When I arrived, there wasn't parking anywhere. People parked in the grass and on the road too. My first thought was that the place must be great if it was that popular. When I found the office and checked in, I was told that I couldn't have a key made at that time and would have to wait. She let me into the room and assured me she would bring my key in a few minutes. Keep in mind, there is also no elevator so carrying your bags up the steps is going to take a few minutes. I got all of my stuff in my room and waited. The smell in the room was so overpowering that I couldn't breathe. I searched everywhere for the offending air freshener and could not find one. It must have been the cleaners they use. Hotels of any kind really should know by now that they shouldn't use strong perfumes like that. There are many people like me who are extremely sensitive or allergic. I was getting a migraine already so I walked back down to the office and asked if there was another room. She said they were completely booked due to prom and that she would have to call her supervisor to drive in before I could have my key. She also had to let me back in because I locked the door due to all of my belongings being inside the room already. I also complained of the smell and advised her that I will likely need to be let back in again soon because I would have to walk around for fresh air. She let me back in and I decided to try the balcony first. When I booked the reservation months ago I clearly stated and was assured that I would have a view without a tree blocking everything. I seemed to have the one room with a massive tree directly in front of my balcony. All the other rooms had nice see through palm trees, but mine (room 31 if you are wondering) had a massive leafy tree directly in front of it. The so called "Private" balcony was NOT private at all. On each side there was a piece of cloth canvas stretched out. However, on each side this canvas was torn and anyone could easily see through it. Not only see through, but they could walk through it if they desired. I must ensure I lock my balcony every night and close the drapes. So much for the idea of hearing the ocean at night through a cracked door. After about half an hour had passed, I went back to the office to ask again about my key. I really wanted just to unpack and go to sleep as I had a long flight and probably hadn't slept in near 24 hours. When I got to the office, it was locked. I waited in front for another 15 minutes or so before trying to call. I got an answering machine. I left a very unhappy message and waited longer. After a while, a man came in. Apparently the girl had left for the night without even bothering with my key. The man complained that he didn't want to deal with it since he'd just gotten back from a 2 week vacation and I'm sorry, but that did not help my vacation beginning at all to have to feel bad for messing up his return. He made my key right then and there. I don't know why the girl couldn't have done the same thing. Now that I was back in my room, I also noted that the AC didn't work. It pushed air around, but was not cooling anything. At some point through the week, that got fixed. And I eventually aired out the room so I could breathe and had to ask housekeeping NOT to clean through my stay to prevent the smell of chemicals returning. That however, prompted ants to show up in the kitchen despite me not having open food laying around. I had to be careful of my food the rest of the stay as well. The noise factor was horrible. I asked to be put farther away from the bar due to other reviews, which they did. However, my room was 2 doors down from housekeeping so there were constant banging noises and housekeeping yelling and chatter early in the morning. I'd much rather have dealt with late night bar noise in all honesty. I wanted to sleep in for my vacation. I will say though, the bed was comfortable and you could control the temperature of the shower. That is really my only positive notes of my stay. Personally I think they should of at least gave me a discount (or even an apology) for that first night and the key issues. This place is absolutely NOT WORTH $200 a night. There are also large bees out by the beach so don't expect to relax in the uncovered chairs in the blazing sun without being paranoid about getting stung.

We loved our stay at Tamarind Reef Resort, was an easy commute to Buck Island through the Marina, nice snorkeling on the beach in front of the hotel. The staff was exceptional, rooms always very clean, front desk always helpful. Great food at the restaurant, but you can also tell its a community place to get together; our last night was the Hermit Crab races which will always bring a smile to our faces. The grounds keeper, too, trimming the palms then opening some coconuts for us, will never be forgotten.