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| We review the key aspects of the resort on a scale from one to ten -- one being horrendously bad, and ten being perfection. Rooms: 9.3 We had a very nice concierge-level ocean view room in the 'Dutch' area. The room was a nice size with plenty of space for our 2 week stay. This level of room included a stocked bar (which we never used), beer, soft drinks, and water (we went through a lot of water). The room had a large flat screen TV, which we never turned on. There was a small balcony, overlooking both the pool and the ocean. The bath was nice. We had some minor water pressure issues a couple of times, but it was generally not a problem. The room service staff did a fantastic job of keeping the room stocked and clean. There was an mp3 connection to the alarm clock, but it was not compatible with our iPhones (no big deal). Water Sports / Activities: 8.5 The water skiing saved the rating here! There were only 3 Hobies, and always a line of people waiting for them as soon as the wind began to blow. 3 is just not enough for a resort of this size! The windsurfers were totally out of action for most of our stay. 8 or 9 days into the stay we had a chat with the very nice water sports manager, and he made a special effort to get the windsurfers working. Two days later we had functional windsurfers! Still, the two sail sizes were 4.0 and 6.3, and both had holes in them. The sail equipment needs a large amount of attention -- and this is largely responsible for the less than great score here. That being said, they did have a good number of new-looking stand up paddle boards (very fun). The ski boat was running most of the time, and started very early (7:30). The ski equipment was comprehensive, if somewhat beat up. The water sports staff seems to put up with a lot of gruff from guests that are not always polite, or honest about their abilities to use certain equipment. The stress was sometimes apparent. Roland was the only guy that always seemed to keep his cool -- good job Roland! One staffer asked about the rum from our room -- very uncool (I won't mention his name, but I'm tempted). Signing for equipment every time you go is a bit of a hassle, but it could be worse. Bars: 9.5 Well stocked with a good grade of liquors. No more Appleton's rum, which is a real shame -- we missed it. Accordingly, our rum consumption was down and vodka was up. They had a nice Mango flavored vodka from Finlandia that went well in some of our favorite drinks. Bars usually had real bananas to use in drinks. The tenders were usually courteous, prompt, and capable (some were really super). Worst tender attitude easily goes to Copland at the main pool bar. Sadly I cannot name all of the really good tenders, and there were many. Restaurants: 9.7 We skipped Jasmine's and the Bluefield Beach Club this time around, but we really enjoyed the other restaurants. We had buffet breakfast and lunch every day at the Bayside (because we like a buffet for those meals), and the food was always very good. Giuseppe's was good, and we had 2 dinners there. Eleanor's was our favorite dinner spot, but Neptune's was a close second. We found the food to be very good to excellent, and the service was generally excellent. Note that we dine very early. Those dinning during later (peak) hours experienced longer wait times for service (according to people we spoke with around the pool). Then there was the Cafe de Paris -- simply wonderful! Excellent service there by the always friendly Sheree, as well as Arnel... Arnella? The grouchy pregnant woman should just stay home, but maybe it's the hormones... No reservations at any of the restaurants -- that was nice. Beach / Pool / Grounds: 9.5 / 9 / 9.7 The beach and grounds were very nice and extremely well maintained. We generally only used the dutch pool, but we did take a few dips in the main pool. The hot tubs had some occasional issues with temperatures and such. There were almost always towels available. The dutch pool always seemed pretty clean with good water temperatures. The nice young man cleaning the pool in the morning alway let us swim our laps, even though we were probably hindering his efforts. Reception / Concierge: 9.5 / 7.7 The reception (check-in / check-out) was nice. The concierge service never seems to do it for us. They are always friendly, and even surprised us with some treats delivered to our room. We always feel like we never utilize their services. Overall Service: 9 We usually experienced excellent service with good attitudes. Sadly, there were more exceptions this trip then there had been during our previous visit here. It only takes one surly person to draw your attention. Overall: 9.3 The place is starting to show some signs of wear (most notably in the sailing equipment, but also in other ways). Even so, this is still a very nice resort that is very well run. |
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