I have seen many different things regarding tipping at the resort. I have seen some say they give the bar staff a large one time tip when they first get there for the whole week, others that do a daily tip, and others that tip every other drink or so. I like the idea of tipping a large amount when you first arrive so not to worry about it the rest of the week. I'd be afraid of losing the money, forgetting I have it, or just plain not remembering that I tipped or not. But, how do you go about that? What is usually a good amount if we go that route? We want to be sure the staff is treated well, but the previous resorts did not allow tipping since it was all inclusive and the cruise we went on automatically charged tips. So, what have you found the easiest/best way to tip??
Typically a buck a round is what we do. Or, each day when you head out to wherever you are going to be, tip $10-$20 on the first round with a smile and you are golden for the day.
never for the week. Bartenders and waiters rotate or change shifts, better to tip them for the first rounds of the day, make sure they get to no you. I prefer 20 peso notes ( about $1.60 us) seems to get there attention more.(3 or 4 rounds) Every one has their own system. The pool girl gets a good tip in the morning (10$), and she keeps em coming.If i,m there all day i top it up Sometimes patio,s just gets too busy and 20$ won't get you a drink,, take a short walk to the Sports bar ( where they have the pool tables) and Smily will fix you up. He gets lonely there sometimes.
We've done this before and will definitely do it again: Go to your local bank branch and request "padded ones." It's a stack of crisp $1 bills stuck together like a notepad. We tear off some every day and I carry them in my swimsuit pocket. We typically tip one per round, and no one complains that it's soaking wet. If you try this, call your bank a week or so in advance in case they don't keep a supply on hand.
Don't forget the other staff too, not just the bartenders. Breakfast waiters get to know you and have your favourite table, beverage etc waiting. Waiters in restaurants certainly, and often the Maitre D especially if they've squeezed us in or changed a reservation to include new friends. We budget an average $10 a day spread around.
We prefer to tip small and often ($1-$2) over a large tip at the start, because some days we would sit out at one place all day, and other days we'd be there for only an hour before moving on elsewhere. Same at Paty O.
The vast majority of people at TTR do not tip or tip extremely lightly and infrequently - No amount of money has gotten us better service from what we could tell aside from the pool & Paty'O waitresses. Friendly, polite, not demanding, speaking a lil Spanish to them, asking them about there personal lives, remembering there names - all things the staff seem to enjoy. They hate dealing with demanding uncouth assholes.
I don't think it's about getting better service by "bribing" with any amount of money. We always get exceptional service from all staff and tip them because they deserve it!:xyxthumbs::liebe011:
we typically tip around $20.00 - $30.00 per day... my system is to divide about 200.00 in all $1.00's & $5.00's into 7 envelopes for each day, dating each envelope and pull each envelope for that day as it comes. Some days we tip more because we drink/eat more, etc, other days, not so much. But that way I know tips are distributed per who is actually there to earn the money, and so I do not get "tip happy" and end up broke at the end of the week. This includes tips for the maid, as some days room needs nothing, others it is a wreck... the egg station... various grounds crew that are just so quick to offer an "hola" while working so hard as I am dragging myself to find a bloody mary!
