My wife and I, along with our three daughters (9, 11, and 13), stayed at Villa La Estancia from August 9 - 17.
The Bottom Line:
We had a wonderful stay and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Our trip was intended to be resort-heavy pool play, eating/drinking and, most of all, relaxation. Villa La Estancia delivered on all counts. My wife’s business has taken her around the world, and despite their young ages, the kids are a well-traveled bunch. None of them are shy with their opinions. Villa La Estancia is the first place where we unanimously agreed that we “had to come back!”
The Rest of the Review (warning - long):
There are many great reviews on this resort and re-reading them and flipping through the pictures on TripAdvisor after our stay, I think that they give an accurate reflection of what we experienced. For the rest of this review, I wanted to focus on two subjects. First, there are some topics that have conflicting information, a scarcity of information, or where my experience was different that what I expected after reading almost every review out there. The second category is personal stories that speak to the quality of the resort.
Selected Topics:
Tipping: At check-in, they made it perfectly clear that some portion of your all-inclusive charge is paid to the staff as tips (any additional tips are at your discretion and expense). In my research, I had found conflicting statements/information about a vague “hotel gratuity,” service charges for room service, tips for waiters not included, etc. On my final bill, there were no tips/service charges other than additional tips I added to the bills I signed (see below).
That said, I tipped on top of the all-inclusive, and I think you will want to as well. I never got the impression that anyone expected me to tip, and gratitude was always expressed when I did.
Service charge for room service: Check-in staff also made a point to say that there is no service charge for room service. They said that many people come to the resort thinking that there is a service charge. I was one of them; mostly because it says so on their own website. We used room service several times, and there was no fee on the final bill.
Only two restaurants: The five of us ate every meal at the resort. This totals eight breakfasts and eight dinners at La Casona and nine lunches at La Parilla (at the tables, swim-up bar, or delivered to pool loungers). No one got bored or asked to eat somewhere else. We love the kind of food served and we thought it was delicious, so this aspect could be radically different for people with different tastes (menus are online). Food does take a long time to be prepared (each La Casona dinner took two hours) so might be hard with really young children or if you are famished and want a quick bite.
Signing a bill for everything: You do have to sign bills, but it is really pretty painless. We would spend about seven to eight hours at the pool each day. Some older reviews indicate that at some time in the past, each individual order would need to be signed (or every hour). For us, the bartenders would start a tab for us on the first drink order and then the bill for the whole day (drinks, lunch, other food) would need to be signed at the end. So basically, I signed three bills a day (breakfast, day at the pool, dinner). There is a space on the bill for a tip, but I was always left alone to sign it. No one hovered over me or even watched me sign. The bill never took more than a few minutes to come. One day it started to rain, and while we were packing up, one of the bartenders (thanks, Lucio) was there with the bill before we were finished.
Liquors available: I had a hard time finding out what “international premium brands” of liquor meant for the all-inclusive. Also, since not everyone is on the inclusive plan (saw this at another resort), I was wondering if some might be extra fee. Unless you have a very high-end tastes, the liquor is top-shelf. The tequila tops out at Don Julio. Vodkas included Grey Goose and Kettle One. There was Johnnie Walker Black Scotch as well as at least two decent single malts (Glen Livet 12 and Glenfiddich). We had all of these and no extra fee was charged.
Ocean views every room?: I read this in many reviews/room tips, but found it to not be really true. Our third floor room in Building 3 farthest from the beach had just a sliver of a view of the ocean. Compared with our last vacation on Maui when we were upgraded to a beach front view, this was a small disappointment. I didn’t ask for a different room. I just wanted to mention it for those who might have more of a priority on this.
Service attitude: I think that the staff at Villa La Estancia has a challenging job with the variety of clientele they have. It seems like the staff tries to adjust to your demeanor. If you give the vibe that you want serious service from a distance, they will give you your space. If you engage the people, they open up and become more relaxed. For instance, I would speak pleasantries and certain procedural tasks (e.g., asking for “la cuenta”) in Spanish. The staff picked up on this and would answer me in Spanish.
Tales of Great Service (in order of occurrence):
Boni introduced himself as our butler during check-in (don’t know if this is his official title). Since I had read that, unlike many other all-inclusive resorts, no beer was stocked in the room fridge and room service didn’t deliver alcohol, I asked Boni what mechanism people used if they wanted to have a beer in their room. I just wanted to know so I could follow the correct procedure, but Boni took the initiative and arranged for a six pack to be delivered to my room. Boni checked on how we were doing every day and shook my hand (fist bumps for the kids).
Felix the pool concierge takes all the stress out of chair management. At some other resorts, we would have to wake up early to stake out a lounger at the pool, and it would be even harder to find one of the few that might have shade during some portion of the day. At Villa La Estancia, there was never a time during our whole stay that you wouldn't have been able to find a lounger with umbrella (both pool and beach). To make it even nicer, Felix sees you coming and gets you set up with towels in your favorite spot. He tells you to start having fun while he finishes setting you up. During the day, he makes sure your umbrellas move to keep shade like you like it. He rolls up extra towels to make head rests and asks you how you are doing. He is engaging and a nice guy as well.
Jose was our breakfast waiter for the first six days. On Friday, he made a point to ask when we were leaving. We told him Sunday, and he said he asked because he was off Saturday and Sunday and wanted to say goodbye. Then he extended his hand for a handshake.
The bartenders. You learn a lot about people by how they treat children when their parents aren't around. My kids became very comfortable going up to the swim up bar alone to get their Shirley Temples, virgin pina coladas and smoothies. I asked them if the bartenders were nice, and they said all of them were very kind and they liked Jorge and Oscar in particular because they would tell funny stories and teach them the Spanish names for things.
Lastly, Luis the bellman came to our room when we called at 11 AM check-out time for assistance with our luggage. Our ride to the airport wasn't coming until 1 PM, so we were planning on hanging out in the lobby. When Luis arrived, he asked “Mr. lopcroix when are you going to the airport?” I answered and he asked if we had asked for a late check out. I said we hadn't. I didn't tell him that I have grown weary of being told “no” when making these requests so I rarely try anymore. He said “I’ll take your bags if you wish, but I think you will be more comfortable waiting in your room, and I would like to call and ask for a late check out.” I said OK and he called reception and got the late check out along with an hour extension on the all-inclusive so we could get lunch. If that isn't going above and beyond, I don’t know what is.