Royalton Grenada Resort and Spa

Last week, four school friends and I spent 4 days at Royalton Grenada, and unfortunately, our experience did not live up to the level of luxury and service we had anticipated from a resort of the 'Marriott's Autograph Collection" standard.

Our disappointment began at check-in, with a lengthy wait which was not the most welcoming start to our vacation. More importantly, months ago we had booked a double occupancy with 2 beds several months in advance, only to discover upon arrival that the room contained 1 queen-size bed. After considerable discussion with the 'young' managers, Gabriel and Shantel, we were told that a replacement room could not be provided. The eventual 'solution' was to place a small low cot in the room. This was particularly disappointing as the accommodation provided was clearly was not what we had reserved and paid for as well as not a suitable substitute. Our room had a noticeable musky odour, the telephone was not working to call front desk to inform of our problems, and basic amenities such as the body wash was empty. While each of these issues may appear minor, collectively they created an impression that the room had not been prepared to the standard one would reasonably expect from a luxury resort. After escalating the matter to a senior manager, an ocean view room was provided on the second day.

The all-inclusive concept is certainly appealing, however, we were disappointed with the quality and presentation of some of the food. We did not find the food to be of the quality we would associate with a 4/5 star resort. During our four day stay we also observed on several occasions what appeared to be leftovers being creatively repurposed and presented in another form.

The one 'a la carte' restaurant we were fortunate to get booked (with the help of Mr. Luke Donovan) was Taj where the food was a welcome improvement and one of the few aspects of the stay that met our expectations.

The one outstanding exception of our stay was Mr. Luke Donovan, Assistant Manager of Housekeeping. From our very first day, Luke was exceptionally helpful. He went above and beyond his call of duty to address our concerns and to make every effort to ensure that our stay was as comfortable as possible. His professionalism, courtesy and genuine concern for our experience stood out considerably. He understood what hospitality is supposed to be about and my friends and I sincerely appreciate everything he did for us. Luke's exceptional service and the food at Taj were the only real redeeming factors in what was otherwise a disappointing resort experience.

To Mariott: Luxury is not just about what you sell...it is about what the guest experiences. A basic course in "Business 101 - Customer Service and Guest Relations" might be worthwhile for these young inexperienced 'managers' on how guests are to treated and how to solve problems. While we appreciate that hotels can occasionally encounter operational challenges, what matters is how these issues are resolved. Royalton staff can benefit from the training and experience of Mr. Luke Donovan who demonstrated true hospitality and management skills.

We were extremely fortunate to be allocated a direct beach access room. The beach and grounds are kept beautifully natural.
However, management of the hotel negatively impacts the guest experience. Despite numerous requests for 'coffee facilities in the room' (as advertised) returned shortfalls which verged on farce (eg, "please provide a kettle and instant coffee", returned a kettle, filter ground coffee and no cups. Then a request for a coffee machine and cups returned a dirty coffee machine and still no cups. Final request for cups was successful, so I cleaned the machine & made a coffee...then the cups disappeared the next day. I gave up). The lunch time buffet was moved to "grazie" restaurant which is just a pool snack bar with a woefully inadequate range for a lunch buffet. Dinner was also served here on some evenings, resulting in a poor buffet and removal of the a la carte option (on our second week, this was titled "semi buffet dinner" in recognition). At both buffet venues, depleted items were slow to be replenished (if at all). Breakfast 'staples' disappeared after a few days, with items such as ham, sausages, bacon, cheese and orange juice not being provided at all.
The a la carte restaurants were pretty good, although a single 'loud' table in "Taj" made conversation for the other tables impossible without competing (ie also shouting) - and staff did nothing to temper the offending table despite acknowledging the issue. "Taj" had a good selection of veggie dishes, the other restaurants were limited. The hotel seems to have an identity issue, it claims to be for families yet provides no evening entertainment for young kids (eg kids disco / movie) or a teen hangout (eg games room). It plays similar loud music at both pool bars and evening venues limiting the 'chill space' for couples, and the evening entertainment is low key which doesn't 'fit' for group stays. It appears most guests are either short term stays from USA or local day pass guests, so they do not experience the inconsistencies endured over a longer term stay like ourselves. We made a request for a late check-out room or somewhere with shower facilities for our final day as we were not due to leave the resort until after 16:00hrs, so looking to freshen up prior to the 15+hrs journey home. This was declined as "not something the resort offers" (despite being at sub 50% occupancy). This sealed our impression - a resort claiming to be 5star cannot provide in-room tea/coffee facilities, cannot provide a decent lunch or dinner buffet while impacting on its other restaurant offerings, and unable to provide somewhere to shower prior to departure does not warrant this price point irrespective of star rating (the only reason to recommend this hotel is for the beach, grounds and friendly, attentive staff)