( I do some high end housing and deal with extreme designers ),, A lot of times quality, usability, practicality , wear ability, is put aside for the architect,s extreme design ideas ,, after people move in and start using the place ,,, they find out how stupid and unusable the ideas were , even though they may ''look'' good to some people . I haven't been yet , but some things mentioned are the chairs ,wallpaper peeling off, loungers, and no curtains in rooms ( can't walk through a blind if you have a sliding door) , complicated room controls ,, most things they seem to be addressing , all part of a major renovation .
We have been to TTR 3 times since (and including) opening day. this time next week we will be having breakfast at SeaFlirt for our 4th trip at TTR 2.0 Each trip has been drastically better since the extremely underperforming sparse first few days. This week marks the 6 month anniversary of opening day! The achievements that management and staff have diligently accomplished while operating 'on the fly' have been remarkable. I fully expect further noticeable enhancements to have been made since we left just 7.5 weeks ago. Even though those first few days were less then expected and somewhat maddening, we were still thrilled to be there to witness the new beginnings. And we will forever have our story full of anecdotes and memories of 'what it was like'. We will have a permanent connection and sense of kinship with all 100 or so of us guests and the 100's of staff and mangement that were there to experience the highs and endure the lows together. We called ourselves "the Cherry Poppers" but I feel we were all 'The New Day Oners'. in fact that opening day trip, complete with all its failures and misgivings, Marilyn and I both agreed --as we danced on stage at Bash, on NYE and JJ counted down to the fireworks extravaganza, to greet 2018 -- was our 2017 "highlight" for the year. On our last day that trip, a long meeting was held with some loyal repeaters and management. Many items and issues were tabled. The chairs and related 'bruising' was raised. obviously it has taken some time for this issue to be addressed. but at that meeting, it was a secondary priority. Over the course of our 27 trips to the property I have never known management to be hard-headed about making improvements or refinements. They are always willing to listen and willing to attempt ideas. but sometimes things take time to implement. Therein lies the point. If they had waited for near perfection prior to opening, it would've been delayed umpteen times. By being up and running, a sense of urgency and results can be measured. all the tangibles are relevant....I.e. budgets, bookings, cancellations, complaints, reviews...etc. The resort needed to get back open for evryones sake. For the owners, the staff and most Definitely for us...THE GUESTS! Not many of us liked 'our home' shuttered. some of us spent valuable cash on risky resorts hoping to feed our fix. And most found that a wanting and futile exercise. last year at this time, there were many opinions that defiantly stated TTR would miss the deadline and not open in time. A very few of us were contraraian and argued that it would. And it did.!! The naysayers were humbled and quieted. TTR has always had a strong thirst for trying new things. The resort has never stopped trying to evolve and re-invent itself. I know, due to working with management to effect some changes, that it is not a boring old rsort set in its ways. sometimes they miss but they have never been afraid to try new ideas and ways. and they have always been proactive to correct mistakes. Therefore, it was IOO, the proper decision to open on time and tweak and or adjust continously on the fly.
Great post marshe! See you there! We were cherry poppers too (2 weeks after opening day).. and loved it.. can't wait to see the improvements.
Our first day back Halloween week, we started noticing that nearly every woman we saw had bruises on the back of her upper legs. Just seemed strange that SO many had them in the same place. After going to Bash the first night and sitting on the bar stools, we found out why. That was a TERRIBLE design. Hope they fix that.
Hi Marshe - well written and unbiased response from someone with so much TTR history. As a soon to be rookie, any thoughts on why they changed the hot tub hours to closing so early? Seems to be a sore spot with many on the forum. Sounds like the Sky bar and hot tub are one of the resort’s true gems yet is being completed under-utilized including being closed for a couple days a week I believe. Would love to see the hours extended but again, I’m new to this place. Thx for your thoughts.
ScubaSteve drops knowledge yet again. I'm still amazed at the ... I can't get around the word so I'll use it, design-focused "Stupidity" demonstrated in selecting those seats. It's glaringly obvious nobody thought to try them out before putting them in...
