Hesperia Isla Margarita Hotel

We stayed at the Hesperia from April 7 to 13. We spent our second week at La Bella Luna (see my other review). We found staying one week at an all inclusive and then one week at an Inn to be the perfect vacation. It was our first time at an all inclusive and it was a real treat. They are currently working on renovating the hotel and it is going to be great when they are completed. All the rooms are large and have hardwood floors. Our first room only had twin beds and the air conditioning did not work, however it was no trouble to get another room with a king size bed. I have read a few reviews indicating that the hotel was dirty and the service was poor. We did not experience this at all. Our bathroom in our hotel was a bit "dingy" because the tiles were a bit old, however I am sure that after their renovations are completed it would be much better. The pool was great and they always had activities around the pool. Some reviews indicate that the beach was too far from the hotel. The beach was only a three minute walk down a beaufiful paved walk way. The beach was small, but very quiet. The waves were much calmer than the beaches on the other side of the island (such as Playa el Agua), and there wasn't as many vendors trying to sell you junk. We played golf one day, but it was very hot and windy. Only the back nine is open because they are fixing up the front nine. The course is very dry and in bad shape, which would explain why we ended up playing by ourselves. We did not mind though because we still had fun. April is a great time to go to Margarita because it is a down season, so there was not too many people around. I highly recommend the jeep tour by Louis from Holiday Tours from the hotel. The horse back riding and the boat tour to Coche Island were also great. I wish I were still on the Island!

My wife and I stayed from April 6-16 and had a blast.The hotel is a little bit in need of repair but overall we never had a problem with anything.The beach is a bit of a walk.The pools good.There are things about Venezuala that need to be reserched before you go.This is not Dom Rep,Mexico,Or any other country it is Venezuala.If you expect it to be like any other island that you have been to you will be dissapointed.If you expect to be catered to at all times you will be very dissapointed as Venezualians are lazy by nature.They don't care if it gets done today as they are fine with doing it the next day.If you get a chance to go to El Pasifico resaraunt go it is great and there they will treat you great.

If you have been to other places in the caribbean such as the Dom. Republic or Cuba, you will be dissapointed with this resort. It certainly was not a 5 or even a 4.5 resort. We felt like we were being nickled and dimmed for everything there. Since when do you have to pay $2 (US) a day for your safety deposit box and $15 dollars for the remote control for your television. (you do get the $15 dollars back but come on!) There was no mini bar in the rooms and you have to pay extra for room service. If you wanted to change your towels at the pool hut, you could only do that once per day or they gave you a headache for that. My boyfriend spilled beer on his towel and they gave him such a hard time to get a new one. Since we are used to 4.5 or 5 stars we naturally assumed you could take your drinks or food up to your rooms if you like....not true. We got hassled for taking coffee up to our rooms. The buffet hall was humid the whole time and the meat was always tough to eat. The day they had barbeques in the ala carte restaurant, the food was always cold( maybe because it was windy all the time). The staff are nice but the front desk staff is beyond slow...checking in took soooo long and then they gave us 2 single beds to boot. We only got our room sorted out the next day. Golfing is nice and the tee times are first come first serve. We never had any problems with tee times. The pool was adequate but boring. No swim up pool bar and no waiters walking around serving drinks..not even at the pool. The recreation staff was okay but there were no toys or anything for anyone to play with. When we asked if there was a ball for volleyball...the staff had to go search high and low for one. ( and they never found one). The one nice thing was our Jeep tour around the island. Don't waste your money with the Sunquest people to book your tour...do it from a guy on the beach named Veejay!!! He was awesome,speaks English very well and was resonably priced. He is very safe to travel with you can even customize your Jeep tour if you like. Thanks Veejay. Overall, I would not return to this hotel in the future...it was still nice to get away...but I expected more for the amount of $$$ I spent.

