BUYER BEWARE: The front desk will try to scam you ...

BUYER BEWARE: The front desk will try to scam you into signing papers that you think are the nightly room charge and then upon check out they will stand by that you owe them outrageous charges. I had a pre-paid reservation of $3,894.90 for six nights. Upon check in I asked if there was a complimentary upgrade for an ocean view.

They had me sign a sheet that said $600.00 per night upgrade. The sheet never stated a gross charge so I figured I was verifying my nightly room charge that was pre-paid and was around $600/night.

The front desk lady spoke broken english with a heavy South African accent that was hard to decipher and she shook her head yes upon every question I asked. When seeing the room it was very underwhelming room that was 300 square feet with dirty small windows that overlooked the beach so I certainly never thought I had agreed to pay more for something I was deeply disappointed with to begin with.

I immediately called front desk and said this wasn't even worth $100/night above and beyond what I was paying and wanted to make sure I had no payments above and beyond my prepayment. Upon check out they claimed it was an addition $600/night for an "ocean view." This is the most fraudulent tactic I have ever seen. The ocean view king never rents for $1200 (it typically ranges from $450-$800) and isn't even worth the $583/night I already paid and especially an upgrade at checkin is never assumed to be "full price." It seemed like the staff was trying coerce me into something I clearly didn't intend to do, it makes me think they were commissioned if they could "upsell" a customer.

Most hotels would try to make it right at the end and admit there mistakes and maybe invite the guest back to make it better. The management chose to fight with me and was not competent enough to understand no one in their right mind that had a reservation for $583/night would ever sign and agree to an additional $600+ per night. If they did they sure as heck wouldn't pay $1200/night for a 300 square foot room. That individual would have just booked that expensive of a room from the get go. Just elementary tactics.

It is also baffling tactic considering the very room they tried to scam me into paying an extra $4000+ for year round books for around how much my original reservation was worth. As if all this aggravation was not enough I also found the walls at night very thin, you could hear your neighbors and the people above and below you. Yes, it kept me up at night. I also had an issue with air conditioning. Not what you expect for $583/night. After all this expeirnece I would have expected most hospitality companies would comp part of my original $3894 reservation to make it right, let alone leave me with days of anxiety after checking out with unbeknownst to me charges of $4,000+ that were unauthorized and shocking. That is not a way you want to leave or end a vacation.

The pool is very cool and it's a good location on the beach. I would have loved to come back and experience the pool again and the beautiful amenities, but the lack of communication by management and lack of response to make things right or even go "above and beyond" to make things right is disappointing. They should learn from Starwood when it comes to client service which is not a strong statement, but would be a start.

The lack of hospitality by the front staff and management to resolve issues and most importantly make things right so they have a "customer for life" versus someone that will certainly never stay at The Delano again because of the hospitality and communication and now will write these reviews and share to others how poor of an experience it was is going to cost them a customer acquisition for life and many others I could have influenced to stay here. I had to dispute the charge through my credit card company to fight absurd charges that were never approved. It should never be this hard to feel good about a 5 star resort and stay, let alone being ethical and doing the right thing.