Rosewood Little Dix Bay

I could not agree more with the poster who said that they could really make this an exceptional resort if they tried. It's a truly unparalleled location and beautiful grounds and beaches. We found it to be very well maintained and our room was lovely. I do think the butlers are unfortunately in name only - similar to the other poster, I do not feel the need for a butler and would be perfectly fine without one! But if you're going to have a butler and charge a 10% service fee for a butler on top of the room rate, then the service experience should be better. We would often submit multiple requests for things - it seems like maybe they are spread too thin which is funny bc we really did not ask for very much at all! There were several small inconveniences - mostly service issues with the hotel which I was able to communicate to the manager so I won't go into it here- nothing terrible....but agreed that it would take very little to make what's great become exceptional here. Would these issues prevent me from recommending this place to others? No. But it's a lot of money so if you think those service oriented things will bother you, just something to keep in mind. Everyone has a different tolerance level for small inconveniences depending on price point.

Little Dix is a great resort which could easily be exceptional if it simply tried a bit harder. This was our second stay at Little Dix in 2 years. The resort is a a beautiful breath of fresh air in a world full of overcrowded run of the mill luxury resorts. The grounds are amazingly manicured by a team of artists and the walking paths bring you back to an old Caribbean where things were simpler. The restaurants locations and setup are stunning and set the stage for what could be an amazing Caribbean feast (more on that later). The Rooms: The aesthetics are minimal by intention and that is both good and bad. The rooms have an authenticity to them that is calming and fresh at first but as the week goes on you begin to realize that this authentic feel may just be that they are old and not maintained well. Simple things like soft close toilet seats and light switches that are marked “blank” do not belong in a hotel of this caliber nor do curbless showers that are ill conceived and flood the floor of the entire bathroom when used. The housekeeping staff is quite lax in their work. We had a small room and the only table we had was left disheveled with arrival papers for the entire week. We actually messed up the papers every morning (after organizing them ourselves at night) to see if the housekeeper would put them back in a pile. This was never done once did. All this is disheartening for a hotel like this but the most disappointing aspect and in my opinion the largest weakness of Little Dix is the butler program. First off, we’re a humble family who I grew up humble and staying at Howard Johnsons, we by no means need a butler. With that said if you are going to force a pair of butlers upon my family they better add some value because you know they are going to have their hands out at the end of your trip. Our butlers were so disappointing on our first trip that we actually requested new butlers for this trip. We didn’t receive new butlers we got the same two that delusionally refer to themselves as the ‘dream team’. These two butlers are so confident in their work that they are under the impression that they don’t need to do anything besides sit in their golf cart all day and send out the same canned, cut and pasted message to us every morning. They couldn’t get one simple request accomplished there entire trip whether it was big or small. I spent the week watching other butlers hustle up and down the beach to ensure their guests were having the time of their lives; essentially doing their job. Our ‘dream team’ didn’t think that was necessary apparently as we saw them probably 4 times during the week. As we waiting for cabs other butlers whisked their guests into the cab and wished them a good night. Our butlers were nowhere to be seen. As expected they did showed up on the last day with smiles on their faces for obvious reasons. Fix the problem or make the butlers optional. The food. I get it, we’re a fancy resort and we need fancy food. That’s fine but you have to remember that people who come for big cities don’t want to eat like they’re in that same city when on vacation. Although it tries, the menu fails to deliver a local feel even while having its own farm on the property. The catch of the day should be the star of the menus but its lacks any passion when you serve it with prepared rice with peas and some non local vegetables that kissed a steamer. I want to rum sauces or house made jerk marinades or some mango/papaya/passion fruit vinaigrettes. Give me a thoughtful, heartfelt taste of the Caribbean! It’s great food but few will call it exceptional. It seems as if every ounce of passion the culinary team has gets delivered to what they refer to as the “chef’s table” and I wish that passion would trickle down to its nightly menus of the restaurants. The other issue with the restaurants is the lack of “high end casual option”. I get so sick of a fancy meal every single night. Sometimes I just want a well prepared hand tossed wood fired pizza and maybe a freshly prepared salad with some jerk chicken that I could smell roasting on the grill from the beach all day (this jerk chicken is a fantasy, I couldn’t smell that from the beach). Simple food can be memorable when done with passion and with the amount of families this hotel is attracting they need to start thinking about simpler options that don’t compromise on taste or elevation. It wouldn’t hurt for this simpler food to carry over to the beach menu. Nobody is going to complain about a Ceasar or garden salad wrap with that mouthwatering jerk chicken. The jars of salad simply don’t work, the dressing on the bottom is just way too much for the salad that lays upon it. Once shaken it becomes almost unbearable due to overdressing. For somewhere around $46 this salad needs to be both better composed and delivered in a better vessel (see Ritz Carltons poolside bento boxes). Beach food should be easy, fun, tasty and filling as it need something to offset all of those Red Stripes. None of which is currently true. And for the love of god please get off your high horse and put something truly key lime on one of the dessert menus. what you have read above is what holds this resort back from being exceptional, now onto what makes it great. The staff (with the exception of the butlers) are simply amazing. TIFFANY and DONNA of the beach staff made the endless hours spent on the beach careless, fun and memorable. They were always there with a smile or a joke and ready to meet any request we had. We looked forward to their company every day. PORTLAND ABRAHAM in the restaurants is one of the most caring and exceptional human beings you will ever meet. He sincerely cares and it shows. He was always around with a smile and wanted everything to be perfect. He made every dinner a pleasure. WAIN in watersports is the unsung hero of this resort and should be protected at all costs. He is simply one of those few people that are irreplaceable. He heard my wife joking about wanting to be taken out on a Hobie (small sail boat) but we didn’t know how to sail one. Hours later he showed up at our seats and simply asked “what time?” This simple sail was the highlight of our trip. Wain has spent a lot of time on this island as well as the resort and he takes an ownership in the guest experience unlike anyone I have ever seen. He has a level of accountability that I wish the butlers had. During the sail he shared the rich history of the island and the resort and along the way seemingly summonsed an eagle ray to jump out of the water right next to the boat. It was hands down and experience we will not forget. Thank you again Wain for what you do, you are a special person. These are the people that make these resorts what they are and the reason we come back. Rosewood as a brand has an uncanny way of purchasing properties that are very difficult to recreate or replace giving them minimal competition and save them from being a great resort when they should be an exceptional resort. With everything said we will be returning, but I know a lot of people that couldn’t get past the downfalls of this resort. We’re simple people who use the resort as a vehicle for an adventure that we can control so this resort will work for us. It will not work for people expecting a Four Seasons level of service. Nobody is going to wait on you hand over foot at this resort. And I am ok with that. It’s not difficult to make this an exceptional resort, management just needs to make that choice.

