Not too sure what to make out of this experience.

Not too sure what to make out of this experience.

First of all, let me mention the good things:
- the staff running and maintaining the resort was really friendly and courteous
- the overall resort feels very unique and we had great moments (e.g. watching the sunset in the desert)
- the rainforest Spa is one of the nicest hotel Spas I have visited so far (although I do not understand why guests should pay separately for this as there is virtually no variable cost attached to guests using the facility)
- the quality, number of options and value of the dining options are very good
- the range of activities offered by there resort is great

Now we had a few things that irritated us:
- Many of the activities require pre-reservation well in advance of the actual stay. This is communicated at best unclearly by the hotel.
- Parts of the facilities seem very outdated and well above their acceptable lifetime (e.g. some of the bikes are in a nutritiously bad shape and two of my friends and I actually had minor accidents using them, the visitor center by the equestrian center clearly needs maintenance and looks somewhat abandoned , some of the pillows in the restaurants have stains)
- Management and concierge staff is unfortunately not living up to the high standards of the brand which left a confused and sometimes irritating impression. Let me elaborate on this further.
First, we wanted to reserve a dining experience. Management told us as that our first priority, Thursday was fully booked. Instead of checking for alternative dates, we had to ask one more time for availability on another day. We were then told, that we will check again and someone from the concierge desk will contact us. We have never received a call from them.
Second, a friend wanted to take advanced horse riding lessons. At first she was told the the trainer for advanced lessons was on holiday. By coincidence we later were told by another member of the staff the trainer was actually available and she could book lessons anytime. At the lessons - booked for advanced riders - the trainer told her that someone told her that she is riding at a beginner level and hence selected an unsuited horse for advanced lessons.
Third, as loyalty members the hotel usually offers late checkout subject to availability. We requested this and were initially told that the hotel was fully booked and could hence not offer this. A quick google search revealed that there were plenty of villas in our booking class available for the day in question. After double checking with the concierge desk we received the same answer, however they could now offer at least partly late checkout (2pm instead of 4pm). Why this was now possible but not at first remains a mystery to us. Rather it seems like the hotel would try not to grant this perk and only reconsider if guests were complaining.

Overall, all these points seem minor and wouldn t have bothered us as single incidents. However, in aggregate it leaves a bitter aftertaste, especially considering that the lowest booking class is somewhere between USD 600 and USD 1000 per night.

Especially the service, compared to other RC hotels I have visited definitely falls short of the usually high standards.

Was it still a great experience? Probably.
Would I recommend it to friends or colleagues? Probably not.