Coast vacation!!! Leopard Beach Resort and Spa

 Hi guys,

I have been away on leave. Went to Ukunda, South Coast, Kenya. I had a blast. Have loads of pics to share with you as well as my comments.

Enjoy!

LEOPARD BEACH RESORT AND SPA

This is a beautiful hotel. I cannot fault it there. But, their staff leaves a lot to be desired.
 Getting a reservation at this hotel doesn't seem like a hard task until you realize that it is. Tried calling their Nairobi numbers...no one picks up the phone. Eventually decide to call the hotel itself. I had a hard time getting through. I choose to believe that they were not just hanging up on me. So I then decided to email them. This finally got a response.
 On their website, they have special offers depending on the day you book. The staff don't seem to be aware of it, as I had to resend an email asking for the revised rates with the special offers in mind. That took ages to get a reply. I had to personally call a number of times just to get the information. Let's just say that the reservation experience I got was quite frustrating. Quite!!!

Anyway, we eventually get to the hotel. Beautiful!!

The rooms are nice and spacious. Asked for sea facing.....had to look for the sea lol!! Beautiful gardens just outside. Amazing.

There's quite a number of restaurants, but two of them were not open. Apparently because its the low season. Shame!! would have liked to experience them all. The food in the main restaurant was nothing to write home about. However, there are the prawns served at the Pool Bistro that were divine. Had them with jacket potato and veggies. Yum!

As I said before, I did not find a majority of the staff to be friendly or helpful. There was this one occasion where my son and I were having dinner in the main restaurant. My son needed to go to the bathroom so I enquired if there was a bathroom close by. I had seen what I thought was the bathroom, but I wasn't sure so I asked the waiter and he said no. So when the waiter led me away from the restaurant, down some stairs to another bathroom I didn't think much of it. That was until while going to get some dessert, I noticed that the suspected  bathrooms were just that. I was furious. I asked him why he would have me walk all the way to the other side, when there were bathrooms just next to me?" OH madam, I didn't realize that they were open!"....yeah right...didn't I just ask him if those were the bathrooms and he said NO.

Another case. I was in the room and needed some ice urgently because my son had hurt himself. I call room service and explain that I need ice for my son who is hurt. He quickly interrupts me and tells me he will charge me for the ice. I ask why? he says because he has to come all that way, but that alternatively I can go and get the ice myself. Absolutely no empathy. I was disgusted. Yup had to walk all the way to the bar.

So was everything bad? To be fair no...infact the one time I was impressed with the service was when I went to the spa. They are so friendly..compared to the others in the main hotel, it was a breath of fresh air. A plus was the wonderful massage I got while I was there. Fantastic.

Suffice to say, I would not go back to this hotel again. I strongly believe that staff make a big impact on someone's stay. No matter how beautiful the hotel....the staff, the service goes a long way.

Check out the pics......

 

 

 

Sugarcoat nail & beauty spa

This spa is located on Argwings Kodhek road, in Starwood apartments. It's a wonderful little gem which has been tastefully done. You can tell that a lot of thought about the customers experience was put into this place. There is a separate section for those getting pedicures, another section for those getting manicures and separate rooms for massage. There is a light, airy, fresh feel when you walk in because of the use of the white sheer curtains and use of white leather seats and pedicure wash stations. Looks very glam. Reminded me of the spas in Dubai.As they prepare to get your manicure or pedicure done,a drink is offered. Of course we chose to have some wine but they do offer some non alcoholic choices on the house. The ladies are quite friendly and even give suggestions to people like my friend that can't make up their minds. She chose to do the shutter nail polish which looked really cool. I had to be plain Jane here and choose a nice red because of work. They also do jellish, which is preferable in the long run as it lasts about 2-3 weeks without chipping. Gotta love it:-) The girls doing our nails were appropriately chatty..they knew when conversation was directed at them and when it wasn't. You know how annoying it is to have someone that just won't keep quiet or just feels the need to add their 2 cents worth of opinion?? That is a huge pet peeve of mine. My friend and I felt quite comfortable with them. Nails were well done with a hand massage to boot and the prices were completely cost effective. You get your money's worth.It cost me about ksh700 for a manicure. Will make sure I go back for the massage that is also offered and tell you all about it. So if you are looking for a place to do your nails, that offers impeccable service, this is a good choice.