Corporate secretary for the hotel Mr. Charles Vaucrosson's initial reaction was: "It sounds like a problem of the staff not doing their job.'' Mr. and Mrs. Jon Staples, who felt they had been "cheated'', had a long list of complaints in their letter to the Editor.

They claimed their room was dirty -- a wine cork and "two huge dead cockroaches'' were on the floor.

The hair dryer did not work, there was no clock and when they called housekeeping, they repeatedly got no answer.

Dining tables were "filthy'' and service was slow and inattentive.

The beach was strewn with litter, they said. The hot tub was broken and the cave disco boarded up.

They also discovered a St. George's tour the hotel had promised them had been cancelled.

And they claimed: "We found we were not the only ones disappointed with Grotto Bay.'' Mr. Vaucrosson, after reading the letter, said he had contacted the hotel's directors and was on his way to meet with them and resident manager Mr. Clyde Darrell.

President of the Board of Directors Dr. James King would be making a statement later, he said. As of yesterday, not statement had been received.

The Staples' letter, copied to Mr. Darrell, appeared in yesterday's Royal Gazette .

They stayed at the hotel from February 22 to February 27 after Mrs. Staples' sister recommended it.

"Apparently she did not know the resort had drastically changed. To say the least, we were extremely disappointed,'' the couple wrote.

They had to wait half an hour for their room when they first arrived.

So in the meantime they toured the hotel, they said.

But, "while we made our way to the beach to admire the beautiful view, we were very dismayed to find beer bottles, cardboards containers, plastic cups, soda cans and much more strewn all over the beach! They then went looking for the cave disco, which they found closed, "and looked like it had been for a long time''.

When their room was finally ready, they "couldn't believe'' they found roaches and a cork on the floor and the drawers stuck shut.

On top of that and other problems, they were charged a $16 daily surcharge, they said.

The East End hotel has been plagued by controversy in the last few years.

Work stoppages and other industrial action took place when management decided to sever ties with the Bermuda Industrial Union, implement its own worker contract and scrap mandatory tipping.

Last October, a Government trade disputes tribunal -- the third board to hear the dispute -- reinstated union representation and mandatory tipping.

General manager Mr. George Robinson had suddenly quit earlier in the year.