The Villa Casa Casuarina

The property is an amazing piece of architecture. The rooms wonderfully eclectic. The location ideal. The staff in the restaurant amazing. The bell staff, excellent. The front desk staff varied depending on the person on duty. We like staying in small hotels with a history and this building certainly has that,; having been built in 1930 on a piece of land where a single Casuarina tree survived the 1926 hurricane. The building is Mediterranean Revival style and was renovated and evolved by the creative genius of Giannin Versace.

OK. Where do I start. I was going to email the operations manager but decided it would be a waste of time. It appears to me the hotel operates around the restaurant. The restaurant begins set up around the pool at 4 pm. This means, you cannot enjoy the late afternoon restful time, around the pool. The first night we stayed there was a private party in the pool area with a very loud band playing well into the late evening. Not restful. And, the grounds were left dirty the following a.m. when we swam. Snack plastic bags left empty around the pool. Used cigarette butts along the edge of the pool backdrop, a gorgeous mosaic, by the way. It is a shame as while I understand they need to make their revenue somehow (in a hotel with only 10 rooms or so), the enjoyment of the public areas are very limited due to the 4 pm 'kick out' time from pool area. Maybe I will write the operations manager after all!