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Caribbean Resort Reviews |
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Resort Reviews Anguilla
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Beaches Negril Reviews If you have stayed in Jamaica, send us your reviews. Resorts will be added as new reviews are posted.
REVIEWS 12/08 We decided to go on vacation over Christmas for the first time and it could'nt have been better! Beaches Negril is a wonderful place for everyone. We had an oceanveiw suite which was very spacious with a balcony. The maid was fantastic and kept our room spotless, she even made animals out of towels and left them on the childrens bed each night. On christmas morning father christmas arrived by speed boat while we were on the beach! Christmas evening was a huge beach party with entertainers and food to die for. The restaurants were varied so we didn't get bored with having to go just to the buffet every night. The Japanese and Tex mex is a must. We have travelled to most places in the caribbean but have never seen such a beautiful beach as negril. It was also very safe for children as the children could wade out for a long way and still be only waist deep in water. We could'nt find fault with the hotel, beach or restaurants and all the staff couldn't do enough for us. We definitely would go back! Tim, OH ******** 11/08 This was our 5th time to a Sandals/Beaches property. We absolutley loved the experience just like the last four times. Service/staff was typical Caribbean friendly and laid back. Restaurants had a great variety and excellent food to offer. We used the Red Line Spa every day for massages and facials. Tried several places back in the United States that are upscale for massages but nothing beats the Spa at Sandals or Beaches. Our daughter is 4 and she just loved the Sesame Street characters and all the programs they had to offer with them. We did the breakfast with the characters and watched all the shows at night. Only suggestion for this property would be to try to update the rooms a little bit. Bathrooms are a little outdated but nothing that I had to complain about. I would definitely recomend this property for large families. The hotel does a great job accomodating them at meal times so they can sit together. The beach was beautiful. Great for people that like to take long walks and also for families with little kids.The water was warm and shallow. Watersports came in a nice variety. Overall we loved it and are returning in April. Sue, MI ******** 9/08 This was our second visit to a Beaches property, first in Jamaica. Overall, we (2 adults & 2 kids) had a great time. In fact, we booked another Beaches vacation next year at another Beaches resort. Very family oriented. The food selection was good quality with a wide variety. Each restuarant had its own food theme. The staff & service was very friendly and very helpful. The lazy river and water slides were alot of fun. The beach was excellent. The beach and pool were very clean & safe. Numerous life guards on duty. The property also had numerous onsite security very visible on the beach. Plenty of fresh towels, lounge chairs and water sports. Get there early if you want the shady spots. The rooms were just ok. On the US hotel scale it was probably a 2 star room. The bathroom needed renovation. Do not buy the room upgrade. It's not worth it. The only major downside is the nearly 1hr 45 min trip from the airport to the hotel. Overall, I recommend this resort. John, MI ********* 9/08 We had our wedding here and it could not have been more perfect! They set up EVERY detail of our wedding and took all the stress off of me and my husband. We spent 8 days there and all I can think about is when I can go back! It was a beautiful resort on a beautiful part of the islandso many things to do. The beach and ocean were pefect, the pools were gorgeous, the rooms were clean and the staff was amazing!! I have never been around kinder or friendlier people, each staff member was just waiting to see what they could do for us next. There were lots of activities on the beach, entertainment every night, excellent food and service! I would ABSOLUTELY stay here again! Beth, NH ********* 8/08 Just got back on the 4th of August from a nice trip to Beaches Negril. Checkin went very well, the staff was friendly and informative. We had a group of 22 for my brother's wedding. The grounds are very nice with some bridges and pretty landscapes. The main pool was a nice size but the water was cloudy and there were a lot of dead bugs floating around. The pool bar was ok but it had a funny smell that really turned my stomach. The Mill resturant was great for breakfast but lunch and dinner wasn't very good mainly in part to the birds that kept flying into the resturant and eating off of leftovers on the plates. The food in the buffet was pretty nasty. There were also a lot of cats around the property and they came up to us while we were eating looking for food. The beach is beautiful and