Really cough stay @ IC Fiji: Check out today - what would you do?

[haydensydney]

Most people adjust and enjoy their stay.

Adjust? To bad service and mediocrity?

I feel that "fiji time" is used an excuse to provide a lazy underwhelming experience.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Adjust? To bad service and mediocrity?

I feel that "fiji time" is used an excuse to provide a lazy underwhelming experience.

Hayden, did you stay in the Club Rooms with their own Lap Pools?

 

[NYCguy]

Adjust? To bad service and mediocrity?

I feel that "fiji time" is used an excuse to provide a lazy underwhelming experience.

No, it's just the way they are! We were warned by friends who had lived in Fiji that we should NOT expect the service to be the same standard as it is in countries where there is actually an understanding of what service is.

Suffice to say, the predictions were true. We found ourselves saying "you know you're not at Claridges when...", quite often. It was funny at first, but became very, very irritating.

Let it go, Hayden... It's not worth the stress. Do make sure, though, that you tell them you're never coming back. Fiji might be a good place to go when you have kids and low expectations, but if you're a person who is used to everything being spit-polished and well-managed, Fiji will leave you disappointed.

 

[haydensydney]

Hayden, did you stay in the Club Rooms with their own Lap Pools?

Indeed - we booked and paid for a Club King Suite (No Pool) and we were upgraded to the Club King Suite + Pool. I will write up a TR when I get back to Sydney with some pics.

 

[haydensydney]

No, it's just the way they are! We were warned by friends who had lived in Fiji that we should NOT expect the service to be the same standard as it is in countries where there is actually an understanding of what service is.

Suffice to say, the predictions were true. We found ourselves saying "you know you're not at Claridges when...", quite often. It was funny at first, but became very, very irritating.

Let it go, Hayden... It's not worth the stress. Do make sure, though, that you tell them you're never coming back. Fiji might be a good place to go when you have kids and low expectations, but if you're a person who is used to everything being spit-polished and well-managed, Fiji will leave you disappointed.

+1,000,000

Fiji has twice left me feeling disappointed (though Likuliku was fantastic) so i'm a sucker for giving it another go.

 

[tuppaware]

I wouldn't let the one hotel put you off Fiji.
But then at $750 a night... hmmm.. I guess I would be questioning my return.

We stayed at The Fiji Beach Resort by Hilton and found the people soooo friendly (I got sick of saying Bulla back to everyone) and we even got an upgrade. Cost us $250/night for a Two Bedroom Beachfront Apartment that was new and had fantastic services.
Hilton Fiji - 2 Bed

The only problem was the smoke alarm was beeping for a new battery but the maintenance guy just totally removed it !

 

[Saba]

Stayed at IC Fiji last year. Yes the service is lacking, but so is it in all of Fiji (and the Pacific Islands) in general. We had some funny experiences like people entering our room when they should not, slow service and a late pickup on check out. But it is definitely the best mainland resort in Fiji. The rooms are magnificent as is the restaurant and ambience. Just overlook the service and work around it. We are going back later in the year for a few days. Will also stay at Tokariki. I travel extensively for work and expect good service, but when you go to Fiji, I say just get over it and wind down to their slow pace.

 

[ric_melb]

I was quite amazed by your long list of issues Hayden. In hindsight I think you should have started raising them with management soon after they occurred, but guess you didn't want to spoil your holiday.
I know sometimes allowance needs to be made for lack of service in different countries, but when you are paying $750+ a day, this is not a good enough excuse.
Plus the issues were not all to do with service.
Issues such as poor airconditioning, noisy fans , and lack of good pillows, should not occur in a room such as you booked.
I am glad you raised the issues with management, and think detailing it to regional management is also appropriate.

 

[tuppaware]

I guess you have to lucky to be thankful that you can afford to pay for an expensive holiday and not watch your house float down some swollen river somewhere.

 

[samh004]

I guess you have to lucky to be thankful that you can afford to pay for an expensive holiday and not watch your house float down some swollen river somewhere.

haydensydney, as his username suggests, is based in Sydney, so he wouldn’t have that problem. Yes, there are bigger things happening in the world, but there are threads for them.

I also didn’t weigh in earlier as by the time I saw the thread there were a ~dozen great replies already. I similarly would have been upset had I paid that much and had that sort of service. Recently when we stayed at the Hilton we did have some issues and attempted to get them fixed while we were there, and while we had asked to speak to the manager, I don’t think he was ever there, or at least too busy to meet us, though on checkout we did get a discount so it wasn’t all bad.

Our issues included 2 beds when we’d asked for 4, lack of AV cables for the TV and our private pool being over chlorinated and thus unsafe to use.

 

[tuppaware]

haydensydney, as his username suggests, is based in Sydney, so he wouldn’t have that problem. Yes, there are bigger things happening in the world, but there are threads for them.

I guess it was wrong of me to emotionalise in my post, but I come from working class stock and (I'm going to sound rude here) seems like some of the complaints are a little picky (high $$$ = high expectations I understand that).

 

[Cocitus23]

Hayden,

In your letter/email back to them, may I suggest that you include a link to this thread, to demonstrate to them how quickly and far bad word-of-mouth travels, and also to show how much support and sympathy you won in such a short time.

