Should we stay at Sandals Negril for peaceful R&R?
 

We have a reservation on hold for a beachfront room with Sandals Negril. It was recommended to us as a great all inclusive, and I then was horrified to see Frommer's review of it as a "extrovert, party all night kind of resort". We are 35 and 44, like nightlife, but truly don't want to be kept up all night by young partiers. Rest, relaxation, good food and good wine is what we are looking for, should we stay at Sandals Negril? Would appreciate any feedback!

Hi Anon.<BR>What time of year are you going?<BR>(Sometimes the number of people there will dictate just how crazy it gets.)<BR>Also, the Sandals crowd tends to be mid to late 20's, early 30's with some honeymooners thrown in.<BR>You might want to look at someplace else on Jamaica since there are so many nice resorts there. Another thought would be to NOT go AI as people at the AI's don't tend to get out quite so much since they are eating and drinking at the resort. IMHO, an AI is not a place where you can find good food and good wine - that comes from staying at 3 - never again.

12/29 to 1/7/03<BR>Over New Year's Eve. I appreciate your response. The AI's appealed to us because it's just so hassle free, just noise at night concerns us. We are staying one of the nicest suites they have, so my hope is that it will be quiet, I have my travel agent checking on that, but it is so nice to get feedback from someone that has traveled there themselves. Plus I like to do the research myself.

Just an opinion, but Couples Swept Away (no TV In room), Couples Negril, or Grand Lido Negril are more quiet and laid back (no megaphones announcing games). They do have good nightly entertainment

Oh good heavens, megaphones annoucing activities, this is getting more horrific every minute. Sandals was so recommended to us as a luxury resort, why is it now sounding like a Carnival cruise????????

Just type in Sandals Negril in the text search and you will get plenty of info. IMHO if you have enough to spend on a nice suite, do yourself a favor and pick one of the other AIs like the other poster said. Sandals is MASS MARKET! They say they are luxury so you will pay luxury prices.

Oh dear, megaphones. (I'm embarassed to say they had "crab races" at one of the places we stayed.) They also WOULD not leave you alone on the beach - coming along with a clip board to try to get you to join in a volleyball game, etc.) <BR>If you do a search on Sandals, you will come up with a great number of impressions people have had - both good and bad.<BR>One thing we almost all agree on, it's NOT a luxury resort.

Oh my God, crab races! Quick honey, pack your things. We’re outta here.

X,<BR>But the crab races were not the worst part. <BR>There was a toga party too! They had cut up old bed sheets and put them out for everyone to make their "togas."<BR>(We skipped that one, so missed the hilarity that no doubt ensued, but we could hear the strains of "You make me wanna shout" from our room.)<BR>My face is getting red remembering the tackiness of that place, but it was our first Caribbean trip, so we did not know any better.

well out experience at Negril was completely different. We found the evenings to be very quiet, with little noise after about 10. The most busy bar late at night is a bit away from any of the room buldings so what noise there was did not intrude. It was very laid back. THe only evening where there was lots of activities on the beach was the beach BBQ but even that was over by 930 or so. Very relaxing time, nice mixed age crowd, good food, good rooms, a really great week of sun, fun, food, drink. Great snorkeling and great sailing. We liked Sandals very much and will return as soon as we can

Thank you for your above positive feedback - I have with great certainty got alot of mixed reviews. But we are still leaning towards Sandals Negril...

anonymous,<BR><BR>no, no, no! don't do the same thing i did. don't ignore the negative feedback and only listen to the positive just because that's what you want to hear. i did the exact same thing and was very sorry in the end. we did sandals negril over thanksgiving last year and it was a total mistake. it definitely was not worth the price, and the whole feel of the place was not very upscale. examples were garbage on the beach, the smell of stale beer in certain areas (reminded me of the old frat house the next morning after keggers), average to below average food, apathetic service, holiday inn style rooms. one young couple got so drunk that the girl passed out in the water at the beach and had to be carried to her room by staff on a beach chair. this was after they had to put a life jacket on her because she refused to get out of the water and started screaming at the staff and her companion every time they tried to move her. i would say to be safe and pick another all inclusive in negril.

go to couples negril....

Jamaica lover hit it right on the nose. Sandals is for a more active crowd who doesn't want things to look too different from the resorts they know at home. Swept Away, Grand Lido and Couples (probably in that order too) are the most relaxing and mature!

Ok, well it was discussed last night and we are now leaning towards Grand Lido, we like to golf so that appeals to us, and it seems more upscale. (He's a little wigged out about the nude beach though) Is it "away" from everything else? You think we'd enjoy Grand Lido, how far are these Negril hotels away from each other? You guys have been great, thx!

Sandals is not a crazy party resort, it is a nice couples only resort with couples of all ages starting from honeymooners (there are no other really young guests -like twenty years old- apart from the honeymooners)to guests who have stayed their 10 years in a row! The food is very good and there are good wines too.It is a really nice resort with the beachfront rooms right at the beach, just walk out and you are on the beach! There are some activities if you want to participate, but you do not have to and it is certainly no "party all night" resort (Frommer's probably wanted to comment on "Hedonism"...). And AI is a wonderful concept, not having to worry about where to go, having enough money, how to get there, but you have a choice of four restaurants and several bars. Swept Away is also a very nice resort.

I want to thank the above poster (author: X) that very wisely exclaimed "No, No, No, don't do the same thing I did and ignore the negative comments." Well, I am listening! Thank you, it's between Grand Lido and Couples, thx again.

Golf is included at Grand Lido Negril, Couples Negril and Couples Swept Away.<BR>You do have to pay for cart and caddy (caddy is mandantory).

Just saw you location question.<BR>Grand Lido Negril is right next to Couples Negril. Point Village is on the other side. Hedonism is across the street. Swept away is down further towards town.

I was trying to decide that very thing you are when my husband, then fiance, and I were going to be married in Jamaica. We ended up at Grand Lido Negril and glad we did. I saw Sandals and Couples and they are nice. Younger crowd than Grand Lido. The GLN crowd was about 35-60 and it was extremely laid back. I can't remember when I was so pampered and relaxed. WE still dream of it and it was almost 3 years ago. I can't wait to return. We had a beachfront Jr. Suite and like all inclusives you need little money. They have Princess Grace's honeymoon yacht that you can cruise on one evening up the Negril coast and see everything. It was awesome.