I have stayed at this hotel three times in the past year. Fortunately, I am not the one paying the bill for my stays. Unfortunately, I imagine I will be staying here again. When reading what follows, one should keep in mind that while it may sound negative, I am stating my experiences in light of the costs of this "resort".
The rooms are cold, off-putting, and uncomfortable. Hard surfaces everywhere. Nothing soft and comfy other than the beds which are very nice. The linen sheets are scratchy. There are not blackout curtains on the windows, only wooden venetian blinds, so if you would like to sleep-in in the morning, forget it. Bath linens are frequently stained.
The public corridors are unadorned and unfinished looking. Not a piece of art anywhere. Walls are gouged and nicked, as is the woodwork. Carpets are stained. Keep in mind, this is my third stay here, and I've stayed on 3 different floors, all are in the same condition.
The pool area is beautiful if somewhat cramped. Row after row of wooden lounges. One frequently has a long wait to have the lounger made up with towels, and these towels are already in tatters. The hotels literature refers to "acres of tropical gardens" which I have yet to see. The music at the pool is schizophrenic.
The hours at the pool bar fluctuate with the weather here. If it happens to rain at 10 am. don't be surprised if they close the bar for the rest of the day. One definitely gets the idea that at the Setai they would rather cut back on overhead than provide a cocktail to only a few. If you want a beer at sunset, goodluck, better go next door to the Shore Club.
My biggest gripe with this place is the front desk. One is hard pressed to get the staff to even look up from their computer screens, (games?) as one walks thru the lobby. One of the concierges, Rick, is incredible, another who wears those gold keys on her suit is aloof, and once kept me waiting so she could converse with a valet about carwashes. Do what I do, make a game of getting one of the night shift front desk clerks to even acknowledge you. The surly strawberry blond on that shift should be fired.
Food........well, it's hotel food. But 3x the price. Toast on one stay was 8 dollars U.S. one day, 12 dollars the next. Toast! Room service is uninspired and limited selection. Things that should arrive hot don't, likewise with those that should be cold. Just a pet peeve of mine, but at a place like this, couldn't a french fried potato be fried from actual real potatos? Oh yeah. The caesar salad dressing has no anchovies in it. So it's not actually caesar, right? I asked for extra anchovy, they didn't have any. The room service person told me that the dressing comes out of a jug. Wow!
In all honesty, I haven't tried the signature restaurants. Only eaten at the pool and room service. But with so many great options within a block or two of this hotel, and given my expereinces at the Setai, why would I?
I could go on and on, but my point is not to ramble and nitpick. I just don't like the idea of someone electing to stay at this hotel thinking that it is going to be an experience which will be inline with the prices that it charges. At least at a place like the Ritz-Carlton, like it or not, you get a reasonable value for the dollar and a smile or two.
