Royalton Luxury Hotels
Reviews and Complaints

I returned from a vacation at the Royalton Antigua. My vacation was booked by a Jet blue specialist and the Royalton Antigua was highly recommended. Needless to say, i was extremely disappointed by some of the staff at the housekeeping and front desk. Let's begin at checking,I arrived on the 14 at 330 and didn't have a room. I finally received my room at 430. My luggage didn't arrive until 530. I was unaware that my room was adjoining. I heard a baby crying among other things. My next room change was to the 6th floor and that room was also adjoining. Finally my third room , had a fire alarm and dirty sheets on the bed. It wasn't clean. I had to complain several times to management. Finally he and the head of house keeping cleaned and changed the sheets. On Wednesday the 17th I had yo beg for towels and the room again wasn't cleaned. The house keeper stated that she didn't have towels. It was 530 pm. This is unacceptable! Finally after complaining to the front desk I received a batch of towels. A vacation is supposed to be stress free . I need to be compensated these interruptions. I not happy w the service that I was provided at the Royalton.

We booked Royalton White Sands for our wedding with 39 guests. 36 booked directly with our travel agent. We arrived on June 11 and departed on June 18 2022. From the time we got into our hotel room to the day of our wedding (June 15 2022) our trip was nothing but dealing with problems and the front desk. From check in it was a disappointment. As Bride and Groom we were offered no upgrade (I understand its based on availability) however we were even told that there wasn't one available. When we got into our room (around noon) we all took a shower and this flooded our bathroom. There was so much caulking from a repair that the door wouldn't close and the water of four people showering flooded the bathroom. I immediately went to the front dest to address this issue and nothing was done. On Sunday I went back to the front desk and was issued it would be fixed. Again nothing was done. I should mention that from the Tim elf me seeing someone who could help to getting a decision along with traveling back and fourth to the lobby each time was taking upwards of an hour and a half each time. No not because there was line ups of people, simply because people had no sense of urgency. Finally after wasting half of my time over two days (we also had to meet with the onsite wedding coordinator on Sunday at 11am) someone on Monday siliconed a small piece of plastic where the water was running out. This did not stop the problem. In fact, the door was made worse now that it wouldn't close and the gap was bigger. Add the fact that our hand held shower was broken and didn't work. Just dumped water everywhere. We have 2 small children and the rain shower head doesn't work for them as soap was getting in their eyes. Finally on Monday I got to speak with Siesha. She said that she could move us to a room on the 7th floor that day and then move us to a family suite on Wednesday (day of the wedding). Having wasted so much time dealing with the front desk already, I told her that I wasn't moving twice and that some how on the day of my wedding I would get my room moved. The problem is she then said she can't guarantee that the room will be ready until 3PM. Also the time of my wedding. Also on Monday, the onsite wedding coordinator (Shauna - Gay) came to tell us at 1:30pm that our venue for the cocktail reception had to be changed because it was open to the public until 5pm. Our cocktail reception was from 3:30-4:30 so this caused a huge problem for us. Especially since she signed off on all the wedding details the day before with us. WE proceeded to ask for her manager. At 3pm on Monday she showed up with a man named Paul. They both then explained to us that this had to be changed and I asked to speak with the hotel manager. We had dinner reservations made for 6pm at the Steak House. At this time Alrick (Ex Asst Manager) again had to take us away to discuss all of these issues we were having. Taking us away for 40 min fro our wedding guests that we were to have a nice dinner with. We now had to go deal with more of these issues AGAIN. After Alrick Showed us 2 more venues, we held firm that we had to stay at the Diamond Club Beach Bar. One venue was Sands Beach Bar with is right beside the new hotel being built and right beside construction fences littered with garbage. Not an acceptable alternative. From there I told him that we were taking our wedding guests on a catamaran trip and wed be gone on Tuesday until 4pm and ill reach out when we get back. He then moved us to Blue Waters and assured us that the Diamond Club Beach Bar was going to be closed for us to have our reception at. Finally after 3.5 days, someone got something done for us. Upon going into our room at Blue Waters, it was clear that the room had been quickly repaired for us to go in. There was a huge hole in the ceiling that was patched up and the plaster repairs hadn't dried yet and was visible cracking again. Not the level of room category you're expecting when you've spent $15,000 CDN on the wedding and $7200 on the vacation its self. Add in another $1500 on services at the hotel (Bridal suite rental because our room was flooding and the bridal party couldn't get ready in there) and we HAD to have somewhere they could get ready. On the day of the wedding I woke up at 6am and proceeded to go for a walk. I noticed the wedding tent went up over night. This was great, however the florist build the wrong tent. In our contract it was clearly stated that we ordered a 30x60ft tent for a specific table arrangement. They had built one 40x40ft. At 10:30am day of the wedding Paul (wedding coordinator) came to our room and we now had to spend more time re configuring our seating arrangement four and a half hours before our wedding. Why was this something we (bride and groom) had to deal with the morning of our wedding. When the bridal bouquets were delivered, it was also noticed that they were not what we ordered. My wife was quoted on and ordered white roses with a hint of blush for the bouquet. They showed up as even flowers white and bright pink. The bridesmaids bouquets were also not the right size as quoted. We spent around $500USD on flowers for the bridal party and non of them were right. We had nothing but stress and wasted time for three and a half days leading up to our wedding.

