p911turbo
Google
So, it was our first time going to Okinawa, Japan and we were so excited about it. After a long distance flight, we got our rental car at the airport, drove about 2 hours to get to Magachabaru (because of traffic, language barrier, speed limits, power of the car, unresponsive GPS, etc.). The drive was not easy but we still very much looked forward to the hotel stay. The hotel is in the North, in a middle of forest, and very far away from the Main Island. And if you check the room rate, it is by no means cheap. We paid over US$600 plus tax a night - a little more than what we usually spend at Ritz, MO, and FS of which we are lifetime members. We spent 3 nights there.||||It is the secludedness that drew us there. Its privacy and peace reminded us of our home and we needed them to ease our nostalgia. We had been traveling Asia since the end of May.||||When we got there, we were sweaty, exhausted, and hungry, and most importantly, we were hoping to be received with a warm welcome and maybe a tad of kindness. After we got off the car at about 1830, we were then led to the check in area. The silence during the short walk was awkward and unusual. We sat down and then the male manager Miyaki-san tendered some unknown fruit drinks to us. I thought that he would be so proud and eager to introduce us to their highly prized local tropical fruits. Instead, he stared at the booking print out left on the table and my child of elementary school age. That was the moment that started to get us nervous and uneasy. He then finally opened his mouth and said in a long face that our Expedia reservation indicated that we would be bringing along an infant - the third guest who would be staying with us in the room of over 1400 sqf. We were scratching our heads as we had no intentions to cheat as what implied in his statement, tone, facial expression and body language. We told him that we were not too sure about what he meant and happened. We explained to him that we entered the right age of our child into the Expedia system. We told him that we didn’t even know that there was a problem as we were not reached out prior to the stay for any clarifications (interestingly, they left a child robe and a pair of slippers good for an elementary school child in the room, definitely not for an infant). Then, instead of asking us for the passports, he had my love one complete the forms for him. ||||Before taking us to the room, he told us (my child was tired and hungry) that there would be NO dinner for us (it was about 1849 when the check in process was over) that night because we failed to make any advanced reservations. Also, he said that there would be NO breakfast for us too the next morning because we just missed the daily breakfast reservation cut-off time (before 1800 everyday). ||||We were beyond stunned and there were no words to describe how bad the treatments were. He told my love one that they sent over an email about the hotel earlier. My love one told him that he didn’t receive anything electronically from the hotel. ||||We were again bewildered because we thought that the hotel should try to reach out to the guests (there are only 11 villas in the premise) again if they didn’t hear anything (the ball is on your side, we already paid). After we settled in our room and got connected to the provided portable wi-fi (it didn’t work well at all), we checked and found that the email was in the spam folder. However, he snubbed us anyway by printing a copy for us. Later on that day, he got back to us saying that we were allowed to have breakfast at 0900 even though we did not inform them in time (well, we didn’t go sightseeing after we landed, we drove directly to the hotel and it took time). ||||At one point during the check in process, he asked strangely as to how we were able to find the premise. We were confused again as to how and why such a question should have come up in that context. Later on, we found out during the breakfast that we were the ONLY non-Japanese family there. The breakfast costs US$30 each and requires a daily reservation before 1800.||||We called for a buggy before 0900 the next morning to take us to the breakfast place. The restaurant was boring and there was no menu on the table. We sat down and they gave us food. They assumed that since we were non-Japanese and therefore we should have continental breakfast. My child paid the same amount of money and had the same uninteresting meal. There were no morning greetings, refills of water or juice (not fresh pressed), or checking on us. The breakfast was mediocre. We decided not to eat there the next day not because of its high price but rather, we found the lack of substance and service intolerable. We were on vacation and it was supposed to be fun and we were beyond ready to splurge. As we observed, we were the only family who was served continental breakfast (even my child was able to point it out). Other Japanese visitors got to enjoy Japanese food which we had no problem with at all. ||||The room was fine. They strangely pushed 2 queen-sized beds together without asking. The beds and pillows were not comfortable. They were so soft and gave no support. In terms of size, it reminded us of those Asian resort villas - spacious and full of bugs (they didn’t have the repellents ready in the room). Portable lights should have been provided near the pool (just like FS) for guests who want to take a swim at night. The water pressure was good and AC systems were strong. TV channels were limited and all in Japanese. Other staff members were fine - they did what they were supposed to be. ||||We thought that it is totally fine if they have no intention to serve non-Japanese visitors. And yet, they are listed in all major travel sites - easy to find and reserve as long as you do not mind the pricey side of it. The stay was a memorable one but in a negative way. They didn’t understand or refuse to provide hospitality to non-Japanese guests. They assumed that non-Japanese were not able to understand and therefore respect their cultures. Showing kindness should be universal and across all cultures. It is a shame that you fail to represent your group. There was no thoughtfulness shown at all during our stay. We left the premise after 3 nights with questions and disagreements. Our vacation began after switching to Ritz.
