Providenciales Resorts

First, I should start with the positives. This is an absolutely beautiful hotel, it is right on the beach and it is in a more secluded area (when we walked down the beach near the Sandals and other mass resorts, we were even more appreciative of the secluded location. The surroundings are absolutely amazing and the outdoor areas take full advantage of the great Turks water. The beach staff bends over backwards to make you happy. This is built as a 5 star resort, but I have to say that I have had better service and less problems at Marriotts or Hyatts. There are far too many issues that are huge drawbacks to the beautiful locale, as follows: 1. The free WiFi that they advertise throught the hotel does not work. It is painfully slow, when you can get it to connect (good luck finding the one little spot in your room, or in the lobby, where the signal is strong enough) , so don't expect to be able to check e-mail or use Skype while there unless you plug in the phone cord into your laptop (fortunately, it is a CAT5 cable that allows this, but then you can't use the phone in your room - but see below as to why that may not be an issue). 2. Their phone system doesn't work, which is a massive problem. We were getting constant calls for the room next to ours, which at first I attributed to people not dialing correctly. After the first day, when the hotel was calling to confirm dinner reservations and other things for the room next door and they expressed frustration that they could not get through to the room. I complained about this several times and on the third complaint (after 5 calls, including 2 from the front desk), I was told that ''It really isn't our problem, the phone company that installed the phone system didn't do it right.'' This really isn't the attitude I want to hear and it certainly isn't my job to contact their phone installer. We were resigned to disconnecting the phone during our stay, which was inconvenient, as our cell phones did not work there and my sister also staying the hotel could not reach us. 3. Our safe stopped working the third day we were there. It couldn't be replaced. 4. Our Ipod Docking station didn't work and had to be replaced. The DVD player was not hooked up (really, I don't think we should have to do installation). 5. Although the rooms are beautiful, our room, which was the junior oceanfront suite with the jacuzzi tub, lacked privacy in the bathroom. The shower and the toilet had glass doors which were smoked enough to where you could still see someone in there. Also, the room is all tile and there is no real sound barrier between the bathroom and the rest of the suite - so you can hear everything. 6. Service is lacking here. Toiletries were not replaced unless you specifically asked (and then, only what you specifically asked for), one of our robes was taken by housekeeping and it took 3 calls to get it back and inexplicably, they took our bath mat (which also took 3 calls to get back). Towels were always placed in different areas, which was odd and housekeeping never seemed to come at consistent times. Also, be aware that the floors are marble and due to the humidity, they take a while to dry after being mopped. We both slipped a few times on the floor and were lucky not to fall. 7. For some reason, the bar by the beach charged twice as much for drinks as the bar in the restaurant. Service by the beach was much better than anywhere in the hotel. The bartender and beach attendants were the hardest working people there, but the rest of the staff didn't seem to be so concerned with making your stay comfortable. The girls at the front desk were absent minded at times, and had an attitude at others. Also, keep in mind that service in the restaurant was somewhat attentive until you get your meal, and then completely absent (this seemed to be prevalent throughout the island, so may just be cultural, but good luck getting a drink refill). 8. Room service wasn't that bad, but it wasn't great either. My medium cheeseburger was blood rare (we were so exhausted with calling about problems that I abandoned the thought) and while sitting in my sister's room, we discovered she had a different room service than we did. She asked for an updated menu from room service and was given one that was different from ours, and from the one she was given. When her room was changed because she was given the wrong room (another issue), we found that there was a fourth version of the room service menu. It was just comical. Also, with regard to the restaurant, seasoning in the food was somewhat lacking and don't order anything with rice, as it was consistently hard as a rock. Breakfast is grossly overpriced here. Again, this is a beautiful resort, but all the problems were enough to make me seriously consider whether I would return.