As a travel advisor, I pride myself on ensuring my clients have the best possible experiences during their trips. I go above and beyond to verify every detail, confirm special requests, and address any concerns before they arise. Unfortunately, even the best preparation cannot make up for a resort’s failure to deliver basic hospitality. This was the case with Villa del Palmar Resort, owned by Tafer Resorts.
This experience left me not only disappointed but firm in my decision to never again book this resort—or any Tafer Resorts—for my clients. Here’s why.
A Slippery Start: Safety and Cleanliness Concerns
My clients checked in on November 10, 2024, to a two-bedroom suite. From the moment they arrived, issues began to surface. They noticed the floors were wet—so wet they nearly slipped multiple times while walking across the room. Even the rugs and blankets felt damp. When I called the front desk to address this issue, the staff casually suggested it might be condensation from the air conditioner, brushing off the safety concern entirely.
Broken Promises: Missing Kids' Packages
Adding to the disappointment, the children’s welcome packages—a special touch meant to include a stuffed animal, crayons, a bag, and kids’ robes—were nowhere to be found. These packages were supposed to be a surprise for the children, and I had personally confirmed their presence with the resort ahead of time. Despite my efforts, the resort failed to ensure they were in the room. I had to call the resort myself to get this addressed, and only then were the items delivered—an inconvenience that could have easily been avoided.
Sleepless Nights in Stifling Heat
By the morning of November 11, my clients contacted me with another issue: the rooms were unbearably hot. Despite setting the thermostat to 69°F, the main bedroom wouldn’t cool below 76°F, and the second bedroom hovered at 75°F. Only the living room area felt remotely cool. When they first contacted me about the heat, the humidity was 84%. The outdoor temperatures that week were consistently in the mid to high 80s, and the high humidity persisted the entire time, making the rooms feel even hotter and more uncomfortable. This made sleeping nearly impossible, especially for their daughter, who began to experience a chronic cough that was exacerbated by the heat and humidity.
When I called the front desk to address the problem, I was told maintenance would be sent to their room. Hours passed with no resolution. By 10:30 p.m., I called again and spoke to a manager, only to learn that the resort’s chiller system was malfunctioning, leaving the average room temperature across the property between 71°F and 73°F. The manager assured me maintenance would visit the room immediately—but when they did arrive, they left in the middle of the job and never returned.
Adding insult to injury, I was passed off to a new manager after 11 p.m. when shifts changed. This manager had no prior knowledge of the issue, requiring me to once again explain everything from the beginning. He stated that he lacked the authority to make any significant changes and suggested I contact the morning manager, who, he claimed, could potentially transfer my clients to a sister resort, provided availability.
The next morning, I called as instructed, hoping to resolve the situation. Instead, the experience deteriorated further. The manager was dismissive and unprofessional, accusing my clients of fabricating their concerns and alleging that the photos they provided were pulled from the internet. He also insisted that I, as their travel advisor, couldn’t possibly understand the situation because I wasn’t physically present. When I firmly defended my clients and reiterated their valid concerns, the manager hung up on me mid-conversation, refusing to engage further.
Despite his claims that he would only speak to my clients directly, he never did. Instead, he sent another staff member to address them. This staff member, rather than approaching them professionally, used rude hand gestures to call my client over instead of walking up to her and initiating a proper conversation. This lack of courtesy and respect underscored the resort’s overall disregard for basic hospitality and customer care.
Activities Gone Wrong
In what should have been a fun and relaxing day playing outdoors, my clients experienced yet another frustration. They wanted to play volleyball with their family and approached the activity desk to request a ball. They were told they couldn’t borrow one unless participating in a group activity. After some discussion, they were sent across the resort to the front desk to request a ball, only to be redirected back to the activity desk.
Eventually, someone begrudgingly gave them a ball, but it was described as old, dirty, and in rough shape. While my clients were disappointed by the condition of the ball, at that point, they were just happy to have something to play with. To make matters worse, they were repeatedly reminded to return the ball—once while playing, again while walking to return it, and yet again upon handing it back. Frustrated by this entire process, my client even offered to pay a cabana staff member $100 if he would go off-site after his shift to buy a volleyball for her. He accepted, and my client paid him the $100 when he returned with the ball.
