TripAdvisor Review

**Hank** · 01-11-2014, 12:46 PM

I know, I know...some people you just can't please etc. etc. but what a scathing review of Hedo II !!!! No water then only hot water for 5 days! Ouch! Tipping is allowed and accepted everywhere? Smell of mould and sewage in the Piano Bar and no washrooms near the piano bar for an entire week.

Can someone give any input on this? Do we need to bring tip money with us for the day to day tipping? What if we have no water, can they not just move you?

60 days and counting!

**sabinaandscott** · 01-11-2014, 01:27 PM

Just back last night from 2 weeks...will post a trip report. Yes they had some water issues before our arrival...heard a few days of random no water, cold only, or hot only as they were working on the problem. Even the toilets flushed hot water at one point. Washrooms near piano bar were out of service for at least a week. I can understand a negative review on trip advisor....that length of water issues are not acceptable in any hotel anywhere in the world. Did we adapt, yes, we're vetrans. Dissappointed that infrastructure had not seen good improvement, yes, but they are working on it...How long it will take to get system up to par is debatable.
We did see tipping to bartenders to get a drink...we do not tip, and still got good service. I strongly advise against tipping as it is still very much against policy.

**rast67** · 01-11-2014, 03:14 PM

Wow... A week away.
Water would seem to belong to the basics.
Jamaica .. Monnn!!!

**L&I** · 01-11-2014, 10:17 PM

Poor old girl's 34 this year - that's like 230 in dog years! So things are bound to break down I would too if I was that old.....

Having worked in hotels before joining construction, if it takes 5 days to fix a problem, then it's a pretty serious problem. With a facility as old as Hero, thee are going to be serious challenges to fixing a "small" problem because it usually is part of a larger problem.

But hey, we can always borrow the room next door's shower, right after we borrow the wife, right?

....

**kudu2462** · 01-12-2014, 05:51 AM

Originally Posted by Hank

I know, I know...some people you just can't please etc. etc. but what a scathing review of Hedo II !!!! No water then only hot water for 5 days! Ouch! Tipping is allowed and accepted everywhere? Smell of mould and sewage in the Piano Bar and no washrooms near the piano bar for an entire week.

Can someone give any input on this? Do we need to bring tip money with us for the day to day tipping? What if we have no water, can they not just move you?

60 days and counting!

We got back on the 10th of Jan and had no hot water problems at all so either it was fixed or isolated to a certain building. As for tipping we did not, nor did other people we hung out with and the service was fine! Although the Russian group there was handing out some tips one evening not sure why other than they could lol!

**Ken_Memphis** · 01-12-2014, 11:32 AM

It's a shame you spend major bucks to go there yet you live in a room that might as well be in a under developed village somewhere in babootu land.

**flfitguy** · 01-12-2014, 11:50 AM

I don't care if I have to take a cold shower :-)...I'm gonna be naked in the Caribbean, drinking champagne all day, talking to beautiful people, and getting a great tan! It's all about perspective!

**PNK** · 01-12-2014, 12:12 PM

Tipping IS a problem Read the various post on this site and you'll see many guests wo believe that they will get (and need) superior service if they proffer large tips. I have seen $20 bills dropped by clumsy tippers. It may be the American way but it is not the Hedo way. you pay upfront for good, friendly service, and you may have to wait a few seconds as others are served. Tipping is (in my opinion) demeaning to staff (they should be paid an adequate salary) and demeans all the other guests (by shoving them to the 'back of the bus').

Let's follow the examples of civilized places (like Australia, Japan, most of Europe) and insist that staff be paid well, serve everyone equally well, and drop the 'me first' tipping agenda.

We do not and will not stoop to tipping. If service is poor, we move on to other places.

In early December the toilets close to the piano bar were problematic. The dining room toilets were used instead (by those who looked before they peed)

PNK

**L&I** · 01-12-2014, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by PNK

Tipping IS a problem Read the various post on this site and you'll see many guests wo believe that they will get (and need) superior service if they proffer large tips. I have seen $20 bills dropped by clumsy tippers. It may be the American way but it is not the Hedo way. you pay upfront for good, friendly service, and you may have to wait a few seconds as others are served. Tipping is (in my opinion) demeaning to staff (they should be paid an adequate salary) and demeans all the other guests (by shoving them to the 'back of the bus').

Let's follow the examples of civilized places (like Australia, Japan, most of Europe) and insist that staff be paid well, serve everyone equally well, and drop the 'me first' tipping agenda.

We do not and will not stoop to tipping. If service is poor, we move on to other places.

In early December the toilets close to the piano bar were problematic. The dining room toilets were used instead (by those who looked before they peed)

PNK

AMEN, PNK!!!!

Too often these days restaurants (and other service Providers) justify poor pay by assuming or stating that the frontline staff will make up the difference in tips. Unfortunately that is not usually the case (more often than not, actually). We just got back from Europe where during a discussion with a waitress I discovered that her husband and herself take cross-Atlantic trips every 2 years because they earn a decent salary. The waitress looking after our party at our hotel was given a big tip when we left - a tip she tried to REFUSE!! She was embarrassed to be getting it because it was "beneath" her and her profession!!

**lovin_life** · 01-12-2014, 02:31 PM

This is just me, but I absolutely DO NOT TIP during the trip...who wants to figure out where to carry money when you're naked, right?

It takes away from the whole freeing experience. What I will do on the last day, is take around small tokens of appreciation ($20) to the staff that really stood out...the ones who provided great service even though I wasn't tipping all week. They are the ones truly deserving of a little something at the end. I do usually leave a little something for the housekeeper too...it helps so mine isn't the 1st room on her list at 7am to clean & so she'll let me sleep in a little.

**gsml** · 01-12-2014, 02:45 PM

Tipping is against Hedo policy, but we've been guilty of doing this too. Mostly with cleaning staff, they work cleaning up after us

**jamesandy** · 01-12-2014, 05:38 PM

Not sure of the "problem" We have never tipped in expectation of better service. We tip because it makes us feel better. Pretty shallow, but I Know it is appreciated. The cleaning staff especially, but also the barstaff. Small tips. These people are dirt poor with no opportunity better than working in a resort. Just saying...

**rennie69** · 01-12-2014, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by jamesandy

Not sure of the "problem" We have never tipped in expectation of better service. We tip because it makes us feel better. Pretty shallow, but I Know it is appreciated. The cleaning staff especially, but also the barstaff. Small tips. These people are dirt poor with no opportunity better than working in a resort. Just saying...

On the contrary, very unselfish, not shallow.
In a place like Hedo we will tip on our last day, not our first, second, third etc. We don't tip to earn better service. We tip to show an appreciation for the service we received.

**mac_r_a** · 01-12-2014, 07:03 PM

We tip occasionally to reward outstanding service, only small amounts. And we usually leave a couple of $$'s on the pillow everyday for the mess they sometimes have to clean up.