This is the first trip that I have taken in a long time that did not have some kind of drama involved in getting there - no TSA or security foul ups, no reservations mix ups - just plain ole travel to your destination.
We arrive at Atlantis - Harborside. Harborside is the villas you can stay in if you own in the Starwood network of properties. It is nice but nothing like The Westin St. John Villas - not even close. This is more like a suite at the Marriott or something with an efficiency kitchen. It will do.
Now for the disclaimer. I am a travel snob. Period. I want what I want for the amount of money that you pay to go to these places. Atlantis is beautiful and I am "trying" to relax and enjoy myslef, but Atantis IS NOT the place to go if you are trying to relax. If you are thinking you are going to get upscale, exlusive treatment and service (cause you paid a damn pretty penny for that belief) then you are going to be sorely disappointed (as I currently am).
Stike One: You give me a really nice coupon book for all the store and some of the services at the resort. Go on and on about it and how I really should make use of it. Come to find out at my first attempt to use the damn book that all of the coupons expired on April 1st. When I called about it, they said "Oh, we apologize for the inconvenience. We will have to destroy all of the other books." No other offers, no nothing.
Strike Two: "Why, of course, we have wireless internet available." A lie of omission. What they left out in that statement was that they have wireless in 2 lounges over in the Atlantis Hotel and at all of the pool decks. Why the F--K would I want to take my laptop to a location surrounded by water when Laptops and Water have never previously gotton along. What sense does that make. Well, they do have another option - dial up access at $0.50/minute ($30/hour). Have you lost your everlasting mind. Your telling me that you can't afford to put the wireless in the mf room especially in the freakin' villas where people pay for ownership. That really pisses me off.
Strike Three: The place is just TOO MF BIG. It is a great big amusement park with a 15+ story hotel plopped down in the middle of it. The most annoying thing about the place is how long it takes to get to anywhere. 15 min walk to the only decent cup of coffee at the place (Starbuks - everything else looks and tastes like piss water), 20 min to the main hotel, 25-30 min to the danm beach. You can wait 20 min for the shuttle to take you from Harborside to the one end of Atlantis and then you still got a 15 min walk to get down to the beach. The place is ENORMOUS. And I can't stand it. There are people everywhere. There is not one danm thing relaxing about this place since you are constantly walking and hauling your stuff to get to anything worth your time. AND HEAVEN FORBID that you forget anything in your room or have to go back. You just lost an hour in the process, regardless of whether you are staying in the main hotel or you are at the villas. RIDICULOUS.
Strike Four: MF WRISTBANDS. What the Freak is the damn deal with the wristbands. If you are caught on any of the water "adventures" without the wristband of the day - you are summarily ejected from the "adventure." No questions asked. Erin had a run in today and will be submitting a complaint. After telling him that she was a owner at the resort, he still ejected Erin and Ashley from the lazy river. They had floated to the other side of the resort and had to walk (30 min) back to their stuff. No excuese. Come to find out, you are required to stop at a pool kiosk (good luck trying to find one) and get the wristband of the day. BULL. Why don't you just issue a pass/wristband to everyone WHEN THEY MF CHECK IN! Why didn't you say anthing to us AT CHECKIN about the damn wristbands and the the pool natzis that are lurking aobut. I don't have time for that nonsense. I'm supposed to be on a "Exclusive Tropical Vacation." MY BUTT. Like I said before...A freakin' amusement park for the masses.
Strike Five: I expect things to cost more (soda, drinks, water, food) when I travel to resorts and what not. I completely understand the concept of making a profit, profit centers, cost centers and the like. We are building a resort ya know. But DAMN! ...A small bottle of water should NOT cost $4 - the same as a freakin case of water at Giant. The cost of things here is outrageous. To make it even worse...they only have a free shuttle on ONE day for you to go into town to the grocery store to purchase food for your villa. They no longer have the grocery delivery service. At this point, I'd rather starve than to continue to pay these prices.
This is only day 2 of our stay. I'm sure I'll be back with more Strikes against this monolith. Warning - spend your hard earned vacation dollars elsewhere.
4/14/07
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You know, Lisa, if you didn't hold it all in so much you might be able to relax more. You need to learn to express your feelings!
ReplyDeleteLOL
Terri