After talking with Alrick, I had asked him to help fix things by getting me some non alcoholic beer (I don't drink) for the reception and also getting me two cabanas for the day after wedding. This helped ease the pain a bit, but didn't change the fact that we lost so much time dealing with issues that never should have been present in the first place.

We had guest with bathroom ceilings full of black mold. So much mold that they had to move rooms. This particular party had been moved three times total during the week. We had another room where the plaster from the ceiling was falling down on her head while she was showering. Another room asked for a cot for their son. House keeping brought up a crib mattress. Their son is 11yrs old and he slept on this and a pillow all week. Another guest had to pay $1000 to upgrade to a family suite after already spending 14K to get the 7 of them down to your resort. There were also many of our guests that got to move rooms or got upgraded to rooms, however we were told every time that no one could move us. Meanwhile everyone else was already being moved around before us at the beginning of the week. Nadia (Sunwing on site rep) was not helpful at all. Not once did she do anything to help us. It took me multiple trips to the lobby and front desk and not once did she help in any way. The only person who did anything for us was Alrick and my two butlers.

We booked the Royalton based on reputation of the brand and feed back we've had from many people who have travelled there. One person in particular who in the 6 months has spent over $35k with your brand of hotel. Mexico, DR and Jamaica since January. We are completely disappointed in the product that was paid for during our stay. Over $23k for a week including the wedding and half of our trip was wasted dealing with problems that never should have existed.

I look forward to your response

I purchased the Diamond club on day of arrival June 6th 2021. And it was a disaster. I did not receive Butler services until second day after 2 request on first day and a complaint on the second day. I never received liquor bottle. I only receive 1 bottle of wine or champagne at 10pm at night after complaint that I did not receive at 4pm when requested at 10am in the morning. I came here to relax and have a nice vacation and I should not have to complain about services not received that a paid for. Alain was the worst manager on earth he was so aggressive and very disrespectful, not professional at all. He would be fired or demoted. He treated me like very badly. So had that I had to get loud enough because he was trying to over talk me to tell him not to talk to me again and then he tries to say that I am being disrespectful. I just ignored his ignorance and did not acknowledge him again. It was pointless. I went to another office and and request to speak with his boss. I have a meeting scheduled at 4:30pm today, so let’s see how that goes. It is very frustrating to be ignored. You have a conversation with staff and no feedback, just no communication, like you never spoke to anyone. I did not spend my hard earned money to be treated like this.

Hello,

We are launching a formal complaint against the Front Desk and Management at the Royalton Chic in Cancun. At the beginning of our trip we were promised a Sunwing Representative to be there each day to tend to my needs, whether it to be assistance with excursions, a guide to offer help, or simply personnel to answer any questions. This was NOT the case. Not only was there not a true Sunwing Representative at my resort, but we were met with haste and when I say ‘knowledge of nothing’, I mean knowledge of NOTHING. Thankfully I was able to follow the Sunwing App to see delays, and nothing more was provided to me. I sought out assistance regarding insight to these delays, as at one point we were ‘supposed’ to takeoff for a 2AM flight. NOT ONLY were we forced out of my resort room by 12, denied any late checkouts, expected to leave all of my belongings with resort personnel (and trust this process), but we were denied access to a shower, and food. We were originally told we were cut off from food/beverage at noon. We spent my entire last day of vacation a combination of arguing to eat/looking desperately for answers regarding what is happening to us. To my complete disgust, the “Sunwing Rep” was actually only an excursion booking guide, and claimed to have no further information regarding these delays, just that the flight is delayed and from [protected] May 15th we were left as a travellers without access to basic needs. Royalton who I used to speak highly of failed to surrender any assistance when asking to be placed in this resort rather than to move to an unknown resort. Safety of my family will always come first, and the lack of information given to us, I was not going to let us be placed there until I was threatened to be arrested if I failed to leave the resort. Only at the last moment were we notified where the resort would be. And we along with another family were forced to take separate taxis to get to this resort.

Aside from the Front Desk and Management, I loved the resort, and instantly directed my family and friends that I wanted my bachelor party at this location. the bartenders and waiters at all restaurants were absolutely amazing. It’s sad that I will never step foot back on this resort due to Management, and the lack of caring for customer service.

Andrea (Front Desk)- False information in regards to diamond member which we received 50% refund (180USD) Andrea did agree that what she sold was not what she offered.

Victoria (Front Desk)- who mentioned I could not eat after check out.

And the PRIMARY reason I will not let this go undocumented is your absolute arrogant, disrespectful lack of leadership, and rude Mr. Enrique.

Good Morning,

I had pre-booked 2 rooms for the Royalton Splash in Punta Cana on March 31, 2022. My trip was scheduled for April 7-14. Upon arrival 1 of the 2 rooms was not available. I contacted my Sunwing rep and she contacted the Hotel Manager. On Monday April 11, the manager had contacted me via What's app as well as called the room. We made arrangements to speak on Tuesday April 12. I spoke with the manager and they had offered either a dinner at an a la carte restaurant or a refund to my credit card. I had requested to have a refund to my credit card in the amount of $118.00 USD, $151.33 CAD. They indicated it would be approx. 2 weeks for me to see the refund on my credit card. I still have not received the refund.

I had contacted my Sunwing rep via Whats App on Friday April 22, she confirmed the hotel indicated it would be refunded within 2 weeks. On Tuesday May 10, I contacted my Sunwing rep once again as I still have not received the refund and she advised me to contact the hotel and provided me with an email. I emailed and whats app the hotel on Tuesday May 10 and did not receive a response. I again contacted the hotel on Tuesday May 17 and still have not received a response.

