In response to this review and the spouse’s review below titled “Know Before you Go”
First and foremost Maria and I are conscientious hosts and we take all suggestions and complaints seriously. If we feel that a complaint is justified we will do everything in our power to make it right with the guest. However our perspective differs quite drastically in the case.
Guests (husband and wife with two nice looking kids) arrived 5 days prior to their reservation date complaining about the other accommodations in town. Things got off to an awkward start when the gentleman walked directly past Maria and I and a well marked “NO PASE” sign and attempted to enter our bungalow which is the same size as the other guest rooms, literally tracking a stronger signal for his Blackberry into our cabaña. We explained that we have a small child sleeping and that it is the only place that’s off limits, but nonetheless the guest seemed visibly annoyed. Later in the evening, when the family sat down for dinner everything was fine until another group entered the restaurant to eat. The gentleman told us that they had had a long day and didn’t want to hear anyone else’s conversation, so we moved them to a very nice table down by the pool. The request wasn’t unreasonable and easily accommodated, yet the guest again was agitated. The couple also seemed upset that we were serving alcohol even though we advertise on our website as having a bar onsite. CocoCabañas is very family friendly and often times kids order virgin daiquiris while parents sip margaritas. We usually shut down by ten and the place never gets even close to rowdy.
The next day the guest took his kids down to the beach directly in front of us. Ignoring our repeated verbal warnings, web site postings and common sense itself, the gentlemen put himself and his kids in danger by attempting to swim in a rough ocean. The good swimming beach in Barra is only 10 minutes away. The boat ride itself through the lagoon only lasts 4 minutes, and is very pleasant.
On Monday night we showed our Monday night movie (also advertised on our website), where guests and locals can come in and enjoy an outdoor movie in our palapa with dinner and drinks. The movies usually draw a large crowd so we saved a table for our guests. When they arrived from the beach the gentleman let me know very clearly that they were not interested in the movie. Ironically the wife and kids – minus the husband- later came out to watch the movie and seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. I would also like to mention that we have just added one 32inch TV in our bar. When it is on the volume is almost always off and is only used for sporting events that guests might want to watch. Maria and I both have lived without a television for most of the last 10 years and would never blare ¨multiple big screen TVs.¨
Both Maria and I, apart from building the cabañas from scratch, spent the first two years doing most of the daily work. But with the huge growth of the business, and the addition of our first child, we now have a staff of five that handle most of the day to day chores. If we were to enter the kitchen during lunch or dinner rush it would cause a disruption. We also spend the morning with our little boy because we are usually busy working entertaining our visitors until closing time at ten. We’re very curious as to why this annoyed these guests as the staff was always there to serve them, and we are always on the premises if an issue arises (which it didn’t in this case). No complaints or issues were ever raised during the guest´s stay, and we remained polite during the entire stay. This review seems to be more about the guest’s judgment of us than the hotel itself, which we felt keenly during their four day stay. We have enjoyed meeting and becoming friends with an enormous number of guests and wonderful people that have wondered through over the years. However in the future we invite guests to leave their self-righteous values and religious agenda back home.
Lastly I would just like to mention that we use local coffee from the Colima region -not Nescafe, our solar power system is fully functional (and really cool!) and provides %60-%80 of our energy depending on the time of year, the other ¨concrete structures¨ around us are ordinary houses, and our wireless Internet does work on most parts of the property and has recently been boosted so that i Phones and Blackberries work equally as well. We also feel that our prices compared to the standard square rooms in town with a tv and bed are fair considering we offer a totally original and unique two story thatched roof bungalow with huge triangular windows that open up to an amazing view of the ocean; made of adobe and bamboo with hand painted bed covers and other touches and that is solar powered.