If I may start with the conclusion, my verdict is: it's a good hotel, although there are areas for improvement and they should indeed be addressed. We stayed for 13 days in one of the hotel's best suites—a beachfront suite (6301, Block 6). If you choose this type of room, the second and third floors are the best options (we were fortunate to stay on the third floor). However, if you're on the first floor, you'll have less privacy as you're exposed to passersby, and the view is not as good. The downside is that you cannot choose your floor in advance, as it depends on room availability. If you end up in Block 9, which faces the nudist beach, your view will also be limited due to dense vegetation meant to provide discretion. This makes it hard to determine whether the most expensive rooms are truly worth the price. I highly recommend checking the hotel's map and studying the layout of the blocks before booking. You won’t find it on the official website, but a quick Google search should help. Lets begin with the PRO: -Size & Convenience: The hotel is small, and everything is close by, which is a great advantage. -Cleanliness: Overall, the cleanliness is of a high standard. Our room was spotless every day, with housekeeping coming twice daily. We put up the Do Not Disturb sign in the evening, so they stopped coming, but if you prefer the extra service, it’s available. The pool was also clean (though we never used it—see our beach comments), as it was the hotel's designated beach area, including most of the loungers. - Beach Loungers: The loungers come with a floating cushion that you can take into the sea—an amazing and fun feature! There are also small chairs that people bring into the water to sit with their feet submerged—fantastic! There are enough loungers for everyone. Of course, the typical all-inclusive colonizers still exist—the ones who claim front-row or shaded spots at 6 a.m.—but don’t worry, you’ll always find available loungers. At the pool (which we never used), it seemed a bit more challenging to get a spot. -The Beach: Simply breathtaking. We’re beach people, not pool people, and it was so beautiful that we never even dipped a toe in the pool. The water is calm, warm, and crystal clear, with just a light breeze. You can walk for about 3.5 km along the shoreline. Some people talk about the "7 Mile Beach", but that’s misleading—this hotel is in Bloody Bay, which is not connected to 7 Mile Beach. To get there, you’d need to take a taxi. At both ends of Bloody Bay, there are hotels that block access, so you cannot walk from one beach to the other. However, Bloody Bay itself has a lovely, walkable beach with charming local shops. There are beach vendors, but they are not overly intrusive. There are other hotels along the beach, but this hotel has one of the best access to the sea, with almost no seaweed. On the same stretch of sand, you'll find two RIU Hotels: the one closest to Couples (a family-friendly resort) has a decent beach, but the one at the far end of the bay is awful—you can’t even enter the water due to excessive seaweed. Also, next to Couples, there’s the Royalton—and my goodness, the music is so loud all day (until 11 p.m.) that we could hear it from our hotel. If that’s your thing, great—we will never pick such a noisy hotel. Our hotel was calm! - Restaurants: • OK: The Italian (Heliconia)/Beach Grill were decent. • Good: The Asian restaurant (Lychee) was enjoyable. • Outstanding: The Otaheite—a must-try! You need a reservation, but it’s worth it. • Disappointing: Cassava Terrace (especially for brunch). • Breakfast (Cassava Terrace): Not great—very repetitive and on par with cheaper all-inclusive resorts. There’s a self-service station with pizza, ice cream, nachos, and patties available all day at the beach grill—a very nice touch! The pizza was fantastic. The house wine was acceptable (and I am a wine lover), and you can order other wines for an additional charge. - Service: I was pleasantly surprised. I expected not a very good service, but it was actually very good!!!. While not everyone is constantly smiling, most staff members were friendly and efficient. One of the best aspects of the hotel is its no-tip policy. I’m tired of the so-called “great service” in places like Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, where staff are overly friendly, call you by name, and act affectionate—only because they want tips. The moment you stop tipping, the kindness disappears. Here, it’s different. Tipping is not expected. Instead, a percentage of the room rate is distributed among all employees, including those who don’t have direct contact with guests. -However, there are some things to improve, and I guess these MUST be improved to justify the price you are paying (higher than other hotels) CONS Arrival at the Airport Upon arriving at the airport, you go to the Couples Lounge—a nice spot where you can enjoy a drink while waiting for the hotel bus. However, when the employees took our luggage, they very directly told us: "Now we go to the bus... and you must tip the people carrying your luggage." It was not a suggestion—it was an order. Once at the bus, in 30ºC heat, the doors were closed, and we were forced to wait while the staff ensured that every guest tipped. Only after about 10 minutes, once they confirmed that everyone had “paid”, did they open the doors so we could enter the air-conditioned bus. A couple of