I did a lot of research before picking this hotel for my 40th birthday trip with my husband. I read so much about the service, and staff and food, and was looking forward to it.
The good
- the beach is gorgeous! Exceeded all the pictures, the sand was soft, the water clear, good snorkeling walking distance. We walked far up and down the beach and think that the Beach House's beach is the best - spread out chairs, wider beach, no coral in the swimming area.
- the beach chairs were comfortable, and it was great to have them reserved (though ours were in the front row, I would have been disappointed to have a second row chair for the week)
- the rooms were huge. We got a 1 bedroom beach view and loved it. The bed was comfy, the porch was huge - with a daybed that was perfect for naps -and it was nice to have a fridge and microwave to reheat microwave
- no kids and small size made it very relaxing and quiet. I loved being able to lay on the beach and just hear the waves almost any time of day
- loved having beer, soda and water stocked. Would have loved it even more if they kept the wine stocked - especially once they saw that's what I was drinking all week
The eh
- We got such a weird tour after checking in. I am not lying - the girl (maybe it was her first day) highlighted the pad of paper and pen "In case you need to write anything down"! She didn't show us much of the resort and was very awkward
- The food at the restaurant was hit or miss. Some things were great, some were terrible. The selection was very limited, with the same breakfast and dinner options each day. Since I don't eat seafood, I had very limited choices for dinner.
- drinks were standard all-inclusive; cheap rum, watered down juices, very sweet. Often they didn't have gin or vodka, so we couldn't get a 'gin and tonic' etc. So I switched to white wine - the house was eh, but better than the syrupy stuff, which caused problems because apparently it was hard to find on the property?!
- we took the shuttle to the Alexandria one day, it was way bigger with far more food options. the food was better, though could have been just because it was something different!
- There was snorkeling and kayaks that were easy to access. Often times there was only one guy working though, so kobycat (or whatever the sail boat thing is called) wasn't available to go out. We did go out one day and it was awesome, but somehow I felt like it was him doing a favor for us - a special treat.
The bad
- When we arrived, the front desk lady actually told us that Blue Haven was better and we'd want to go over there for meals. Umm....ok, thanks for the welcome?
- It regularly took 20-40 minutes to get a drink or food at the beach.... after waiting that long after putting up the flag for someone to come over.
- Service at the restaurant wasn't any better. First breakfast I ordered straight from the menu: Eggs, toast and baked beans. They brought out my husbands omelet and then told me at that point they didn't have any beans, what did I want. So then I had to wait again, while his omelet got cold, for my second choice.
Overall, I was disappointed. Beyond the beach, which I did LOVE, and the peace and quiet, I don't think the Beach House was a good deal. Perhaps all the staff raved about in other reviews were on vacation, maybe the chef was having a bad week, I don't know - but overall it didn't meet our expectations, particularly given the cost.