Yeah, sorry to spoil the kind hearted intention. Mexican banks don't accept them, which means the exchange places don't accept them either. They are considered lucky but there is probably a point where the staff don't need any more of them for luck purposes. I think once they have 5 of them they'll exchange them for a $10 with another tourist.
Just got home from TTR on the weekend and have already booked another 5 night stay in November! Our experience with tipping: service is good and after tipping the service goes from good to superb! Just some of the very best service we've had on a resort. Our only negative experience with a staff person happened during check out but I'll get into that when/if I get around to writing a trip report. As for spa prices, I could only seem to find the specials/packages on the room tv. In the spa I asked for a list and lady working the desk said there wasn't one -to just go on my tv. I ended up booking a massage/mini facial/reflexology package and received 90 minutes of bliss for $165 USD plus tip. As for bringing your own wine... we asked if we could bring a bottle of our own into Sea Flirt and the waiter would not allow it. However, we were able to bring 2 large glasses of our own wine into Romanza without any difficulties. I found the house wine palatable at best so will just bring a couple of large glasses of our own to the restaurants next time. One night in Romanza they had a couple of good looking bottles open that they were selling for $15 a glass. Great for American's maybe but that turns into $20 CND which is a bit rich for me. At Sea Flirt I didn't see any wines for sale by the glass. I didn't see any bottles of wine for sale under $50 USD.
Servers don't want coins or weird bills no matter where you are in the world. I promise you. When it comes down to it all we're worried about is its spendability. Compliments and loose change dont pay bills. We can appreciate the intention but really we just find it annoying.
Dont forget $5 for the Bellhops. $10 each way for the taxi. And $5 for the super helpful guy at the airport on the way home who helps you get checked in.
This is a great subject! I have not been in a while although my March 18th trip will be my 10th time (9 times as a premium member). My experience has always been the same even though Temptations used to advertise no tipping: Tipping "absolutely" gets you better service. Granted I agree with with both sides. If you do not tip you will still get service. However, it will be "after" I get service. The more I tip, the more attentive the staff, unfortunately. The challenge is identifying how much to tip to get that "extra attention" without going broke. After all, it is an all inclusive resort and my thought process is I enjoy not having to carry around $$$ or worrying about this subject. ScubaSteve posted a reasonable guide line. Since there are so many variables: the employee, is the event/bar/restaurant busy, etc. it is sometimes difficult to determine the amount. I also agree with "Al and Kim" on tipping for exceptional service. In a perfect world that is the purpose of tipping (exceptional service), not for getting better service in an "All-Inclusive-Resort."
Thank goodness they don’t take CAN!! Could you imagine carrying around loonies and twoonies in your g-string !!
