Villa del Palmar Flamingos Beach Resort & Spa

Reggie by the pool is a gem. He’s always around to help, answer questions, and do what he can to keep everyone happy. The staff in general are friendly and helpful, which makes up for the worn, dated rooms and the areas of the resort that could use a refresh. I’m a repeat visitor at the Villa del Parmar flamingos, and I’ll definitely be back next year.

The service was outstanding and the staff worked hard and were friendly, but the restaurants were a letdown. The choices weren’t great. The Japanese restaurant felt cold, a little dirty, and unappealing, and seemed to be missing something. We weren’t on an all-inclusive plan, so we tried to use hotel credits we’d received for attending a timeshare presentation. They were devalued, hard to use, and came with an unexpected mandatory 15% gratuity. We last stayed here over 20 years ago, and the place now needs a refresh. From the entrance onward it felt less clean and polished than other resorts. At current standards and prices, I wouldn’t call it truly luxurious.

This was by far the worst experience of my life. We paid over 5k for 8 nights, and it felt like the hotel only cared about squeezing money out of us. If you don’t tip extra on top of what you’re already charged, staff stop noticing you. They blamed the hidden fees on Costco, where I booked the trip. On arrival, we found pubic hairs in the bed, and hairs in the microwave, kitchen sink, and on the floor. The elevators were broken the whole time. One housekeeper told us not to buy a timeshare there because they take the money and don’t keep up with maintenance. She said the elevator had been broken for 6 months. My son and I had to carry our bags to the 5th floor. On our third day, water started dripping from the ceiling. Maintenance just left a bucket and said housekeeping would empty it each day. We had to listen to the dripping all night for the rest of the stay. We got no sense that they cared about guests. Lesson learned for me. Please take my loss as advice and stay away from this hotel.

The food was average at best, drinks were way overpriced, and most staff seemed to hate their jobs and dislike Americans. Don’t book excursions through the guy in the side office. He was extremely rude and denied us the chance to book massages.