Coconuts Beach Resort - STAY AWAY!!!

Let me start off with saying that this was our first time in Samoa or at any south pacific island. The island itself is great, pristine beaches, untouched nature and the ocean trench was something else. The resort and the room itself was good however there are many reasons why I have given this resort 1 star in my first review of any resort or anything for that matter.
We arrived at the resort at 5pm in the afternoon after being picked up by the resort's driver from the airport. At the reception we found one staff who checked us in and to my surprise, seem to not know our booking at all as she asked how many nights we were staying etc. She then proceeded to collect our info (standard check in process) and ask for us to follow her. You would expect a resort of this calibre to have someone to help you with your luggage right? Instead she was the only one doing the check in and taking us to our room and on the way there we were joined by two other staff who greeted the check-in lady in Samoan and proceeded to have a colourful conversation... while we were a bit clueless..
We did not receive any information on the resort, what to do, rental car information, wifi information or any direction around the resort (info on food options, etc..). We felt completely lost on arrival and were left with a really bad impression. It almost felt like air bnb type accomodation rather than any type of resort. We felt like we were at someone's house and all the family members were talking in their own language and neglect their guests to the point their guests who feel isolated and left out.
The restaurant served OK food (no where near as good as the GLOWING reviews we read!) however again, this was let down by the horrible service. Staff just didn't seem interested at all at serving us, no explanation of the menu and just kind of left it in front of us and walked away. There was no sense of welcoming whatsoever.
Walking around the resort you will feel like a deserted resort with no other guests, almost like a ghost town. Also you will not find anyone around who you can easily identify as staff to ask questions and get directions. Very strange. Having read multiple reviews online, I seriously do not understand what went wrong with our experience?? I am honestly confused.. I don't want to say the staff was rude, they were nice, however everyone seemed so clueless. Being a clueless person first time visiting the island you would want someone to guide you and help make your trip easier not left on your own to find your way around!
This resort been established for a long time yet the staff seem to know nothing about hospitality or the services that the hotel/resort provides. Receptionist didn’t know about the spa service, breakfast lunch and dinner time etc. Room comes with either minibar or continental breakfast and no one bothered to explain what those were. At breakfast continental breakfast is literally toast muffin and fruits, no eggs no bacon and it cannot be changed to any other type of breakfasts at the same value. Things are in inconsistent currency, sometimes tala sometimes usd. Room services wasn’t in uniform and asked us to open door. Created unnecessary inconvenience. You would think a room service cleaner has a master key to all the bedrooms. This also made us wonder if this person is an actual room service cleaner and would our belongings go missing when we return to our room. When we went to the reception and report this, the receptionist did not seem to understand what we are saying. When we were asked to give feedback as we were checking out from the resort. The receptionist was standing over and watching the whole time. This is not how a feedback should be given. So instead of having an opportunity to give my feedback freely at that time I am taking this opportunity to give my feedback on here.
We visited another resort to see if this was a Samoa thing and to our surprise and also shame, we discovered that the service was a million times better and felt so good just being there... or should I say extremely bad because we paid the same rate for a place that we just wanted to get out of.
I can honestly say that this place ruined my trip and I will never ever return to the island of Samoa from the fear that we would receive the same treatment again. What a shame and a waste of a beautiful island.

Your experience is not really out of the ordinary for a lot of the Pacific Island resorts.
It would not put us off Coconuts Beach Resort because we would have no great expectations to start with.
We go to the islands for the snorkeling not the service.

Hi, appreiate your reply/opinion.
Totally understand the expectation and main attraction of the island (nature, beach, etc.)

What angered me though, are the reviews that rave the service and the hospitality. Makes me wonder, have these people been to a nice resort? What are they using as a benchmark?
Also - if you didn't come for the service or not value the service then why would you pay so much for the resort?

You have to take reviews with a grain of salt as everyone's expectations are different and the service can change from day to day depending on the staff at the time.
A lot of the resorts we stay at rotate staff every few weeks so there is no guarantee that you will get the staff that got the good reviews, you may end up with the lot that got the bad reviews.
Don't get angry, just accept that the islands are different and not all will be up to your standards.

What are they using as a benchmark?

Someone could ask the same of you ..

Also - if you didn't come for the service or not value the service then why would you pay so much for the resort?

Service is very low on my own list of criteria. Give me the key to my room and leave me alone. I ask nothing else of staff. I pick for type of room, for location, for relative peace and privacy, for other recreational facilities that might interest me.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.