We visited this hotel from January 26 to February 9, 2005 and were less than impressed. It was advertised as a 5 star hotel and that was why we had booked it. We had stayed at 5 star resorts before and KNEW what to expect... We expected: 1) The things that were advertised to be in the rooms, such as operational air conditioning, towels, a refrigerator, working lights and showers, toiletries,etc. 2) Food: there should be a variety of foods that don't come with a free serving of flies, and no air conditioning. When you are there for 2 weeks it is nice to have some variety - not the exact same food every day. The a la carte restaurant had the same menu for every day as well. REAL theme days are an excellent idea. Yes, people need to watch what they eat and check the utensils. We know several guests that had some type of digestive illness..... 3)Staff are pleasant, but need training. When people order food or drinks, they should receive them! The front desk staff needs to be taught how to do their jobs. 4)We understand the circumstances causing the deterioration of the facility as a whole. However, until this hotel returns to 5 star standards, it should not be classified as such. 5)Entertainment staff is trying, but it is by no means a professional show. This does not compare to many other resorts at all. 6) Beach is ok, but small and needs palapas, or shade umbrellas for guests. Beach activites were lacking. Pool area in need of repair. This hotel has an incredible amount of potential, and is located in a spectacular area. However, until it is restored to the 5 star quality, it should not be advertised as such. It is hard to say whether we would return or not, we loved the area and the people, but would need a guarantee that the hotel once again meets 5 star standards. When you pay a 5 star price, one doesn't expect 2-3 star service!

Hi everyone. Me and my wife just got back from Margarita Island and we have to honestly wonder what the heck we were thinking when we booked this trip. We read the reviews posted on this site and dismissed the poor reviews as the result of coming from hard to please travellers. I now have a much better understanding of what was meant by the negative feedback. I am however, confused as to the exceptional reviews that have been posted. I am glad that those folks had a pleasant vacation......but we just did not have the same experience. It is like we were at another resort. Here is some specific feedback that I hope will assist future travellers in their destination decision making: FOOD: It was often cold and there was not a wide variety. Although they did put out a large spread, it did not vary from day to day. The only exception to this was on theme nights when the theme table offered some variety. The problem was that the lines were so long the fod was either cold or in short supply by the time you made it to the buffet table. I was disturbed by the fly problem around the buffet (a previous review also mentioned this....gross). The ala carte restaurant was not worthwhile. The steak was extremely tough and was not cooked to order. The wait for our food after ordering was about 90 minutes, and it was not busy that night. BEACH: Very pretty area and the water was nice. We found that there was a lot of garbage lying around on the beach though. The staff didn't ever clean up this area and unforetunitly it showed. Good thing my wife is a nurse too because one child ripped her foot open on a piece of broken glass while playing in the sand. My wife was happy to help when the "on-site" nurse could not be found. Thank God we travel with our own first aid supplies...just in case. If you don't mind garbage debris and seaweed along the shoreline, you will probibly be okay with the beach, but it was nothing like any of the other beaches we have vacationed at. Also, it is a long walk to the bar as there is no drink service at the beach. You have to walk back to the resort. Not good. Also, we were not alowed to use the water activity equipment because the paddle boats and kayaks were all leaky and the staff refused to allow them to go out. POOL: The pool needs a complete overhaul. Many of the tiles were falling off or missing all together. The volleyball posts were rusted under the waterline and did not add to the appeal. We found that it did not have a fresh odour to it either. Just the opposite. HOTEL: The lobby is fantastic! Very nice place to have a drink and enjoy the view, especially at night when the lights are on. The lobby bar was really good too. The rooms were a nightmare however. They were very worn looking and were in desparate need of an upgrade. The floors were very worn and the windows really needed a cleaning. The bathroom was very dark and we didn't have hot water the entire week. There was also an unpleasant odour in the hallways. I would rate the rooms as a one star. STAFF: Excellent. Very friendly and helpful GROUNDS: Overgrown and in major need of additional landscaping. The grass was intermitten and many of the gardens were either empty or contained dead vegetation. The grounds were by no means "lush" or "tropical". Don't have that expectation if you decide to go there. OVERALL: I would consider this vacation to be a waste of hard earned money and well deserved time off. The staff was great but they could not make up for the obvious deficiencies of the resort. Please give serious thought to choosing a different resort if you are debating between destinations. This was not worth going to. I should have paid more attention to the neative reviews.....you should too

