Cascade Wellness Resort

I stayed here for 5 nights at the end of a six week trip, hoping to cap off my vacation with a luxurious experience. This was not that. As other reviews mentioned, it’s fairly dingy and needs a significant makeover. But my biggest complaint is with the service. The A/C broke and they couldn’t fix it, but we got such a run-around by the staff. One person would say it’s just our room, the next would say it’s been fixed, the next would act like they had no idea what we were talking about. We eventually got moved to an apt with A/C which we really appreciated but it didn’t make up for the sweltering night that we couldn’t sleep and the super frustrating lack of communication. The location of the hotel is a mixed bag. It’s set back from the coast so it’s not really an ocean view, but it’s very close to the walking paths that take you to Piedade and sunset view points. Just wish the hotel had provided a map of the paths so we didn’t have to figure it out on our own. We weren’t crazy about the restaurants in the hotel so we either took an uber to town (10 mins) or walked to nearby restaurants (20 min walk) Overall, not a terrible stay, but a far cry from the five star stay we expected. And definitely not worth the high prices.

Cascade Wellness Center is NOT even close to a Five-Star Luxury resort. And the management knows this. Shame on them. As I was checking in, two ladies were at the front desk complaining about the lack of hot water—an ominous sign! We stayed at the “luxury” two-bedroom Apartments—the apartment was smelly, old, and worn. Stains of all varieties on the furniture, scratched up chairs and tables, mildew in both closets, silverfish in glassware in the kitchen, paper thin walls, dishwasher that didn’t close properly, water running out of the washing machine, ice cold showers, mold-stained balcony and chairs, and the list goes on and on. These apartments are well-worn Holiday Inn Airport quality. We were shocked by the condition of the apartment and asked to be moved to another apartment but were told that we had booked "the standard two bedroom” or whatever that means. We booked through Expedia, so I guess that meant we had to be thrown into the worst apartment they had. Nowhere on their website does it differentiate between “standard” two bedroom. They are just called “Two Bedroom Apartments.” We didn’t have a “pool or resort view” as they advertised. Just ripped green tarp around a field and views of cars parked on the street. Cascade “Wellness” Center is a Three Star resort (some of the time) four star (the pools/some landscaping) and 2 star the rest of the time. (no hot water, mildew, run down apartments, empty, derelict buildings, stains on furniture, leaking washing machine, bugs (silverfish and ants) and gaslighting by the front desk staff). Did staying at Cascade “Wellness” Center ruin our vacation? Yes, partially it did for the reasons I will explain below. Was it the worst place I’ve ever stayed? No, but it is the worst, most expensive place I’ve ever stayed. Here is my honest review: Things that Make Cascade “Wellness” Center a “Five Star Luxury Resort”: The natural rocky coast that has been there for time immemorial and has nothing to do with Cascade “Wellness” Center. That’s it. Four Stars: The paths along the rocky shore, the pools, the lobby area, and some of the landscaping. The management is clever: they maintain the lobby area and pools because it is cost effective: mowing the lawns and making sure the walking paths are maintained and the pools are clean is cheap compared to actual MAINTENANCE of the property which is the biggest problem. Three Stars: Rooms in the hotel (not apartments or villas)—These are Basic Embassy Suites Design and decor Restaurants/Bar: good, basic food—somewhat disinterested staff--pricey Gym—this is like your gym back home—outdoor area was run down and had moldy mats Spa—tiny, cramped, and overcrowded—small steam and sauna rooms—more like a gym than a five-star resort spa. Staff unfriendly—seems like they are just there to hand out towels. Small treatment rooms behind glass doors. Very strange design: dark and gloomy. Two Stars and Less: Now this is a category where Cascade “Wellness” Center really excels! 1) Bugs—silverfish in a cabinet and glassware—we were there five nights—the glass with silverfish was never removed. Ants in the bathroom for some random reason. The staff will probably use the excuse of a “tropical climate” but it was in the 40’s-50’s when we were there and ants and silverfish appear for poorly maintained and dirty buildings—not just for humidity. 2) No hot water—two days with ice cold showers. And the staff suggested we somehow wait to “see if it comes around again?” Huh? 3) Mildew in closets—we kept them closed and hung our clothes on the chairs or kept them in the suitcases 4) Moldy smell—these old apartments are damp and moldy—we washed clothes, and they did not dry inside for three days—that is how moist the apartment was. Terrible place for elderly or those with asthma/COPD. 5) Stains on the furniture—yellow, gray, black—urine, feces, food, wine, coffee, who knows! It was disgusting! The front desk manager responded by saying “that’s ok—we have stains on the furniture”—this is not what front desk staff at an actual Five Star Resort would say. 6) Basic kitchen which lacked even a proper knife--broken kitchen cabinets, old and poorly maintained appliances; dishwasher that didn’t close and washing machine that leaked. 7) Gaslighting: as I was watching water pour out of the washing machine and relaying that information to the front desk “manager” she told me, “no, all our appliances are new and there’s no water running out of them.” Note to management: DON’T GASLIGHT YOUR GUESTS. If they tell you they see water running out of one of your appliances, believe them. A maintenance man confirmed that the appliances were not in fact new. 8) Empty and derelict (some boarded up) buildings—especially near the gym. 9) No safe in the room as advertised 10) No view—ripped and falling apart green tarp surrounding a field The staff did finally attempt to fix the problem by offering us a room in the bottom floor of the hotel, but that did not work for us as we had a refrigerator full of groceries, and my son didn’t want to sleep on a living room sofa. That’s why we booked a two bedroom apartment. After two days of ice-cold water, they finally comped us two nights. The front desk mentioned the apartments were going to be renovated and we should come back which was completely tone deaf after what we experienced and coming back to this resort after a day of sightseeing was depressing. We spent the first day back home washing/airing everything to get rid of the mildew smell. The biggest regret I have is believing Cascade “Wellness” Center’s false advertising and wasting my money on this run-down place. My advice is stay anywhere else!

Cascade cannot be considered a 4 or 5 star resort because of the Sculptors fitness center. I visit Lagos 2-3 a year and will not be staying there again. The fitness center building has floor to ceiling glass walls. The air conditioning has been broken for over a year and the fitness center gets unbearably hot. It was 30C+ degrees. They had an industrial fan running, but it is loud, and my watch app measured it at 90db. That is loud enough to damage your ears. Also, the toilet in the locker room has been broken for over a year as well. The outside pool has been drained for at least three years. I am in the travel industry and this unacceptable. I will not recommend it to my clients unless these

Beds are extremely comfortable and have nice shades that block all light out. The villas have ping-pong tables and foos-ball for kids and a relaxing pool

We stayed recently in Cascade and there were ants all over the room. The apartments were noisy. Restaurant overpriced. Children weren't allowed in the pool after 10am.