Just back and missing everything and everyone already! There have been lots of detailed trip reports covering the new, the old, and everything in between. Wanted to add a couple of our own points on some things the stood out this trip. Anyone who liked the restaurants before will not be disappointed now. They are at least as good. Food quality is up (and it was solid before) Italian (Romanza) is an all time favourite, and it did not disappoint. Nicholas is the best server I've ever had at the resort. A pro who knows his work and does it extremely well. 5 star dining experience for sure. There are still a few wait staff here and there who don't exactly steal the show, but overall dining is great. The nighttime DJ needs to get his shit together. While we were there he killed the party almost every night. Repetitive playlist of crap with the same songs every single night. He showed no ability to read and react to the crowd. By night 4, it was impossible to party through his garbage. Full miss on glow night, when all he had to do was play some club music or EDM, and he couldn't even pause the Kid Rock and Village People for one evening. If you agree, make sure to mention it in your checkout survey. Nobody on staff could do anything with the plentiful on floor feedback, so maybe hotel management will take the comments to heart. Yeah, there are changes, and yeah every repeater we talked to agreed it was better before, but it is still a great place. The guests are why we all go, and why we all have such a blast. Thing is, if the guests don't like it as much as before, are they going to keep coming? When that happens, it will snowball and everyone loses. I totally understand the need to attract new faces, but I don't think TTR is a place that can change it's personality and succeed. There were a lot of single guys this trip, all openly trying to get laid, and it was irritating. That appears to be who they are attracting, and the new marketing seems to be gaining the attention of singles. They are all going home disappointed of course, and won't be back, but what about the impact on the repeater couples who have to spend their stay dealing with that? Are they less likely to come back because of it? The Premier pitch is getting super aggressive. Yep, I know it's coming, and I have a litany of escapes, but I really wish there was a simple code word to bypass it completely. Again, I understand their need to generate revenue and investment, but for many of us, it's just never going to happen regardless of the perks or pitch, and wasting their time and ours doesn't help anyone. Poolside entertainment is down from pre-reno, but no complaints. The games are tamer, and the crew doesn't seem to have fully gelled yet, but they are doing a good job. We liked that they have a variety of different personalities, and in particular Miguel and Doll were fast friends to us, and definitely made our stay better. Alejandro, Dina, and Lollipop all seemed like people we have known forever as well. JJ emceed a couple of times, and still has his charisma and humour, but whether or not he can translate his talent into mentorship of the newbies remains to be seen. The pool chairs need to go. Seems like they are working on this. They also changed up the tables in Bash while we were there and it is WAY better than what was there. Tons of guests changing rooms. Us included. Could be a symptom of growing pains and quick -re-opening. Let's hope it is, because changing rooms sucked this time. The front desk was borderline belligerent about it, and left us without a room for almost an entire day when they asked us to pack up and leave the old one while we waited for the new one to be ready. Every time we went back to the desk (at the instructed time) to get our new keys, nobody had any idea who we were or that we were even changing rooms. If you care about TV, it is now usable. Do yourself a favour and fork out the $10 for the adult package. The rooms now have clocks with bluetooth for you to play your own music, which is nice. Nobody ever mentions the housekeeping staff, but those folks are the unsung heroes and deserve heaps of credit. Always super happy, always a great job, and just imagine what they must see every day! Take the time to give them thanks, they've earned it. Hopefully this doesn't seem negative because we had a fucking great time, and will be back. Did not mean for it to be a list of complaints, so I hope it doesn't read that way. Hopefully the momentum swings back to restoring the atmosphere to why we all go, and does not continue to slip. There is no other place like TTR, and I know we all agree on that! As long as we all keep bringing the party with us, that sprit and soul will never die. Oh, almost forgot! Guys - quit wearing your hats and t-shirts in the restaurants. It's embarrassing and unnecessary. Also, fucking etiquette 101. The women are going to a ton of effort to impress, and you are showing up like you are on your way to a backyard BBQ. Not cool.
