Berry and Cakes take Inagbe Grand Resorts

Hey everyone!

How was your weekend? I hope you had a wonderful one. Mine was aight. The highlight of my weekend was the day/night Cakes and I spent at Inagbe Grand Resorts in Lagos. I think most of you have already seen the collabo write-up about the resort by me and Naija Nomads. Well, that visit was for a couple of hours and while we were impressed, I wanted to go back and experience it as a paying customer, staying at least a night or two. I got the opportunity when I spied a Dealdey promo going on. I paid for the package literally 9 minutes before it expired!!! We opted for the 1-night package instead of the 2-day one because of Cakes' schedule.

Anyways, after the coupon was paid for, getting the resort via phone to book the date proved to be a challenge (ADVICE #1: If you're a business, answer your phones). We eventually got through and booked for this past weekend - BTW if you bought the package, better book it now because they're full the weekend of August 15th. We got to the jetty early on Saturday, and eventually the boat took us to the resort (ADVICE #2: Communicate times [and delays] to customers ahead of time).

When we got to Inagbe Resort, we got checked in - it was a bit of a long process because a company had just checked out after a retreat. We were showed our rooms and we chilled indoors for a bit.

After an hour or so, we headed to the swimming pool and had such a relaxing swim.

I would show you more photos but it's all BOOBAGE everywhere :p

Then we moved to the Floating Lounge for dinner, where we took some pretty photos.

For dinner I ordered Chicken and Chips which came to N2500, and Cakes ordered a whole Grilled Fish and Fried Rice, which was N6500. The fish was quite expensive, but it was very big sha and the rice was quite tasty.

After dinner, we went to bed - but not before there was an insect situation. I don't know if it's the architecture or what, but these huge ants kept coming into the room - seemingly from cracks in the wall/floor. I don't know but I couldn't sleep. And it took over 45 minutes and 2 separate complaints before anything was done about it (ADVICE #3: Attend to customer complaints as quickly as possible).

We both slept pretty well, save for a little discomfort when the AC went off. We woke up bright and early, and took a brisk walk to the Ocean-front side of the resort. I really enjoy the Ocean breeze and the sound of waves crashing against the shore.

Alas, we couldn't spend too much time as we needed to get back to our room, eat breakfast (Bread, Egg, Chopped Sausage and Tea) and head back to the jetty where our car was parked. Again, getting on the boat was a hassle as some guests were not ready and caused a considerable delay. We eventually left though and got back to real life - Cakes had to rush to the bakery to finish up some cakes.

On a final note, we would have enjoyed Inagbe Grand Resort a whole lot more if there weren't these hiccups here and there. I didn't expect it to be perfect, but I felt that some of the issues, while minor, added up. The people in charge have a really good vision, and I'm afraid the Nigerian factor (poor management/maintenance) will take away from the experience if care isn't taken. I understand that running a business is tough (hey, even watching Cakes makes me cringe sometimes) but I really want the Hospitality/Tourism industry to put their best foot forward. Make sure prices are clear to customers BEFORE they've booked or placed orders (disclose hidden charges); if changes or delays arise in bookings, communicate early to the customers; be easily accessible to your guests (working email addresses, phones, intercoms, etc); ensure that Customer Service isn't lacking (the executive management at Inagbe has this on lock - now, just to cascade it to all their employees)... etc.

I hope you all have a BERRY good week! Mehn, it's August already!!! The year is almost over. Have you achieved any of your goals this year? Do you need to reevaluate your goals? Let's get things done!!!!!