This resort was advertised as a four star property, but I think even a three start rating would be generous. There were many things that I would not expect in a four star resort, some of which are listed below:



HOTEL COMMON AREAS

The outside areas including the beach were well maintained and groomed. The inside was clean, but the furniture, which must have looked grand at some point a couple of decades ago, was dirty and stained. It looked like it belonged in a basement of a frat house, not a four start resort.



ROOM

About the only thing in the room that wasn't broken or malfunctioning was the floor.

Ceiling: The dropped-ceiling tiles were dirty and deformed, some were shifted. There were holes in the ceiling. It made the room look like a cheap motel rather than a FOUR STAR hotel room.

Bed: The bed was hard and not very comfortable. I like hard mattresses, but this was just too much. The pillows smelled and there were occasionally unexplainable stains on the bed linen. Yuck. We can just hope that the sheets were actually washed.

Electronics: The TV worked and there were about 20 channels in Spanish and all of 3 channels in English. The remote was broken. The fridge was simply disgusting. It was leaking a yellowish fluid. I would not put anything non-sealed in it.


AC: There were two settings - OFF and F^^^^ freezing. Kept it off for the most part.

Other: The furniture was old and drawers didn't open.

Neither did the window.

Overall: the room was decrepit and smelled of mildew and mould. Barely usable. We were truly disappointed with how it looked. If there is one thing that I would single out as the biggest disappointment, and trust me it's not an easy choice, it would be the room.



FOOD


There was the expected recycling that occurs in all-inclusive resorts, but truth be told, there was very little to recycle. The food selection was poor.

Breakfast: Pre-made scrambled eggs tasted like detergent. Juices were watered down and made from vegetables that were not ripe enough. The fruits were mostly green and tasteless (thanks, I can have that in Canada). There weren't any cold cuts, and there was only one type of cheese - processed. The bread/buns were often stale. The only thing worth eating was made-to-order omelette and we ate different variations each of the seven days we were there. Needless to say I won't have omelette for a while.

Lunches and dinners were much the same. I honestly don't think that they had a trained chef on staff.

The a la carte restaurants were not much better. In one (Caravelle) they prepared the food ahead of time and served it re-heated, which ensured quick service, but a really crappy dinner. In the other, the food was good for the most part except that I got sick from the grilled chicken...

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Didn't really expect much since it was advertised as 'free domestic drinks and wine with dinner'. The wine was really bad...it would've been better used as vinegar on the salad...Everything else was OK I guess. Not a lot to choose from.



SERVICE

This was another big minus. I have seldom seen a place where staff is so openly concerned with their own comfort over that of the guests. Three people would manage to either stand around talking to each other or look busy while I was looking for someone to bring me coffee or wine or whatever. At the pier bar it would sometimes take over 15 minutes to get a drink.



BEACH

Terrible. Dirty Water. Algae. Crabs. Completely unappealing. The only good part was that there was free transportation to the keys across from the hotel.



ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT

Not much of either worth mentioning.



OVERALL

We loved the island, the nature, and the greenery but the resort was simply horrible. We visited Isleno and Aquarium and they were not much better. I would love to go back to the island, but would not stay in any of Decameron 'resorts'. I really feel ripped off. I don't expect to be treated like royalty, but I at least like to know that my business is appreciated. Nolitours and Decameron - you miserably failed to provide a four star experience. Not even close.