Based on all those wonderful reviews under the management of Lisette, we booked Bluebay Lodge with the intent of staying for all of the month of February, 2010. When we arrived at 4:00 PM we were shown to our room. Luckily, I had brought some of Lisette's e-mails and some the reviews with me. One of the e-mails said " A double room is one that comprises of one double bed, a small FRIDGE, television and furnishings. I can put you in a room with a small BALCONY, & you will be on the1st. floor." So, as this room on the 2nd. floor, had no fridge or balcony, I headed for the receptionist, armed with the e-mail. After some discussion, he had us moved to room #9 that adjourned the lounge & dining room, that had a balcony & although he said that none of the rooms had a fridge, he would get one in to- morrow for us. As we were staying for a month & knew that lunch was not provided, we had brought some perishable items with us that needed to be quickly refrigerated. To his credit, the fridge did arrive late the next day. Because I wanted my wife to have a vacation free of the normal kitchen chores, we opted for the meal plan, which provided for some of the items on the menu for breakfast & for dinner, a choice of an appetiser & the main course, OR dessert & the main course. I also had brought along a copy of the mouth watering sample menu on their website & was assured by Lisette, that the "menu rotates on a NIGHTLY basis." Dream on! The dinner was supposed to be available 6:00PM to 10:00PM. From what we encountered during our stay, I think they meant, that if you order at 6:00 you might get it by 10:00. We had been up since 4:00AM with little to eat and finally, about 6:30, George the cook arrived & said, that because he was late, he could only offer the "catch of the day" or chicken. When asked, what was the "catch of the day" he replied, tuna. We love fish, although tuna was not one of them. However, tired, hot & hungry, we decided to try it. Even though we were the only ones for dinner, we sweat-ed for 2 & a half hours until dinner arrived. The tuna was tasteless. All enquires as to the whereabouts of the marvelous Lisette, was met with mumbling excuses and vague answers. My wife was ready to leave right there & then. The bartender/waiter, Danny, prevailed upon us to stay with promises that, it would get better & I know he really meant it. The problem was, he wasn't in charge & as we were to find out later, no one was. The next morning, a Mr. Brown, who no doubt had been told of our "welcome",arrived & and in the space of a two minute conversation, repeated three times, that he was the owner. It crossed my mind that , he sounded a lot like Mohamed Ali, with his, " I am the greatest"! He informed us that Lisette was his granddaughter, & "was somewhere in Europe, I think". When asked when would she return, he said, he had no idea. My wife was hoping for at least an apology, for all that had happened the night before. The apology didn't come. Not then, nor at any time thereafter. Clearly, there was a family dispute, which of course, was none of our business, except that the booking was made on the basis of Lisette's promises & she was not there to implement them. My dilemma was, that I had paid one third of a month's rent before arrival, so walking out now, would be a substantial financial loss. The room itself was large & comfortable. The bathtub had about six tiles removed, presumably in order to do a plumbing repair. Unfortunately, the tiles were not replaced, and instead, loose scraps of wood were attached in their place. The result was, that when you hung up the hand held shower head ,it continued to leak along the rim of the tub & then through the scraps of wood on to the bathroom floor. A " plumber " arrived to fix the flooding & his advice was that we should not hang the shower head where you were supposed to hang it, but lay it on the floor of the tub so the water went down the drain instead. Logical I suppose, although I thought it would have been easier to fix the leak in the shower head! The hot water, like the food, was usually cool. The balcony was a godsend, as it provided shade & cool breezes in the afternoon. The food at breakfast was reasonable. The time it took to get it was not. The biggest problem was the dinner. Every day I asked the cook, what was the catch of the day? The answer always was, tuna. so we didn't get to eat fish again at Bluebay Lodge. I said to him," how come I can go to any small cafe in Gouyave or St. Georges & get swordfish, barracuda, mahi-mahi, or marlin, & all you can cook here is tuna". The answer was, that he can only cook what the owner's wife buys. So I complained to the owner's wife & she says, " Just tell George what you want & he will get it for you! " I never did find out who was lying. In spite of Lisette's promise that the menu rotates on a nightly basis, it wasn't until Day eleven that it "changed". The change was that the food was mostly the same, but it was cooked in a different way. For instance, the "catch of the day" became Fish Creole, which no surprise, was still good ole tuna. By day 17, we had reached the stage, where even though they were only small portions, we would order an appetiser & a dessert, because we could no longer find anything on the main course, that was edible. We also realised, enough is enough & contacted a local friend of ours, who obtained great accommodation for us near Grand Anse beach for the rest of our stay in beautiful Grenada. At Bluebay, the receptionist, Elkanah, the housekeeper, Vanessa, & especially the bartender, Danny, are wonderful people & really tried hard to help, but they had no direction, as there was no experienced management to direct them. They had tears in their eyes when we were leaving, because although a number of other couples had cut short their stay, we had reached out to them, & tried to constructively advise, as to how they could improve the facility. We were told, that a niece of the owner, who lives in the US & is involved in marketing, was managing the Lodge by e-mail! We really hope for the sake of the staff, that a proven experienced live- in manager is hired, that will ensure that the pool & the surrounds are properly maintained, that the housekeeper is supplied with room keys so she can get in to clean, that the whole cooking & dining scene is corrected so that there is a more creative menu, that meals are served hot & in a timely manner, that the bar supplies are doubled, etc.,etc.,
- Bluebay Hotel St John
