K D.
Google
Just came back from my stay here and I would never go back. I rarely write reviews because I have a lot of grace for service workers and generally am pretty understanding. But this experience deserves one. I'll start with the few good.
1) The property is beautiful and well-maintained.
2) They have really good evening entertainment, the music, the way they decorate, the DJs etc were all really fun and my family and the folks I went with enjoyed the entertainment
3) I appreciate the fitness classes—Mr. Wow was an incredible and fun Pilates instructor.
4) There were some good service workers, and when you stumbled upon a good one, you felt so grateful, because it was not the norm. I greatly appreciated Juan, who literally was a shining light in making my stay and one of my friends' a little more enjoyable. There were a few other waitstaff and bar staff who were really kind, helpful, courteous, and generally fun. If you are lucky enough to have a butler, which two guests in our party did, they are helpful, but it doesn't shield you from the rest of the service across the properties.
Now for the bad.
1) If you do not get to the buffet between 7 and 8 am for breakfast, the first hour of lunch, or the first half of dinner, forget about having access to the food options or getting service in any reasonable amount of time, or even getting utensils like a spoon. The staff will quickly dismiss you and tell you something isn't available. There is never any empathy. The options for kids are sooooo limited, and if you have any allergies or need any accommodations, forget about it. Can you imagine having a 2-year-old who can't eat the offerings and asks for simple pasta with butter, only to be told no?
2) If you think you'll have a better time at the restaurants? Forget about it. Getting a reservation is so hard, and when you do, if you get a late reservation in the app, like 9:45, they will not honor it or the 10-minute grace period. There is no empathy or kindness or kind words.
3) Our room 1122, the AC would not work. No matter what we did, and not even after two technicians came. We just gave up. It got a little cool, but it wouldn't stay cool, and before the technicians arrived, it just felt like lukewarm air.
4) Don't be black around white folks at any service area, they will completely look past you. One night, I had to ask a white person at the bar to get me a drink to get service. Another time at the Royalton Splash pool, the guy asked a white guy who had come up to the bar after me "who was here first?", he said me, and he still looked past me and asked the white lady a foot or two down from me what she wanted before he asked me.
5) Room service? Forget about it. They will just not come. Any other in-app services, be prepared to wait HOURS! For towels for anything.
6) The rooms themselves need updates so badly.
7) Guest services as a way to rectify anything? Don't waste your time. Monalee should not be working at a guest service table. She will look at you blankly and lie to you about what she told you and doesn't even offer kindness or platitudes. After the restaurant issue, she told me I needed to file a complaint; her exact instructions were: "Fill out the complaint, and we will get back to you tomorrow." When I went back to the desk 2 days later, she claimed I needed to have come back the next day when a manager was there. She was not kind or empathetic regarding all the issues with the room, the restaurants, the hot air, and the blatant service issues. I have now left, and other than a WhatsApp message after being helped by another front desk guy, asking me to come in (I was on an excursion), no one reached out to me about it, or scheduled another time for me to come.
I don't expect the world, but I do expect good accommodations, good food, courtesy, respect, and cleanliness, especially as this is what is advertised. This is not what I received.
