pains me to write such a negative review. We arrived at Banana Shout after a long flight and multiple hours stuck at the airport. We were the only ones at the resort and rented 3 of the 4 bungalows, and it was hot! There are ceiling fans in the rooms but it was not enough to cool off from the humid July air. We asked for an extra fan for each room, but they only had one available. Management stated they would go get us more in the morning but never did.
The next morning we enjoyed the sun and privacy of having the resort to ourselves but realized halfway through the day that the water was not working. We discussed it with staff who stated the water bill had just been paid ($900 overdue!) and the city would be out shortly to restore it. There were multiple places in the city that were out and we understood. We quickly realized we were unable to flush the toilets, wash our hands, take a shower, etc. Time passed and passed. Because of COVID-19, we had to quarantine for 48 hours before leaving the resort. We had to have staff go out and purchase over $200 of water to be able to flush our toilets. We were offered no reimbursement, assistance, or even a little bit of sympathy about this situation. After our quarantine was over, we went to Magaritaville for dinner and were able to take showers there. The next morning, we went to the beach and began discussing leaving the resort if we still had no power once we returned. We were without water for over 55 hours! Upon returning from the beach, they told us the water truck was on there way to fill their water tank back up. The manager, Alex, told us that they had to use ocean water to clean out the toilets because we had decided to use the toilets without running water. What did he expect us to do?! We didn't think you could use ocean water with the plumbing and nobody told us anything different. The damage was done and we decided to leave. My husband and I went to stay at the resort next door while the rest of our family went to another one down the road.
We were looking at Banana Shout through rose-colored glasses as a place with family memories but has just become run-down, outdated, and unfair. We spent thousands of dollars to stay here only to have rooms with no water, no air, and three bungalows beginning to smell like sewer.
In addition to the mess, we were overcharged. We purchased 3 bungalows; one for 6 days, and the other two for eight days. They charged us for 3 bungalows for 8 days instead. We had one person unable to come and they only took off $200. Upon realizing, we had already paid in full and knew they wouldn't refund us anything.
However, the grounds crew was great and very friendly to our 7-year old. The manager, Alex, was rude along with the owner. Please spend your money somewhere else.
