Adolfo P.
Google
Our stay at Emotions Hodelpa Juan Dolio started off ok. The resort has some charm, and the staff is kind, professional, warm, and genuinely caring.
However, there are several important concerns future guests should know. If you do not like cats, this is not the place for you. Cats freely roam the food areas, which by Canadian standards is unsanitary. Staff treat this as normal. My wife is allergic to cats, making this a serious issue. The cats are also aggressive on the beach, constantly swarming guests for food.
We also found it strange that for the seafood and steak restaurant (not included with the main dining options) the rep Rudh asked us to prepay for dinner, which felt unprofessional and raised serious red flags.
Over the weekend, large numbers of local day-pass guests were allowed in with no crowd control. At the Ola Lola beach bar, the situation became chaotic, no seating, food gone instantly, and hotel guests heavily outnumbered. During this disorder, my wife was pushed by a local guest, which is completely unacceptable.
Checkout was another major issue. Despite sending our luggage to reception at 2 PM for a late-night flight, we were suddenly charged $170 USD ($263CAD) for late checkout, something we were never informed of. The front desk manager, Karine, was so rude and dismissive. It felt like an attempt to pressure us into paying quickly, especially since she kept pointing out that our transfer was waiting. Thankfully, Supervisor Cesar Sanchez stepped in and resolved the issue fairly.
Lastly, the room showers are poorly designed and cheaply built. The low flat floor and narrow glass panel do not close properly, causing water to leak everywhere after every shower. It’s another example of too many small issues that management seems unable, or unwilling, to fix.
The saving grace of this resort is its phenomenal staff: Thalia (hostess), Kevin (front desk), Omar (server), Rosa (server), Juan Antonio (bar), Julio (bar), Yudelki (animation), Diagnora (animation), and baggage handler Edward. They are the reason this place would event get a star. Management policies, sanitation, and guest protection need serious improvement.