Disappointing...
Submitted: July 9, 2012
Stayed: June 2012
Overall, we were disappointed with Casa Zama.
- 30 hours into our arrival, we encountered several issues: fan in one room didn't work, TVs in both rooms didn't work, jacuzzi had not been set up to come on at right time, water in rooms went cold every few minutes, wireless was intermittent, and speakers to the pool were blown out by a thunderstorm the previous week. We contacted Gabby, house manager, because the owners were out of town. He said he would be by at 5:00 to check on issues. By 7:00, he hadn't arrived so we left for dinner after emailing Mel, the owner. She responded while we were away saying she had immediately contacted Gabby. He was at the house when we arrived home. We appreciated Mel's response, including an offer for a free dinner for the problems.
- The fan in our room simply needing the batteries to be changed. TVs needed new remotes. For a luxury rental, this should have been checked PRIOR to our arrival. They were never able to resolve the wireless issue or the water temperature consistency. We were also told by Gabby that the speaker system would be fixed by Tuesday (three days into our seven day stay). However, Mel later emailed me and told me it would not be fixed during our stay.This is frustrating given the fact that our plan was to spend most of our time in the pool.
- Throughout the rest of the week, other problems arose - a sewage smell in both suites. Gabby told us it would go away but it did not. Gabby also lied to us saying the jets in the jacuzzi did not work. When we inquired further, he realized we knew what we were talking about (we have a pool). So, he began playing with the buttons and magically, the jets turned on.
- Gabby said he would come by each morning to check in. He did this once. I had to call him at least twice each time we needed something in order for him to answer.
- We had to request water and toilet paper.
- We bought laundry detergent and put it in laundry room. When we went to use it, it was gone. I asked the housekeeper and she said she didn't know what had happened to it.
- One room had ants in the bed. Gabby had the sheets changed but said they were harmless despite the bites my friend had on her body.
- Mel stated she and Ron (her husband) would come by prior to checkout. They never showed up. Given our problems, the professional thing would have been for them to do so. A free dinner didn't really end up cutting it! A hotel would have refunded at least one night's stay. Disappointing!
Owner's Response: We are grateful for the guests that choose to stay at Casa Zama and we appreciate the opportunity to address any Issues that arise during their stay. When I received the email that these guests sent regarding some issues they initially had, we immediately remedied them. The response from the guests indicated that all issues had been taken care of. I received no further complaints about our staff or other problems thereafter. The last email I received from these guests was thanking me for remedying the problems so quickly and for the dinner and wine I offered.
To clarify, the issues with fans and TVs, all appliances indeed did work, the light switch needed to be turned on for the fan and the TV remotes also worked as Gabby was able to turn them on with no problem.
The unfortunate problems caused by the electrical storm the previous week did damage the outside speakers and caused periodic Internet problems on the entire island.. The speaker parts were special ordered from the US and didn't arrive until Friday. I hoped to compensate this inconvenience with a special dinner and bottle of wine
Regarding the jacuzzi, the heating timer was set at the time the guests requested. Numerous power outages during the week continued to disrupted the timer. It was reset as soon as it was brought to Gabby’s attention.
I never received an email regarding ants or the other staff issues. If so, I would have immediately acted as quickly as I did when I received the first and only one.
The accusations about our staff lying and stealing are very disappointing. As you can see from previous recent comments about our staff, they are diligent, responsive and hard working. There were at least three staff members every morning at Casa Zama. They have worked with us for many years and they are honest people. I resent any accusations otherwise.
I came to visit the evening before checkout, prior to the complimentary dinner, and no one was available. The other times I attempted to check in the guests were in Tulum and on a whale shark excursion. We were never given an opportunity to address additional complaints because the guest did not communicate any of this to us.
As you can see from previous reviews, our team works diligently to ensure everything in the house works properly and that our guests are happy and satisfied. We are sorry the electrical storm caused some issues at Casa Zama and other Island properties, and felt dinner and wine compensated this.
Helpful votes: 0/3
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