Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino

I had booked the premier ocean view room, the best room category in the hotel other than the suites. They put me into a room that had a connecting door that didn't close or lock and a hallway door that didn't lock. I was told that they had no other rooms in my category available, that no upgrades were available, and tried to claim that the room that I booked was already an upgrade. No it was the room that I booked at the listed price with no incentives other than the online rate. They even refused to downgrade me at a discount because "they didn't want me to lose the view." As if view is more important than safety. It took three hours of maintenance calls, most of which went unanswered, and complaints before I finally started to yell at the manager who told me that they would look into the issue the following day but that I just had to deal with it that day, before they suddenly found the supposedly unavailable upgrade. Fair warning on suites in this hotel. They can only be accessed by key card and the key card readers on the elevators are routinely out of order. One never worked, the other 2 were spotty at best. At one point none of them worked. To give you an idea what to expect the penthouse suite that I was upgraded to had stains on walls, floor and ceiling, multiples of each. Several evenings I had absolutely no water pressure, could not get so much as a drop to come out of the shower, other times I only had cold water. Instead of the ocean view I had booked I had what they call a bay view. You could see the bay but first you saw the water tanks and trash and it was those that you smelled so the balconies were pointless.

I can't comment on the food. I did not get the AI package, which from comments I heard was a smart move. There are numerous restaurants right outside the door of the resort, as close as maybe 20 steps, so there really is no reason to eat on the resort.

My first experience at an all inclusive and I will never do it again. The buffet was awful. We ate at the beach restaurant, The Palm, to avoid it but there is so much hamburger and pizza one can eat on a weekend. Drinks were not the best either. The hotel lobby, pool and rooms are large and seem like they used to be grand, but not anymore. It feels 80's and a little tacky. The casino is outside across the street and the ambiance is ok. Nightlife is good in this area different from Marigot which was dead after 10pm. Mullet bay beach is worth it. It is very close to the Hotel and gorgeous. Basically eat outside the hotel, rent a jeep, go to the beaches (Orient and Mullet)and party close to the hotel and you'll be OK. Streets and traffic are a BIG pain s avoid rush hour.