Trip Report
May 12th, 2003, 08:53 AM
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Trip Report
We just got back from a week in Negril. We stayed for 3 nights at Beaches (for a wedding) and 4 nights at Grand Lido Negril.
I was not a fan of all inclusives, but I got a special deal, plus we were going to a wedding, so I decided to give it a shot. Some things about AI I liked, but as a whole I probably wouldn't do AI again. My biggest complaint about them is the activity driven nature of these places. If you are looking for peace and quiet, forget it. If you want cruise-ship like activity, then okay.
I was pleasantly surprised with Beaches Negril. The room was had was absolutely beautiful - we were upgraded to beachfront grandiose premium and it was spectacular!! The bathroom wasn't great, but aside from that I just loved the room. The beach was fantastic - tons of chairs, tons of "tiki huts" for shade. Huge, wide beach. The best beach we saw in all of Negril. Main pool was nice and swim up bar service was great. My only complaint would be that there are tons of adult groups that go to Beaches, for weddings, etc. - Seems like they could make one pool an adults only pool. We did not have a chance to eat at Seville or Teppanyaki. Food at other places was mediocre - breakfast buffet was great, but other than that if I were at home, it wouldn't be something I'd go out for. It was fine but I'm generally one to be particular about restaurants when I'm on vacation. Great for kids, but for me, food not impressive. Aside from that, my only complaint would be the noise. I think this is an AI problem. Any other hotel I've stayed in, you can have total peace and quiet. Here, they had bullhorns at the pool for pool olympics, etc. (forget about an afternoon nap); Loud, loud music in the evenings until 10 or 11pm, so forget relaxing on your patio,etc. or going to sleep early. Definitely a place I'd go back to with children though some day. But as a couple, probably not.
I was a little disappointed in Grand Lido Negril. I thought the beach, grounds and rooms at Beaches were much nicer. However the food at Grand Lido was much better than at Beaches. Room service was a great thing to have, though it took FOREVER. Staff was incredibly friendly and efficient otherwise. Just didn't like the beach as much that part of Negril. Smaller, and they had no tiki huts or umbrellas. Some trees, but not many places to go for shade. Loved that they had tons of rafts you could take into the water. Pool was terribly small and there was no shower near it, so it was full of sand. Rooms are being renovated. When renovations are done it will be much better. Right now bathrooms are pretty run down, but spacious. And rooms get hot - they have shutter blinds with no glass behind them in the rooms, so the cold air seaps out. Doesn't make much sense!
Our biggest issue was that we had the ROH option and they put us on the clothing optional side. Literally 10 ft. from the clothing optional bar and pool! This is NOT my thing and I was very uncomfortable. With the blinds open in our room, that was all we could see, and of course they could see us too. So zero privacy. We spent the afternoon with our blinds closed in the dark (it was raining out, but the bar was hopping). Also it was very very loud being right by the bar. Luckily they moved us, but not til the next day. Loved all of the food, but thought the Piacere (fancy french restaurant) was ridiculously cheesy. There was a piano player there, nice touch, until the salsa lessons started in the main dining area right outside the french place and we might have well been out there it was so loud. But the piano player continued!! That was ridiculous - painful to my ears having both of those things going on. Honestly, liked Cafe Lido a lot better. You can get the best food from Piacere - beef tenderloin - through room service anyway.
Again, activity in the main area was annoying to me and loud. Could be heard all the way down the beach. I guess Jamaica is just not a place to go if you want peace and quiet!
Next trip to Caribbean we'll probably go back to Turks and Caicos for true R&R. We did like the all you can drink aspect of the AI though, that's for sure!
I was not a fan of all inclusives, but I got a special deal, plus we were going to a wedding, so I decided to give it a shot. Some things about AI I liked, but as a whole I probably wouldn't do AI again. My biggest complaint about them is the activity driven nature of these places. If you are looking for peace and quiet, forget it. If you want cruise-ship like activity, then okay.