I would like to have this issue resolved as soon as possible as the room I had prebooked was not available.

Thank you,

Michelle Patterson

I’m hoping this message can be forwarded to management as I’m struggling to reach somebody.

I have recently arrived home to the uk after the most wonderful trip to Jamaica. My whole experience at your hotel and location was made so special by one person. His name is ‘coco loco’ (Craig meghie) he works as a vendor on the beach. He enabled me to experience the ‘real’ Jamaica and kept me safe. I was able to see and do all the off grid things I wanted to that the tour guides in reception couldn’t offer me. The reason for my message is to see if there could be a paid position in the hotel for him. I learnt so much from him and he knows the area so well. My safety and happiness were his top priority everyday. He was so knowledgable about the land, history and culture. His energy and passion for life and his country is so pure. He is trustworthy, kind and generous, I was so lucky to meet him and I hope this message can bring him the little bit of luck he needs to help take care of his people and his family.

His friendly face would be a great asset to your resort and would allow other tourists to experience the real Jamaica and hopefully be as moved as I am to try and make a difference to these truly beautiful humans!

One other thing, I wondered what happens to all the leftover food each day? So much food is prepared in a huge resort like yours and assumed wasted each day feeding so many tourists. I wondered if there was some kind of scheme we could put in place to feed the poor people just outside the hotel gates. ‘Bag city’ they call it. It seems crazy that there is so much food and money inside of the hotel gates, but just a few steps down the road people are living with barely anything. I met some of these people and they were so warm and welcoming and even shared what little food they did have with me. I can’t bare the thought of so much food going to waste when neighbours of the hotel are going hungry.

I am a well travelled woman, but the people of Jamaica have truly stolen my heart. I do hope my message can bring forth a change, even if only for one person, sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest difference in a life. I would love to hear back from you.

Thankyou so much for reading my thoughts

Jojo

(England)

On the 2nd March we were in our room about 4.30 when the maid knocked to clean the room.

We left the room and returned two hours later and noticed the safe had been left open, a quick check and all items were there.

The next day we decided to go to the casino and got some money from the safe, upon checking our purse we noticed £230 had gone missing. This was reported and security came to our room, after checking the room and questioning us for two hours, the said a report would be made.

This report effectively called us liars, the quizzed the maid, and somehow two days after the theft, she could recall the safe was definately locked upon entering the room, obviously no way the maid admit theft!

On Saturday, October 9, 2021 my Tory Burch Sandals were stolen from the Royalton Hideaway pool while I was in the pool. I immediately contacted security and I explained the incident. The security officer was able to see on the security monitor when I got in the pool and when I came out of the pool and then went back into the pool but he was able to tell me who took my sandals. He was not able to explain why he could he not see what happened next. The security officer said that he would take another look and get back to me, but he never did. I also reported the incident to the Guest Services Manager and she did not other to do anything to help resolve the issue. One of the staff members told me that it happens all the time.

I got really bad customer service and also got played by the staff and a couple of Venezuelan women. I had ask the staff to remove 2 Venezuelan girl I meet at the hideaway at Royalton Riviera in Cancun because they were threatening my life and getting crazy. When the staff took them out these woman said I had raped them. Crazy, then I get a knock on the door 20 minutes later and it was the police. Well I go to jail because the staff saw a opportunity to make money because the police pulled over and said we can make this good away for 900 USD. Well I paid it of course so I wouldnt be in a Mexican prison but the officer said half goes to the manager of the Hideaway at Royalton Riviera. What a scam they got me on wait til two days before my check out.

Dear Customer Support Team,

I hope this email finds you doing better than my recent experience at your Negril property.

First, allow me to explain.

I travelled to the Royalton Negril in August 2019 pre-COVID19 and had the most amazing experience with my family. I booked the Diamond Club swim out suite and the food, service, and property were top notch. I wrote reviews, told friends, and advertised how wonderful everything was and it was money well spent.

I convinced my brother and his family that this is the place we needed to stay when planning our family trip in August 2021. He was hesitant and wanted to try somewhere else. I insisted that he book this hotel. Although pricier than other available options this was the place to be. Well, I was utterly disappointed, disgusted, and dissatisfied. I am embarrassed at our recent experience. It has left such a distasteful and negative memory in my mind.

3:45 pm - Upon arrival to the hotel, we were not greeted with any welcome cocktails or drinks. I saw this happened for others but not when we arrived.
4:00 pm My brother (Christopher Wilson) was informed at the main lobby's front desk that they were not able to offer him what he paid for. After waiting a ridiculous amount of time to be seen, they came back with the most pitiful excuse. There were other guests equally upset and I was vacillating what could make them so upset. I soon found out. It was disheartening because he was ONLY there because of me.So the check in process was totally disorganized, folks were scrambling and not sure of what to do. Noone could give us answers. It was embarrassing the time we stood there waiting for someone to acknowledge and help us.
4:15 pm I took the golf cart over to the Diamond Club checkin. The lady at the main front desk told me that I would not receive a swimout because of a maintenance problem. This made me upset about the amount of money I spent and that was what I expected to get on my return trip.
My check in was smooth and easy and a breeze. I even had the same butler as in 2019, George, who remembered us.
5:00 pm we get to room 2010 and I called and my brother said he was standing in the same spot I left him in and noone helped him and he was no further along.
I got a golf cart and returned back to the lobby and couldn't find him and finally learned that they gave him an alleged upgrade to a family suite and promised to get him a swim out suite as soon as one was available. Although he didnt book Diamond club they put him in our building room 2107 but he never saw a butler or received any services. By the way, no one ever called to apologize or offer him the swimout that his kids thought they would get. I built them up for weeks about the experience and you could imagine the disappointment for a 15 year and recently 21 year old (we were celebrating their birthdays) when they found out they didnt get what we bragged and anticipated. I understand that things happen but we should have been notified in order to make other arrangements or have a choice. The unorganized front desk staff was not able to clearly communicate nor make right this wrong. My brother and his family were disgusted and not happy. They felt it was a waste of money and did not feel it was the trip we promised them. Money could never make up the sadness in their face at their experience. They barely ate and complained the whole trip. I agree with them because I felt the same way.

