Trip Advisor and Expedia has Lucia Beach Villas listed as a 3.5-star hotel, which is a joke. It's a 2-star at best. Jeanette, the owner, told us that she's "honest" about the fact that it's a 2-star hotel, but it doesn't look like she has done anything to get that rectified with any of these websites.
It seemed cute enough, but the rooms were awful. It was horribly furnished; it was clear that they just slapped the place up with no regard for quality whatsoever. The furniture, what there was of it, was cheap cheap WalMart laminated crap. You couldn't roll over in the bed without feeling like it was going to fall apart. The hotel is only two years old but the beds sagged in the middle and the futon on the first floor was hard as a piece of plywood. They only provided one nightstand in the bedroom and there were only pedestal sinks in the bathrooms with no place to put your toiletries. The shower was pretty gross.
There was only one other villa occupied when we got there and then a family with a baby showed up. Guess where they put them? Right next to us, instead of one on the end. The baby screamed most of the night, which Jeanette was very defensive about, (basically implying that she didn't believe that we could hear a screaming baby) and we were moved to the end villa. But that didn't help the fact that it was still a crappy hotel. We were totally fed up and checked out early.
Jeanette seemed nice enough at first, but she turned out to be less than gracious. She knew we weren't happy and was very defensive. Expedia promised us our money back for the two nights we didn't stay there, but we haven't received the refund and now they're changing their story and saying that they need Jeanette's "permission," which we ain't gonna get. She also lied to Expedia and told them that we didn't go through the "formal" check out process, which we absolutely did.
Lastly, the beach definitely isn't one you'd want to hang out on. It's small and dirty and the hotel is in a location where you have to drive to get anywhere. We moved to a REAL 3.5 star hotel and had a wonderful time, the antithesis of our experience at Lucia Beach Villas. Don't even consider staying here.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
29 April 2010
We designed and built our family-friendly villa hotel. Most families are interested in budget accommodations. We are rated 2 stars by the Puerto Rican Tourism Company their designation for budget hotels. As a villa hotel we are rated by Expedia as specialty lodging and given 3 1/2 stars.
Our property is 3 years old, bright and clean. Most of our guests enjoy the accommodations. Our villas are separated by reinforced concrete walls which are normally pretty sound proof. However, the parents of the sick infant confirmed he cried most of the night. Because the baby was finally sleeping we offered to move this couple to our most sought after villa closest to the sea, and they agreed to the move.
The day before they left, the wife came into the office to report that a Redbox DVD was missing from their villa. When asked if it might have been misplaced, she was certain that it was "stolen". Less than an hour later the husband came in to tell us that the DVD had been found in his briefcase.
When we finally realized that the guests were gone the next day, we assumed they were too embarassed to check out. They were billed through Expedia for the entire stay as per our polic y that was signed by them at check in.
Over a month later they asked Expedia for a refund and when refused wrote this review the same day.
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