Disappointed in latest review on TA

[lhenry]

Wondering what is going on when so many people have such fantastic things to say about CN and then a review pops up in which someone states they saw mice, roaches and rats and that the public areas are un-hygenic...? I have been constantly checking this mb and TA because we will be there on Saturday but this latest review was just a downer. Almost wish I never read it. Kinda took the wind out of my sails. I hope I have set my expectations realistically. I know it is not shiny and new but I hope there is no problem with overall cleanliness. I wonder why they said that CN doesn't clean the floats? How do they know that....?maybe an unfair review...it was very short. Something must have happened that tarnished their whole trip...

3 more days until I see for myself! Hoping for the paradise I think it is!

[Softiee26]

I to saw that review, and figured something else must have happened on their trip that caused such a negative review. I have been monitoring the reviews on TA for the last few months and the majority of all the reviews have been positive. We leave for CN tomorrow and its our first time and we are very excited!

[backsoon]

When we were there last year, we saw a young man cleaning the floats every day. That being said, they do not have the shiny brand new look. They are used every day. We did not see any rats or cock roaches and we were there for 10 days. No worries.

[rudi]

I wonder why they said that CN doesn't clean the floats? How do they know that....?maybe an unfair review...it was very short.

I'm not declaring that TA post to be a competitive plant, but it may be. Or it may be a guest over-reacting to an unpleasant experience and posting incorrect information out of ignorance.

The post said the floats were not cleaned daily.
I've had the extreme pleasure of being on CN's beach in the early AM for well over 100 days and every single time have seen the watersports staff hosing down and, often, scrubbing the floats.
I haven't verified that they attend to every float on the beach daily (there are hundreds), but it certainly looks like they do. (Usually there are at least two staff working with the hose progressing from one end of the beach to the other).

The hygiene (or lack thereof) reports are dubious. Not only have we not seen the claimed issues, we've also had the pleasure of talking to the Sanitation Manager, Neville Smart, (at the repeater's dinner) and he is extremely professional and knowledgeable about all things related to hygiene for hotel/resort properties. I just can't imagine him letting the reported issues to occur.

I'll repeat two points that others have made:
1) It is wise to treat TA posts on either extreme with a dose of skepticism.
2) Having your expectations set realistically, below a level of "everything will be 100% out-of-this-world" is healthy as you're likely to be pleasantly surprised.

Please have a great trip and report back afterwards.

[melody]

I have never seen anyone clean any of the floaties but maybe they just do it once in a while and I didn't happen to be there. Some of them are fairly dirty but I put a towel over them anyway. I think they assume they don't clean them because they are left out all night, every day. At the end of the day they are moved to the back of the chairs but nobody cleans them. I don't know about any mice, roaches or rats. I have seen all manner of bugs though, including ticks so watch out. Sometimes I wonder if that is just the go to insult that people use when they are really angry about a trip. I think you are right that something happened to make them upset but unfortunately they didn't talk about the real problem. They probably didn't bring it up to anyone there either or someone would have done something to fix it. Maybe there was bad weather? Not much you can do about that.

[DominickandKim]

Once I have a trip already booked, I only read the excellent reviews. I accidently read that review too and am trying to block it out as CSA was exceptionally clean last year and we are booked for May 1st.

As for the floats, I can't comment on whether they are cleaned, but when I grab a float for the ocean I always "clean" it in the ocean before I use it.

[DominickandKim]

BTW, I forgot to add that I hope you have a wonderful time in Paradise and I'm sure you will find that all is well.

[columbo]

Stop worrying that review is absurd, yes its a caribbean location and there are insects but I have a feeling that the person with that review may have some sort of grudge aboutsomething that may not have gone exactly there way and are blasting the resort as reprissal.

[cleversole]

I've only been to CN twice but can't imagine mice, cockroaches, rats anywhere. The resort is kept EXCEPTIONALLY clean. Yes in the day the floats get sand on them but as stated above the watersports personnel do clean them every day. I've sat and watched in the morning as well, early, just enjoying the early, quiet part of the day. Don't let one review spoil you image. It will be great.

[Tim-n-Lisa]

First:
I have experienced some pests in my own home, they are almost unavoidable under certain circumstances but youo deal with them quickly and efficiently.

Second:
To paint a picture of a vermin infested resort with dirty amenities is absurd. This is a post from an a-hole who had a bad experience for some reason, and was not able to be appeased by the staff.

Third:
CN is deliciously refreshing and wonderfully relaxing. Do not be overwhelmed by the beauty of the pocation and the friendliness of the staff!

