I only returned from the Chaweng beach resort yesterday having spent the last nine days there after a trip to Hong Kong.On arrival at the front desk everything looks very good but it takes a little time before the cracks start appearing. We were allocated room 406 on arrival as we had gone for the spa villa, we were given a cold towel and a glass of iced tea in reception then we were shown to our room, which was a little distance from reception. After following the receptionist to the room we went in only to be confronted by a power cut which then righted itself after a couple of minutes, stood in the pitch black was not the best first impressions we got, dont worry there were more power cuts to follow as the days went by. Again as mentioned by previous reviewers we were then left in the room not knowing where we were in relation to the pool, the dining room or other amenities, she was to engrossed in explaining the rules of the mini bar and that we got two bottles of water per day then left us to unpack and try to orientate ourselves around the resort, not bad at 9pm at night in the dark. Anyway we managed.
The room itself was lovely, very spacious, plenty of storage, slippers, bath robe and flip flops provided for you in your room. The bathroom was quite big with a power shower on the inside and a spa bath on the outside in an enclosed area. The other half being very technically minded soon mastered the electric panel next to the bed so she was happy. There was a flat screen TV attached to the wall, fridge and safe all in the room.
Breakfast the next morning was quite an adventure when we found the dining area, again as previously mentioned in other reviews there are 3 areas which we found out later. We were sat in an area next to the Red Snapper bar (review to follow), we then helped ourselves to cereal and juice and the staff were very good with tea/coffee, we then went to get toast we had to go to the toaster in the entrance hall where you found an assortment of breads/preserves. If you then wanted to have a hot breakfast you then had to go into another room where there was hot food laid out in steamers, cold meats, salads and an egg station where the chef will make eggs of your choice fried/scrambled/poached/omelletes. On returning to the table through two rooms i found the waiter already clearing our table as though we had finished, talk about quick off the mark. As it was daylight we then went for a wonder around the hotel grounds, the lake with the Koi Carp is great, we found the two pools, beach bar and chom talay restaurant, we even found the shops located upstairs near reception for what good they were( nothing much of interest to be had). Time then to go to the reps meeting (Tony from Thomas Cook) we met a lovely couple who like us had arrived the night before and were on their honeymoon, congratulations Jill and Sam from Ballymena (hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday and the ladyboys), anyway the rep was useless and both of us decided not to go on any of the un interesting tours that he had to offer. That was that.
The hotel itself is lovely in a great location on the beach and main road the staff cannot do enough to help you and are always friendly, that is until you encounter a problem. The lads that run the towel stand down by the beach and the beach bar staff were fantastic, good snacks and drink to be had through the day and then happy hour 3-4 buy one get one free. Even so the price is quite a lot dearer than you paid down the street in the ample bars and eateries that are well within walking distance.
After a couple of days we then enquired about keeping our room on when we check out for a couple of hours on our last day only to be told there was nothing they could do until our departure date, fair enough keep trying closer to the date, still no joy. On the date of departure straight after breakfast asked again only to be told no you cant keep the room, why, if they knew they were fully booked not tell people earlier, this now meant we had 7hours from lunchtime with no access to a shower or anywhere to change clothes for travelling so we had to make do with the public toilets near to reception (not acceptable or suitable)
The only other downside of the holiday was the fact that workmen had entered our room without our knowledge to repair/replace a tile in the spa area of the bathroom. We only found this out when we went to use the bath, unfortunately we couldnt as there was broken tiles scattered all around the area and in the bath. When i went to reception to speak to a manager i felt like i was the one being grilled by the reception staff as to why i wanted a manager. Anyway a manager arrived and i got her to escort me to the room as she couldnt really understand what i wanted to see her for. on seeing the mess she was absolutely distraught and when i mentioned that it would be on trip advisor she soon sent 4 members of staff to tidy it up. All in all the hotel is of a very good standard but i think the managers/staff should try to break down the language barriers with guests.