I was pleasantly surprised with Beaches Negril. The room was had was absolutely beautiful - we were upgraded to beachfront grandiose premium and it was spectacular!! The bathroom wasn't great, but aside from that I just loved the room. The beach was fantastic - tons of chairs, tons of "tiki huts" for shade. Huge, wide beach. The best beach we saw in all of Negril. Main pool was nice and swim up bar service was great. My only complaint would be that there are tons of adult groups that go to Beaches, for weddings, etc. - Seems like they could make one pool an adults only pool. We did not have a chance to eat at Seville or Teppanyaki. Food at other places was mediocre - breakfast buffet was great, but other than that if I were at home, it wouldn't be something I'd go out for. It was fine but I'm generally one to be particular about restaurants when I'm on vacation. Great for kids, but for me, food not impressive. Aside from that, my only complaint would be the noise. I think this is an AI problem. Any other hotel I've stayed in, you can have total peace and quiet. Here, they had bullhorns at the pool for pool olympics, etc. (forget about an afternoon nap); Loud, loud music in the evenings until 10 or 11pm, so forget relaxing on your patio,etc. or going to sleep early. Definitely a place I'd go back to with children though some day. But as a couple, probably not.
I was a little disappointed in Grand Lido Negril. I thought the beach, grounds and rooms at Beaches were much nicer. However the food at Grand Lido was much better than at Beaches. Room service was a great thing to have, though it took FOREVER. Staff was incredibly friendly and efficient otherwise. Just didn't like the beach as much that part of Negril. Smaller, and they had no tiki huts or umbrellas. Some trees, but not many places to go for shade. Loved that they had tons of rafts you could take into the water. Pool was terribly small and there was no shower near it, so it was full of sand. Rooms are being renovated. When renovations are done it will be much better. Right now bathrooms are pretty run down, but spacious. And rooms get hot - they have shutter blinds with no glass behind them in the rooms, so the cold air seaps out. Doesn't make much sense!
Our biggest issue was that we had the ROH option and they put us on the clothing optional side. Literally 10 ft. from the clothing optional bar and pool! This is NOT my thing and I was very uncomfortable. With the blinds open in our room, that was all we could see, and of course they could see us too. So zero privacy. We spent the afternoon with our blinds closed in the dark (it was raining out, but the bar was hopping). Also it was very very loud being right by the bar. Luckily they moved us, but not til the next day. Loved all of the food, but thought the Piacere (fancy french restaurant) was ridiculously cheesy. There was a piano player there, nice touch, until the salsa lessons started in the main dining area right outside the french place and we might have well been out there it was so loud. But the piano player continued!! That was ridiculous - painful to my ears having both of those things going on. Honestly, liked Cafe Lido a lot better. You can get the best food from Piacere - beef tenderloin - through room service anyway.
Again, activity in the main area was annoying to me and loud. Could be heard all the way down the beach. I guess Jamaica is just not a place to go if you want peace and quiet!
Next trip to Caribbean we'll probably go back to Turks and Caicos for true R&R. We did like the all you can drink aspect of the AI though, that's for sure!
May 12th, 2003, 08:59 AM
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Hi Michelle,
I was considering Negril for the winter trip... Was there any non-AI hotels that you thought looked really cool??? And would you recommend staying on beach or cliffs if I want to be close to action?
I was considering Negril for the winter trip... Was there any non-AI hotels that you thought looked really cool??? And would you recommend staying on beach or cliffs if I want to be close to action?
May 12th, 2003, 09:08 AM
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If you want to be on the beach, then you don't want to stay up at the cliffs. There is no beach nearby...I'd just take a cab up there if you want to go to Rick's, etc. etc. And stay down on the beach.
