My experience with the hotel booked through Expedia fell significantly short of the standards expected from a five-star establishment. From the onset, there was a palpable sense that Expedia guests were treated as a lower priority, receiving what felt like leftover room allocations and being subject to discriminatory treatment compared to other guests.
This second-class experience extended to the dining. The quality and selection of the open buffet were not commensurate with a five-star rating. Furthermore, the service at reception was consistently impersonal, with staff who rarely offered a smile or a welcoming demeanor.
While I understand the environmental importance of a no-plastic policy, its implementation at this hotel significantly detracted from the guest experience. The policy felt less like an ecological effort and more like a cost-cutting measure, as it failed to provide decent alternatives for all-inclusive guests.
For instance, being charged for bottled water, while the only included option was dispensers with an unspecified water source, was unacceptable. Furthermore, the reusable plastic cups offered at the beach were not consistently available to all guests.
Compounding these issues was the dismissive and often unprofessional attitude of several male bartenders, who made us feel like an inconvenience rather than valued guests. I have documented these concerns with photographs.