My Review
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 7:44 pm
This is a true report on Grafton Beach Resort. My husband, baby and I stayed at the resort 3 November 2005 to 17 November 2005. Booked through Virgin Holidays online, our complaint letter is on its way to them.
We went on this holiday with an open mind after reading the reports on this site, I also posted a note to which Steve Wooler responded, thank you.
Hotel
Arrival
On our arrival to the hotel we had to complete the normal form filling procedures only to be advised that our room was not ready. We explained that we really needed to get to our room, as we had to get some essentials for the baby, but were once again advised that we would have to wait. We eventually got our room after waiting for over 1.5 hours. This is unacceptable.
Tiles
We booked this hotel as your web site and brochure describes it as a family hotel, however we did not find this was the case whilst staying for 14 nights. Firstly the hotel was tiled through out, including the rooms, we understand that this is normally the case, but usually non-slip tiles are laid. When the main feature of the hotel is the swimming pool and the rooms and reception area surround it they will obviously get wet, unfortunately when these tiles became wet, they were extremely dangerous, and we were unable to let our baby walk in case she slipped and hurt herself. We only realised this as on the day of our arrival our baby slipped and fell, banging her head on the hard floor. Also during our stay one other guest fell and broke her arm and had to return home to the UK early. Apart from swimming and playing on the beach our child had to stay in her pram, which was very difficult as you can imagine with a 14 month old. Again this is unacceptable.
Hygiene
In the 14 days we stayed at the hotel, the pool was never cleaned once, and the bins, which surrounded the pool, were never emptied. I can vouch for this as I put nappies in the bins daily before and after my baby swam, the bin was over flowing and smelt pungent by the time we left. The reception toilets were in a disgusting state, apart from being filthy, the toilet doors did not shut or lock properly. The toilets at the beach bar were a no go area, with hackers from the beach freely using the facilities, although they were not buying food or drink. The beach bar was also dirty, and when there were rainstorms and vegetation fell from the trees this was just left lying for people to climb over. The gardens were not maintained and there were cats everywhere who were so hungry that you couldn’t eat anywhere around the pool as they attacked you for the food. A lady close to us was quite badly cut by one of the cats trying to get her food. The sun lounges were filthy and never cleaned, and the surrounding area never swept from the day before. Unacceptable.
FoodThe food in the main restaurant was always cold and never topped up. The selection was minimal compared to other Caribbean destinations we have visited. Extremely dissapointing.
Staff
I can say that 50% of the staff were wonderful, but unfortunately the other 50% really let the hotel down. When we asked for something it was always a problem, if we suggested or made a complaint they argued with us, and when we asked to see the manager or the rep to air our concearns we were always told that he was too busy at the hotel next door. Extremely unprofessional.
RoomsWe had a nice room, but once again the tiles on the floor were unsafe and extremely dangerous when they were wet. Unfortunately our room door did not fit its frame properly therefore leaving spaces at both the top and the bottom, so every mosquito, fly and other insects were able to fly into the room so we were all covered in bites, which again was unnecessary as we were all were protected with repellent and spray. Should this really be the case in a 3.5V resort.
Towels
Although pool towels were meant to be provided between 8-10am. No towels were ever available, which meant that most people were to scared to hand their dirty towels at the end of the day just in case they didn’t get another clean one in the morning. Unacceptable.
Animation/Entertainment
Unfortunately during our stay the weather was not great, no daytime animation or activities were arranged for the guests who were either left sitting in their rooms or in the reception area getting extremely drunk. I find this hard to believe in a hotel that you would class as a 3.5 V resort.
FlightOur outward flight was excellent, the staff were superb and provided us with the adequate assistance required when travelling with an infant, however I cannot say the same for our return flight. The staff appeared to be extremely inexperienced and did not even provide us with an infant meal, which had been pre-ordered. One of the staff gave us a bassinette to place the baby in, without a blanket in the base or to cover her with. In addition, once the baby was in the bassinette and sleeping the girl then decided that she had not made it properly and that we would have to remove the baby and wait for another cot. I understand that safety comes first especially when it’s my child, but to do this in the middle of the night when our baby was already settled and sleeping was quite unacceptable. Our baby was not offered an infant meal, which was requested at the time of booking and also when we carried out or check in and chill out booking. We also explained that we had a connecting flight to catch and would appreciate getting off the plane early, which other passengers were allowed to do, we were told we would just have to wait. Again I find this totally unacceptable.
To top it allOur flight times leaving Tobago were changed by Virgin, although at the time of booking and departure this was not the case, we were promissed by the Virgin Rep "Nadia" that we were booked on a later flight to Scotalnd than had been previously booked and that Virgin had picked up any additional costs. Well can you believe it that when we arrived at the North Terminal at Gatwick that yes we had seats reserved on the later flight, but that no aditional vosts had been paid, so to cut a long story short we had to pay an additional £186.00 to get to Edinburgh plus a 1.5 drive home from their.
To Sum it up, on completing the hotel questionaire I handed this into reception and asked the staff if they are read, I was told that only the management get to read them. I asked what the Tobago and Trinidad Tourism Board rate the hotel as, and was informed that they rate the hotel as a 2.5*, Virgin rate it as a 3.5V which we would take to be 3.5*. This is not the case, if you are a experienced traveller rate this resort at more 2*. Unfortunately the Tobago and Trinidad tourist site does not have any information on its accomodation page (correct me if I'm worng) so I cannot verify the information that the reception staff gave me.
