Hotel Riu Palace Paradise Island All Inclusive - Adults Only

“A long, dramatic (from bad to good) but very fair review.”

To start with, whenever we travel, we almost always stay at a Four Seasons hotel—unless there isn’t one available, Four Seasons is our top choice. I’ve never encountered so many issues at any Four Seasons property. This hotel has had issues you rarely see even at other lower level hotel. Our fami… more

To start with, whenever we travel, we almost always stay at a Four Seasons hotel—unless there isn’t one available, Four Seasons is our top choice. I’ve never encountered so many issues at any Four Seasons property. This hotel has had issues you rarely see even at other lower level hotel. Our family of four came here to celebrate my eldest’s 8th birthday, (we are still on the property), and we booked a one-bedroom suite. First, I have to say, the view is absolutely stunning—breathtaking. Every restaurant at the Four Seasons has amazing food; even my picky husband couldn’t stop praising the flavors. However, I am extremely disappointed in this Four Seasons hotel. Within the first 24 hours of our stay, several issues arose. First, while washing my face in the morning, I noticed the sink plug wouldn’t open, causing water to pool up. I had to manually pry it open to let the water drain. Then, during lunch, I discovered that the avocado in my tuna bowl was blackened, which immediately put me off finishing my meal. We mentioned the issue with the blackened avocado to Ramesh, one of the butlers, who immediately reported it to the hotel. I must say, Four Seasons truly excels in this regard—the communication among their staff is exceptionally smooth. Whether it’s about food or room service, they ensure that everyone is promptly informed of any issues we encounter. Shortly afterward, Tess, the Assistant Food & Beverage Manager, approached me to apologize and assured me that our dinner celebration for our child that evening would go smoothly. With her reassurance, we felt confident it would be a perfect evening. In the evening, which was meant to be a special birthday dinner for my child, we had reservations at Dune. But as the kids came back from the hotel pool to shower, we found there was no hot water. I called the front desk for assistance, and after waiting over half an hour, we finally had hot water. As the kids used the bedroom shower, I used the one in the living room, only to come out and find the entire bathroom flooded. I had to call for cleaning. By the time we were ready, we were already half an hour late for our dinner reservation, and the kids were starving. Arriving at Dune, we encountered an even more shocking experience. First, the server didn’t introduce himself. My husband ordered a steak but was given neither a fork nor a steak knife. He asked the server once for a fork and received it but no steak knife. Starving, he waved for the server while attempting to cut the steak with a regular knife, making for an awkward scene. Since our meal was delayed, the kids were exhausted by the end, so we decided to pack the leftovers and take them back to our room to eat after they went to bed. Then, the most unbelievable thing happened: in this restaurant, supposedly helmed by a Michelin chef, the server handed us four containers without asking if we’d like him to box up the food for us, then turned around and walked away. My husband and I looked at each other, feeling humiliated. But as the kids were exhausted, we decided to quickly pack everything ourselves and leave. The next morning, our other butler, Toney, came to greet us, and I shared the challenges we’d faced the day before. He promptly reported them to the hotel as well. Again, I want to emphasize that the hotel has shown a very proactive attitude in addressing these issues. Tess approached us during breakfast with a sincere apology. I told her that I’m not someone who typically complains, but this experience left me with no choice. She completely understood and supported my concerns. That evening, we dined at Ocean Blu, where the service was excellent, and the food, as expected from Four Seasons, was outstanding in taste and freshness. Tess covered our bill as an apology, which we appreciated. We felt relieved, as if the day had finally turned around, and our vacation was becoming the beautiful experience we had hoped for. If the issues had ended there, I wouldn’t even be writing this review. Unfortunately it did not. Today we spent the afternoon at the water park, had dinner at the fire steakhouse (BTW, the worst restaurant I’ve ever dined, ever), returned to the room to bathe the kids, went out for ice cream and conversation, then got them to bed. When I undressed to shower, I discovered, once again, that there was no hot water. Exhausted and ready to end my day with a good night’s sleep, I was forced to call the front desk for maintenance once again. I called around 9:15 pm, and now, at 10:50pm, there’s still no hot water and no updates. I have a pounding headache and am exhausted; I had planned to be asleep by 9:30, but it seems I’ll be lucky to get to bed by 11:30 tonight. To make matters worse, the room phone wasn’t working, so my husband went to the front desk in person for an update. The front desk directed him to the hotel manager, Carlene. Shockingly, she seemed completely unfazed by our frustration and was laughing with a front desk colleague in her office. When she finally agreed to accompany my husband to our room to inspect the situation, she stopped to handle other tasks on the way, with no sense of urgency. And when my husband mentioned our room number, she didn’t even realize it was on the first floor and went directly to the second. Only after my husband reminded her did she correct herself. Carlene eventually knocked on our door to explain that the entire building was without hot water and that the engineer was working on it, though she was unable to reach him for updates. She suggested taking me to another building far away to shower. Standing there in my robe, I declined, as that was clearly not a reasonable solution. She then suggested moving us to a distant building tomorrow. I didn’t even bother responding, as it was evident she had no grasp of how much inconvenience these repeated issues have caused us, nor did she seem to realize how damaging such low-level mistakes are to the hotel’s image—especially at a property charging over $2,500 per night. Now, as I'm finishing up, at 11:02, hot water finally came. It’s been almost 2 hours since I first called. I’ve decided to cut our stay short and leave tomorrow. We originally booked eight nights, but my vacation has been completely ruined. I don’t want to lie on the beach only to worry about whether there will be hot water when we return to the room. I want to highlight two exceptional people: our butler, Toney, and Tess, the Assistant Food & Beverage director . Having stayed at numerous luxury hotels and experienced many “genies” on cruises, Toney stands out as the most responsible, passionate butler I’ve ever met. He genuinely loves his work and consistently goes above and beyond his duties to make our stay remarkable. My kids absolutely adore him, and if we ever return, we’ll request him as our butler without hesitation. If you’re considering staying here, I highly recommend asking for Toney; he’ll make all the difference in your experience. Tess was also incredibly proactive in fixing issues and solving problems. She is a mature and passionate manager who left a very positive impression. Aside from the taste of the food (just the taste, not the service), this hotel does not meet the standards of any Four Seasons I’ve experienced. Yet some staff members deliver excellent service, such as those working around the pool, our butler, and a few managers who work hard to create a better experience for guests. Still, I don’t think I’ll return, despite the beautiful scenery. We had planned to stay in a villa next March for our younger child’s birthday, but now we’ll be looking for a new place. UPDATE: this is two days after I wrote above review. I’d like to give you an update for a more fair review: We ultimately decided to continue our stay at the hotel because, after learning of our issues, Guest Experience Manager Treak and Garrilla immediately approached us early next morning with a sincere apology for all the previous inconveniences. They earnestly offered solutions to make amends, just as I mentioned in my previous review. The hotel truly seems committed to addressing shortcomings and enhancing the guest experience. This morning the resort manager Jose came over in person to deliver his sincere apology. My advice is that if you encounter any dissatisfaction during your stay, be sure to inform the management promptly. The management team here is interestingly diverse; this is an older hotel, and Four Seasons acquired it only eight years ago, some employees were transferred over from previous brand, resulting in some polarization within the team. Some managers, unfortunately, may come across as dismissive, but those with a Four Seasons background genuinely prioritize guest satisfaction and are proactive in both their attitude and problem-solving approach. So, rather than leaving unhappy without a word, let the team know your concerns, especially the managers I mentioned above, who will go out of their way to address your issues. We accepted their generous upgrade offer, staying in one of their villas, with this absolutely gorgeous view, a private pool, and high-end room decor. No more worries about hot water issues, and there were no further room flaws. We dined at Dune every morning and several evenings, the experiences were perfect. Lence and Tess, managers of food and bar made sure everything is smooth, and it was. Toney continues to be our butler, much to the children’s excitement. We’re going to stay here until Saturday, and I’m confident that the coming days will be as wonderful as planned.

