TLC Owes Isla Bella Vacationers An Apology For '90 Last Resort' Filming
The Big Picture
- TLC's decision to film 90 Day Last Resort at Isla Bella resort in the Florida Keys inconvenienced paying guests, who were not notified in advance.
- Guests had to endure loud arguing, closed pools, and restricted access to facilities due to the reality show's filming.
- TLC, despite its substantial wealth, chose to cut corners and prioritize its own production over the comfort and experience of the resort's guests. They owe these guests an apology and compensation.
TLC has a lot of money to spend, so why didn’t they rent out a resort for this maligned couples retreat? 90 Day Last Resort was filmed at Isla Bella resort in the Florida Keys, and this season there have been noticeable moments in which the cast had to be reminded that the resort was functioning with regular vacationers. Reality TV shows often shoot in public locations, but this sort of filming is different. Guests who booked their stays months in advance did not get the vacations they were promised due to TLC being cheap. They weren’t given any notice ahead of time that there would be a show filming during their stay. Because of this, these guests were forced to endure hearing loud shouting matches, not being allowed to use the facilities in the resort, and more. TLC owes these people an apology and monetary compensation.
‘90 Day Last Resort’ Wasn’t Just a Last Resort For the Cast
The Isla Bella Resort is a beach vacation destination in Marathon, Florida. The resort describes itself as,
“A beautiful, new contemporary 199 guest room luxury resort in the heart of the Florida Keys, Isla Bella is perfectly nestled in one of the most stunning locations in the country. It is surrounded by a mile of waterfront at the foot of the iconic Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon, Florida. The resort has five swimming pools, multiple dining options, The Spa at Isla Bella, a full-service fitness center, several watersports and a daily activities program.”
Sounds luxurious, right? But a lot of that luxury gets stripped away the second a reality show decides to film there. Most places have mixed reviews due to people being various levels of picky to laid back. There are plenty of reviews left on the resort’s Trip Advisor page as proof of this, but some of them are valid complaints. Especially the complaints that came in at the end of January 2023. Why? That was when TLC descended upon the resort to film some of the world’s most toxic couples, plus Yara and Jovi. Reports came out earlier this year when the show began filming, with sneak peek photos taken by local publications, and while many of us rational people assumed that TLC bought out the resort to use at their leisure, they opted to cut corners and allow for the resort guests to get a first look at the dysfunction yet to come. And several guests eventually took to Trip Advisor to air out their frustrations. One guest wrote,
“First of all they were filming episodes of a reality TV show at my visit! Pools closed. Areas closed crew members all over [the] resort then at check out the nerve to charge $28.00 a day for outdoor parking.”
A guest who had a more pleasant experience during their stay was still bothered by TLC’s presence, posting,
“Excellent stay at Isla Bella Resort. Very relaxing. Great location and beautiful views. Food at the pool bar was excellent. Many pools in front of the rooms to use, which were not crowded at all. The only downside was there was filming for 90 day Fiancé during our stay which we were not made aware of by the resort prior to booking. There were crews everywhere, and at first was fine, but became a bit annoying. For example, we were going to play a game hosted by the resort by the bar at night, but was cancelled because they were filming.”
Another guest got a front-row seat to the drama, and given what they said in their comments to the resort, it was likely that Angela Deem was close by, as she knows how to cuss and does so loudly and often. In his review he shares,
“Beautiful property, excellent staff, great place for my wife and I to chill for a week. The only problem was there was a reality TV show filming 2 units down from ours (we later heard they had 15 units in the complex). The pool closest to our unit was reserved and closed for entire visits. Large groups of behind the scenes staff were everywhere, starting at 8am on our front porch. The highlight was an F-bomb laced tirade at 10pm on the beach outside our door (video provided to management). The final insult was the response of management “they are guests too!” I can assure you if you or I walked down the beach throwing F-Bombs everywhere we would have been at the very least been escorted off the property by the police. We did receive a small credit on our bill, but it was not sufficient in the overall expenditure of our get away. We cut our visit short by 2 nights and found another property. My advice is to ask ahead of time if any third party has rented the use of this property prior to booking a trip, we were told by staff this is not the first time this has happened.”
This review also brings up an excellent point. While it was the end of January, the resort was still functioning for many other guests. And while production booked enough rooms for themselves and for the cast, the hotel neglected to warn the guests about anything that was happening. They didn’t give them the opportunity to rebook their visits or give them a heads-up. They simply collected their checks while massively inconveniencing their guests.
TLC Owes the Isla Bella Guests Compensation for the ‘90 Day Last Resort’ Interruptions
The Isla Bella tended to have one response to the guest complaints, which was,
“Thank you for choosing to stay with us. We are deeply sorry that your stay was anything but the best. We have addressed your concerns with our team and the production crew that departs later this week. We are confident that we can re-earn your trust on a return visit and showcase the world class resort atmosphere that we are known for.”
A solid blanket response for a business, but are they the ones that should be apologizing? TLC made $33.817 billion dollars in 2022. More than enough to buy out the whole resort, so why didn’t they? Because, like most major networks, they’re greedy! Why make things convenient for everyone involved, when they can cut corners and inconvenience a bunch of people in the process? There is no excuse for the route they took in filming this series. They knew people like Big Ed and Angela were going to be there; they should have known how much their mere presence would disturb the peace of their other guests. TLC owes those guests compensation and a new vacation for their grimy actions, but they will never give them what they deserve.
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