To put it bluntly, my experience with the Privilege Aluxes was terrible and I’m writing this post as a caution to everyone who might be interested in checking it out. Beware!! If you think it sounds too good to be true…it usually is.
I had made previous arrangements to check in there on Saturday. The woman told me I could check in early. I stopped by at about 8:30 or so that morning to ask when I could get the room. There was a different desk clerk there, but he said noon. Fine. That would give me time to go to Jax and do my blog post on the golf cart trip. I headed over there at about 12:45 and they said the room wouldn’t be ready until 3:00 and that I should hang out at the pool. *sigh* (They did give me a complimentary glass of champagne, however, which I downed in about two gulps.) I hadn’t eaten anything at Jax, so I went to the hotel's little restaurant across the alley-way…the one with the statue with the woman holding the big ball that they take in every night. They had everything priced in U.S. dollars averaging at least $12. I had the shrimp cocktail because I wasn’t that hungry.
It was so bland, I couldn’t believe it. It tasted like they poured Campbell’s tomato soup over luke-warm shrimp. No little bits of onion or cilantro like the one I had at Justicia Social the day before.
So I’m sitting there trying to enjoy the scenery eating my bland shrimp accompanied by loud rock music blaring from nearby speakers. I really wasn’t in the mood to hear Eminem’s “Sorry, Mama…I didn’t mean to hurt you…I’m just cleaning out my closet, etc., etc.” Just didn’t have that island flavor, you know? When they started playing songs from Shaggy (is he even still around anymore??), I decided to check on the room. I go to the desk, and the guy says my room is ready…only the bus boy starts heading in a completely different direction than the room I looked at when I made the reservation…which the girl specifically told me I would get and wrote it on my reservation form. I said, “Hey, I thought my room was on the third floor over toward the lighthouse!” ”No, you have the standard room rate,” he answers. So I agree to look at it and it’s smaller, without the nice features the other one had, and looks out over the garbage dumpsters to the north of the building. *sigh* I said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” and head back to the desk. I tell the desk clerk that the girl said I would be in the room I looked at. After some Spanish discussion amongst the staff, they agree to let me stay for one night in that room…but that they’re still doing construction in that area, and that I would have to move into another room the next night. He assured me that I could move into a two-room suite at the same price. *sigh* I’ve already paid cash for the first night, so I decide to stay there for now. Here's the room...
And bathroom...
There is a nice Jacuzzi tub out on the balcony…
And the shower has a door into the bathroom as well as out onto the balcony. If there were people on the top floor of the Color de Verano, they could probably see you taking a shower. And thank goodness they don’t let anyone into the lighthouse, because that would be a real show!
Complimentary robes…
When I was at the restaurant, I thought it was strange when an Oriental family came down to eat all wearing the same robes. Now I knew why. HaHa!View from the balcony…
And of the Satay Restaurant below on the ground floor…
Here is what it looks like from the ground…
I walked around town for awhile and got back about 7:30. I had gotten up really early that morning and didn’t feel like walking to another restaurant, so I thought I’d give their restaurant a try…after all, I love Satay. The restaurant is huge and is very formal with white linen tablecloths, etc. At 7:30, I was the only person in the entire restaurant…no kidding…the only one. I ordered a glass of wine and waited for the waiter to take my order. After about 15 minutes (after all, he had all those other customers to serve…oh, wait…NOT!), he finally told me that there is no menu…it’s a buffet. Okay, fine. So I go up to this big buffet with all this weird looking food which I couldn’t even recognize...not to mention everything looked like it had been sitting there for hours...which it probably had since they open and 6:00 and had no customers. I put a few helpings on my plate and took it back to the table. I put the first bite into my mouth and just about had to spit it out. I tried little spoonfuls of everything else, and it was all the same. It all tasted like cardboard. I very seldom complain about food in a restaurant, even when I’m disappointed, but I couldn’t hold back this time. When the waiter came back to my table and asked how it was, it was the first time in my life I’ve ever told a waiter, “This is horrible…I can’t eat it.” He walked away and didn’t come back. Eventually, I just got up and the manager came over and I told him what I thought of the food. I was nice about it and told him that with all the restaurants on the island that offered great food, they were going to have a very difficult time getting business with those prices (everything is over $20 U.S.). He went on to tell me that they’ve had compliments on the food, I just looked around and said, “But there are no customers.” I was more sympathetic than anything because they’re just the employees, but they’re going to have to kick it up a notch (or four or five) to get any customers…especially at the prices they charge. So they didn’t charge me for the meal, but I was pretty disappointed in the whole deal about this time. The hotel has internet and they give you a passcode when you check in. About a half hour later, I couldn’t get the internet anymore. Hmmm…they probably cut me off. *sigh* The next morning, all I wanted to do was to get out of there. It’s a nice, luxurious room, but it’s very isolating. You don’t even feel like you’re on Isla when you’re there. I missed the laid-back, relaxing hotel rooms, like Posada, Almendros, or even when I stayed in the Colonias. I actually felt sorry for the desk clerk. He seemed so sad when he asked why I was checking out, but I was just honest with him…and wished him luck.
