Jordan S.
Yelp
A Lot of Hype, Not Enough Heart - Disappointed with Our Stay
I booked a one-night mother/son staycation at OKANA Hotel & Resort, hoping for a fun and relaxing experience. While the location is great, the building smells fresh, and the waterpark was clean (my son enjoyed what was open), everything else left us frustrated and disappointed -- especially given the price tag and the polished way this place is marketed.
Let's start with the surprises -- and not the good kind:
- Upon using their self check-in kiosk, I was hit with an unexpected $200 incidental hold that was not mentioned anywhere when I booked directly through their website. No warning, no heads-up.
- Elevators? Out of the 5 we used, 4 had broken screens inside. Not a great first impression for a brand new resort.
- We walked into our room to find the fridge door wide open, which meant everything inside was warm and unusable.
- The drinking glasses were dirty -- not smudged, but full-on not washed. I had to rinse every one before letting my kid near them.
- The window blinds were broken, stuck barely 6 inches open. We couldn't even enjoy the view from our room.
- Walls are paper thin. We could hear every word from the large family next door -- and their crying baby -- all night long. It was hard to relax or get decent sleep.
- There's no microwave in the room. For a place that promotes staycations and movie nights, how are we supposed to warm up leftovers or pop popcorn? Even the food court meals we brought back to the room had no chance of being reheated.
And then came the worst part: the restaurant experience.
We ate dinner at Chido, and while the food presentation was nice, the service was flat-out terrible. The server vanished multiple times, and even the manager was dodgy when I asked simple questions about my tab. There was no clear communication, just vague answers and disappearing acts. Also, being charged $7 to add meat to a taco salad? That's not an upgrade, that's a scam -- it's called a taco salad for a reason.
This place has potential, but right now, it feels like a pretty shell with no soul. It's giving more "Instagram backdrop" than actual hospitality. If OKANA wants to compete as a true resort destination, they've got some serious work to do -- especially on transparency, cleanliness, soundproofing, and basic hospitality.
Until then, this is a one-and-done visit for us.