The non AI resorts in Negril were down the beach a ways from Beaches, Swept Away, etc. Some looked nice but not fantastic - the problem is that the beach itself near those resorts is really small comparatively (in some cases almost non-existent). That would be my problem with it. Negril TreeHouse looked pretty nice. And I'd heard good things about Charela but we didn't walk that far down.
The non AI resorts in Negril were down the beach a ways from Beaches, Swept Away, etc. Some looked nice but not fantastic - the problem is that the beach itself near those resorts is really small comparatively (in some cases almost non-existent). That would be my problem with it. Negril TreeHouse looked pretty nice. And I'd heard good things about Charela but we didn't walk that far down.
May 12th, 2003, 09:18 AM
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Nope, not their wedding.
There were 10 weddings at Beaches that day! Everyone was joking about it being a wedding factory. I felt really bad for the brides who got married at lunchtime. It was blazing hot. Even at 4pm, it had to be over 100 with humidity. However, they did a very good job with the wedding. The beach gazebo where they hold the ceremonies is beautiful. Salon does a great job with hair, etc. And the reception was great. The only "problem" with the reception was that it was not on the beach, which would definitely have been have been my preference. I think the bride thought the reception would be on the beach. Still it was nice. They set everything up in a grassy area, complete with tent, lighting, etc. It was very nice, just a bit "buggy". Bring lots of repellent!
There were 10 weddings at Beaches that day! Everyone was joking about it being a wedding factory. I felt really bad for the brides who got married at lunchtime. It was blazing hot. Even at 4pm, it had to be over 100 with humidity. However, they did a very good job with the wedding. The beach gazebo where they hold the ceremonies is beautiful. Salon does a great job with hair, etc. And the reception was great. The only "problem" with the reception was that it was not on the beach, which would definitely have been have been my preference. I think the bride thought the reception would be on the beach. Still it was nice. They set everything up in a grassy area, complete with tent, lighting, etc. It was very nice, just a bit "buggy". Bring lots of repellent!
May 12th, 2003, 02:42 PM
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When we were in Negril a few weeks ago, the beach was best in front of Coco Lapalm, Idle Awhile and Charela. There was tons of seaweed closer into town and there was a bad sewage like smell in front of Margaritaville. I have stayed at Swept Away twice - the beach there is like it is at Beaches - and the beach is much nicer at that end but we still had more fun closer to town because we loved the atmosphere. I loved sampling the restaurants and strolling the beach at nights looking for music. I thought the beach was perfectly fine at Coco Lapalm and I love the shady areas right down by the water - I could stay out as long as I liked - moving in and out of the shade.
May 12th, 2003, 08:11 PM
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This is a reply about weddings. We had the priviledge of being the "witnesses" for a couple we met at check in who were getting married at Swept Away.
WOW! It was probably THE most romantic wedding I have ever attended. We were there on our honeymoon and I think that my new bride was sorta wishing that she had taken me up on the suggestion of getting married there. The happy couple were very pleased at how the resort handled the wedding. The ceremony was so beautiful and romantic at the ocean side with the sunset in the background.
The reception was on the balcony of the main dining hall with a gorgeous view to the ocean. I really wished my bride had taken my suggestion, too. Some of our best pics from the honeymoon are of this couple's wedding on the beach. Not a more romantic place on earth than Swept Away....perfect honeymoon. Would go back in a heartbeat.
WOW! It was probably THE most romantic wedding I have ever attended. We were there on our honeymoon and I think that my new bride was sorta wishing that she had taken me up on the suggestion of getting married there. The happy couple were very pleased at how the resort handled the wedding. The ceremony was so beautiful and romantic at the ocean side with the sunset in the background.
The reception was on the balcony of the main dining hall with a gorgeous view to the ocean. I really wished my bride had taken my suggestion, too. Some of our best pics from the honeymoon are of this couple's wedding on the beach. Not a more romantic place on earth than Swept Away....perfect honeymoon. Would go back in a heartbeat.
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lauriesc
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Mar 10th, 2004 09:44 AM