September 10, 2021

To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is to express my extreme dissatisfaction with your Royalton Negril property. Let me preface this by saying my family and I stayed here back in April 2019, and we had a totally different experience. What a difference two years make because we were ALL extremely disgusted by the lack of service, amenities, and overall treatment by staff here at the resort. We traveled as a party of 9 and we stayed from Sunday August 29-Friday September 3, 2021. I stayed in Room 2010, My brother (William Scott, Jr.) party of 5 stayed in Room 5201-02, and my parents and brother (William Scott Sr.) in Room 1101. We all had diamond club because we wanted to enjoy the amenities that came along with it. There were no benefits to that at all. No one ever came to replenish our beverages, the diamond club was ALWAYS out of bottled water, my parents' butler was non-existent, the housekeeping staff never had adequate towels and washcloths, and beverages were not replenished but ONCE during our stay.
On Sunday, I arrive to my room (2010). I immediately notice that I was only given one washcloth. Three towels and only one washcloth. How does that even make sense? When housekeeping came to my room I was told "We are out at the moment" This one phrase became the theme of our entire trip. And "at the moment" must mean a week here at this resort because all week we could not get washcloths, yogurt, waters, butler service. Just deplorable.
Let's move to Monday. We all came here to celebrate my dad's birthday. This was a very special occasion. I asked my Butler how to go about ordering a cake etc. He told me to go to Diamond club and set everything up. I was told for $25.00 I could order a cake and the butler would decorate the room for free. I told them I wanted the cake to say, "Happy Birthday Dad" and to deliver the cake to Grazie at 6pm because we had dinner reservations there. I also asked for them to decorate his room while we were at dinner and of course the answer was "Sure no problem". After dinner I asked our server to bring out the cake and she came back and informed me that there was no cake here for my Dad. I immediately got upset because I signed a paper regarding the cake first thing that morning and no cake was delivered. Furthermore, his room was not decorated at all. The entire night was an epic failure. I went the next morning to complain about not getting the cake or the room being decorated and more importantly making sure that I wasn't charged for the cake. I was assured that I would not be charged for the cake. Her specific words "If you didn't get the cake, you won't be charged". Low and behold what do you think happened when I checked out on Sunday morning? There was a $25 charge on my credit card for the cake. When I let the staff person know she makes a call and says she must wait for "confirmation" on whether I received the cake or not. How was she to confirm whether I received a non-existent cake? The fact that I was constantly treated like I was trying to get over is disgusting.

On Thursday night we had dinner at Calypso. My nephew who is 16 asked for a VIRGIN pina colada and our server brought him a pina colada with EXTRA rum in it. Thank God, we caught it before he started drinking it. This is not OK. Royalton served an underaged minor alcohol. To make matters worse the server was so nonchalant about it. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I will take it away". No apology or nothing. We will be reporting this to the alcohol board.
Let me end by saying our professional network is very robust. We are business owners, doctors, Fortune 500 senior leadership, social service administrators, scientists etc. At no point, do we ever need to try and get over as we are all very successful and have lucrative careers. To have your staff turn your nose up at us, treat us like second class citizens is just sad. We tipped everyone very well even when they didn't deserve it. I will make it my personal mission to tell all I know about the horrible experience I had as well as the lack of amenities. I would hope that someone takes my concerns seriously and I receive a response back. I will be posting on all my social media outlets as well as the Better Business Bureau. Because one thing for sure is that the Royalton hotel lacked across the board but did not lack in how you kept prices the same if not more! Shame on you Royalton.
I expect a response to this letter. I will also be forwarding this to the Better Business Bureau if for no other reason because you served a minor alcohol. I am a firm believer of celebrating businesses when they get right but I am equally as passionate if not more when a business gets it wrong. And in this case Royalton Negril made several egregious missteps throughout our stay.

Hi
I am staying at the Royalton blue waters hotel where I am diamond club. This is the very first time with Royalton hotels and my experience has not been the best. We have been placed right opposite to the elevator which means it is so noisey at night as people leave the elevator. Me and my children are distrusted at night. I asked front desk to move me and they advised they do not have any rooms available. I am here for 14 nights and I hope they will give me a room which would satisfy my request at some point but I did want to share my experience. Hoping Royalton can help in anyway.

