Wednesday, July 11, 2012

An Open Letter to Breezes Resorts

To Whom it May Concern,

I was incredibly excited to spend my honeymoon at Breezes Curacao (Breezes Resort, Spa & Casino - Curacao , Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. 8, Willemstad, Curacao, Netherland, Antillies). I had previously traveled to the Dutch Caribbean and looking forward to exploring a new island in this region. I am well-traveled and have lived abroad, so I had researched my options thoroughly before settling on Breezes Curacao. The Breezes website promised a perfect experience for our first week together as a married couple. 

A few weeks before our wedding, I received a call notifying me of a change in management at the Breezes Curacao resort with reassurance that all services and accommodations would continue at the high level originally offered. After this change, the resort website was updated extensively and we were even more excited for our trip. 

Upon our arrival in Curacao, the Breezes desk (with a haphazardly placed new sign declaring itself now the “Princess Beach Resort") could not find my reservation or key. At the resort, the front desk scrambled to find my reservation and room key, which had been paid in full upon booking. Our oceanfront room offered a lovely view of the palm trees and mold in the bathroom, a shower that didn’t drain, and outdated, worn linens and furniture.  A short walk around the resort discouraged me from requesting a room change as I was worried we would end up in even less desirable accommodations. 

Of course I realize the best thing to do in such a situation is to speak to a manager and I would have been happy to do that, if there seemed to be any managers present at Breezes Curacao. Beyond a total lack of managers or supervisors, we experienced a total lack of service. While other tables were offered and delivered drinks at meals, I had to go out of my way to get someone to even speak to us and then I was faced with disgruntlement and sometimes blatant rudeness. A request for a banana at breakfast – which they regularly had out at lunch – was flatly denied.  At the boat station, four men stood by chatting while we pulled the kayak out of the water, returned it to its rightful location, and hung up our own life vests. 

With a rundown, uncomfortable room and a general feeling we were being often and willfully ignored by all Breezes staff members, we were determined to make the best of our honeymoon which we had been so looking forward to.  The beach area and pool were pleasant and the weather was perfect.  However the buffet food was poor quality and ‘snack shacks’ were either not serving or serving at such a monumentally slow rate whenever we tried to frequent them that we were faced with several instances (including the first few hours of our visit) where we could not find any food to eat. Good food and drink can make a world a difference in an otherwise less than perfect situation, but the majority of food available barely rivaled that of a university cafeteria. 

My wife and I made the best of our time at Breezes Curacao and enjoyed ourselves regardless of our disappointing situation.  However I would not consider any Breezes resort in the future and I would be hard-pressed to even suggest it to my many friends getting married in near future.  What I will say about Breezes as a company is now up to you.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

MRS

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