Trip of January 26th - February 9th - We have to agree with all of the positive reports on this site regarding the Hesperia Isla Margarita. We absolutely loved our time there and our visit to Margarita Island. From the negative reports, I wonder if we were staying at the same hotel as those other folks! The hotel is undergoing some renovations as it was bought by the Hesperia Hotel Chain of Spain about a year ago (it's always been a hotel, built 11 years ago. It was not a School for the Blind as reported by a previous Trip Advisor user, it was sponsored by a School for the Blind on the mainland) but the renovations are a positve aspect because the hotel will just get better and better. It is in a perfect location, nestled right into the mountains with it's own quiet beach (yes, the public can use it but we never found that it was "taken over" by them, always chairs available and nice spots to sit, plenty of trees for shade as well). The water could be a little bit rougher but my husband said it was the best for body surfing! You could also walk over to the Dunes Resort Beach which was more extended if you wanted. My husband did this a couple of times, even walking up the hill to the lighthouse, fantastic view from there. Actually every view from the hotel itself is fantastic, the best spot to view the sunsets! If you're not a beach person, the pool is a good size and they also have what we call the "kiddie" pool, perfect depth for small children to play safely. And there is always something happening with the Animation Team, from Stretching Classes to Spanish Lessons. The bars at both areas were very good as well, especially by the beach. You rarely had to wait long for a drink and all the bartenders know basically every drink there is to make. With the hotel itself, the rooms are spacious, large windows so plenty of sunshine in the mornings (we were fortunate to have a view of the water and beach area) and a large, clean bathroom. We found nothing wrong with the bathroom (one reviewer complained about theirs), the tiling was finished off in ours and it was clean. And I found the maids always cleaned our room thoroughly. They work very hard and always left us clean towels and plenty of bottled water. I also liked the fact that the mattresses were firm and the pillows as well. We slept very well (except when someone decided to come back to there room at 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning laughing, talking loudly and slamming their doors. Oh well, I guess every vacation has to have its rowdy people). We found the staff very friendly and helpful, especially the wait staff in the restaurants. I liked the fact they were always near buy to pour another drink before you needed to ask them! There was always a variety of food at the buffet, something different everytime for every pallet and each night there would be a theme, i.e. Mexican, Chinese, etc. so I don't understand the reviewer from a few weeks ago who said the food was so bad they had to eat elsewhere. Maybe they're only use to McDonald's. The a la carte was very nice as well, especially since we were served our meal rather than having to get it for ourselves. (The wine served in all of the restaurants is from Chile, a nice change from wine usually served in the Caribbean because this stuff is actually great!) The same reviewer who said the food was terrible also said that the Kid's Club was a joke. Does he have kids who went there? Obviously not because it was a wonderful spot for the kids to go to. Plenty of games to play and even opportunities to win prizes (all the kids would receive something, my son's suitcase was full of stuff from the Kid's Club). The staff were amazing, totally adored the kids! My son was quite spoiled by them and whenever we saw them elsewhere in the resort they always gave him a hug and a kiss and us a warm welcome as well. The Kid's Show in the evenings was fun for them as well, a Mini Disco. The staff were wonderful in having the kids participate, my son couldn't wait to go every night! The shows in the evening for the entire family were fantastic! The dancers were wonderful and very talented, I don't know how they remember all of their routines. Beautiful costumes, especially when they would perform dances typical to Venezuela and Margarita Island. We always enjoyed the shows, a highlight to our evenings. If you do visit, especially for more than a week, you have to tour the island and you can book this through your tour operator (we went through Sunquest) or even a young gentleman on the beach named Marcos. He was very nice and had a variety of tours to choose from as well. We booked several tours, including a jeep tour (this toured the entire island, east to west, north to south) and saw the rainforest and the beautiful beaches of Macanao in the west. Several jeeps went together and it was a great day, the drivers know their stuff and the sights to see. Another spot to definitly visit is LaRestinga National Park. There you take a motorized boat ride through the lagoon and see all the wildlife. Our boat driver found star fish, oysters and seahorses (they can be hard to find) for us to see. Just a really beautiful spot. You can also buy your pearls here. The tour guide (a Dutch lady whos name escapes me at the moment) was great in assisting. All of the pearls are from the pearl beds there and come in every colour and size and very reasonably priced. And we also took a relaxing Highlight Tour (this is through SI Tours booked thorugh your tour operator) which visits historical spots on the island and some of the oldest churches on the island as well. Our tour guide was Milton Carrero, a real sweetheart who knows the island and its history to a "T" and who also took a real interest in all of us on the tour. He really made the tour special and enjoyable. We highly recommend all of the tours available. From the hotel you can also take a free shuttle bus to Porlamar, the largest city on the island and visit it's shopping district. We really liked Porlamar and found it very modern, shops from Versace to Ferrari for highend shopping to quaint little souvenir shops (and plenty of souvenir stands set up on the sidewalks as well). Nice spots to sit and have lunch or just an ice cream. Everything is extremely cheap, 50 cents for a Polar Ice beer for example. And don't forget to visit the liquor stores to get some rum. Anniversaire is one of the best and very cheap as well. (If you don't want to take the shuttle, taxis are readily available to take as well, and very cheap. Gas at 4 cents a litre so you know it's a cheap drive. Porlamar is about 40 minutes away from the Hesperia but it's a nice drive there). Overall, this was one our best holidays to the Caribbean. We will definitely go back to Margarita Island and we will definitely book into the Hesperia Isla Margarita. As I mentioned, it's in the perfect location, less than a 5 minute walk to the beach and only minutes by taxi to the famous Playa El Agua Beach if you wanted o spend the day there. Lots of restaurants and little shops there too. Don't even consider the negative reviews, Hesperia Isla Margarita is where you want to book your vacation on Margarita Island!

