I really want to write a glowing review, but it just wasn't what I expected. In fairness to Royal Isabela, I may have come in thinking it was a 5-star experience, more aligned with a luxury stay elsewhere in the Caribbean. I was expecting a much more service-oriented, guest-centered visit. Instead, I often felt we were staying at a resort that was closed for the season. Before we arrived, I emailed and called multiple times to get suggestions for transportation from SJU - there was never an answer or response (we ultimately rented a car). Once we got there, the business manager (I assume) who checked us in was very brief, not at all warm or welcoming (but not rude, either) - he offered very little guidance in terms of how to navigate the grounds and no suggestions for things to do on or off the property. The casita was as it appears in the pics - it's nice and clean - although ours had mostly a view of foliage, not water, which was a bit of a bummer. The casita offers bottled water but nothing else, no mini bar with snacks, which is kind of necessary given no shops are within walking distance and you're dependent on room service or the restaurant which doesn't offer snack-y things and can take more than an hour. We tried for two days to schedule facials or massages - we were able to connect with someone at the front desk for these but each time, we were told they would check availability and call us back - but we never received calls back, not even to say there was no availability. That was a bummer. One-on-one, most of the staff was lovely, but it was inconsistent and largely transactional. We did have some sweet cats hang out with us on our patio, that was nice. All in all, I wish we had stayed elsewhere, but maybe more than that wish that Royal Isabela would try harder to leverage its hard-working staff, beautiful grounds, and surrounding community to provide a stay worth $500+/night.
번역