Originally Posted by
thaliajen
I'm headed back on Wednesday and honestly can't recall if they use different currency and what it is, or if they take dollars. Some places will take both.
Has anyone stayed recently? Anything new? How are the upgrades?
I think nearly every place accepts USD. A lot of places will list prices in the local currency(Florins). The exchange rate was 1.8 Florins to USD last week, so don't be too surprised when you see a burger for $16, it's probably in Florins.
I stayed here last week for 4 nights. My original booking was a standard garden view room. For the first two nights, I was put in an ocean view room. The last two nights, I was put in an ocean front suite(one of the xx01 rooms). It's really a great room if you can score it. Very spacious, two separate terraces, and most importantly, a killer view.
The elevators are a common complaint and I kind of agree they do have some issues. One thing I noticed was that there seemed to be a lot of people going from floor to floor rather than just floor to lobby which causes a lot more stops and more waiting time. It was common for the elevators to leave the lobby totally jam packed.
I found the staff there to be quite friendly. More often than not you will be greeted by a staff member as you walk by.
I also discovered why they put a flashlight in the nightstand. The whole island lost power for about 6 hours on one of the nights I was there. The hotel did have a generator which supplied power to only essential functions, like the front desk and lighting for the common areas. But all the rooms, restaurants, and even the casino were totally dark. Meanwhile, the Riu next door was business as usual. I ended up making good money on the slots so it kind of worked out for me
I wouldn't get a car for more than 2 days. Considering you can drive from one side of the island to the other in an hour, you can easily see everything that's "remote" in 2 days and just cab it to any other local destination for the rest of your trip.