We just returned Feb 9th, 2005. The lobby is overwhelming and the elegance is evident as you enter the hotel. The bad "stuff": - after finally getting to the hotel, (3:30pm) a 1.5 hr wait at the airport for everyone to get their luggage and on to the buses we were told our room was not ready and we would have to wait for another 1hr. After a 12 hour travelling day this was not good news. - the hotel is very large and confusing, finding a place to wait, have a cold drink and a bite to eat was impossible. We arrived between meal sittings. Unlike other places we have been, food is not served all day and unlesss you knew that the beach bar was opened you had to wait until 7:oopm for dinner. - the hotel is completely enclosed, in contrast to other hotels down south that are all open air. You sometimes get the feeling of being shut in, but the heat must be the reason for the closed doors. - the airconditioning is inadequate. Afternoon lunches and dinner in the dining room was so hot you could not enjoy or relax over a glass of wine with your meal. It was like a suana. - one al acarte meal was included with our package and after eating other meal in the dining room it was a pleasant change. The buffet was good each day but it nice to be served on your holidays at least for a couple of dinners. Since the only place to eat was really the buffet, it was always busy. - they have a bar and a small restaurant at the beach but the flies and cats put us off. We had to wait for table at times or eat at a table for 4, we were a party of 6. - the pool is in need of repair, the grounds were in need of maintenance and the pool bar always had a broken blender (no mixed fancy drinks) and look out for the wasps that come in droves to the open bottles of liquers. - it is different, can't exactly put my finger on it but the atmosphere is different. The good "stuff": - waiters come up to you and ask you what you want to drink in the lobby. Drinks are served in glasses and the waiters are wearing white shirts and carry traus of drinks. The lobby bar gets busy but sooner or later you get served in a fancy glass with a piece of fruit and the class of a five star hotel. - you can get draft beer or if prefer they have cans of beer. Their selection of drinks is your imagination. Martinis to any liquer. Espresso, cappucino flaming drinks they do it all at the lobby bar. - the disco was quiet but we are not disco people so we didn't miss it. - the beach is small but beautiful. And it you walk to the 15th hole on the golf cousre you are introduced another beach that is much larger and just beautiful. - the hotel is majestic and is nestled in a valley of mountains. It reminds me of a movie of the rich and famous. - cabs are cheap, gas is .05/litre, don't worry about the shuttles. - Golfers enjoyed the week, even in 90 degree temperatures. - entertainment was good - rooms are large and clean with walkin shower and separate bath, double sinks. - overall a nice spot but I would not go back.

Seasoned Travelers --- imodium shortages among the Canadian contingent. Coachroaches...started naming them after a couple of days. Golf course was a cow pasture. Not a four star resort.