[Iriemon]

I've spent a lot of time at 3 of the Couples resorts, including CN, and I have never, at any time seen mice or a cockroach. Nor have I had any concerns about cleanliness. I've learned, as it relates to TripAdvisor reviews, to ignore the outliers, both good and bad. The majority are quite balanced, and you can tell the reviewer is trying to be fair and help their fellow travelers. My advice....stick to the balanced reviews.

[sherrynchuck]

I've been reading Trip Advisor for years and my opinion is that occasionally someone has an experience that isn't up to THEIR expectation and they sort of flip out and start poking at unreasonable things, perhaps even to a point of almost imagining or exaggerating their misery. If you read enough you will see these posts for any resort. Now, the question would be, what was their expectation in the first place? Likely something unattainable. You can't please all the people all the time and you can't please those folks ever.

We went to CSA not CN but I still can't imagine that you are going to see mice, roaches or rats at CN. We did have a crab cross the sidewalk in front of us on the way to dinner one night...gasp!!! To some extent guests contribute to attracting "critters" with the littering they do, that's just a fact in any outdoor setting. But at CSA I constantly saw staff walking around cleaning up after the folks who couldn't seem to carry that cup one step further to put it in a trash can. I am not implying that the place is overrun with trash so don't misinterpret that remark.

As far as the floats, at CSA I also saw staff hosing them down. Whether they hit each one every day I can't say. The floats are white so some of them are looking a little more rough than others. But when I went to sit on them I never had one that made me think it needed cleaned, and with the sunscreen people are using and then laying on them if they weren't getting cleaned regularly they'd have to be pretty gross. You will always have sand on them...they are on the beach, a breeze will put it there no matter how clean it may have been when the beach staff went home the night before.

Go ahead and get excited again. Realize that no place is perfect. This is a tropical environment and battling the effects of that is a full time job...that isn't the same as keeping things clean. And Couples IS CLEAN. No worries.

[Crabracer]

Many of us on the MB put

absolutely

no

credence

in Trip Advisor reports. We have 30 trips to CTI, formally COR, and one to CSS. I have never seen anything that comes close to stuff that people post on TA. Sometimes, even that good posts are over the top. You can rest assured that none of would keep going back to any of the four Couples resorts if what that post was stating to be true. Don't worry. You will have a great time. I

promise

.

Richie

[hillystyles]

Before our trip last year, I read a couple of negative reviews on TA talking about how the staff was no longer as friendly and attentive as they once were...I started to panic! When we arrived, we saw so many familiar faces and some even remembered us...what the heck was I worried about???

While the resort isn't shiny and new, it is always clean. Even the bathroom right by the pool isn't ever gross. Anyplace that is tropical and has so many restaurants...there are bound to be bugs...in Hawaii there were roaches all over the airport...yuck! But I have never ever seen anything like that at CN. They even offer a kitchen tour so they must be confident!!! I have seen them clean the floaties and in the morning you will even see someone from the water sports area cleaning the tile...INSIDE the pool. Heck you don't even see empty glasses left out and about except possibly later at night. We have also seen them clean the rooms after a guest checks out and they even take the floor mats out and clean them. The staff takes great pride in how the resort looks and I personally think it shows.

We are returning for our third visit in just less than two weeks...as they say...no worries mon!

[rhallva]

My wife and I have been to a lot of different resorts and I have always read TA when researching new places. What I have learned is this...
TripAdvisor is only really useful if you totally ignore the very best reviews (often written by repeat guests so in love with a place that they would not mention a problem even if they had one there) and the very worst reviews (often written by people with some issue or axe to grind who they feel they can get revenge for their perceived mistreatment by trashing the resort on TA). Once you ignore all of those, good and bad, you are left with a good resource. Notice that all of the couples resorts have a tremendous number of positve reveiws and very few bad ones.
Even after ignoring the best and worst you can see that the vast majority of guests had a great vacation at Couples. So.... don't worry about the stray bad report on TA.

[Wendy Borie]

No worries! Having gone to Couples for 10 years, flipping between CTI and CN, I have NEVER seen a mouse or rat. I have never seen a roach in my room. The staff Is out daily hosing the floats off. Other than some local birds hanging around open air dining areas (you are in the Tropics!) and local small lizards roaming, the grounds seem critter free. Guys, go and have a great time. Ms. Karen would not allow CN to look the way that article described. She is constantly monitoring things. Relax and enjoy paradise.

[leoconnor]

The post said the floats were not cleaned daily.
I've had the extreme pleasure of being on CN's beach in the early AM for well over 100 days and every single time have seen the watersports staff hosing down and, often, scrubbing the floats.
I haven't verified that they attend to every float on the beach daily (there are hundreds), but it certainly looks like they do. (Usually there are at least two staff working with the hose progressing from one end of the beach to the other).

