Tj's Tiki At Tranquility Bay Resort

The resort is beautiful, but the overall experience with the staff has been disappointing. The bartenders at TJs are unwelcoming and sluggish (especially Steve and Ben), and it appears that the entire team is indifferent to customer satisfaction. Having stayed at a genuine five-star resort (Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada), I found this place lacking in many ways. It's evident that the staff and management do not seem to prioritize the guest experience.

However, I did have a few concerns. Housekeeping was inconsistent; they completely overlooked our room one day. Additionally, my son saw a fairly large cockroach fall out of the couch, which was unsettling, and all three toilets had issues with flushing, running water, or not refilling properly at times. The guy who handles the jet ski and pontoon rentals was also quite rude. For the price, I expected a flawless experience. We're not high-maintenance or demanding guests, so I can only imagine how others might feel about their stays. That said, it was still worth it, and I highly recommend it for a family vacation in the Florida Keys!

We had an excellent experience at the Tiki Bar with service from Iowa Steve. We stopped by for a pre-dinner drink, but didn’t want to linger since it was a chilly, windy day. We'll definitely come back and stay longer to enjoy the sunset!

I 'll be generous and give three stars. There were too many problems with the staff here in this vacation to warrant more stars. Cons: The biggest annoyance was that my wife called ahead to ask if they had cribs for a baby to sleep. The confirmed they did. Once we got there and checked-in, all they had was a play-pen with a really hard bottom. It would be like having your baby sleep on a piece of wood almost. There was no mattress pad in the playpen. The front desk staff wasn 't being helpful. After pushing them for a solution, they finally said they work with a company who provides crib rentals that would charge us! CRAZY! It was supposed to be free. They agreed to knock off some resort fees for us, after we complained more, which helped offset some of the rental costs. Although when we checked out they still tried to sneak in the resort fees but we told them they had agreed to remove them. Also we asked to speak to a manager and they said they have no way of contacting a manager. I have never been to a hotel before where the manager was inaccessible to the staff. We also booked this hotel because they claimed to have heated pools. They do (sort of), but they don 't turn them on unless you give the front desk staff a hard time about the pool being cold. We weren 't the only ones who were annoyed. So many guests were in and around the pool in the morning wondering why the water was so cold. When we asked the guy at the front desk he seemingly knew nothing about the pools and said maintenance would have to turn the heat on. It took almost an entire day for them to turn the heat on and for the pool to warm up! And even when it does finally warm-up , it 's still pretty chilly. I think they are nickel and dining guests by saving money on energy costs. If that 's the case, they shouldn 't advertise having heated pools. And the adult pool was never heated when we were here for all three days. Hostess at Butterfly Cafe is very rude. Oh and we saw cockroaches twice in the Tiki Bar where food is served. A staff member apologized and said they had just been working on that problem the day before. Pros: The grounds and views are beautiful. The rooms are nice. Food at the restaurants are very good, although a little overpriced. Wait staff at the Butterfly Cafe is great!

When you book your trip, the resort will not tell you about the fees. They mention the fees in the confirmation letter but don't explain that they are in addition to the quoted price. And by the time the confirmation letter is sent, they've already charged your card. When I arrived to check in, a guest was complaining about the daily resort fee $45). I asked about the fee and the front desk clerk told me it was included in my rate, not to worry. Well, the last day of my stay I got the bill and it was there. $90 I was not expecting. I tried to talk to the front desk clerk but she was defensive and argumentative and I did not want to have that conversation. So I left and decided to call back later. Hotel also charged me for three nights instead of two. I've called back twice but the staff is rude and talk to me as if I'm a child who is confused. I've got a business/accounting degree from a major university. I understand accounting. At this point, I'll have to contact the Attorney General's office to get the bill corrected I suppose. While I was lounging by the pool, the hotel staff was changing out all of the chairs and umbrellas by the pool. It was very disruptive. I don't understand why this wasn't done at night when the pool was closed. A gate was also being repaired which meant power tools were used and they made a lot of noise. Not the quiet retreat I was hoping for. The resort is beautiful. The three pools are lovely and the cove with ocean access is amazing. The room was average. The drinks were pricey $18 for a pina colada) and the food was average at best.