Vacation fail, RIU me please!
It pains me to write this post. For the first time, I have returned from a vacation completely dissatisfied with the experience to the point I regret going. I can’t imagine how this even happened. When a resort/hotel in Jamaica is the destination, nothing should overshadow the fact you are in paradise. Possibly it was too much preparation on my part and not enough planning/research. Or maybe it was booking my hotel late and leaving to chance finding a good fit for my family. Then again I have been to Jamaica 4 times previously under all sorts of conditions (sometimes on a wing and a prayer budget) and still managed to have a stellar trip. I packed for four people making sure we had all of the vacay necessities - bathing suits, island wear, personal snorkel units, water shoes, Blue Mountain Mosquito Repellant (a must for trips anywhere there might be bugs), the Firestick in case television sucked, money, you name it. Sadly, there was nothing in the bag that could have prepared me for the experience or changed the course of our stay. It’s hard for me to accept that we should have planned a staycation in good old sunny California, as opposed to catching a flight to Montego Bay with a layover in Ft. Lauderdale. But the truth is I never felt an ounce of relief until I reached home and took a seat on my balcony.
What was so horrible you ask? Well there was a lot. For starters, we arrived in Jamaica the day before SumFest. Which is why all of the hotels in Montego Bay were booked or way outside of my price range. Having already purchased the flights for four people, changing the dates or destination seemed to be out of budget, so we booked our five-night stay in Negril at Samsara Hotel. The first thumbs down on this decision was the fact it was a non-all inclusive booking, or so I thought (we’ll get into that in a bit). Still, the almost two hour drive wasn’t too bad, we were on vacation after all and the drive was a great way to see more of the island. We passed through several parishes before arriving in Negril. And honestly after an overnight flight, we were still in good spirits when we arrived. The front desk staff was pleasant enough, I mean there was no fruity cocktails to toast our arrival, and some of the other fan fair I’ve experienced at resorts, but it wasn’t bad. The Samsara Hotel is located on the cliff side of Negril, which means there’s no beach, just a lot of ocean, again still not bad. We entered the wooden doors to the small lobby desk and checked-in. We offered our passports and credit card for the deposit and were on our way. Most of the grounds were outdoors. We carried our luggage down the jungle mazed walk-way to the building that housed our rooms. It was absolutely gorgeous and I was still hopeful.
The first disappointment was was floral comforter on my bed. I won’t book a hotel with colored bedding, it’s out dated and sets off my germophobia. According to the booking website, the beds were the standard clean white, in in reality not at all. Okay but it’s Jamaica and all I could see was the sea buffered by a sprawling lap pool from our balcony. So I swallowed my discontent and prepared to enjoy myself. We slipped into our bathing suites and headed down to the pool, enter second scratch my head moment - there were no beach/pool towels in the room or at the pool. As I looked at all the other guests, I noticed everyone had different towels. Were we supposed to bring our own towels? On day two I found out you had to go to the front desk to request a beach towel. Call me spoiled but I am used to presenting my key at the bungalo near the pool to get all the towels I need, when I need them.
However, the most heinous part of the experience was the dinning. As I mentioned, our booking was non-all inclusive. The front desk confirmed there was a restaurant onsite where we could have our meals. What they left out was the option to purchase an all inclusive package. My family and I ventured to the restaurant for dinner on the first night, which was held in a small room above the bar. Now let me say this, it is not uncommon to have to wait or experience slower service in Jamaica, however, that is usually the case when you are off the resort. While on a resort, everything is tailored for guests to have a great time. Not here. Every meal we were asked for our room number, then we received sub-par service and paid for each meal as we ate. All the other guests with the all inclusive wrist bands received smiles, water refills, and anything else they wanted. At first I thought maybe I am just tired from traveling and a little sensitive. But at each meal I felt like we’d snuck into the hotel and the staff new it, so we had to tip toe around and keep our heads low as to not offend or be removed from the premises. The kicker about that is even though we didn’t have the all inclusive, we were most likely dishing out more money than other guests. We are talking four people, three meals a day, for five days in sweltering heat, so hydration/drinks were a must and we also paid as we went along. I can’t express how dining at Samsara made me feel and the gloom that was cast over our trip as a result of rude, unattentive service. I felt like we were not welcome and didn’t matter. The wild cats on the property received more consideration.
Each chance I got, I would gaze out of my balcony at the view or take in the sites of the property, trying to remind myself, hey you’re here in paradise with your family, have a good time, enjoy this, you will miss it when it is over. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were on a sucky trip. Now I don’t mean to come off as some first world spoiled brat. All vacations are about a reset for me. It’s how I find the want and focus to carry on with my regular life. Travel is how I reinvent myself, gain perspective, and even insight for my business and well being. And coming off of a pandemic and now recession, this trip really was supposed to be an opportunity to get ready for upcoming projects, challenges, hell just life.
The most enjoyable experiences on this trip were when we left the hotel to go out to the ATM and excursions (which also were not offered at the hotel. Thanks to other travelers we met who researched activities, we were able to get out to explore and discover). I plan on writing separate posts for those moments. This post is to get it off my chest and hopefully forgive myself for orchestrating such a disaster experience.
Maybe you’re wondering if there was any resolve or at least some lesson learned. All I can say is from now on when I look at dates and destinations, I will definitely check what else is going on that may make reservations hard to come by. Also, I will continue to try not to book anywhere that has colored comforters. Definitely I will be checking for RIU Resorts for all of my future destinations (they haven’t disappointed yet!)Also, I am going to ask more questions and when I notice something isn’t right, I will have to borrow from the Karen handbook and raise hell. Not to be mean, but to avoid walking away feeling the way I felt after this trip. We paid for it and should not have to apologize for wanting things to be right. Samsara if you read this, the up sell is priceless we would have gladly paid for all inclusive especially if we knew you would treat us different from guests who did, you should treat all of your guests with respect, get an excursion coordinator and for goodness sakes, please pump up the jam and make the resort the destination, not just a place to sleep because it is truly a breathtaking property and the experience should match the scenery.