First of all lets got a common misconception out of the way - a "4 star" Caribbean hotel won't necessarily get you the same level of accommodation or service as a 4 star hotel in Dubai or the Far East so make sure when you're complaining about a hotel not being 4 star you're comparing apples with apples.
After that whinge let me say that my wife and I have just returned from Blue Waters and we had one of the best holidays we've ever had and we've travelled all over the Caribbean. Everyone we spoke to found it hard to fault anything about the hotel so if you're thinking of going don't be put off by some of the other reviews on this site.
We encountered some very minor problems and how the hotel deals with these issues is an easy gauge of how well they look after their guests. We were originally allocated Room 806 which was huge - on an upper floor with a vaulted ceiling. All rooms have huge beds, nice white bedlinen, LCD TV etc. Unfortunately the air-conditioning packed up after a couple of days - but no problem, we were upgraded to a beachfront room (602) without hesitation. On another occasion, there'd been a mix-up in the restaurant and our table for 6 had been given to someone else. Now these things happen so we were all pretty relaxed about it (remember you're on you holiday) but Edgar (the new Food and Beverage Manager) provided us with a bottle of wine the following night (a very nice Pauillac at just under a $100US!).
The food in both restaurants is superb. We had breakfast (buffet style) and lunch in The Palms and ate most nights in Vyviens - couldn't fault it. Vyviens is closed on a Friday when it's International Buffet in Palms and on a Monday when it's Manager's cocktail party and BBQ night.
As for the staff - I just cannot understand some of the other reviews on this site which suggest the staff are unfriendly. I guess I'm reminded of the old saying "you only get back what you put in" - if you talk to them, call them by their name (that's why they wear the name badges) you will find that the staff here are amongst the friendliest people you'll ever come across. There is always someone from hotel management around - either the Duty Manager, Edgar (see above) or Marina (the Deputy GM) and expect to be asked regularly (i.e. every day) if you're having a good time, have you had a good day, any problems?
We were on an all-inclusive basis so a word of warning if you're thiking about going for 2 weeks and save some money by booking B&B. There are no cheap options for eating and drinking near the hotel. A beer at the bar will cost you nearly $6US, lunch (with a couple of beers) will cost $25-30US and a three course dinner for 2 at Vyviens with a bottle of house wine will cost around $150US so my advice would be book AI and forget about it.
St Johns is good for shopping - lots of jewellry and watch shops as well as perfume, clothes etc - expect to save around 30% on the UK costs.
So in summary, we had a fantastic time, would recommend it to anyone and will definitely be returning.


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