Imago Hotel & Spa

At checkout they asked how my stay was. I said, “not very good,” and got a little smile, no questions about what had gone wrong or how to fix it. Then they asked if I’d taken anything from the minibar 🤦🏽‍♂️. I asked for a slightly later checkout, and the best they could offer was 11:30 instead of 11 am. The front desk staff called it an “exception.” I travel about 75+ nights a year, usually around the world and often at Marriott hotels. I stay in random places too, though usually ones cheaper than Marriott, and I know what to expect. Hotels I book are generally around $250-300 a night. I understand peak season means higher rates and occupancy, but service at a 5-star resort shouldn’t falter. This hotel calls itself 5-star, which might have fit when it opened 20+ years ago. Now I’d put it at 2.5/3 stars at best. The beds, pillows, and furniture all look like they’ve been there since it opened. For $300+ a night, breakfast was literally the bare minimum. Omelettes cost extra. The buffet had premade scrambled eggs with milk, so I asked for fried eggs because we can’t tolerate milk. They said there’d be a charge, and when I asked what I was meant to eat, they had to consult a manager before allowing the fried eggs for free. That kind of exchange wouldn’t happen at an actual 5-star resort. The staff are nice, but couldn’t solve problems. My kids’ room, #207, was like an oven every night. We came in Dec, when temperatures usually drop at night, and I thought an open window would cool it enough, as it did in my room, 208. Their room stayed hot even with the window open all night. The hotel had no small fan, and they couldn’t move us because it was full. I asked staff to speak to the manager, but there was no response. We had to ask for towels every night because room service cleaned the bathroom and took the towels without replacing them. They wouldn’t put a bar of soap at the sink while another was in the shower. I’m sure I could have asked for one, but why should I have to ask for these things at a 5-star resort? It feels like ownership decided upkeep and maintenance aren’t needed. The windows aren’t on hinges, so they’re either fully open or shut unless you prop one with a chair. The door key lock sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, depending on your luck. Then you have to go downstairs, get it rekeyed, and have someone come back with you to check it opens. The tub floods every time you shower, and telling staff doesn’t fix it. If you stay here, have zero expectations and expect to pay for every little thing. In el Calafte, a taxi to or from town is about $10k pesos each way. There’s also a free shuttle that leaves at 30 minutes past each hour from 4:30-9:30 to drop you in town, and picks up at 45 minutes past the hour for the return. We used it once because we were too late for it on the other days. We bought one big water bottle per person in town and refilled them for free downstairs every day to stay hydrated. They won’t give you even one complimentary bottle.

Definitely not 5-star, 3-star at best. The room smelled like cigarettes, and they refused to give us a second pillow. Breakfast was pretty bad. The spa is very small, and some things were closed, though the indoor pool was nice.

We did get good service, with a very helpful bell boy and restaurant ladies who brought dinner to our room, but that didn’t make up for the other problems. The hotel is about a 40-minute walk from downtown, where 95% of the restaurants are. Its shuttle runs only once an hour, with the last ride back at 9:45 pm. The rooms are spacious but very dated and awkwardly designed, and the shower is so tiny it’s hardly big enough for one person. Breakfast was bad, with few options and poor preparation. Other guests’ tables had lots of partly eaten food and mostly full plates. Dinner was mediocre too. The menu had variety, but the food lacked flavor and was poorly executed. NOT a 5-star hotel 😂.

The spa and pool were nice, and the shuttle service to the city was good, but almost everything else was low level. It’s an old hotel, far from the city center. The rooms had good space, but dated layouts and furniture. Breakfast and other food were very low quality, and the end-of-year dinner wasn’t worth the price or the standard expected. Service was so-so. Definitely a 3-star hotel, not 5. I wouldn’t return, and would look for somewhere newer downtown or by the lake.