We went on this holiday with an open mind after reading the reports on this site, I also posted a note to which Steve Wooler responded, thank you.
Hotel
Arrival
On our arrival to the hotel we had to complete the normal form filling procedures only to be advised that our room was not ready. We explained that we really needed to get to our room, as we had to get some essentials for the baby, but were once again advised that we would have to wait. We eventually got our room after waiting for over 1.5 hours. This is unacceptable.
Tiles
We booked this hotel as your web site and brochure describes it as a family hotel, however we did not find this was the case whilst staying for 14 nights. Firstly the hotel was tiled through out, including the rooms, we understand that this is normally the case, but usually non-slip tiles are laid. When the main feature of the hotel is the swimming pool and the rooms and reception area surround it they will obviously get wet, unfortunately when these tiles became wet, they were extremely dangerous, and we were unable to let our baby walk in case she slipped and hurt herself. We only realised this as on the day of our arrival our baby slipped and fell, banging her head on the hard floor. Also during our stay one other guest fell and broke her arm and had to return home to the UK early. Apart from swimming and playing on the beach our child had to stay in her pram, which was very difficult as you can imagine with a 14 month old. Again this is unacceptable.
Hygiene
In the 14 days we stayed at the hotel, the pool was never cleaned once, and the bins, which surrounded the pool, were never emptied. I can vouch for this as I put nappies in the bins daily before and after my baby swam, the bin was over flowing and smelt pungent by the time we left. The reception toilets were in a disgusting state, apart from being filthy, the toilet doors did not shut or lock properly. The toilets at the beach bar were a no go area, with hackers from the beach freely using the facilities, although they were not buying food or drink. The beach bar was also dirty, and when there were rainstorms and vegetation fell from the trees this was just left lying for people to climb over. The gardens were not maintained and there were cats everywhere who were so hungry that you couldn’t eat anywhere around the pool as they attacked you for the food. A lady close to us was quite badly cut by one of the cats trying to get her food. The sun lounges were filthy and never cleaned, and the surrounding area never swept from the day before. Unacceptable.
FoodThe food in the main restaurant was always cold and never topped up. The selection was minimal compared to other Caribbean destinations we have visited. Extremely dissapointing.
Staff
I can say that 50% of the staff were wonderful, but unfortunately the other 50% really let the hotel down. When we asked for something it was always a problem, if we suggested or made a complaint they argued with us, and when we asked to see the manager or the rep to air our concearns we were always told that he was too busy at the hotel next door. Extremely unprofessional.
RoomsWe had a nice room, but once again the tiles on the floor were unsafe and extremely dangerous when they were wet. Unfortunately our room door did not fit its frame properly therefore leaving spaces at both the top and the bottom, so every mosquito, fly and other insects were able to fly into the room so we were all covered in bites, which again was unnecessary as we were all were protected with repellent and spray. Should this really be the case in a 3.5V resort.
Towels
Although pool towels were meant to be provided between 8-10am. No towels were ever available, which meant that most people were to scared to hand their dirty towels at the end of the day just in case they didn’t get another clean one in the morning. Unacceptable.
Animation/Entertainment
Unfortunately during our stay the weather was not great, no daytime animation or activities were arranged for the guests who were either left sitting in their rooms or in the reception area getting extremely drunk. I find this hard to believe in a hotel that you would class as a 3.5 V resort.
FlightOur outward flight was excellent, the staff were superb and provided us with the adequate assistance required when travelling with an infant, however I cannot say the same for our return flight. The staff appeared to be extremely inexperienced and did not even provide us with an infant meal, which had been pre-ordered. One of the staff gave us a bassinette to place the baby in, without a blanket in the base or to cover her with. In addition, once the baby was in the bassinette and sleeping the girl then decided that she had not made it properly and that we would have to remove the baby and wait for another cot. I understand that safety comes first especially when it’s my child, but to do this in the middle of the night when our baby was already settled and sleeping was quite unacceptable. Our baby was not offered an infant meal, which was requested at the time of booking and also when we carried out or check in and chill out booking. We also explained that we had a connecting flight to catch and would appreciate getting off the plane early, which other passengers were allowed to do, we were told we would just have to wait. Again I find this totally unacceptable.
To top it allOur flight times leaving Tobago were changed by Virgin, although at the time of booking and departure this was not the case, we were promissed by the Virgin Rep "Nadia" that we were booked on a later flight to Scotalnd than had been previously booked and that Virgin had picked up any additional costs. Well can you believe it that when we arrived at the North Terminal at Gatwick that yes we had seats reserved on the later flight, but that no aditional vosts had been paid, so to cut a long story short we had to pay an additional £186.00 to get to Edinburgh plus a 1.5 drive home from their.
To Sum it up, on completing the hotel questionaire I handed this into reception and asked the staff if they are read, I was told that only the management get to read them. I asked what the Tobago and Trinidad Tourism Board rate the hotel as, and was informed that they rate the hotel as a 2.5*, Virgin rate it as a 3.5V which we would take to be 3.5*. This is not the case, if you are a experienced traveller rate this resort at more 2*. Unfortunately the Tobago and Trinidad tourist site does not have any information on its accomodation page (correct me if I'm worng) so I cannot verify the information that the reception staff gave me.