Check-in was the worse experience ever as a frequent traveler. Royalton is operating on an old automated system. The concierge greeted us with papers to find our names. We finally went over to check in and several guests were not updated in the system. This should have been achieved with minimal effort. Instead it took almost three hours.
My party of 14 was told the resort was All Inclusive except Zen Japanese cuisine, which would need a reservation. The entire vacation from July 22nd thru July 28th we were told we needed reservations at each restaurant visited; Hunter, Calypso, and Tex Mex. I informed the front desk who was unaware of this. There's certainly a lack of communication around the entire resort amongst the staff.
The swim out rooms emitting a mold smell. One member of our party had mold on her curtains, and requested they'd be changed out. No response was taken.
Another member of my party was stuck in the elevator for almost 15 minutes with minimal air causing a panic attack. No one from the nurses station was called to check on her condition at all.
The constant harassment from the locals at the beach needs to be monitored closely. Someone on vacation should not have to experience this everyday all day.
Lastly, we were unaware of the large group (Views) that were vacationing the same time as our group. I would suggest that the hotel lists these types of activities on the website, so guest could avoid this, or have an event this large stationed in one area.
This was by far one of the worse vacations. I only hope to visit again under better circumstances and services.

We booked a week's vacation on May 2nd 2021 for your resort at the Royalton Antigua. On July 5th I received an email from Edual Dicent to see if we were still coming. We emailed Edual back on July 5th to say we were still coming. I then called on July 6th to make sure everything was ok so that we can move forward. IpSpoke with Edual again, whom said everything was ok.

I then asked about transportation and he told me I could just take a taxi at the airport. On July 14th, we emailed reservations stating if they could advise us on how to sign up for the health provider MAS SERVICOS because a window keeps popping up stating check data. We did not receive a response back. We received an email on July 14th from Mayelin Medina that they have overbooked and we would need to be put at an alternate accommodations our first two nights. Also, they would need our flight information and that their system needs payment. We responded via email on July 14th our flight information. In the email, we asked if the alternate accommodation would still be on the Royalton property and that our credit card information should be on file from when we booked it but if not we could provide it again. On July 15th, we received an email back from Mayelin stating we would be at a different hotel and did not respond if there was still an issue with payment. On July 16th, I sent another email to Mayelin that we were having issues with the online health assistance, MAS SERVICOS asking if they could advise. Did not receive a response. On July16th, we received an email from Maria stating that they still have not received payment and if they do not hear from us with in the next 48 hours, our reservation would be canceled. We in turn called the Royalton repeatedly to continue with our reservation. While on the phone with Mayelin it seemed as if the connection was fine on our end but not hers and she hung up on us a few times saying she could not hear me. At one point I was able to connect with her and she told me I needed to be in contact with Maria Reyes. Mayelin said she was not able to take payment from me and told me I needed to contact Maria Reyes. We in turn called Maria and left a message. We also emailed Maria back on July 16th letting her know that we spoke to Mayelin, whom said that we needed to be in contact with Maria. On both the July 17th and 18th we called reservations numerous times and no one picked up the phone. When we went onto Royalton Reservations and put in our Confirmation number it stated that our credit card information was on file.
This appeared to be some kind of tactic used by the hotel, which mind you stated to us that they were overbooked.
Because of this 48 hour window we were told, which was a weekend, we had to make reservations for a different vacation at a different location.

My experience at Royalton in Antigua May 9-May 17, 2021, while staying in the Diamond Club room 10-105 was one of the worst, discriminatory, harassing and sexist experiences I have EVER encountered in my life on a vacation. I work hard for every single dollar that I earn to take a vacation yearly, so I am LIVID AND DISGUSTED that my hard earned money was wasted on this trip. I WILL never stay at this resort again unless they hire a new staff that knows the real meaning of Hospitality Management. I also, recommend no one that is Black woman and attractive stays here if you are looking to enjoy your vacation because you will be discriminated against by 50% of the staff and sexually harassed by the other 50% of the staff.

I was treated like so disrespectfully and sexually harassed that at one point, I cried and wanted to fly back home immediately. I do not have much family and have lost a few loved ones and friends, so there is not anyone that I could really travel with, I travel alone. The staff took saw the opportunity that I was alone and discriminated against me and harassed me. I usually take a trip usually to the Caribbean 1-2 times a year. This year I was really looking forward to this trip as I was unable to travel in 2020 due to the pandemic. Therefore, I made sure to save a sufficient amount of money as I planned to splurge on this trip by staying longer than I ever had on a trip and paying for a ‘swim out" room with the Diamond Club.

First let me start with positive part of the trip and acknowledge the staff members that that provided phenomenal customer service that enhanced my experience at the resort. Charlene, the concierge with the Diamond Club was extremely nice, patient, and knowledgeable and went over and beyond to assist me in areas that other staff fell short. She stepped in to do the job of one of my butlers, which I will mention later, failed to do. Thomas, the bell boy, greeted me as soon as I stepped foot on the property and assisted me with my luggage. He also saw that I was confused about a few things and needed assistance with a lot of questions that I had due to one of my butlers NOT doing his job. He did not hesitate to answer those questions. Also, he was the only one that told me about the entertainment, ice cream shop and restaurants that I was not told about, again due to the incompetence of one of my butlers that was working and assigned to me when I first arrived. Jessica, the butler, also was so courteous, professional and very helpful. She was not assigned to me until about day three so when she came I was so relieved because the other butler did absolutely nothing to assist me. Jessica made sure I was scheduled for my hydrotherapy, dinner and knew where to find me to remind me of my spa and other appointments. She knows the real meaning of Hospitality Management. Amanda the masseuse at the spa was very professional, kind and provided a wonderful service. Jaire and Delroy, Diamond Club bar servers, went over and beyond to make sure I received the service that I paid for and I had everything I needed to enjoy the beach. They had the most positive and professional attitudes. They were great. Lastly, Douvert, the beach lifeguard, definitely provided unmatched customer service. He takes his job as a lifeguard very seriously; he has a care for the guest and makes sure all beach rules are followed. As I mentioned previously, I traveled on this trip alone and it was my first time to Antigua so he also let me know about great local spots to visit and to eat, he let me know about the history of Antigua and different water sports available. He really takes pride in making sure ALL guests enjoy their stay, which is something that is important for tourists. Samantha, the ice creem shop employee, was also a joy to get to know. She was amazing and professional. I am very thankful for these staff members that made sure I enjoyed my vacation and went beyond their job titles. If it were not for these phenomenal individuals, my trip definitely would have been more awful.