Let me start out by saying the staff was the nicest part of the visit. Let me also add this resort is not exactly what I expected. The grounds were not really that nice expected much more . However the beach area is beautiful. Our experience was such that there was alot of confusion about who was assigned to what chair. Was it first come first serve or by room number. The mostly absent attendant and older couple removed our belongings left them upside down in the sand where they became wet. Lots of privileged folks here. We stopped going to the buffet not wanting to wait in line we ordered room service every day. Was expensive always took a long time and order was always wrong. My husband went every morning when the kitchen opened and got coffee to bring back to the room . Quality was hit or miss. Coffee machine in the gym was closed on Monday and Tuesday because no staff was available to change the grounds????? The butler service was ok. I felt like we were pushed to book dinner every night. We only eat 2 meals a day. We usually eat a late lunch sometimes order appetizer via roomservice . The menu was very limited and slow. I am not a beach all the time person. Pool was small and crowded,a distance from our small room . No TV. All that said I was ready to leave after 2 days. I blame myself for not doing better research. We did a last minute change from the luxury resort in Mayakoba because of our President's constant threats about the border. We left the Rosewood early went to Puerto Rico and finally relaxed. We should have left days earlier. It's the first time I was actually stressed out at a resort. I don't like all inclusive but we felt some of the charges were not what u would expect from a resort like Rosewood . This experience was basically my bad. I just chose something that was perhaps not a good fit. I would advise you make sure u know what to expect. We won't be back .

Yaya was excellent. I had a back exfoliation and massage and would recommend reviewing that procedure. Massage was great. Spa views are spectacular Plunge pool is beautiful. The ride up to spa was beautiful and the products on my wife’s facial worked well and she purchased them.

I was made to feel welcome and my therapist was really keen to understand what a needed from my treatment. We discussed how the treatment was progressing as things moved in and as a result I got the outcomes that I was looking for. After my treatment the after care and attention to detail was first class I really felt that this was a personal and tailored approach.