Everything about Waves exceeded our expectations. Undoubtedly the staff are truly exceptional and the care and attention to detail each displayed was on a par with any 5 star hotel. The manager, Kim, is both charming and ever present - she runs the place with enormous skill. Coronavirus arrangements: the place is spotless, every surface regularly cleaned, the mask wearing such that one is filled with confidence that all is being done to minimise the risk of transmission. The seating at the restaurant, bars and on the beach is well organised and well spaced. It is all done in a well disciplined and effective way that reassures even the most nervous/neurotic of guests. The Food: we are not naturally drawn to all-inclusive holidays and our expectations were low for the quality of the food. The two chefs, Nicholas and Oliver, were impressive. We are vegetarian and vegan respectively, and both chefs made sure that we had something delicious that catered for our needs. The vegetarian sushi was outstanding and beautifully presented. All in all, whilst everything exceeded expectations it was the dining that did so the most! The waiting staff: it would be perhaps a little unfair not to mention each of the staff by name and we'll try to name a few so Pam, Charmeine, Valerie, Loreal, Alison were wonderfully attentive and always friendly (as was everyone). The Spa: is absolutely first class top rate and truly superb. Debbie and Stacey are both highly skilled and the ambience and quality of the Spa and treatments are again worthy of a 5 star luxury resort. The Beach: its a great location with a really pleasant sandy beach that is often lapped by no more than the most gentle of waves. Ocean Front Room: well worth paying for the Ocean Front Room, which is spacious and really well fitted out, but has a great sized balcony and spectacular views especially at sunset. Other rooms are available across the road on the spa side of the hotel and arranged around a large and well appointed pool - but we felt that the ocean view room was very much better. The Gym: amazingly well appointed for a hotel of this size; great and well organised arrangements requiring booking and solitary occupation followed by cleaning for 15 minutes before the next guest is permitted in.

Bit of an odd title but there is a water taxi running during the day (not evening) which links this hotel with four sister hotels up the coast. If this were not available I think it might only have been 3 stars. The public areas of the hotel are comfortable and welcoming with great views out to sea. The bedroom was spacious, a very comfortable bed and a terrace views to sea but do note that the terrace gets quite hot in the afternoon sun. There is a pool for all in the main property which has no views or atmoshpere and was not that much used. There is a larger pool in the adults only section across the road which is more pleasant with trees and natural shade. I have seen other reviews that raised concern about having to cross the road but our experience was that the drivers were extremely curteous, much better than at home, and we had no problems. The main restaurant, Seascape, had views to sea and the staff were generally efficient thought coffee for breakfast seemed to cause them a problem at times. The food was good, self service breakfast and lunch and at table service most evenings thought there were two evening buffets in the week. It didn't have quite the relaxed atmosphere I would have liked but for a more relaxed meal there is SHISO in the adults part which is asian inspired, with a sophisticated but relaxed atmposhere and great food though the menu only changes weekly. You have to decide at breafast when and where you want to have dinner. You also have the option to use the other hotels to eat but have to book in advacne, two are all inclusive and free, two are not and you have to pay. You can use the beach and pools at all the other hotels for free. This leads to the benefit of the water taxi. The beach at Waves is quite small and reducing (climate change) and the front row of loungers often had waves running underneath. We were told that a few weeks earlier the swell was such that the beach could not be used. This means that is not easy to walk along the coast and depending on the tide virtually impossible. There is a policy that loungers cannot be reserved but this is not enforced in any way unlike Colony Club up the coast were it was effectively but tactfully policed. There was also a shortage of towels at times. We would have found Waves a bit claustrophobic without the abilty to use the other hotels but then we are not ones for just sitting on a lounger all day. Staff were friendly and efficient, mixed drinks probably a bit weak but rum punch good. Included wines limited but you could buy better wines at what seemed extortionate prices

We stayed 5 nights at Waves in a room towards the back of the hotel in the spa annex. The room was a little plain/basic and dark but offered plenty of space and was comfortable enough. The common areas of the hotel were nicely designed/decorated and well maintained. It was appreciated that the main pool was designated as being adults only so there was always somewhere calm to retreat to if the bustle of the beach and the excitement of the various water sports got too much! For all inclusive, we found the quality of the food and drinks at the hotel generally to be high, enjoying most of the meals we had. Whilst the main restaurant was lovely we did prefer the ambience at the Asian restaurant in the spa complex. We also loved the coffee shop (with its wonderful air conditioning!) for light lunches and coffees. Service was generally excellent, efficient, and friendly, and we particularly enjoyed the attentiveness on the beach and by the pool, where cold drinks and icy treats were always welcome.  The hotel arranges various entertainment and activities and we joined in for the adult colouring class one day. Unfortunately this was a little disappointing. Thankfully the yoga class was of much better quality and we generally enjoyed the evening entertainment, which created a good atmosphere for enjoying a drink in the main lobby bar area.  The main aspect of our stay which didn't live up to expectations was the spa. We had understood from research prior to booking our stay that some spa treatments would be included. It appears that this was wrong - when we enquired, we were told that for guests from the US, spa treatments are included for stays of 5 nights or more. But for guests coming from further afield (e.g. the UK) spa treatments are only included for stays of 7 nights or more. This distinction really isn't clear from the hotel's website and we thought the policy seemed a little unfair. Whilst this was surprising/disappointing, it wasn't the end of the world as we thought we'd still be able to book and pay for the spa treatments we wanted during our stay. Wrong again - because the spa was so busy servicing the guests with included spa treatments, they could only fit us in for one appointment during our entire stay. Thankfully the hotel we went to after Waves was much more accommodating so we were happy to spend our "spa budget" there instead!