(Sidebar: Since my experience, I've heard from several people who have said the same thing about the restaurant, so I know it's not just me.)
So I did some exploring to find an alternative. I’ve never stayed at Maria del Mar (and have heard some mixed reviews on it), but I really wanted to be close to the beach, so I checked it out. Turned out they had a vacancy in the newer section behind Buho’s.
I had her show me the room before taking it, and was very pleasantly surprised. Here it is…
And my view from the large patio...
And a little backyard buddy...
It has a little refrigerator, cold A/C, good water pressure and is very clean. Now I'm happy.On another note, here's what I had for lunch today at Qubano's...
A Cuban sandwich. Now THIS is good REAL food...Satay could learn a few things (or a LOT of things) from Vivian. This was my first visit there and had a long chat with this very nice lady. I wish I was going to be here longer so I could try some of her other dishes. There's always a next time!And on a final note...I was walking around and had the opportunity to see a golf cart filled with people run into the picket fence on the median between the lanes of Medina. He put it into reverse and promptly backed into the picket fence again. Idiot...probably drunk. He got out of their fast, but the police were there shortly afterwards. Don't know if they caught the guy.
Another day on Isla...
Especially at Garrafon. I wanted to climb up in the zip-line tower to take what would be an awesome photo, but the guys wouldn't let me...they said I had to pay. Bummer.
A close-up of Cancun next to one of those stupid scupltures on the tip of the island...
These flowers are as plentiful as the iguanas there...
The next series of photos are from the road between Punta Sur and the Dolphin Discovery...in no particular order. There's a lot of new construction going on in that stretch.
This is the Palace. A guard sits at the entryway and doesn't let anyone in unless they have a reservation...he wouldn't even let us check out the place.
I've never stayed on the south end of the island before, although I considered it this time. It seems like such a totally different atmosphere without the big stretches of beach and activity of downtown...much more peaceful and secluded. Maybe I'll stay there when I'm in that mood some day. But I think that I would miss the activity and people-watching opportunities...like this little guy sitting at the table next to me at breakfast this morning...
...where I had huevos Mexicanos...
...at Rolandi's on Hidalgo. They were okay...nothing special. I love their dinners, but I think the little loncherias at the market are much better for breakfast.
And my friend had the French toast...there's a special name for it which I can't remember right now, but everything was excellent. The French toast is actually more like bread pudding, but very tasty. The place is small...only four tables, but definitely worth a stop.
So after breakfast this morning, I took a little walk around town to catch up on the changes. These three places are still abandoned and empty. Such a shame. I think all the Islaholics should get together and buy these places and fix them up. Ha!Ha! Honestly, though...they have such a great location, it's hard to believe no one has tried to renovate them.
Here's the new Cafe Mogogua. I passed by this morning to check out their breakfast menu. Much more expensive than most of the others. I'll have to see what their dinner menu looks like.
The basketball courts look like they were freshly painted. (Although that's something that I could have just not noticed before.)
This was in a shop window. I wonder if M&Js still has their "K-Mart Special" sign in their new location.
...from this, one of my favorite pictures from my first visit in September of 2006. (Don't tell the owner, but I think I like the 'before' picture better.)
And, finally...I took these three pictures this morning...
