Play Linda Beach Resort

June 20-27, 2005 by Michele

We arrived one day late (monday june 20) since our flight the day before was cancelled without warning (american airlines... who else would do this?). we were told we would need to change rooms on sunday (one day before departure) to accommodate incoming guests. this was unacceptable since our travel agent phoned ahead to make sure we wouldn't have to go through the trouble since we were traveling with two babies as well as a sitter. quite frankly, i would have cancelled the trip if i had known or flown home a day early on sunday. the move itself took up half the day since we had to pack everything (clothes for five people, food/drink from the kitchen, toys, dive gear, diapers, etc...) and then wait for them to move us. AND if that weren't enough the move was scheduled to take place at 12:00 noon and our new room wouldn't be ready until 2:30! they were moving us and leaving us without a room for 2 1/2 hours?! with TWO babies?! no. i made certain they understood the new room would be ready for us immediately. -and this may be petty, but let's not forget that along with all the baggage that had to be moved you need to TIP someone to move it. just another point.

I jumped right into complaining about the room change i haven't mentioned the room/resort itself. it was not up to our standards. the above illustrates how playa linda rates as far as customer service: poor. as far as the resort: the room (513, 2 bedrooms) was dated and unsafe for small children. our two toddlers (ages one and two) were never allowed outside on the balcony even with supervision. they could have easily slipped through the bars and fallen (we were on the fifth floor). we had to hold onto them while we walked from our room to the elevator since there was a large gap in the stairwell (approximately 2 ft) that dropped all the way down. there was mold and dust in the slats in the shower ceiling and the floors were stained. the building is in need of a serious overhaul. we requested housekeeping by 10:00 since our kids come in for lunch and then nap at 12:00. they showed up at 1:30 when they were asleep and never came back that day. they never came in the morning as requested. the room was cleaned only twice for our weeks stay. i had to phone twice to have cribs brought to our room and then once again when we were forced to switch rooms.

the grounds are pleasant enough, thought the pool is on the small side and not really all that good for young children since there is not a designated "baby" pool. there were always a lot of older kids in the shallow side meant for smaller kids playing ball or frisbee.

it's a very good location on palm beach, but the resort is certainly not a five-star as advertised. we have traveled throughout the caribbean and europe and have stayed at numerous ritz-carlton resorts as well as four seasons. those are five-star. for playa linda to call its resort a five-star is simply ridiculous. if you'd like to visit aruba, the hyatt is a lovely choice. small for us traveling with our kids, so we chose mistakingly chose playa linda.