Seasplash?

[pretty40]

Yeahhh Mrs Wilson. I have stayed at Seasplash for years and gave it another try a few weeks ago. Hopefully all goes well with the place we have called "home" for years. I have only had good experiences with the Lawe brothers. Never met but have had a few phone conversations over the years. I can tell you when my sister and I were staying at Seasplash during a hurricane a few years ago, we didn't miss a beat. They catered to our every need and we had better service than a lot of people staying at supposedly fancier hotels and all inclusives!! It is two sides to every story. We had a suite with plumbing issues and a jr suite with no renovations a few weeks ago. So to me, it was the same old Seasplash. That doesn't mean I won't go back. I have a few friends traveling in the next few months and they have all contacted SS directly and will stay there. I just hope Seasplash will remain open so I can continue to enjoy a place where I loved so much.....

[DrummerSteve]

Normally I try to stay out of commenting on issues in what I consider to be paradise on earth, but this particular one really hurts. We have stayed at Sea Splash for a number of years now. I have seen in in good times and bad, and unfortunately some of the bad times resulted in me and my family staying elsewhere. There are members of that staff the I love like family and I am always concerned about their well being. I have heard their comments and complaints over the years (as much as I care about them, I've yet to hear them have much love for anyone running the place, only various levels of dislike). I have never met the Lawe family, I won't pass any judgement. What I will comment on is the general management of the place. With the exception of last year, everytime we've stayed there it's always been something or other that was simply not handled in a manner that I expected (again, been to Jamaica many times and I fully understand "soon come"). In some cases, it was minor things, in other cases a bit more. I will give two specific examples:
1. We payed for the full suite, and our fridge was not working. Normally I wouldn't really care, but in this case we had our son with us and we would often buy some groceries and things to keep in the room (anytime you've got kids with you and they find out they can get smoothies from the bar and charge it to the room there's going to be trouble...). In this case, for the amount we were paying for the room, I did expect the concern to be addressed. Two days later, and after $75 worth of perishable groceries had more or less spoiled, a guy shows up in my room with a cooler (dubbing himself the "the REAL guy running the joint") and wanted 40 bucks for bringing me a cooler with ice in it. You can imagine how that conversation went.
2. To help emphasize how much I love the place, my wife and I were married there. Anyone who's been to Jamaica knows that slow responses are expected, just a fact of life, I've actually embraced it while there. Naturally, we were stressed about the wedding, trying to coordinate, etc., but deep down we knew whatever was going to happen was going to happen, you have to make the best of it. The wedding went pretty well, couple of little issues but nothing making it short of a perfect day. We payed for everything, dinner, bar tab, wedding cake, the whole deal, and we tipped VERY well. They said they would handle the cleanup and save the remaining food, cake, etc. for us. Imagine our surprise when we went to Norma's for dinner two nights later, only to find our remaining wedding cake being sold by the slice (after I paid for the thing) to customers.

I guess what I'm trying to say (in far too many words) is that I do care about the establishment, but the biggest issue has been lack or good onsite management of the place. That is something that Jim and Ted brought that I had never really seen before, and the results spoke for themselves. The actually cared about the appearance, the patrons, the concerns, and so on. They were available, they walked around and talked to people. They interacted. My biggest fear is that the Lawe brothers will take assume ownership again and the place will go downhill as it has before from lack of onsite management. Regardless of the outcome, Seasplash will always hold a place in my heart, but if things start going back to the way they were I don't know if I'll stay there again, I'd rather remember it as it was during the high times. For those that are staying there in the near future, please keep us posted on how things are there. We have a trip planned in September and I want to make an informed decision about where to stay.

[shellyk]

Didn"t Jim have this same exact situation occur at another resort up the cliff road last year? The Manager/Owner thing I think has been ongoing the whole time.

[Melody]

the biggest issue has been lack or good onsite management of the place. That is something that Jim and Ted brought that I had never really seen before, and the results spoke for themselves. The actually cared about the appearance, the patrons, the concerns, and so on. They were available, they walked around and talked to people. They interacted. My biggest fear is that the Lawe brothers will take assume ownership again and the place will go downhill as it has before from lack of onsite management.

I don't share a history with the place as you do DrummerSteve, but I am aware of what you're saying and agree with you. Besides feeling badly for Jim & Ted, I am disappointed and obviously concerned about my upcoming stay. I chose to book there because of Jim's incredible hands on service and concern for guests and (it appeared) good treatment of staff. If I had not already bought a voucher, I would cancel my reservation. Many posters have commented that one person does not make an establishment, but in this case, for me, it makes a difference. I agree that Jim's onsite presence (even if he happened to be temporarily away while I was there) and running of the property makes a big difference. I don't care if he wouldn't happen to be there to chat with while I was there, but I had confidence in his customer service and priority of completing renovations and general upkeep. That attitude and effort would still be there (I think) even if Jim happened to be away during our stay. Under Jim and Ted's "ownership" I felt very comfortable with booking there. My upcoming trip included taking a friend along who is just going through a divorce. She has not been to Jamaica or on any other tropical vacation. As I fell in love with Negril during my trip earlier this year, I wanted to show her a wonderful stay at place where there is a "can do" attitude. I realize that there have still been issues in some rooms and not all of them have been renovated, but I was confident under Jim & Ted's hands, that I could assure my friend a great stay and that by next April, we would have a lovely updated, well-kept suite. I'm not so confident anymore that we will experience that.

My intention is not to be a whiner. I guess them's the breaks when you pre-pay for a resort stay and cannot be reimbursed should you want to cancel due to these types of changes occurring before arriving (Livingsocial voucher). It wouldn't be so bad if it were just a run of the mill stay, out of many, but that is not the case for my friend and myself. Besides this trip being my friend's first tropical vacation and first impression of Jamaica and Negril, the trip is also to celebrate my 50th birthday. We looked forward to an especially pleasant stay under Jim's management, while still not breaking each of our tight, one household income budgets (with kids).

It is what it is, all we can do is hope for the best and make the best of whatever the outcome will be. I just appreciate this opportunity to share information and concerns with those in the same boat.

[Sweetness]

Omg

[likkle red]

praying that things work out for ALL involved.

[TizzyATX]

All I'm going to say is I hope that the staff are not in jeopardy of losing their jobs and more imortantly whoever is running the place, treats them well....as I really enjoyed the girls that were manning the bar when we were hanging there. Nice gals...

Really cool property, hopefully it will remain up and running, and everyone's vouchers will be redeemed.

[Sweetness]

As you know I am a Glass half full kinda gyal - regardless of the private dealings of both parties which is none of our business or the "character" of the people involved which none of us truly knows trust me - seems this lovely property is still a nice place to stay and hang out. All arrangements seems are being honored so no worries there. Things are always changing in Negril and will continue to do so......that's life.

I believe Vacation is what you make it so I hope everyone going has a wonderful reach and enjoys the beautiful sea, sand and vibe of Jamaica. The whole reason to go to Jamaica is to not worry bout a ting........thanks Rob for the sweet webcast this week. [I hope this thread dies soon - negativity always makes me sad.]

[Ras Walleye]

Well written Sweetness, as usual. Bless...

[Sweetness]

blessings back to you and your empress Ras........