My Boyfriend and I stayed 2 weeks and we just got back.

To be honest you get what you paid for. It is a 3 star holiday and this is what you are going to get, nothing more, nothing less.

On arrival you are given your green wristband. This sets the limits to things you can do and cannot do. However fair enough that's what you pay for.

During our 2 week stay we managed to skip the trip to the VIP world. Basically The garden club is part of a much luxurious complex which is called VIP world. There only people with timeshares have access to it and they have golden wristbands. There are several people around the resort trying to get you to visit the VIP world and trying to sell you a timeshare for a membership fee of USD 6,000 and monthly payments of USD 60. On the first day when they tried to drag us we said that we had just arrived and the following day we said we had already been. These people hang around the restaurants and on the beach.

The room was simple and basic but clean. They fumigate the rooms every 2 weeks so bugs were not an issue. Althought we went there prepared after reading the reviews but we brought back all the repellent we took with us! No need for it!
Lack of hot water might be a problem, specially if you have a shower between 6.00 pm and 7.30pm. However you are in a hot and sunny country so a cold shower is not that bad!

The food at the rainforest restaurant is good for the first couple of days. However after a while it can start getting to you. However they do offer you some options, The a la carte restaurants. They have a total of4 restaurants and they are the following:

Bellini - Nice breakfast and lunch snacks. Dinner needs to be pre booked one day in advance. However we managed to get a table a few nights without booking. Just showing up on the night and ask if they have any available tables. Here the green bands have full access. No restrictions!

El Zorro - Mexican - They only serve dinner and for green bands need to be booked in advance. Opposite to Bellini they do not allow you in there without a reservation. Nice food and if you are not a fan of spicy food they have non spicy options available.

Indochina - Chinese/ Oriental - Those with green bands need to pay USD 15 per person. However it is not worth the money. Poor service, cold food. Stay well away!

Blue Lagoon - Sea Food - Another one that will charge USD 15 per person for those with green bands. However it is worth it! Wonderful food and huge portions! They also serve lunch and late night snacks and drinks! Lovely view! Worth a try!

The staff in general was very friendly (with of course the exceptions). The guy that carries the sunbeds on the beach works really hard! The barmen Sylvio at the pool and Pedro by the beach are top notch!

TIP: make sure you wake ip early and 'book' your sunbed by the beach or swimming pool. You grab a towel and throw on the top of the bed so you can make sure you have a sunbed for the day.

Forget about the waterspots centre. They only have snorkels and flippers. We tried to get the double kayak and it was always broken and the windsurfing is only available for experienced windsurfers. We ended up using the resort next door for windsurf lessons! Carlos is a very nice chap!

In general was a very pleasant experience. My boyfriend and I had a wonderful time and it was worth every penny. As I said... you pay more you get more... but we got exactly what we paid for... and I was not expecting any more.

went here in nov 07 if youve got any sense you wont stay here its dirty we had no running water or electric the food is dangerous and it is the holiday from hell. we ended up upgrading costing us a fortune just to have water and electric. and we wernt the only ones we met loads of people that had the same sort of problems.im trying to get my monry back but im not having alot of joy
if youve booked here i advise you try and change it

we went to this hell hole in sept/oct last year i am still trying to get my money back We were a family of 6 aged from 17 to 41 we are still having nightmares.we stayed for one week untill we moved to the fantastic riu merangue.it was like going from hell to paradise.the sheds at the lifestyle gardens are not fit for annimals.the place is filthy the beds have bugs. the food is awfull the resturant is dissgusting the pool is no better.i will advise anyone who is thinking of going to not do it after reading the reviews i thought it cant be that bad but it is worse than you could ever imagine.i will never go on another airtours holiday as long as i liveif you have been and are trying to settle a complaint please let me know.but remember dont go there.

Booked this holiday last minute and literally had 5 mins to say whether we wwanted a week in paradise for £700 A.I....for 2 of us.....not a diffgicult decision...YES PLEASE.

Thought I had better look on the net then and do a bit of research.

I found these reviews scarry...the first few were encouraging...but the further down the page you went the worst the reviews..Oh God ..wew ere starting to wonder what we had done.

Then we thought ....Whta the hell...it's pouring in GB...its freezing...so lets just get some good books, suntan lotion, sun glasses and go and chill for a week.

Flight and check in by thomson...superb 3 films, great food, smiling cabin crew for 9 hours...brilliant...Off to a good start.

Transfer was a little basic and rep got off and left us for last 15 mins with just the driver who spoke very little English.

Reception basic, no where to really relax and sit like most Hotels...just a check in desk reps desk and basic seating.

Porter carries luggae to your little "teapot" as we called them...they are so CUTE !!! We fell in love with them straight away.
They are dotted around and the whole scene is like Lord of The rings...where the hobbits live...It's beautiful...hummingbirds, parrotts, woodpeckers. The brid song was amazing. If you have binoculars...take them with. At one point we saw 7 woodpeckers all on one palm tree...unreal.
Back to the room.
Air Con was dodgy...but you get it fixed by maintenance immediately...so not really an issue.

Word about the shower...tank doesnt hold much water so you have to be quick or wait for it to fill up again (for 2 showering).
Centipedes do frequent the room..so you have to becareful going to the loo in the night...they can be a little crunchy underfoot !!! Ha Ha....you are in a tropical country folks !!

They had just had a week of rain when we arrived so this had dampened the ardour of the mossies slightly so was only bitten a couple times all week and NEVER at the beach.

We had full sun and never saw any rain for the full 7 days....the beach was lovely , sweet little picteresque cove...only the CASINO and OCEAN WORLD signs and the end of the beach spoiling the vista.

Staff work hard on the beacj especially the gardener who will carry sunbeds to the beach for you for a couple of dollars.

A word about the banding suystem.

You get GREEN bands in this accomadation and you are the lowest of the low....You are only allowed to drink in certain bars and eat in certain restaurants...we didn't know this and were asked to leave one restaurant...oooops !!!

There is however a booking system (24hours notice) to eat in the al la carte rest on site...which seem to be available to everybody else.

Mexican Rest is fierce...we burnt opur lips...so if you dont like it too hot avoid the fhaitas...soryy about spelling !!!

Italian was good and a restaurant out of the Lifestyle umberella called Trapiche..., but still on complex...dead cheap...but absolutrely FANTASTIC...and we so recommend you go there.

Jet lag from 1 week away is horrendous and if you are going do 2 weeks if you can.

We had a wonderful time and met so many wonderful people mainly from Canada.

Dont be worried....It's great value for money and we certainly wouldn't PAY to upgrade.....its the sam,e sun the same beach the same booze after all !!!