Oh, almost forgot! Guys - quit wearing your hats and t-shirts in the restaurants. It's embarrassing and unnecessary. Also, fucking etiquette 101. The women are going to a ton of effort to impress, and you are showing up like you are on your way to a backyard BBQ. Not cool. Agreed the ladies get all dolled up and some not all of the guys look like they just dragged there asses off the beach . Step it up guys please .
I agree completely. Mrs. J_N_J always looks her best and so do I. For lunch my hat and sunglasses glasses come off as I enter the restaurant. For dinner it’s pants or nice dress shorts and at minimum a button up shirt.
Stacia has told me recently that (the list of the O/P is a good set of her basis for so saying) she really sees no need to go back to TTR again. This, coming from a woman who, before the reno, said it is her favorite place on earth. *shrug* I am hoping that a bunch of these apparently easily-fixable issues get themselves fixed by next July, as we do have a trip back planned then.
I think you gave a very fair and honest opinion and you were spot on with most of it. I think you summed it up when you said that it was better before, but still a great place to go. No, I don't think you were being negative. I think these are things the owners need to read. Hopefully they will read and respond appropriately. I do like the single guys there, but that's just my thing. We did not find them to be more agressive, but I'm sure there are all kinds. I have found them to be very polite and courteous with few exceptions. Thanks for providing your honest view! Sindy
The OP was not negative...just being real. We are about to arrive for a 3rd trip since re-opening and much of the stated items are true. It was better before But our dear old dump is gone and what we have now is still better than any other adult only joint on the planet! So we have to accept the new digs and demographics.
It was our feeling that the atmosphere of the new TTR and whether it has the old, party atmosphere we all loved greatly depends on the group you are there with at the time. During our first week of October stay the vibe definitely felt different. Very few times did the vibe actually get rolling. There were fewer at the pool, many more bikini tops, and a small crowd at bash. And the crowd was definitely segmented into the previous TTR loyalists and 1st timers dragged in by the marketing campaign. And the two groups did not gel. Especially the much younger group. Those girls kept their tops on at the pool, the guys were still trying too hard to come off as something they were not, and I think they were disappointed. They didn't get it. In fact, one night as we walked through Bash one of the mid 20's new girls commented to Stephie there was no way "she should be wearing that" when speaking of her very cute and sexy theme night costume, which you can see in our album. I am surely biased, but Stephanie is a 6' tall, great shaped, beautiful blonde woman of 41. And this was from a group of newbies who hadn't grasped the theme night concept at all, but would have been better at Senior Frogs. Clearly those girls didn't get it and likely never will. They will likely never be repeat TTR loyalists like many here. During our visit right after Thanksgiving and into the first week of December the old vibe was back. There were a lot of people at the pool, very few bikini tops, and Bash was crowded, even with the repetitive music. It seemed like many more people were dressing for the theme nights as well, which we always have a blast doing. Sometimes we'll just decide on our theme if something looks too sexy to resist. During that visit it felt very much like the old TTR with the slightly more seasoned crowd (was going to say mature but I don't think our actions qualify as such), fun party, a little raunchy, and kind of 3.5 star and all. Which is just the way we like it! In short, it might just come down to the group you are there with.
Are you guys thinking more DRM now? We’re doing a split this TTR trip because of the mixed reviews. Just curious if that’s your thoughts because of the changes.
I think there are two things at play here... yes every week is different. Depends on who is there. different strokes for different folks. Depends what you liked and disliked about the old TTR in determining how much you will like the new TTR. They didn’t change dj’s on Friday and Saturday night? In early November they did. And the Saturday night dj really went hard for the rave / neon theme with lots of really good EDM. Hope they didn’t go back to having the same dj every night playing a set list. A good example of depends on the week. At the opening in August and the first week of November it was almost all couples to the point where we thought maybe the changes / costs were driving singles away. I don’t recognize a lot of those entertainment staff names. Mauricio still there? He was sharing the mic w JJ. What about Pedro, Stefan, Laura and the beautiful Noella? I hope the entertainment staff didn’t turn over already or jj changed it up now that he has been back in charge a little.
