So I recently returned from a vacation I have been looking forward to for months. My fiance just finished taking the California Bar and as a reward, we went to St. Maarten (rewarding him for taking the exam and rewarding me for dealing with him while he prepared to take it).
The trip down was stressful. I had a 6:00 am flight out of Dulles to JFK where I would meet my fiance for our connecting flight to St. Maarten. When I left my apartment at 3:45 am to make the harrowing drive to the airport (I have only recently mastered the stick shift) it started pouring. I was totally soaked for the entire drive. When I finally got to the terminal, I tried to check in at the kiosk, and it wouldn't let me. So, I got in the glacially slow line. It was taking the Jet Blue attendants at least 5 minutes per customer. I finally got checked in and through security by just after 5:30. I am a nervous traveler. I typically show up to the airport 90 minutes to two hours early. I was stressed out by the morning's ordeal and was ready to relax at our beach resort.
We finally arrive at the Flamingo Hotel in Simpson Bay on the Dutch Side of St. Maarten (I give all the details to ensure anyone reading this not only never stays there but warns others to do the same), just before 4 pm. Our room wasn't ready, so we went to the restaurant to get some food. When I went back at 5 (check in is supposed to be at 4), the front desk woman called housekeeping to see if our room was ready. No one answered. She gave me the keys and said I should come back if there was a problem. There was a problem. The door was wide open, the floor needed to be swept and the bed was unmade.
We went downstairs to get another room and not only was the front desk clerk unapologetic, HE WAS RUDE! It was as if we inconvenienced him by asking him to do his job. Two days into our stay, maintenance knocked on our door (despite the do not disturb sign on the door) asking if they could have access to our room all day to paint our balcony. When we asked why it couldn't wait until check out, they said because others would be checking in.
A) Check out is at 10 am and check in is at 4 pm, so there is ample time where no one is occupying the room
B) What the F*** do I care about the next guest?! I am concerned about me and the money I spent on my hotel.
The final insult was when we asked the front desk to make a dinner reservation for us at a restaurant on the French side of the island. Now, you may be wondering why we even bothered to ask. Well, our helpful book in our room said that if we wanted dinner reservations we should ask the front desk to assist. We requested 7:00 pm reservations at a restaurant that was about 20-30 minutes away. We left the hotel around 6:00 pm and had heard nothing from the front desk. When we arrived at the restaurant, it was CLOSED FOR THE SEASON! Upon return to our room (we found another restaurant for dinner), there was a message from the front desk at 6:47 pm. They didn't call until like 15 minutes before we requested the reservation. Ridiculous!
Anyway, the lesson is the Flamingo Hotel sucks. Don't stay there.
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