We stayed from January 26th to February 2nd. First, the negatives: (the 3 star portion) Check-in was a nightmare!! We are a party of 6 (2 kids 4 adults)... Upon arrival to the check-in desk, they told us that we had been upgraded to a suite - TOGETHER. We tried to explain that we didn't want to spend the week in the same room as my husband's parents (& they didn't want to spend the entire week in the same room as the kids & us!). They kept trying to persuade us to take the room together... We spent 2 HOURS in the lobby waiting to be given separate rooms (as we had booked & paid for)... they kept saying they were full (they weren't), etc. We saw a few other guests with similar check-in problems. Finally we were assigned rooms on the 3rd floor. My in-laws opened their door to a beautiful, large room... We opened our door down the hall to see an older couple changing their clothes!! After another 15 minutes of waiting in confusion, with the help of the Sunquest Rep, Sylvia (who is wonderful), we were given room 2002, a suite. The size was fantastic & we were thankful for the upgrade. However, the standards are definitely not what we are used to at 4 & 5 star resorts. There are some badly needed renovations. It's like they started things but just didn't fnish. Nothing structural.... but, for instance, when they installed the tiles in the bathroom they didn't bother to wipe off the excess putty, so it's all over the tiles & it makes the whole bathroom look dirty. Like I said, nothing structural, but just leaves you with the feeling that no care was taken. If we had paid for the suite upgrade, it would have bothered us more. Pool area - same thing. Huge potential... but needs work. Tiles are peeling off the sides of the pool & need repair. The small pool is set up for a waterfall/sprinkler attraction that doesn't work. Many of the lounge chairs have seen better days & need to be pitched... Restaurants are average. Buffet food was good but with very limited selection. Would have liked to have had more salad bar choices, hot vegetables & more "kid-friendly" foods like fried chicken, pizza, fries... Some days fries were available on the menu at the beach bar & we took advantage of this... There was pizza at the one restaurant most days, but some days it had corn & other vegetables on it & my kids wouldn't touch it. They survived, though.... thank goodness for pasta & bread!! Now for the positives: (the 5 star portion) The staff at the resort (with the exception of the front desk staff) were fantastic! They knew our names after the first day & greeted us with smles & enthusiasm. We rarely get involved in any hotel activities while vacationing, but we did here. The kids did not go to the kid's club as they had a great time at the pool each day, but we did go over to have a look & were welcomed by the staff there who seemed very friendly. There is a "mini disco" each evening that we attended only once, but my daughter had a good time... The island is BEAUTIFUL... the scenery surrounding the resort is awesome. The weather was perfect (super hot!!!!). The beach at the resort is pretty rough (too strong of an undertow for smaller kids - lots of fun for the bigger kids!) but the beach on the other side of the golf course has an area with a man-made breaker that is calmer... The best of both worlds nice & close... We did the Jeep tour offered through our Sunquest rep... We had a good time but next time we'd just book with someone on the beach (lots of people did) so we can choose where & when to go... They are working on upgrading the resort. The front facade was being painted & numerous gardeners were pruning & planting. I hope they continue this work on the inside. Upon leaving the island we heard a few "horror stories" about other's hotels - cockroaches, sicknesses, very poor food, etc.... We didn't hear any of these stories at our hotel... We will return to Margarita Island & would definitely stay at the Isla again.

We just got back from a week's stay at the Hesperia Isla Margarita. We agree with comments by the reviewer from Owen Sound dated Feb 3, 2005. We have the following additional comments: The golf course's condition can only be rated as fair. Demanding golfers would probably rate it as poor. The greens are very inconsistent. The beach at the hotel drops off quite quickly. Not a good swimming beach for young children. The rooms are very spacious and typically clean. Staff are friendly and speak adaquate English. The rating on the food is B to B+. Internet is available and not expensive. $1 US for 15 mins. May have to line up during busy times. Over all we very much enjoyed our stay at the Hesperia Isla Margarita. We also enjoyed the island. We joined the jeep tour and also went around by taxi. We chatted with fellow traveller when returning and heard some horror stories about Portofino and the Flamenco. Here is what we heard: Just about everyone got sick at Portofino. The hotel fired the kitchen staff and the food went from good to bad. Conquest Tours diverted their guests to Flamenco which was not ready to handle the high number of guests. They ran out of booze and food and had to shut down the water at times, and this happened for several days in a row. On the other hand, we have heard good things about LTI - the food was very good even though the rooms were small.