After about three days, the sexist, discriminatory, and sexually harassing began. First, each time Thomas was seen talking to me in passing, the manager Faithline, would send another employee to pull Thomas away and speak with him with many accusations that we were having a sexual relationship. I was highly offended and disgusted that another woman, Black woman would assume something so sexist, filthy, and low about another woman, a Black woman. I felt belittle and like she was insinuating that I came way to Antigua to have sex with the staff which is beyond disgusting. NOT ONE MALE employee could assist me without his manager assuming we were having a sexual relationship. So because a man was talking to a woman IN PUBLIC, IN PLAIN SIGHT, she assumed we were having sex. That was the lowest thing that has ever been said and done to me EVER as a customer/guest of any resort I have EVER visited. Secondly, on a another day Thomas was giving guest rides around the property and noticed I was headed to my room from dinner so he offered me a ride as well. As all the other guests exited the buggy, we continued the conversation about dinner and how I was enjoying the trip. While conversing, Rudy, a manager, passes by did not speak to me, did not introduce himself to me and even ignored me when I spoke to him. Instead, he stared at us, stood a few feet away and appeared to be taking a picture of us and texting/sending those pictures. Shortly, after he also accused Thomas of having a sex with me. I became aware of the discussions that he had with Thomas because he informed me that he could no longer assist me or speak to me because he was in fear of losing his job. This really offended me that I was treated like a prostitute or a sex worker and they were afraid that he would "be sexual" with me.

Also, I asked Thomas would he mind taking a picture and video of me with MY phone as I mentioned previously, I was on the trip alone so I had no one else to ask. Therefore, I did not have a designated individual to take me pictures and videos of my trip so I would ask other guests or staff members just like any other person would do. As Thomas is proceeding to take a photo of me, the security guard, Driego, tells him "she is not allowed to take a picture there" on the bridge by the Caribbean restaurant. I only wanted to stand on the bridge by the Caribbean restaurant by the glass rails. She assumed I was walking to the bungalows and I was no where near the bungalows I just wanted to stand on the bridge with the water and bungalows in the background. However, at this point I was feed up with the discriminatory behavior from the staff and so I confronted her. This confrontation led to her calling me names and speaking derogatory about me in Patua and/or in her dialect as if I did not understand what she was saying. This night was the beginning of the worst parts of my trip.

I then realized that Rudy and Faithline are perverted and were looking at me in a sexual way which made me highly uncomfortable. Rudy also would come to the beach and watch and stare at Douvert talking to me. He also told Steve the other lifeguard to take a picture of Douvert talking to me on the beach. This is harassment on another level. He was harassing Douvert and disregarded that the beach security guard, Stephen would look at me in a sexual way and stand there and make sexual and inappropriate comments to me about my body. Again, sexual harassment that was allowed on the property by one of their employees, Stephen as they were too busy focusing and jealous at the fact the Douvert was having a non sexual and intellectual conversation with me WHILE still doing his duties as a lifeguard.

Also, I am FULLY aware that management and HR made the comment to an employee that I was "wearing revealing clothes" and accused him of trying to have sex with me. This is the main reason I am purusing a lawsuit against Royalton because what I was wearing was no different than what any other female guest was wearing. It appeared discriminatory, sexist and overall ammunition used to serve disciplinary action against an employee that was simply doing there job and NEVER tried to be sexual with me. The employees at this resort are perverted and I will ensure this will never happen to another guest that visits.

On my first night eating at the Caribbean, there was a waitress that walked over to my table and informed me that there was a chef that "found me attractive and wanted to let me know." So I smiled and kept eating to not appear rude to her but I was uncomfortable and was hoping that she would dismiss herself from my table and allow me to enjoy my meal. Days later, I go to eat at Grazie for dinner and while I was sitting there eating and conversing with another guest, this same waitress, walks over and said "when you finish talking meet me around here in five minutes." I was startled and was caught off guard because she would demand that I meet her in five minutes, disregarding my space and time. Secondly, I was confused because she said it with aggression so I was hesitant because of the treatment I have already received, I was not sure if she was going to harm me or what.

So after dinner, she sees me and say "follow me, " "sit here and I will be back." She comes back and tells the chef named Aaron to sit next to me. I was so very embarrassed and felt so belittled as this felt so sexually demeaning because it felt like she was setting up a date without my consent and it was not what I expected and definitely not what I wanted. Also, how could management reprimand Thomas but allow this type of "sexual" behavior. I felt completely uncomfortable so I got up and began to walk to my room. When I got almost to my room, I heard a male's voice and turned around and I jumped because I was startled, appalled and afraid that this man was following me to my room. I was frightened and began walking swiftly almost running after asking him why was he following me and I did not stick around to hear an answer as I began walking rapidly to get away from him.