Later, while walking through the resort, they happened to notice newer, clean volleyballs branded with the resort's name, contradicting the claim that only one ball was available for the entire property.
Unresponsive Staff and Poor Customer Service
Throughout my clients' stay, they faced consistent frustration due to the unhelpful and dismissive service from the staff at Villa del Palmar. I made multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact management, only to be passed around with no resolution. The staff failed to take responsibility or act in a timely manner to address the issues my clients were facing.
Accusation of lying: One manager accused my clients of lying about the poor conditions in their room, suggesting that the photos they provided could have been pulled from the internet.
Refusal to accommodate: When I inquired about moving my clients to a sister resort, I was initially told it was not possible. Later, when they reluctantly offered a transfer, it came with an additional charge.
Unprofessional treatment: I was hung up on by another manager who insisted on speaking directly to my clients. He never did, and instead, another staff member was sent to interact with my clients in a rude manner, using hand gestures to summon them instead of walking over to speak to them directly.
Lack of responsibility: At every turn, the staff deflected responsibility and failed to prioritize solving the problems my clients were facing.
It became painfully obvious that the management was more focused on deflecting responsibility than actually resolving the issues and ensuring a positive experience for my clients.
A Disappointing Resolution
By November 13, my clients were finally moved to a new room. While it was slightly cooler, the room still wasn’t comfortable, and the same issues persisted for the remainder of their stay. To make matters worse, the new room lacked the Disney+ and child-friendly channels that the original room had, which had been one of the few perks during their stay.
Loss of movie benefit: My clients lost the benefit of free movie access when they were moved to the new room, and instead, they were forced to pay for a movie to entertain their children. It wasn’t just about the cost; it was the inconvenience and added frustration of losing what should have been a simple amenity.
Television malfunction: Additionally, on their first night in the original room, my clients encountered another issue: the television became stuck on a horror movie channel. The remote wouldn’t work, and the TV was mounted in such a way that my client couldn’t reach the plug to unplug it. Concerned for her youngest child, she put a blanket over the screen to block the view, but they could still hear the movie. They had to wait for maintenance to come, remove the television from the wall, and replug it to stop the movie from playing. This issue was frustrating, especially considering it took so long to resolve.
This situation was a disaster from start to finish. From missing reservations to poor communication, unprofessional staff, and a lack of basic hospitality, the resort consistently failed to deliver the service my clients deserved.
Why I No Longer Recommend Tafer Resorts
This experience at Villa del Palmar Cancun was a profound disappointment. From broken promises and safety concerns to dismissive management and unprofessional staff, the entire ordeal reflected a lack of care and respect for guests.
My clients did say they enjoyed their vacation, in the sense of what didn't go wrong, but these issues took away from the overall experience. Unfortunately, no matter how great the good moments were, the negative experiences outweighed them. In the end, it simply wasn’t worth the price to pay for a vacation that was marred by so many frustrations.
As a travel advisor, I continue to advocate for my clients and have not yet given up on seeking a resolution for them. However, even if the resort were to take action now, it’s clear that the risk is too great. It’s hard to trust a resort that allowed such poor service and treatment. Based on this resort’s previous reputation of being good, this was a total unknown and unexpected situation.
My clients were so very reasonable in their expectations, and yet they were met with disappointments at nearly every turn. Shame on the resort for failing them in such a significant way. While each individual issue might not have been a big deal on its own, the culmination of all these problems created a terrible overall experience. This was a situation that no guest should have to endure.
As a travel advisor, I rely on trustworthy resorts to deliver the quality and hospitality they advertise. Unfortunately, Tafer Resorts has shown they cannot meet this standard. As a result, I can no longer, in good conscience, recommend Villa del Palmar Cancun or any property owned by Tafer Resorts.
Travel should be a time of joy and relaxation, not stress and frustration. It’s clear that Tafer Resorts prioritizes profit over guest satisfaction, and I am committed to steering my clients toward destinations and resorts that truly value their experience.
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