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Jaguar Reef Lodge Traveler Review :: "Could have done better"

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Summary of All Property Reviews Ratings based on answers from a total of 7 reviews (All Reviews) 10 is best 1 is worst
Feature	Ranking	Feature	Ranking
Cleanliness of Property	9.29	Quality of Property	7.71
Privacy & Quietness	9.00	Quality of Service	7.00
Courtesy & Hospitality of Staff	8.43	Accuracy of Website (marketing hype) VS. Actual Experience	5.86
Food and Dining Experience	6.71	Price/Value of Property	7.57
Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property)	9.00	Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach)	7.71
Total Property Score: 7.83 | Average Star Rating: 3.71 out of 5

• 57% (4 visitors of 7) said they would go back to Jaguar Reef Lodge again.
• 57% (4 visitors of 7) said they would recommend Jaguar Reef Lodge to friends.

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My wife and I spent 6 days at JRL in December, '04 for a honeymoon and diving. Since JRL doesn't have an inhouse dive staff, we arranged to do all our diving at the Hamanasi resort which is next door to JRL. We blew it. We should have stayed at Hamanasi.

We choose JRL on the basis of their website photos. The pictures were better than the reality. The rooms were nice but, except for the two on either end, were too far from the beach and sort of behind the main lodge/dining room. You couldn't hear the surf from the rooms, only the air conditioners in the adjoining rooms. The lodge building blocked most, if not all, of the sea breeze. The pictures of Hamanasi, on the other hand, didn't do it justice. The resort was much prettier than its pictures. The rooms were also much closer to the beach and in front of the lodge. Hamanasi was also beautifully landscaped and filled with hummingbirds. JRL was clean and well raked but bare by comparison.

As far as the staff goes, there was no comparison. Hamanasi's staff was superb. JRL's was mediocre at best. Since we did all our diving from Hamanasi, we were there every morning to get on the dive boat. The manager there, Karen, would greet both my wife and I by name. She went diving with us one afternoon. She joined us for breakfast. She personally saw to our comfort and the details of our dives. The rest of the staff treated us like guests, not like visitors from another resort. We took a JRL boat snorkeling one afternoon to Coco Plum Caye. The captain took us to the island, pointed to a buoy floating offshore and said “Go snorkel over there.” He then went to the bar and chatted with a waitress. We took a double sea kayak out to the site. It sucked. We could have seen as much in the resort's pool. Because of heavy surf, we couldn't get back into the kayak. If some of the other guests wouldn't have sent the captain back out to help, we'd still be out there struggling.

We never spoke to the management of JRL. We could see them sitting inside through a glass window in their office door, but they never came out of the airconditioning to introduce themselves, say hi or ask if there was anything they could do. JRL’s wait staff needs a lot of work. One afternoon for lunch, they just stood in the back and only came forward to serve us reluctantly.

As far as the food went, again Hamanasi also was, far and away, superior. More variety, bigger portions, better preparation, presentation and service. JRL’s was adequate but much less than we expected. It was what you’d expect from a chain restaurant in an airport. We took a JRL box lunch snorkelling one day and it consisted of a plastic box with chicken salad, some vegetable salad, and a cookie. Hamanasi’s picnic lunch was grilled chicken breasts, lunchmeat with cheese, bread and condiments for sandwiches, bow tie pasta, fresh cut watermelon, fresh cut pineapple and brownies and cookies. The captain and the dive crew set up a table and did the serving.

One last thing – There is a new condo complex being built on an adjacent property. Be prepared for a lot of construction noise. We weren’t.

Hamanasi – first class, JRL – low class.

Property Review
10 is best 1 is worst

Would you stay at this property again?: ... No
Would you recommend this property to your friends?: ... No
In your opinion, how would you classify the "style" of this property: ... Family Oriented
Possible Anwswers: Family Oriented, Couples Oriented, Mixed/Diverse in a Good Way, Mixed/Diverse in a Bad Way

• Cleanliness of Property: ... 9
• Quality of Property: ... 5
• Privacy and Quietness: ... 10
• Quality of Service: ... 4
• Courtesy and Hospitality of Staff: ... 4
• Accuracy of Website VS. Actual Experience: ... 3
  
• Food and Dining Experience: ... 4
• Price/Value of Property: ... 5
  
• Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property): ... 5
• Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach): ... 6

Destination/Island Review
10 is best 1 is worst

Would you visit this destination/island again?: ... Yes
Would you recommend this destination/island to your friends?: ... Yes

• Cleanliness of Destination/Island: ... 7
• Options of Activities in the Area: ... 8
• Ease of Transportation (air, taxi, bus, shuttle): ... 5
• Quality of Beaches in the Area: ... 8
• Courtesy & Hospitality of Locals: ... 6
• Safety Factor (Did you feel safe in the Area): ... 8
  
• Local Restaurant Experience/Options: ... 6
• Price/Value of Destination (Does your dollar stretch?): ... 8
  

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