There was another employee by the name of Scott, not sure of his job title. However, he asked to come to my room "after hours" for sex, REPEATEDLY. He also offered me drugs and also sat down by other employees and my self on the beach a few days prior and pulled marijuana out of his bag and asked me do I smoke marijuana. This again is one of the most unprofessional and harassing experience I have encountered at a resort.

My last night at the resort I ate at Grazie. As I walked up to the booth to get my temperature checked and to sanitize my hands, I noticed that the hostess Akeelia and anther young man had a "cold" demeanor, did not greet me and looked at me from head to toe. I assumed that I was too early for dinner to get this type of stare and treatment so I asked, "Are you all serving dinner at 6:00 right?" They both said ‘yes" ad still did not greet me. I then was seated and as soon as I sat down, Akeelia walks over and tells me that wearing shorts above the knees and a t shirt was inappropriate attire for dinner. I then told her this is basically what I have been wearing EVERY NIGHT to dinner and no one ever said anything. She then said "this is not a buffet this is fine dining." I felt so belittled and embarrassed again. I then asked the waitress could I order my food and take it back to my room to eat because the hostess made feel unwanted. She asked the manger and he said no I could not. The male manager then comes over and tells me its nothing wrong with my clothes and the waitress also told me my clothes were appropriate as well and everything was fine with my clothes. Moments later, a White female gust came in with the EXACT shirt and same length shorts I had on. When I noticed it I then confronted Akeelia and asked her what is there a difference between my clothes and the other guest clothes and her response was "your shorts are shorter than hers." I then explained to her because I am a much bigger woman than the skinny white lady, my shorts rise when I walk or sit. I then told her she was discriminating against me because of race AND body shaming me by insinuating and labeling my shorts as inappropriate because of my size. I then stood up and pulled my shorts down to show her they are no shorter than the White guest's shorts. While saying this I am brought to tears and began to cry because it is already sad that we as Black people and as Black women are treated poorly in the U.S. but it hurts to leave the country and still be treated like a second class citizens at a resort that we pay good money to enjoy a vacation. Other employees saw me crying and tried to come over to check on me but by that time it was too late. I just took my food and ate the rest of my food at my room.

Lastly, my butler, Zo, was rude, incompetent, and "cold" and overall did not even do his job. Charlene let me know he was my butler upon my arrival. She introduced us and said he was going to come to my room to do orientation. HE NEVER came to my room the entire 9 days that I was there. He would only acknowledge me in passing so he would speak and keep walking and talking to other employees and guest. There were also times when I would find him and ask him questions and he was very cold and standoff ish as if I was annoying him or like I was bothering him. I hated that he was assigned to me as my butler. He is the reason Charlene, Thomas and Jessica had to go beyond the call of duty to help me because they noticed he did absolutely nothing to help me.

The day of my departure I was fed up and shaking and in tears and went to confront Rudy. I was told I needed to make an appointment to speak to him but I demanded to speak with management. Therefore, Alton agreed to sit and take to me, He is very aware of everything I have addressed in this statement. He apologized for my bad experience but said there was nothing he could do to fix it because it was my last day there. He also asked repeatedly why I not let management know while it was happening and I told him out of fear. I feared that as a single woman in another country I feared harm that would be done to me out of retaliation from the employees.

I am at a lost for words of the treatment I received and the behavior and lack of professionalism received from the employees. It took me a while to gather all my thoughts and to right his statement because I was hurt, heartbroken, felt inferior, felt sexually harassed and discriminated against. I have cried and lost sleep, many days over this ordeal. This trip was a nightmare. I will not rest until something changes going forward and I am compensated for the inconvenience and harassment I received at the Royalton.

I booked a trip to Royalton White Sands in March 2021 for my moms birthday. There was six of us & we were all super excited until everything slowly became a [censored] show.

I will start by saying that I had high expectations for Royalton, mainly because I've stayed at Royalton resorts before & they set the standard very high.

Upon arriving to the resort & checking in, we were told that the resort offered dinner at nine restaurants. We were also told that the restaurants closed at 10 PM every night & the last seating would be at 8:30. Our first night there, we waited to be seated at the Italian Restaurant. Whiles waiting, two of our party members decided to find out how long the wait would be at the steakhouse. They were told that the steakhouse was not opened & that there are only two restaurants opened per night & the buffet. We were also told that restaurants close at 8:30 & not 10 like we were originally informed. We finally got our seats for the Italian restaurant and placed our orders. After 45 minutes of waiting on our food, we were told that they could not fulfill our orders because they ran out of chicken. Upon asking what we could get instead, their only option was shrimp (some of us are allergic to shrimp). The manager than walked over & told us she could make us jerk chicken wings with French fries. We decided to order pizza off the menu whiles we waited, in which, they told us they were having technical difficulties in the kitchen and could not provide us with a chicken pizza. When we received our jerk wings and French fries, our wings were undercooked. The waiter eventually came back with the chicken pizza he could not provide us with, only for it to taste like sour dough. After providing us with the pizza and the half cooked wings, no one ever came back to check on us and make sure everything was okay.

We were told that room service was opened until 2 AM, and as part of our all inclusive package, we would be able to order room service. When calling to find out their room service menu, we were offered only three items: chicken fingers, hamburgers and cheese burgers. The food took over an hour to get to our room.

