The matter of lounge chairs
 

Just returned from a great vacation at a wonderful place, but hated the situation with regard to finding a chair by the pool each day. Please give me your thoughts. We'd get up at 7:30 and be at the pool by 8AM only to find that every chair had a towel and a book on it - people were actually getting there at 5 or 6 AM and saving their chairs then going back to bed and returning at 10 or 11 AM. So...here I am at 8AM, sitting in an inferior spot looking at all these empty, but "saved", chairs. What has been your experience in this situation? Are there resorts that would keep this from happenning? Or is this just the reality of most places? (By the way, the resort was Royal Hideaway in Playa del Carmen - about 200 rooms)

We just back from Curacao. We had the same thing. I would power walk every morning at 6:45 and most of the "prime beach spots" were taken. I never saw any people but the chairs were already covered! Unfortunately by the end of the trip, I found myself doing the same thing. Some of the chairs were "saved" but not used for most of the day. This was not at the pool but at the beach.

Tipping the pool boy when you arrive and asking him to reserve you lounge chairs is unfortunately the only way to avoid the whole musical chaises thing.

I am stunned that a place as classy (and as much $$$) as RH would not take better care of its guests.

I personally have never "saved" a chair with a towel, and I think very little of people who do that. Cheesy, tacky and rude imho.

Luckily for us, we normally travel in the off-season when the chair thing is not a problem.

If it DOES happen though; because these people are always at breakfast, or sight-seeing, or in bed, or somewhere not in the immediate region and will not be for some time, I take one of the inferior chairs for what I think is a reasonable period of time (half hour), and then move to the uninhabited chairs if no one shows up. (Moving their belongings to MY former spot.)

I've not had it happen more than a couple of times and never had anyone say anything to me. (My guess is they'd be sorry if they did.)

I truly think that at full-service resorts they should have people on staff that remove the towels and belongings to a central location and let the people sheepishly come claim their items if they have been left completely unattended for more than an hour.

I've come back in the late afternoon from excursions only to see the same two towels, book and flip-flops on two chairs in the same position they were at 8 a.m. RUDE!

At the Four Seasons Punta Mita we were handed a very polite letter as we checked in. It said that chairs are available to all guests and anyone leaving their chair unoccupied for more than two hours might have their belongings moved and their chair given to another guest. This was a good approach and there did not seem to be any issues. However, they also seemed to have a high chair-to-guest ratio. From reports I am reading recently, it seems like some resorts are woefully short of chairs. One of them seems to be the Curacao Marriott -- I am going there next week and will report back. If I am paying to stay at a nice resort, I understand that prime spots may not always be available, but I expect at the very least a lounge chair somewhere on the beach!

I was at the Curracao Marriot a couple years ago. I would never get up in the morning to reserve a prime spot (never have never will cause not worth it to me). We spend most of our vacation exploring the different beaches on the island but we did spend a morning/afternoon or two at the Marriot beach and/or pool. There are definately sufficient chairs in the pool area. Never had problem getting a spot. The Marriot beach has little huts and the chairs under the huts were usually taken/reserved. However there were always enough chairs on the beach itself...just not enough huts to go around. Hope this helps.

i just take their stuff off of the lounge chair and put it on the chair next to me. I have never had a problem determining if a chair is being used or just saved. The people never say a word.

Anyone know if this lounge-chair game is a problem on Provo--specifiaclly at the beach and/or pool at Royal West Indies?

We just came back last night from the Radisson in Aruba. If you wanted a hut on the beach, you needed to be down there at 7am to sign up for one. As far as bein around the pool, people came early to put towels down around the blue umbrella's. We just went down after breakfast and took whatever was left. We didn't care too much, except when we wanted some kind of shade and there wasn't any.

The only time I have ever had a similar thing happen was with the hammocks on the beach at Swept Away - people would "reserve" them with their stuff and keep it there for hours. Imagine - a hammock? There are always only a few hammocks and I would think that everyone would understand their appeal. I never spend any time at pools on vacation so maybe it has been a problem with places I have been and I didn't notice.

Thanks......I'm glad to hear some of you suggesting to do what I wanted to do, but didn't have the nerve to do. I thought I'd just move the stuff on the "saved" chairs that remained unoccupied for a long time. I figured that I'd even be nice enough to give the person the chair when they returned.

Anyway....the thought of having to do this annoyed me so, and I refused to succumb and get up early to do what I had been complaining about. So, we wound up with less than prime spots. (Didn't spoil the vacation, though). I was disappointed that the staff didn't do something about it.

Thanks for your insights on this.

We are thinking of going to Royal Hideaway and have a question about the beach. We are looking for a nice sandy beach, one you can walk right into the water-not rocky. Also looking for calm or very little wave action. Nothing that would knock me down and toss me around. What can you tell me about the beach? Any other comments would be appreciated. Rooms, food, service, et. al. Thank you for your response.

