This is less of a resort and more of an exclusive retreat. It is a pleasant 15 minutes walk into town.
The rooms are more of a one bedroom apartment and luxurious. It has good furnishings including two oversized sofas. These were handy because it poured with rain, so we could still stretch out in the air conditioned room to watch TV. The wifi is blistering fast and ubiquitous throughout the property, so we could steam TV easily.
There is a real effort in the smallest of touches – many many thick linens, L’Occitaine toiletries, towels for the lounges that actually fit and go the whole length of the lounger. There are additional guest pool towels in the room. It is fastidiously clean – it is not a mere 15 minutes room clean – the polish and dusters are out. The kitchen is well stocked with pots and pans do we guess you could have a much longer stay here. It was a novel addition to have popcorn provided and a popcorn machine. When we checked in, they asked if we needed decaf (which we did) and some capsule for the coffee machine turned up immediately. We needed some milk – a cup would have sufficient – they gave a proper glass milk jug with a spout and lid. It was clearly well thought through.
There are not many rooms (10) and guests are polite but mostly couples and therefore just relaxed during the day. There are two small pools with full sun, a sun lounger for everyone and large umbrellas for shade. Towels are regularly collected and replaced.
Breakfast was small but sufficient – yoghurt, fruit, bagels, pastries and hot drinks. We decided that because lunch is included (sandwiches, wraps or salad) that we went light on the food. The lunches tasted great. We think the salads pipped it at the post – especially the Caesar salad.
Service was impeccable. Again, we will mention the small touches such as a printed dinner reservation together with a map of how to walk there. A daily sheet in the breakfast area about local events, weather etc. There are a lot of staff during the day. There is a no tipping policy and we liked this because we thought it meant everyone provided a great service (the gratuity is added to your overall bill). They even remembered it was our anniversary and gave us a bottle of wine and a card.
We know it’s a top-dollar price but you get a top-drawer hotel with top-ranked service. Other reviewers talk about returning time after time – we hope to do the same.
For more information, contact The Hacienda
From Within US:
1-760-327-8111
From Outside US:
01-760-327-8111
www.thehacienda.com
