TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Rooms: - New? Yes. - Luxury? No. - Lighting? Sort of. (40% of our lights didn't work, incl. the coffee area & balcony. We asked 4 times to fix it. 4 times, they were not). - Clean? No. (Woke up w/ leg bites, sore throat, coughing, daily. - Housekeeping? No! Ruined our trip actually, it was so bad. We had to call them daily. (They do make the beds & sweep. They do not wash anything: floors, counters, sink, shower, toilet, etc., Damp rooms & bed linens. Towels are replaced, never the same sizes, or quantities. Maybe a new garbage bin... maybe with a bin bag... maybe not... They use the used towels to wipe up wets spots, incl. your counter. Barf!) - Restocking the fridge? No. (I had to call daily). - "Private" toilet? No. (Translucent door, with an airplane toilet seat!) - Showers? Meh. (No bathroom & shower door = wet & cold). - Beds? Hard. (Like sleeping on a brick wall). - Pillows? Hard, thick, small, dusty, FEATHER (not down!) pillows. = not luxury! Pool: - Small, but pretty? Yes. - Pool Bar? Good. - Pee in the pool? YES! (A couple told us, they don't leave the pool bar all day. Like all their new pool mates, they just drink & pee in the pool all day. Lobby Events? Good. (A few hours every night, of D.J.'s, live performers. Mostly really good. = not luxury! Food: - Service? Atrocious. (A thousand servers, or not enough servers, most of which do know what they are doing, do it very poorly, or don't do it at all. No one speaks English. Not remotely). - Food? Meh. Edible. (Average, or below average). - Variety/Fresh? Yes. (Papayas & pineapples so good, as to be expected. (All breakfast buffet eggs are cold, which is gross. Stick with an omlette! Book the Adults only restaurants as a start, if you go to this tourist trap from hell). - List of edible foods: Coffee shop (excellent pastries & coffee), Meats, Indian, Limbo, Brazilian, Japanese were all good. Any beef steak & tuna steak will be good. - List of awful foods: Brisas Beach & the Mexican, any all poultry will be overcooked & dry. - Drinks: Beach Bar & Pool Bar good! And the wine is pretty good everywhere. - Tables & Chairs? Wobbly, uncomfortable& unmaintained in most restaurants (not the buffet). = not luxury! Beach: - Beautiful? Yes. (But that is not the resort. That is nature). - Diesel Fumes? Yes. (All day, everyday. Motor boats are at the Ambar beach. Reeks & is disgusting. So much for the sound of the breeze & smell of the ocean. Why did I come here?...) - Umbrellas/Huts? Get up at 6am to get shade! (The Esmerelda guests can also use the Ambar beach & Esmerelda is MUCH CHEAPER & BETTER! (We toured the newly renovated suites). = not luxury! Services: - Language Barrier? Yes! No one speaks English (except the welcoming staff). All Latin Spanish speaking only. Not the tiniest amount of English, even to do 1 job. The words "face towel", "new bath robe", "wash floor" "more coffee", "5 more minutes". How hard is that!? We tried our Spanish, with hand gestures, but no one understood. They didn't even try (with arrogance). I've been all over the WORLD, without sharing a common language, and NEVER had this problem. (And don't tell me to use Google Translate at an international resort: I Shouldn't have to!!) - Concierge? FAIL. (Never at this desk/available. Called daily, for something done wrong... or not done at all). - Tipping? Yes! All the time, over & over. (There are so many employees, 80% doing their job poorly, with arrogance, and no management. You feel like you have to tip someone every 5 mins, for just showing up). = not luxury! Resort: -Groundskeepers? Excellent. -Large? Yes. Gigantic! Get your Crocs, Birkenstocks, or running shoes. (If I wanted to do this much walking there are prettier places to go... or I would have just stayed in the city). -Trolleys? Completely disorganized. (Why do I have to move off of the sidewalk, onto the grass, 10 times for trolleys & delivery diesel-stinking trucks, all day & night? Are you kidding!?) -Cats? Yes. A lot. Everywhere. (And the ignorant guests & staff pet these flea ridden resort rats - which is why they exist - share the buffet with you & serve you. Barf!) -Path Lighting? No. (Try not to get hit by a trolley or step on a cat). = not luxury! Views: We had a lovey view. Majority of the rooms do not. = not luxury! Clientele: -Ages? 18yrs-88yrs (Weird). -Party resort? Yes. All day, everyday, until 11pm. -Guests? 80% = obnoxious, drunk, nasty, loud, poorly dressed, with ill fitting swimsuits, peeing-in-pool, ignorant, low class, ferrell-cat-petting idiots, coughing & sneezing everywhere. 20% = Normal (aka expected calibre of clients at a luxury resort). = not luxury! The Ambar is a frustrating, misery causing, awful, painful, useless, waste of time & money resort. Not worth it. Never again. = not luxury! The Best Services (aka met expectations) Were: 1. The Beach Bar, bartender. 2. Miguel, a beach caretaker/manager. 3. The evening Coffee Shop service employees. 4. The groundskeepers. Q: Why does this place get good reviews???... They don't know any better?... They don't care?... Too drunk to care?... I don't get it.

Food quality was subpar, I would compare it to Cuba.

Had a wonderful time! Beautiful resort, great food, pool and beach!

4 star for food, 5 star for entertainment. 4 star for beach or pool chairs with sun umbrellas)must be up by 6:30 to get one! 5 star in buildings, pool and lobby area!

We originally booked to go for 10 days and then decided to make it 14 days and I'm glad we did. The Ambar didn't disappoint the staff were excellent the hotel grounds were spotless. We downloaded the app to book the al a carte restaurants which was easy to use. Some restaurants were better than others Meat was especially good. The pool does get busy but we always managed to find a sun lounger, the one thing I did find annoying was people reserving beds and not using them as they were using the sun loungers on the beach. We are both in our 60's and we didn't find the music and pool entertainment too loud, the entertainment team do work very hard to keep everyone happy. The pool side drinks service was excellent they were constantly coming around and asking if you wanted anything. to drink. The beaches were very clean with a little bit of seaweed every now and then we did walk for miles up and down the beach and were never pestered by beach vendors. We would definitely return and recommend this hotel.