We had rain one out of five days. And I'm not sure how that would explain untrained staff who are poorly managed. I don't care for "fawning" service either. The best service is nearly invisible. Here, the service is all too often either nonexistent (like at breakfast), or all too visible - like the four or five staff members who traipse through the room separately every morning, without any coordination (1. housekeeper; 2. new towel person; 3. rubbish collector; 4. minibar; 5. bottled water).

I'm also fine with a more relaxed style of service, but not when I'm being charged five-star prices. I'll give one more example. Datai makes a big deal of having its own water filtration plant, with free water provided in Datai labeled bottles. But at dinner, you will be asked "still or sparkling." If you request sparkling, they'll bring you a small $10 USD bottle of Pellegrino. So I tried asking for still water. Evian. Still $10 USD.