As for the rooms. The sink didn't drain! We had to use a hanger to lift up the center piece so that the water would go down. There was toothpaste around the pipe! There was hair sitting on the drain in the shower.. There was handprints on the mirror, which was also foggy (I don't want to know). The AC in my room sounded like it was going explode (no exaggeration, I have a video to prove it). The first night, I looked passed it & decided not to sleep with it on. I also noticed that my room had only two working lights (I also have a photo to prove it) whiles my sisters room next door had an entire a chandelier and lighting within the wall behind the bed. We were able to get a new room, unfortunately when we were placed into our new room, the sink was leaking as well as the mini fridge (I did slip the last day and landed on my backside). Towels were also an issue. We got new towels on the first day, the second day we got one new towel (there was two of us per room) and then the third day we called for new towels, they sent up one towel & a few hair towels, the day AFTER.

We did speak to a manager, which she did try to accommodate us, except the rest of the staff didn't seem so accommodating. When speaking to her about the dinner issues, she did ask a chef to prepare us a meal the same night, that meal was about an hour late. As for breakfast, we had an excursion planned the following morning, and had to leave the resort by 6:40 AM (nothing is opened yet), our breakfast was supposed to arrive to our room at 6:10, it never did. It was in the lobby waiting for us at 7 AM & we couldn't even eat it. We were already late & there was a bus filled with people waiting for us.

We were offered a one day refund for our unfortunate experience at the resort. We planned on excepting it, but we were told that it would be in lieu of our experience & we would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. We quickly declined. I wish someone had told me about their experience before I planned a trip, that wasn't cheap, just to basically waste two days on a resort. Why pay for all inclusive when they can't even accommodate it?

Overall, I would not rate this resort 4 or 5 stars. Personally I think that the resort had a lot of false advertisement. They should at least mention "due to covid, we only open two restaurants a night.." this resort was definitely 2 stars, and the only reason it gets two stars is because the beach and pool are beautiful. Their customer service sucks. I wouldn't even give them 1 star. & to top this all off, they tried to refund me for one day, and then basically buy my silence on top of that. In reality, I lost more than that.

The customer service at this resort is completely terrible. I booked my reservation with a third party site. There was a problem with our booking so we decided to extend our stay an extra day. Was directed to call the third party to extend. When the third party tried to contact the resort NO ONE WOULD ANSWER THE PHONE. I kept getting the run around and the problem was never solved. Highly dissatisfied. 0/5.

To whom it may concern,

I would like to first mention that I have travelled extensively for over 20 years and this is the first time I have taken time to write a review. I that it is necessary that I write about my recent experience at the Royalton Blue Water that unfortunately was extremely disappointing.

I would like to first mention that the resort is beautiful, the Beach is lovely - beautiful sand and the grounds are well maintained. The nightly entertainment was really fun. The supervisor at the buffet was extremely polite and professional. The café served really good coffee.

I stayed at the resort from March 12th - March 16th, with 7 family members looking to celebrate my cousins 50th Birthday and my daughters Sweet16 with relaxation and a fun time. Prior to arriving at the hotel I had called the service desk and requested that our rooms be situated close together. After making 4 phone call and not being able to have my request fulfilled because the person who I needed to speak to on all occasions was never available and did not return my phone calls. We arrived at the resort early - around 1Pm where we then made the request in person. The manager David didn't seem to want to make the changes and asked that we reach out to him the next day which was Saturday March 13th.
• The Friday evening ( March 12th) the resident in the room next to me played extremely loud profane music all day, through the night and first thing at 6AM in the morning and it continued. I attempted to call the desk service many times through the night - no answer! I was in the room with my 2 daughters - 16 and 8 years old.
• The Room that my cousin stayed in was consumed with the smell of marijuana. She was in a room with her 17 year old daughter.
• We spoke to David the manager March 13th and expressed our negative experiences to him and again asked him if he could accommodate us by switching the rooms - his inappropriate answer was " So if I was to switch the rooms would all of your problem magically disappear?" Quite honestly I have never experienced such poor customer service - his response was unnecessary and appalling and I told him so.
• David finally did switch our rooms where we were all loser - However my room had a foul sewer smell ( Room 3515) It was so disgusting! I couldn't sleep at night. I attempted to call desk services my phone was not working!
I finally went down to the lobby telling them about the terrible smell and the phone that was not working - I was told there is nothing they could do about it and I would need to reach out to the maintenance team!
• When checking out I told the lady at the desk about the room smell and she asked me why did I not tell anyone.
• The PCR testing experience was extremely stressful and frustrating - but at this point I'm not even going to bother going into details

Your resort is incorrectly listed as 4 ½ stars. The customer service displayed at Blue water deserves a 2 ½ at best! I am writing this letter in hope that by bringing these occurrences/ grievances to your attention that what you seek to address them and make the necessary changes and improvements in your services.

Best Regards,
Billie

Hi, we have booked the Royalton in Antigua for our party of 11 (inc 3 toddlers) at the end of January as we have enjoyed previous stays at various Royalton hotels. However on reviewing recent trip advisor comments it seems as though the service has been very poor recently. And is a cause for concern over our upcoming holiday. Please can you advise what measures the hotel is putting in place to rectify the issue and timelines. If the service is not up to par with normal Royalton standards we would prefer to cancel then be left disappointed with the Royalton group.

Thank You
Reshma
[protected]@hotmail.com