Review of TradeWinds Island Grand 4*

I was here for two nights over a weekend for a friend's wedding. What I liked… Great access to one of the better beaches in the area. We got wrist bands that gave us free cabana rentals (some restrictions) and use of beach towels. There's a large inflatable slide during the day. Lots of things to do overall. Lots of restaurant choices from Italian, American food, sea food, etc. Prices are high as you'd expect from a resort and quality was average. Lots off off-site restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance if you're on a budget. I was a performer at the wedding on my second night and needed to check-in earlier than 4pm so I could get dressed in my new room before sound check. The clerk was helpful and got me in my room by 3pm. I also lost my wrist bands and they had no issue replacing them. There's tons of options indoors and outdoors for weddings, conferences, and other events. On the night of the wedding there two other weddings and some sort of large conference and I notice see any conflict. What I did not like… Checking in my first night as guest in another party's room was a nightmare. I was sent away to the sister hotel next door and they sent me back to the main hotel. I had to get the groom involved to straighten everything out. Took an hour to check in. Oh, the parking and elevator wait is a nightmare. The adult pool closes at 10pm even on weekends. I'm sure it's to deter noise but they still kept the outside tiki bar open which seems kind of pointless. A late-night soak and drinks with friends would have been nice. The city also bans alcohol on the beach so use caution… The establishments on property stop serving food at midnight and last call for drinks is at 1am, even on weekends. I found this strange as last call is usually 3am in the bay area. The on-site convenience store is open until 2am but the prices are outrageous and the choices are limited. What made the early closing times even worse is that outside food delivery is prohibited for "safety" reasons. Because there were no places to get decent hot food on property late at night we had to walk off property to get food and drinks and bring it back to the tiki area. The walls of the rooms are apparently paper thin. The people next door weren't being loud but I could still hear their entire conversation. My room the second night had a bathroom door that wouldn't close properly. The room the bride and groom were staying in had broken blinds. Checkout is at 11am an they charge $20 an hour each additional hour if you want to sleep in longer. They even said the bride and groom (who spent literally thousands at this place and brought 50 guests) would have to pay extra as well. WOW! Overall thoughts… I simply feel like I didn't get what I paid for. And with the early closing times of the restaurants, bars, and pool… I felt like we were being treated as kids. There's a few small things this place could do to make the experience a lot more on par with the prices.