Dear Editor,

After what was supposed to be a day of fellowship and camaraderie among team members of a well-recognised financial institution, our group left RIU Ocho Rios disappointed with the treatment meted out.

It all started at the gate with the security officer who was sarcastic and rude in her delivery of how we should proceed to the main area for check-in. Although not amused, we complied. We were directed to an area where the front-desk personnel helped us to check in. The group’s representative was then asked to deliver all our identification cards to the check in clerk, and we were told that the IDs would not be returned to us until the end of the day. We thought this request was unusual and at the extreme illegal, as these IDs were now vulnerable to be tampered with. Nonetheless, we complied.

There was not much assistance offered at check-in except that the representative briefly mentioned where the store and shower rooms were. We were then left to wander around like nomads. We eventually found an area by the poolside where we rested until rain caused us to move. After a few hours we realised that there was nothing much to do.

The resort’s entertainment team pandered to the overseas tourists only. There was little or no

communication from resort staff during the day, except at the bar where we placed an order and got it. At no point during our visit did a resort staff seek to find out if we were finding things okay, or even attempted to engage us in their activities. It was as if we weren’t even there.

Our senior team leader arrived with his family later that afternoon and after an interminable wait, he had to interrupt a conversation being carried on by the few available front desk staff.

Breakfast was not enjoyable, and so most people did not eat much. The jerk grill was closed early and lunch ended at four. The pizzeria was the last chance to catch a meal, and believe me this was no Pizza Hut or Domino’s. We were not even aware that this place existed until the last minute. Checkout was at 6:00 pm, yet activities for the kids were scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm. We found this incongruous.

When it was time to check out we encountered dissatisfaction with the customer service team. The clerk was very rude and abrupt, as her tone and body language was one of annoyance. While we were filing a formal complaint about her lack of service, she was observed being “oh so polite” to overseas tourists.

To further compound the bad experience, a male staff member at the checkout area suggested that we had purloined the hotel’s towels, even though the number of towels borrowed was recorded and similar number returned.

Apparently, the staff at the RIU are not trained to deal with Jamaican residents as we observed the difference in attitude displayed towards other tourists, mostly Europeans – or it may very well be that Jamaican residents are not welcome.

In the aftermath of what my team considered to be a dead day, we decided to conduct a post-mortem of the visit and discussed it with a few friends who were not present. A host of horror stories were unleashed, which led me to this letter. Our group has vowed not to set foot again at the RIU.

A distasteful visit, and I am not just talking about the food.

Tamara Williams

farcletush@yahoo.com