Worst Customer Service in Over 40 Countries – Avoid Royalton Chic Antigua
Dec 25, 2024 Paula R
As a seasoned traveler who has vacationed in over 40 countries and several Caribbean islands, I can confidently say that Royalton Chic Antigua has the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I paid for an oceanfront Diamond Club room, and the customer service was an epic failure! Marriott should be ashamed to call this a “luxury” resort as…
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As a seasoned traveler who has vacationed in over 40 countries and several Caribbean islands, I can confidently say that Royalton Chic Antigua has the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I paid for an oceanfront Diamond Club room, and the customer service was an epic failure! Marriott should be ashamed to call this a “luxury” resort as part of their Autograph Collection!
When I checked into my room, I didn’t immediately notice the hair in my shower until my first use. Disgusted, I reported it to the Diamond Club front desk, who assured me housekeeping would address it. Later that day, my room was “serviced,” but the hair was still in the exact same spot. If the shower was thoroughly cleaned, how is the hair still there? If you were informed about the hair, why is it still there?
I escalated the issue to the assistant manager, who called the executive housekeeper. The manager assured me it would be taken care of and promised to call me once it had been resolved. Yet, when I returned to my room at 6:00 PM, the hair was STILL there, in the exact same spot. Worse, housekeeping left a dirty cleaning brush on my sink—adding insult to injury.
When I tried to escalate further, the manager was “unavailable.” The assistant manager apologized profusely and assured me she would contact housekeeping again and call me back in five minutes. Twenty minutes passed without a call. When I followed up, she couldn’t provide an exact timeline for resolution—despite knowing I needed to shower before my 7:00 dinner reservation. She kept repeating, “They are on the way.” Ultimately, my butler (a Diamond Club perk) removed the hair and the filthy cleaning brush himself because housekeeping never arrived before I had to leave for dinner.
When I informed the assistant manager that my butler resolved the issue because housekeeping never came, she didn’t even apologize. The next day, I met with the executive housekeeper, who apologized and asked how she could make it right. The best she could offer was a late (1:00 PM) checkout. Bottom line: what others have posted about the lack of cleanliness here is not an exaggeration!
To make matters worse, housekeeping turned the AC off twice after cleaning, leaving the room unbearably hot upon my return. After the first incident, I left a note requesting they leave it on. Even after the note, they turned it off again the next day.
My 7:00 dinner reservation at the overwater restaurant was another debacle. After being seated, I had to ask for my waiter. I waited over 75 minutes to receive my food—including the appetizer—despite escalating to the restaurant manager. The food was lukewarm and mediocre at best. The waitress who took my order didn’t return to my table during the entire 75-minute wait. I only saw her again when I left my table to inquire about my food and when she finally brought it. The long wait times mentioned in other reviews are NOT exaggerated—they’re spot on.
When the hostess checked me in for dinner reservations at Olympus, they asked if I had any allergies or dietary restrictions and wrote them down. My waitress asked the same question. However, when my main entrée arrived, it included a sauce containing the very ingredient I had explicitly mentioned I could not have. I wouldn’t have known unless I asked before tasting it. Given the incompetence I had experienced, I was wise to ask.
Every restaurant had at least two items on the menu that were unavailable. As many others have posted, the food is just okay—not the flavorful, high-quality cuisine one expects at a luxury resort. Both breakfast buffets had several dirty plates and glasses.
The majority of the employees I experienced were incompetent and the overall resort customer service was abysmal. Additionally, the lack of accountability at all levels was astonishing. From unresolved cleanliness issues to outrageously long wait times, this experience was unacceptable for any traveler, let alone one paying for a premium Diamond Club experience.
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