Banana Garden Resort

We booked Jan 6-14, 2018, but left after only three nights at the first chance we got. Banana Garden was horrible, and at 65$ a night it wasn’t worth it. Hot water worked, it was right on the beach, and there was a refrigerator in the room. Those were about the only positives. They demanded the full amount for all eight nights upon arrival. I’d never experienced that before, and it made me uneasy since I expected to pay after receiving the service. I started to think they’d had many unhappy customers asking for refunds. There was no room to negotiate, even when I offered half on arrival and the rest at checkout, and they suddenly became rude. They insisted on cash, saying card fees would be 5% instead of the usual 3%, so we had to find an ATM. They also wouldn’t let us leave our luggage in the room and kept pushing us. The room I booked was supposed to be 25qm, but it was no more than 13qm. They sell a 25 qm room as the 40 qm room, and don’t have rooms larger than 25qm. You can hear the busy road behind the hotel. The towels were old, the pillows and bed smelled badly of mold, and only the bathroom power socket worked. The shower door only closed halfway, the drain failed and after two minutes the water was up to my ankles. The shower tub wasn’t connected to a drain system: there was a hole in the tub and another in one bathroom corner where shower water could escape. Half the floor flooded, and it smelled bad. There were cockroaches in the bathroom. The booking also promised a mosquito net, safe, closet, and sitting area, but none were in the room. Sunbeds were old and shady, and there were no beach umbrellas. Restaurant service was very slow, with waits of 45-70 minutes for orders. They seemed able to handle only one order at a time. The food was bad, they used old fat to fry everything, dishes and glasses were always dirty, and we could smell the cooking in our room. We asked for a bigger room right after check-in. The larger room next door, 25qm, was available from the next day, but the man kept stalling and saying he’d talk to the manager. Two days after it became available, they told us it had been booked for 25 nights. I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to discuss all these issues with the manager, but the hotel person responsible kept putting us off, and I never got to see or speak with the manager.

Prices were reasonable, and the manager was accommodating, suggesting other places to eat and things to do at night. The hotel is right on the beach, with beach chairs available. Breakfast was okay and dinner was yummy. I wasn’t sure if Wi-Fi was available. Rooms with only a fan get very hot. They offered a driver at a very nice rate, and he was accommodating and even stopped so we could see a turtle hatchery.

Filthy and unhygienic, with unprofessional staff. Worst place, don’t even consider visiting.

I’d never visit again, and I don’t recommend this hotel. We booked two double rooms, but on arrival they refused to provide them, leaving us no choice but to fit into a triple room. The service staff were rude, ignored our privacy, and kept asking inappropriate questions. The food was terrible, cleanliness was minimal, and staff made too many inappropriate, dodgy suggestions.