tourists who arrived later with their luggage were told: "You now give tip!!!" The poor couple scrambled to find money to pay. ?? Note: I personally did not tip because I found the attitude insulting, but all the other guests did. In a hotel with a no-tip policy, this behavior should be controlled. It creates a bad first impression and contradicts the hotel’s own rules. WiFi – Extremely Poor The WiFi was bad—it barely worked half of the time. Strangely, we could detect the WiFi from the Royalton hotel, which was password-protected, while the Couples resort had an open, unprotected network. I don’t understand why an expensive hotel doesn’t provide secure and high-quality WiFi, especially since guests need to scan a QR code to make reservations or request minibar items. Without reliable internet, these services become frustratingly difficult to use. In-Room Dining – False Advertisement? Our beachfront suite was supposed to include in-room dining, as advertised on the hotel’s website. However, no one informed us about it, there was no menu, and no way to order food from the room. Either this service does not actually exist, or it is extremely poorly organized (see below). Organization Issues There are clear organizational problems at the hotel. For example, one evening, the Italian restaurant had to close because an oven broke down. The issue was not resolved by the next day at lunch, which is understandable—it happens. However, there was no sign or notice at the restaurant entrance, so guests kept arriving and waiting, only to be individually told by staff (after waiting and waiting) that it was closed. ?? A simple sign explaining the situation would have saved guests a lot of time and frustration. Another point: Cassava Terrace is usually a buffet for dinner, but not always. However, there’s no way to know in advance whether it will be a buffet or table service, as this is not indicated on the restaurant menu displayed throughout the resort. It would make sense to have fixed buffet nights and set table-service nights, or at the very least, clearly communicate this information. Why isn’t it specified in the materials provided upon arrival? Speaking of the information provided—it’s quite disappointing. A black-and-white photocopy with minimal details, and not even a resort map. It lacks essential information that guests need. It seems that no manager is actively supervising or interacting with guests to address problems and improve service. Employees appear to be left alone to handle everything as best they can. Room Design – Strange Layout We booked the most expensive and largest suite, and while it was a nice room, the bathroom design was quite odd. • The bathroom is very large, but it is separated from the room only by a folding door. • The toilet is inside the bathroom with almost no separation from the sink and shower. • The wardrobe is also inside the bathroom! This means that if one person is using the toilet, the other cannot access their clothes—a very awkward design choice. ?? While this setup might be fine for an older couple, imagine a young couple who has just started dating—it could be quite uncomfortable! I honestly wonder who the architect was that designed this layout. Veggie Bar – Great Idea, Poor Hygiene The veggie bar is a fantastic concept. They prepare fresh sandwiches, wraps, salads, and smoothies on demand. However, the hygiene standards are alarming: • When making smoothies, the staff handles all fruits and vegetables with bare hands, then places them directly into the blender—no gloves, no utensils. • There are no disposable gloves or tongs being used for food preparation. ?? If they don’t improve their hygiene practices, they are bound to have a serious health incident with multiple guests getting sick. CONCLUSIONS -A beautiful hotel with an exceptional beach, great overall food, and good service. In February, you can expect fantastic weather. -However, considering the hotel's high price, there are certain aspects that need improvement.

Good points: food was quite nice, beach nice and pool nice. Room comfortable however, a little tired. Bad points: arrived at the airport after a ten hour flight to get onto the VIP shuttle as promised by our tour operator. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen, you are huddled into a lounge (hot and sweaty) and we were made to wait an hour and 20 minutes before the bus left. I think the notion of having a free bar is supposed to keep people happy with that. Arrived at the hotel and wasn’t allowed to check in, hustled into the piano bar and given a speech and everyone is made to hand over their credit cards. From landing to getting to our room took 5 hours. Check out was equally as bad as the shuttle failed to collect us, excuses were made and another shuttle came 50 minutes late and then drove like a loonie to get us to the airport on time. Staff were extremely rude (not everyone but most). It’s advertised as having 6 restaurants however, on a Saturday night only the buffet was open. There is a great little pool and jacuzzi just behind the water sports area, however, the guys who work for the water sports used the jacuzzi for their own pleasure in between clients. The beach is nice but no security so dominated by the beach sellers who insist on singing to you and playing music for you even when you’re trying to sleep. Sadly nobody moved these people on making it difficult to relax.