Jacob O
Google
Let me start by saying my wife and I did have a very enjoyable stay, however, I think people need to know what to expect before they go and I think the resort needs to know what they can improve to make this resort worth the money. You will be paying Hawaii prices for third-world service.||The good:|Beautiful location|Private beach|Clean rooms with exceptional water views|Free access to kayaks, paddle boards, snorkel gear|Good hiking on the island with ocen and protected bay access|solitude||The not-so-good:|If you need to confirm your reservation or have questions about arrival, call Peace and Plenty. I called Kahari 2x/week for 4 weeks and left messages at all numbers and was never called back. I got through once and was hung up on. (to hotel staff: Return calls or emails in a timely manner to assure quests they are important)||You have to take a boat shuttle to the island from Peace and Plenty and you will need to carry your luggage down two flights of stairs and no one at the hotel will offer help ( to resort staff: you know when the shuttle comes and when new arrival guests are waiting, offer to take their luggage to the boat)||You can leave your luggage with the front desk if you arrive between shuttles, but they just leave it in an open lobby unattended with no way of knowing who owns what luggage (hotel staff: place tags with names on the luggage and keep in a secure location)||Once you arrive at the island, you will need to drag your luggage over rough and hilly walkways without help. (hotel staff: use your power wagon to deliver guests' luggage to their cabanas. You use it every day for supplies delivery, use it for luggage as well)||At check-in, they tell you to use WhatsApp to communicate with the resort staff, yet they are extremely slow to respond and often do not respond at all. You then walk to the lobby to find three workers sitting together laughing and talking. (hotel staff: customer needs should always come above socializing with coworkers, set WhatsApp alerts on your device and respond immediately)||There is only one restaurant at Kahari and it is very expensive. The cheapest entree is $45 (chicken breast) and most were $50 or more. You need reservations and the lunch menu is the same type of food as dinner, no sandwiches or simple lunch fair. It is all dinner fair at high dinner prices. Food is average at best for quality. The menu online is not up to date. If you do not want to eat there, you need to catch the shuttle to the main island. There are very few restaurants on the main island that are walking distance so you need to taxi for everything.( hotel staff: keep the online menu updated so guests know what to expect. Offer some nice sandwiches or wraps)||Shirley's is the best restaurant on the island. Great prices, great service, and really good local food!||There is a private beach for Kahari and a different beach for the people they shuttle over from Peace and Plenty each day, however, there are not enough chairs for Kahari guests. There are about 10 cabans that each sleep 4 or more and there were 12 beach chairs in total and 4 umbrellas. People would drop their things on the chairs and then disappear all day leaving no chairs for guests. (hotel staff: purchase a few more beach chairs so everyone has a place to sit)||The pool is nice, has many nice chairs, and is almost always empty. The chairs are wood and metal and need cushions. There are umbrella holders but no umbrellas. We requested a pool umbrella and were told there were none. (hotel staff: purchase cushions for the pool chairs and umbrellas. Move some of the pool chairs to the beach for more beach seating and less pool seating. Use the $100/day resort fee to maintain and supply chairs and umbrellas)||We were there over a holiday and the resort was a ghost town. There were dirty towels piled at the beach, no maid service, and we only saw one hotel worker. (hotel staff: in the customer service industry, you need sufficient workers to provide the service your guests are paying for even on holiday)||The hotel staff is kind and friendly once you speak with them for a while, but most are quite reserved and do not come across as warm when first approached. (hotel staff: smile and say hello the moment you see any guest. A smile will go a long way to suggest approachability)||The boat shuttle drivers are the most outgoing and fun. They were always willing to help. The shuttle is every hour but the ride is only 10 minutes. They often took us off schedule if were were waiting and they had time. (hotel staff: you should run off timing shuttles to take new quests checking into the Kahari whenever possible) ||Peace and Plenty restaurant has more simple fair options and the food is good, but still quite expensive. The service can be good at times and other times you will have to ask for a box and the bill three times and finally go in to find the waitress again to get checked out. ||If you plan to rent a car, a boat, or do a tour, you need to arrange an early shuttle boat. I would request via WhatsApp and get no response. I would then go to the lobby and they would say sure not problem, but write nothing down. I would then try to confirm the night before with Whatsapp and get no response. I would then go to lobby and they would say yes, you are on for 7:30am. I would arrive at 7:15 and sometime between 7:45 and 8:am a boat would show. There is a boat that arrives at 7:45 with workers so you can always get that to the island, but if you need earlier transport, it is hit or miss. I witnessed a group of people miss their excursions and possibly miss their planes due to late morning shuttles. They run on time during normal hours, but they are unreliable outside of normal hours (hotel staff: respond more promptly to Whatsapp requests, confirm early pickup proactively so guests do not worry, and make sure the driver will be on time, not "around the requested time".||There is no nightlife on Stocking Island and not much nightlife on Great Exuma either. It is really much more of a sit on the beach, relax, hike a bit, and swim. There is no real shopping on Stocking Island or Great Exuma either. Aside from a few local crafts, there is not much there. Fishing is good, the water is magical, and there are some day excursions you can take that are good. I have heard that Sandals resort on Great Exuma offers many more programed activities and nightlife.||The staff does not seem to take pride in their environment. They would walk past trash and not pick it up. There was a tipped-over path light that was not corrected our entire stay. On the last day, I took the 5 seconds to right it. The bucket of bottled water they offered guests was empty and two workers were sitting next to it talking and never filled it. I asked for water and they looked in the refrigerator which was also empty. They then had to go to the beach club to get water. They did, which was nice, but they should have kept the area stocked. Customer service is about anticipating your customers' needs, not just reacting to requests. ||In summary: Kahari is a beautiful location and resort but the service does not match the price. With some small changes and a greater focus on customer service, it could be an amazing place. ||In contrast, I just stayed at the Kahala on Oahu, another island location, and the service was incredible for a similar price (turn-down service, chocolates on the pillow, 6 bottles of water in the room at all times, everyone went out of their way to said hello.