Cocitus23

 

[Moopere]

Thanks for the heads-up. I really struggle to understand some responses that basically boil down to suck-it-up its the way it is in fiji (or insert other island nation).

I would subscribe to that point of view for a local hotel at maybe AUD$50-100 a night, but an international chain charging full top shelf international 5 star pricing has no excuse whatever for providing anything less than full-on international standards.

If they can't do this due to local conditions then they really seriously need to drop their star rating from 5 down to 4 or even 3 and get a grip on the per night charges.

Reading this thread as well as similar tales at Tripadvisor, one wonders if the lax attitude is fostered by the hotels ultimately being paid their asking price no matter the level of service? One wonders if they'd take it all a bit more seriously if you challenged their per day rate and only signed off say 50% of their bill at the end of the stay.... I suspect that suddenly the manager would miraculously become available.

If you're feeling intimidated in a foreign country and think this might result in an uncomfortable night in the local brig then simply don't sign the bill and backcharge your CC when you get home.

Nothing gets ownership and management attention like a shrinking revenue stream

 

[N860CR]

I guess it was wrong of me to emotionalise in my post, but I come from working class stock and (I'm going to sound rude here) seems like some of the complaints are a little picky (high $$$ = high expectations I understand that).

With all due respect, that's a bit of an invalid statement.

That's a bit like someone complaining about the GPS in their BMW not working and another responding with "I can only afford a Toyota, it doesn't have GPS, so why should yours work?".

Paying more should (generally) equal getting more, and I think one of the main reasons service standards continue to fall (especially in Australia, even though that is not the case here) is that people just put up with it.

If this were the Formula 1, then maybe it would be ok, but we're talking $750 a night here.

I also don't see how the floods in Queensland have anything to do with this at all. I have been stranded 1500km's from my Qld home since before Xmas, so I can comment on this issue, and I can't say the fact that Hayden has had a poor experience in Fiji upsets me at all regarding my current situation.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Indeed - we booked and paid for a Club King Suite (No Pool) and we were upgraded to the Club King Suite + Pool. I will write up a TR when I get back to Sydney with some pics.

Thanxs that would be appreciated.

 

[yeldarb8]

I have a simple solution when faced with similar problems... CHARGE BACK.

 

[markis10]

I have a simple solution when faced with similar problems... CHARGE BACK.

Have you been successful in Australia with an Australian issued card under the same circumstances as the OP and if so how did you achieve a waiver of the admission of liability you signed upon check in?

 

[yeldarb8]

Have you been successful in Australia with an Australian issued card under the same circumstances as the OP and if so how did you achieve a waiver of the admission of liability you signed upon check in?

In Australia yes, but with my US based credit cards. I also have AUD$ credit cards but reserve them for low risk transactions like groceries and so forth. Australian cards are a rip-off. In overseas locations I had a similar issue to OP a couple of years back in Maldives... bad hotel stay. Charge back stuck like glue.

 

[koro25]

oh BTW, fiji time was 'invented' for tourists. As locals, every employer expects their employees to pull their weight and then some more, and if ever fiji time excuse is used, they would be out the door. OP has every right to bring forward his/her concerns. For $750/nite, management and staff of the hotel knows it has to meet certain quality and service levels.

Fiji time is best used when drinking kava

 

[Homer]

Hayden I am sorry you had a bad experience at the IC Fiji. When checking into a hotel for the first time, I follow a “panic hard, panic early” policy and I had to do just that when I stayed at the Club IC in a Two-Bedroom + Plunge room last year.

When we entered the room it had a king bed in the second bedroom when we had requested two singles - one for our daughter and another for my mum. I also took the time to have a good look around, as I tend to do, and noticed there was mould in the shower and the glass doors at the front were dusty.

I quickly called the Club IC manager and they sent the housekeeping manager and several cleaners to go over the room in detail plus a rollaway bed for our daughter for the second bedroom. They offered a room swap a few days later but I liked our view and didn’t feel like packing up and moving so we stayed in the same room. Importantly they also switched our butler to one of their senior people (Jane) who, I think, completely changed our stay. She was responsive but also predictive - she would turn up to get us when she thought we might be finished an activity and she made dinner reservations, and requested the best tables, before we asked her. Our daughter just loved her (like she did a previous butler in Thailand) and when the daughter is happy, we’re happy.

Yes the food is generally awful. The buffet is pretty bad - even if you are there early - but I felt I needed to try a few of the different food options. We didn’t make the mistake of giving the buffet a second look either. I liked their signature restaurant on the first night but on the second night we dined there they sat us next to a huge table of noisy, drunk kiwis who walked in off the beach with no shoes. I, and the couple near us, complained and we both received free meals. It wasn’t really enough compensation because it spoiled our night but I took it and we left.

Generally, though, we had a good time and we would go back. The club lounge was a sanctuary compared to the rest of the resort. The breakfast was limited but edible, the high tea was nice enough and the evening canapes were fun. We did a lot of diving and swimming, both in the club pool and in our own plunge pool, and importantly we drank a lot of champagne and coughtails.