I leave the ladies that clean the room 10.00 daily. I drop 20.00 in the pool side jar at the beginning of the day and 20.00 in the Patyos jar beginning of the night. 2-5.00 on the table at the buffet for each meal and 10-20.00 in the other nicer restaurants.
We tipped at meals as long as the service was good (almost 100%), always something to the housekeeper who did a great job and brought us extra soda/water when asked, and at the nicer restaurants because the service was always great. The pool bar, PatyO a little different. Very busy, and a pain in the ass to bring $1's and tip constantly. So I usually gave $10 a day at the pool bar, right away earlier before it got really busy, and lo and behold no matter how busy he was, or if was three people deep away from the bar waiting, I got a drink faster than anyone else. And better drinks. PatyO same thing, except we bring our own bottle and put it behind the bar. Tip the same way. They live on tips, and a $10 tip is a good one. even though it's my booze, I get faster service, better drinks, and bigger smiles!!!
We tip, and we tip well (in our opinion). We go through several hundred US dollars every trip. There have been times when we were surprised at the amount we spent on tips in one week, but we have never said "Damn, I think we may have tipped too much!"
Its amazing how much tip money I find squirreled away in little pockets of costumes and swimsuits , year over year
I usually tip certain people heavy my first day, and then less money frequently during the week. Room - Generally you have the same housekeeper all week, and I normally run into her around check-in. So I am very friendly and say hello, tell her what kind of beer I like, ask for extra water, then give her a $20. Then throughout the week I tip 5 bucks here and there. If the room looks extra destroyed from a party, then I tip more. Generally we are pretty neat, so there isn't much mess for them each day. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Buffet - pretty much $5 each time. But I have a favorite at breakfast, so he normally gets a big tip the first day, and then we sit in his section all week. Lunch at Margarita's is similar with the same staff that likes waiting on our group. Pool bar - I normally order from a person I know, give him a large tip on the first drink, and then get most of my drinks from them throughout the day. If I ask them to hold a bottle for me behind the bar, then I tip more when I hand it over. Then the bartender will let the other guys know who's it is "Look Jager Steve is back!". Reservation Dinners - The nights we are sober enough to get dressed up and go out to a nice dinner, it generally takes a while with multiple courses, and they really do try to make it special. Usually tip $10 depending on service. PatyO's - Night time bar drinking is way more hectic. They are working so hard and fast they don't really even have time to pay attention to your tips. I just throw a few bucks in the jar every round or so. Arrival/Departure - $5 bucks each direction. There are some incidentals along the way were I might tip a host to sit our large group in a particular area, or if they come outside to gather us when we are waiting for our table. If people are bringing us drinks or food poolside, then we toss up for them as well. There are also those special circumstances where you have a crazy request they fulfill(like ordering 8 pizzas to-go and bringing them for the drunken people at the pool that need to eat, but won't leave), that deserve a tip. And as with any restaurant, if we are driving them crazy with multiple shot orders, and god knows what else, we tip more. You can't really put a set price on what you should tip at a 8 person rowdy lunch with many rounds of shots/drinks/food. And it does come up when I may have no money on-hand, or just drunkenly forget to tip, and it isn’t a problem at all!
I always bring around 300$ in cash just for tipping.. and that's for a week. Everyone at TTR is so good with the service, and they all deserve the tips we give!! Also, we ALL need to bring as much as we can for Chino's cause, that's a must in my opinion .. He does great things for the kids with that money! God bless him!! He is such a cool guy, with such a big heart!!
I found a 20 at the beginning of the day at the pool or at Pattyo's will get the attention of your favorite bartender and reduce wait times... Oh shit...if everybody does that I will have to wait.