I can verify Rudi's statement. I'm an early riser even on vacation. The watersports team works very hard to keep those floats and chairs ready every morning. If you are up at 6ish and wander out to the beach, you will see the watersports and groundskeepers out preparing the beach and chairs for the guests.

Yes the beach floats are not as new as the ones by the pool, but they take a lot more abuse!

(Disclaimer: I am completely biased when it comes to CN Watersports - don't mess with my family )

[PermanentVacashun]

Ive been to CN twice(2009,2010) and would return in a heartbeat.
That being said the resort is clean but there are always some thing that can be improved and I know Couples works on things as appropriate.

The floats by the beach are clean, but occasionally you will find one that is older and a litle worn, just pick a new one there are always plenty.
The floats by the pool seem to be newer and less worn, so perhaps as they are replaced they rotate from the pool to the beach?

The only insects I have ever seen are small ants usually in the bathroom. I realized they were after the toothpaste so we put our brushes away in ziplock bags after using.
As for rats and mice, you are in a wilderness looking area and they exist. I did not see any mice, or evidence, but one day the lady's at the beach bar had screamed as they thought one scurried by. I didnt see it.
BTW, as a family we saw about 5 rats at a famous resort in Orlando, but we managed to take our kids back there 2 more times after seeing them.

I wouldn't worry too much about the review, but do keep your expectations in perspective.
The food, beach, rooms and most important staff are all great.
The resort is not shiney and glitz with marble, but is clean and relaxing

You will enjoy it.

PV

[allanah]

We were at CN 31 Dec to 8 Jan.
This was our second visit to CN.
The resort is spotlessly clean and we did not have any issues with cleanliness. I also did the kitchen tour and again spotlessly clean. If there were issues they certainly would not have let us into the kitchens.
Go and don't worry. I couldn't believe that report as we did not see insects, or other vermin at all.
we would retun to any Couples resort tomorrow.

[Onelove7]

I would tend to agree with an earlier poster about the review possibly being a plant. I mean, who's to stop a competitor from trying to give themselves more business? I'd be suspicious.

[Art and Francine]

Well said Hillystyles..... and we have always noticed the same Good things!

[gonegril]

Can't comment on CN, but we've been to CSA many times. FYI, a few times we did see LARGE "palmetto bugs" in our room. NOT PLEASANT, but it's the tropics, so you've gotta take one for the team, I guess. As someone upthread commented, at CN even the beach toilets are clean - and I can vouch for that at CSA as well.

I never ever saw unclean conditions at any of the restaurants / bars, so I have to believe that management keeps a close eye on sanitation.

And at least at CSA there are several cats lurking around, so we never ever saw any vermin....

And note to the poster upthread - we also saw a very big crab one night while walking to dinner at Lemongrass - this was a one-armed bandit and was huge!!

Please relax and anticipate your vacation with a smile - set your sights on a rustic, laid back environment, and I'll bet you'll be satisfied.

Enjoy!

[mobob]

Everything is clean clean clean. They never stop cleaning. Now that being said in my eight visits to CN I have seen roaches twice and a rat once. The cleaning staff gave us a spray for the roaches which we used twice and toward the end of our trip they came and sprayed with the "big" cannister. The rat was many years ago in the middle of the night near the pool. The floats are cleaned every morning. Sometimes the ones on the beach are a little beat up but they work just fine. Come on folks it's the tropics!!!!!

[karinjim]

We have been to couples resorts 5 times, 3 of them at CN. We have seen the water sports staff clean the floaties and also scrub the pool. We get up very early in the morning though and that is when we have seen them. I do know that some people like to sleep late on vacation and that may be why they do not see the cleaning going on. In the 5 trips I have not seen one mouse or cockroach. Have seen a few lizards, but you are in the tropics and will see them. I would come back in a hartbeat again this spring if I could only get the right Price this year. Missing CN very much.
Karin

[smroot]

I too am a repeater to CN, and yes I am biased, but not unrealistic. That person, I read it, had issues and had to vent or was competition. I have seen, with my own eyes, 1 Cockroach, or at least we thought it was. It was small and not certain, but it did not live to tell it's tale. That is out of 14 nights there. I have never seen anything that resembled vermin, and I love the little lizards and such. Ant's you are going to have and yes you are in the tropics so, expect things you would see in the tropics. It is clean, the floats are hosed off daily as many others have said, and the staff goes to great amends to please, even if it is bugs that I am almost certain they laugh at our concerns. Enjoy it and remember to always look for the good and not for the bad. 33 days and counting till going home to Jamaica mon.