I had someone take my chair at the Wyndham Aruba when I just went to the ladies room!

I had the towels on my chair, my book, drink, etc., and just left for a minute. Came back...lady sitting in my chair.

I said...ummm....is that your towel. She said "no," and sat there. I said, uhh...that's my towel, chair, drink, get up!!! Sheesh!

Can you believe it! Just thought I'd add that because it's so funny!!! =)

Peace, Greenie

We were at the Curacao Marriott Feb. 19-26, pretty prime time. We experience the excessive towel-chair-saving everywhere, but this resort seemed to have adequate space and chairs. The shade huts were large but not plentiful and were commandeered by the early-riser-towel-spreaders. We just moved to poolside shade when we got too warm. We slept late, getting to the beach at 10 or 11 a.m. Only one morning, mid-week, were we surprised to find EVERY beach chair claimed by a towel. I chose one, mentally promising I'd give it up if someone returned, but at sunset the towel (and I) still there undisturbed.

I guess people are "me-first" everywhere, but I refuse to let it spoil a vacation.

The beach really isn't. Apparantly, they has some storm damage and beach erosion and so now they reallyhave no real beach in front of the hotel. Instead, they have an extended pool area that is made of sand and sits a set of stairs (about ten steps) above the used to be beach area. I did not have a problem with that. You can walk down the stairs and then walk along the beach if you like in either direction. (But when you walk down the stairs, the water is right there.!) You will find lots of sand bags on the wet sand level - not to pleasant a sight. They're trying to save the beach and so they are constantly filling more bags and piling them up. To the right and left of the RH, there are other hotels that have more beach, but those areas are packed with lounge chairs. I certainly wouldnt trade the RH's set up for that. The water was choppy - but people were in it. It's also a beautiful color, so looking out on it - even from level above on the "faux beach" -- was a wonderful sight. I did not swim - but I don't believe it was "knock you down" rough. It was all very peaceful and once I got over the beach chair thing - which actually got better after the crowd turned over on Saturday - I was very happy with it. However, if you are thinking "beautiful wide sandy beaches" this may not be the place for you.

The food and service were top notch.

It all seemed quite classy - no screaming kids at the pool (no kids at all) no big groups of rowdy "adults" slurping down Margarita after Margarita. I think, however, that next time I want to try a smaller place. Last year we went to The Caves in Jamaica, which was so small and intimate. RH still was a bit too big.

Nevertheless, thumbs up. Food and service was great. If beach isn't your top priority, I am sure you'll have a fine time.

The chair issue can be avoided completely by staying at smaller upscale resorts. I don't think we've ever run into any 'chair saving' incidents in our Caribbean travels but we almost always stay at resorts with less than 50 rooms.

Go Diana Go - good for you!
my thoughts entirely.

Greenie - loved the story - anymore?

But why don't these resorts have enough chairs to equal demand?

My husband and I must have shade, so before I book, I look at the hotel beach photos. The beach must have shade trees. That way, if all the umbrellas are taken, you can just drag a chair under a tree. Much nicer, anyway.
So far (lucky me), I haven't stayed someplace where there weren't enough loungers -- just a lack of umbrellas.
Having enough loungers for the guests seems like basic hotel science 100.

Well, I am back from Curacao Marriott and while I really liked the resort, I am sorry to report that the lounge chairs were really an issue. At the beginning of the week we had several days where getting chairs was not a problem (I even got a palapa at 10 a.m.!) but as the week went on and many large families arrived for Easter, people were reserving all chairs at the pool and all chairs in shade at the beach before 7 a.m.! I think the resort even brought in more chairs, there were always chairs to be had at the beach, just not in the shade and shade is important at this location due to the sun's strength. One morning a fist fight almost broke out between two men because one moved the other's stuff that was reserving a chair. Not pleasant. The resort even had a posted policy of not reserving chairs but it was ignored. After this experience, I have to say that I like the system at the Aruba Marriott much better. They have lots of palapas there, but if you want a certain "prime" location like in the first row nearest to the water you were able to reserve it the day before by paying $15. Believe me, I am very fair and need some shade for some part of the day so I would be happy to pay for a palapa or an umbrella, I think the same people had the chairs with the umbrellas at the pool the entire week. Of all the places we've been, this was the worst lounge chair situation we have experienced.

I am so sorry. :( What a shame.

It's amazing to me how people can be so thoughtless and rude.

It seems like the only answer to this is LOTS more chairs or enforcing the "no reserving chairs" rule.

People don't like to have to fight for what should be a basic resort amenity on their vacations.

I know that if this were an "issue" at a resort I was contemplating, I'd stay elsewhere.