Jungle Cruiser, I am glad you posted it first. I was debating what to say. I know I already made a negative post because of them taking the $1500 out of my bank account erroneously (and then the way the situation was handled after the fact) and hesitated posting anything else negative, because I know this thread is our collective happy place. But I agree. my brief "review":
Our stay was phenomenal. I can truly say it was our best vacation, EVER, and my husband and parents agreed wholeheartedly. We were thrilled to be at the GF RPC and hope so much to be back again in a year or two. The lounge offerings were great and you can't beat the whole ambience. It is like nowhere else. We were so relaxed there and just enjoyed our trip so much.
With that said, I would be embarrassed to recommend the resort to anyone going for the first time, in its current state. The construction is ridiculous. The view from our room got progressively worse as our week went on as the structure was built higher and higher. There was constant loud noise during the day from the site and no peace to be had on our balcony (it was ok with the door closed but then again my kids are always loud so maybe they were masking it

). The noise at the waterfall pool during the day was literally unbearable. They were jackhammering RIGHT next to the seating area. It was deafening. When the jack hammer would stop for a moment, you heard the constant shrill beeps of sometimes two or three vehicles backing up. I honestly cannot think of a worse pool situation. It was fine in the evenings but by day, horrible. The courtyard pool was pretty obnoxious with the kids' games in the afternoons and it was pretty crowded each time we went, to the extent that we had a fairly hard time finding chaises. And really, there is just no beach to be had. The sliver that is still there is just nothing once you are standing on it.
Dare I make one more comment? The RPC staff (3rd floor desk staff) were not only not great, they weren't even good. They were amazing before. We were so impressed two years ago. This time, it was none of the same people, and these people are totally not up to par. One guy, Jordan, was SO incredibly rude. A woman whose name I did not catch was also rude when I asked her if she could cancel a reservation for us because my parents were so sick they could not leave the room. Another woman told my husband she had no idea where the laundry was and was not going to even look into it initially. When he asked if she could find out, she came back and gave him the completely wrong floor. The other two people I dealt with were not overtly rude but never so much as smiled even once. And for no reason... each time I approached them with simple questions and I was so chipper and pleasant. It's not like I came to them to complain or anything (although I certainly could have! They held my $1500 hostage for an entire business week! But I never once complained to them about it!). This was just such a change from 2 years ago.
I know these are some real negatives, but as I said, honestly, we did not let it ruin anything for us and we do plan to return. But as I said, I would be embarrassed to recommend it to any first timer in its present state.