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“FS Ocean Club – impressions after recent stay”

We arrived at noon and was offered a welcome drink. After finishing our drink, we were told our room wasn’t ready and we should go into the bathroom to change into our bathing suits to wait at the pool. We changed in a very crowded bathroom and went down to the pool, swam and had lunch. At 5:00 … more

We arrived at noon and was offered a welcome drink. After finishing our drink, we were told our room wasn’t ready and we should go into the bathroom to change into our bathing suits to wait at the pool. We changed in a very crowded bathroom and went down to the pool, swam and had lunch. At 5:00 our room still wasn’t ready, and we were offered a ride to the nearby Atlantis. Not knowing what else to do we accepted their offer. We didn’t realize the Atlantis is a Las Vegas experience complete with a casino and a Barbie themed aquarium. Wasn’t really what we were looking to do in the Bahamas. At 6:00 our room was ready. Not a fabulous way to start our trip. The beach is beautiful. Property and grounds are stunning. The staff is very welcoming. The spa is outstanding – highly recommend salt scrub and 90-minute massage. Life changing. The chat feature to request things from the staff is great, when it’s working. It was out when there was a major downpour and we, and I assume others, were stranded at a restaurant off the campus. Could have been weather related internet issues? Not sure. In terms of the 3 pools, the beachfront infinity pool looks fabulous. Unfortunately, we never used it as it is small and always had children playing in it. We only used the adult pool which was very nice and swam every day. We were looking forward to swimming with the pigs, snorkeling and dinner on the beach, but the weather didn’t allow for those activities. We were hoping the hotel would offer something else fabulous for us to do. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Only coffee and muffins are included for breakfast. Not sure why they can’t offer hard boiled eggs or fruit? We also noticed that we were the only guests asked to show our room key when we wandered the property. Perhaps they simple aren’t used to two women traveling together? Overall, it’s a lovely stay with things they can improve upon. For the price of this resort and it being a Four Seasons, we had hope for some level of extra surprise. Instead, the surprises were on the downside.

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