People usually plan their vacation in advance. Some people even have such a hobby: to plan every little detail, to check various Internet sites and to choose the destination, the hotel, the airline. And it takes a lot of time to plan everything perfectly and to be sure that on those days you will really have the greatest time of the year. Vacation is like investment in your future and the rules are the same: the more you invest – the more you get in the end. Memories would warm the heart and impressions would bring the tired mind back to life. That is why a vacation must be perfectly planned and then performed. That is why we tell you here about Iberostar.
Iberostar and Apple vacations. Before we will tell you about Iberostar hotels, you should be aware that Apple vacations traveling agency advertises Iberostar with the utmost of its power. In such a way even those who have never any problem with this agency and its traveling packages, would be caught in this trap. But some Iberostar resorts are very nice places to visit and there are no similar problems with the described below.
Iberostar resorts. The level of the service in some hotels is really much to be desired. The customer service is very poor. If you need something and even come up to the front desk to ask, there could be very little politeness in the answer of the employees. Some people even got in Iberostar when the staff was on strike. Besides, the restaurants in some of the Iberostar hotels are just horrible. The food can be tasteless and the option of the dishes very small. Besides, the service can be very slow. Maybe there is a lack of customer service because of poor management. All the amenities in the hotel are nice, but the service can spoil all the impression.
1 comment:
To whom it may concern;
I vacationed at the Iberostar in Montego Bay Jamaica from February 19 to February 26 2008. I would like to voice my concerns regarding my less than satisfactory experience at this resort.
Let me begin by stating that I have been a guest at the Iberostar in the Riviera Maya in Mexico and was more than happy with my experience. The service was impeccable, the grounds, rooms and dining were all beyond reproach. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the Jamaican Iberostar.
Our unpleasantness began upon check in. We arrived and saw a large group of obviously unhappy guests attempting to check in. Apparently, they had been waiting for close to 4 hours, and still did not have a room. There was one (1) person at the front desk who clearly was overwhelmed. No one came to assist her. When it became our turn, I gave her our name and asked her to please make sure we were given a double room with an ocean view. She told me it would be ready in 10 minutes and that it was indeed an ocean, garden and pool view room. The service was exceptionally slow and the staff showed no sense of urgency let alone friendliness.
I returned 35 minutes later to once again wait while the staff (now two clerks) attempted to check in other guests. The young lady took my name and then proceeded to walk away and help other guests at the other end of the counter area. When I finally became quite agitated and asked to speak to a manager, she responded very indifferently and went to get her manager.
The front desk person’s name was Everdine James.
She was extremely rude and couldn’t have cared less that we were unhappy. She made no attempt to appease us in any way.
I was finally given the room key and when I got to the room, it was not an ocean or pool view, it was simply a garden view. Not at all what I was promised. I proceeded to return to the front desk where she claimed she never said that it would be an ocean view. Both of my sons heard her as I asked twice to make sure. She then said, no ocean views were available. Again I asked to speak to the manager (Miriam Ramirez) and she finally came out. I went with her to her office and after some discussion, she told me I would be moved to my room of preference the next day.
I checked in a few times during the day expecting a message on my phone and finally at around 3 pm, called the front desk to see the status of the room change and was told that there was not a room available because we “waited too long”. I then asked the clerk to have the manager to call me within 10 minutes and she never did return my call. At that point, as agitated as I was, I gave up for the evening.
On Thursday I called Iberostar corporate and spoke to Nancy in customer service. After explaining my dilemma, she told me she would call Miriam Ramirez, GM/Customer Service for this hotel, and get right back to me. She did and told me to please go to the front desk @ 11 AM on Friday for a room change.
On Friday, at the appointed time, I went to the front desk and they had no record of the move. The front desk person called Miriam, and together they came up with room 2324 which I walked to with the bellman to make sure it was acceptable. I then returned to the front desk to get the keys only to be told the room was not available, they had just moved someone else who was unhappy into that room.
She did get me another room but I am sure you can see where this is going. Many inconsistencies as well as a general indifference felt by the front desk staff. As anyone will tell you, the front desk is the first impression a guest has of the hotel and that is either going to set the stage for a great vacation or a negative one. We traveled from 3 AM with a 9 year old (who by the way was his birthday) and finally got into a room at 5:30PM. I feel that basically, I lost an entire day due to the ineptness of the front desk staff.
As far as the remainder of the vacation, the staff throughout the resort is pleasant but unmotivated. The food at the restaurants, including the specialty restaurants, is average at best. On one occasion, I went down to the buffet restaurant at 7:30 AM to get breakfast to go for my 9 year old who wasn’t feeling well. I was told that I was not allowed to take a breakfast to our room that it was against hotel policy. There isn’t a breakfast room service menu, therefore if I wanted to get something for him to eat, the choice was to either drag him downstairs or not feed him anything at all. The staff finally agreed to walk the plate upstairs with me. Ridiculous considering what I paid for this vacation. The staff seems to move at a snail’s pace with no sense of urgency whatsoever. The only employee that seemed to be working was a man named Ivan who we would see daily at breakfast and then throughout the day into the evening. He was running circles around everyone else. He was pleasant and offered a smile whenever you would catch his eye. It’s too bad you cannot clone him. He is just what this resort needs.
The property seems as if it is falling apart, hundreds of tiles in the pool have come loose. The crown molding in the main dining room is falling off, the lights in the elevator did not work for two days, and therefore, a ride in elevator was quite unpleasant and nerve wracking. The phones and television worked intermittently or not at all. The fixture to flush the toilet literally fell off the wall when pressed to flush the toilet.
For a relatively new property, there seems to be quite a few things that need to be repaired. We noticed that in Mexico at the Riviera Maya Paraiso del Mar property, there was ongoing maintenance daily.
I can honestly say I will never return to this establishment again. I know this is not the norm for an Iberostar resort, however, with the strength of the internet as well as word of mouth; you need to recognize how this negative feedback will affect your future bookings at that particular resort. If I had had the opportunity to read a review of this hotel that suggested such a negative impression, I definitely would not have booked this resort. There was not one person we spoke to that had anything positive to say about their check in so it is not an isolated incident. We overheard many conversations similar to our experiences, none of them positive. Many of the people we spoke to had the same impression that we did, that no one really cared if they were happy or dissatisfied with their experience.
Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed in this resort and feel taken advantage of and cheated. For the amount of money that we paid to stay at this hotel, we expected much more. In addition to the lack of service, there was heavy construction that began every day at 7 AM. I understand that this is unavoidable but coupled with everything else, I am very unhappy with the experience.
I feel as if I am justified and entitled to compensation and would appreciate a response immediately.
Thank you for your consideration,
Sincerely yours,
Elizabeth Gioielli
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