A most disappointing experience.
My Wife & I have just returned from a weeks stay at this resort.
Having spent a lifetime in the hospitality industry it is alarming to find so many shortcomings at what purports to be an "upscale establishment". Given the current GM has been in situ for over a year now it is particularly worrying that this is the case.
I will start with the POSITIVES
An excellent location right on the beach at Needhams Point.
An excellent Housekeeping Team that kept the room spotless.
An excellent Customer Focussed Team in the Cafe that interacted well with the Clientele.A good selection of quality food on offer.
An exellent service from Frederick on arrival & departure who assisted with our luggage & explantion with regard to the room.A good Ambassador for the hotel.
NEGATIVES
Front Office Staff we experienced lacking basic Customer Service Skills.
No welcome. Just beckoned to the desk and greeted with "Name please".
No recognition of Diamond Status.
No welcome drink that one would normally receive from "an upscale establishment".
Simply handed an envelope with room keys & passed over to Frederick.
Again on checking out there was no customer interaction - simply confirmation of the card for payment & being handed a copy of the bill. No enquiry as to whether we had enjoyed our stay or wishes for a safe onward journey.
Queue for breakfast unacceptable every morning. Hard to fathom why when you eventually get into the breakfast room it is only a 1/3 occupied. One could understand if it was full but present system is crazy.
We ate in both the Lighthouse Restaurant & the Careege Bar. Food in the Lighthouse was very poor quality & grossly overpriced. Extremely slow service - only two tables occupied. (Not surprised).
Our meal in the Careege Bar was a disaster. Both my Wife's steak & my steak were completely inedible. Full of sinew & gristle. We were offered replacements but declined as we had already had our evening spoilt. They then had the audacity to charge us half price for something we couldn't eat. We are used to paying premium prices for premium food/service but this was unbelieveable.
It was interesting to note that the main topic of conversation at the "Rewards Party" that we attended related to a) the breakfast service & b) the price /quality of food on offer in the Restaurants/bar.
With the number of "Upscale hotels" around the Carribean that actually live up to their rating surely the GM must be alive to the competition or does She simply think that they have a captive market and is happy with the "status quo". I hope not.