the drinks were good. They also clean your room whenever they want. A few times my room wasn't done until way past 3pm. The wedding was very nice with a beautiful backdrop. The Seville was really good food and you can't go wrong with burgers and pizza at the grill. The entertainment is geared towards kids and wasn't very interesting to me. All in all we had a great time but there are a few things that need attention. Ted, Texas ********** 7/08 We went to Beaches Negril in July for a week with three children 9, 13 and 16. We had a wonderful time. We loved the Jamaican people. Their kindness, attitude, helpfulness and hospitality made the trip so enjoyable. The grounds are very nice and clean and well kept. Our room was a honeymoon suite and was beautiful and loved the decor. We had to use one rollaway bed, the kids seemed to think it was fine. The beach is beautiful and just like the pictures. Snorkeling is awesome and other water sports were fun and not too busy. It is true about people walking the beach selling things but they did not bother us. The pools were smaller than they looked on the web site but plenty big enough for the amount of people that were there. (It was booked to capacity.) It never felt crowded. The food was fair to good like a typical all inclusive with a lot of choices for everyone, but definitely not like five star in the states. Entertainment is more like being at camp and for the kids, I think they are too old for Sesame Street. We went to Ricks Cafe and thought it was well worth the trip. The cliff diving is interesting to watch. We paid a pretty high price because we booked last minute, but I have to say it was worth it. We had an awesome time, my kids loved it and we all miss Jamaica!! I would highly recommend it and rate it excellent for a great family vacation. Jason, IN ********** 7/08 I took my family to Beaches Negril in July, 2008. We all loved it. The beach and grounds are beautiful, the service was excellent. Loved the Hummingbird drink! We did the scuba diving and snorkeling and that was good. We took a taxi to Rick's Cafe and that was a blast. There was plenty for the kids to keep busy (ages 12 and 15). The room we had was plenty big for the 4 of us. We all had a great time and can't wait to go back to Jamaica. We might try another resort, but still really liked Beaches. My husband made quite a few Jamaican friends there that he plans to stay in contact with. Becky, MN ********** 6/08 Beaches Negril is a very good family resort. This was our first time to Beaches, but third time to Jamaica in the last four years. We stayed at Couples Negril and Ocho Rios the previous times. Now that we have a two-year old, we thought we would give the family resort a chance. We were greeted warmly upon our arrival at Beaches. We were the only family registering at the time so things moved quickly. I can see it taking some time if there are multiple families at one time. We were taken to our room and our bags followed shortly after. I made a request for a crib prior to arrival, but it was not in the room. However, we had a crib in less than a few hours. The room was nice. Not great, but more than met our needs. We lost water pressure a few times, but for only a few seconds. Hot water was never an issue. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. We found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. Remember one thing, they operate on Jamaican time. This means they don't run around frantically to get things done. If you are a person always in a hurry, you may be disappointed in the service. The food selection was plentiful. We enjoyed most of the food, while finding a few things not to our liking. The great thing is that if you don't like something, you can always get something else. We found the Seville Restaurant to be a great experience. The drinks were just fine as well. However, it does take some time to get a drink every now and then. If you are eating at the Mill, you may want to get your drinks before sitting down. The big selling point of Beaches is the Kids Camp and it did not disappoint. Our son received great care and attention. They understand when a toddler is dropped off that they may need some extra attention until they adjust. They provided that extra attention. We also used the after hour nanny. It was easy to set up and relatively inexpensive. Many parents with older kids said they could not get their kids out of camp. One thing we noticed at Beaches is the number of larger weddings. Our room was located close to where the wedding celebrations took place. There was a lot of loud music going on until 11 PM. This is tough when you want your kid to go to sleep at 9 PM. The room #s from 700 - 900 were the ones that were mainly affected. We would recommend Beaches Negril for a family vacation. If you are a couple going on vacation, we would recommend staying at one of the couple resorts. Todd, MI ********** 6/08 Beaches lounge at airport upon arrival was great. Cold Beer and coke! Clean bathrooms to freshen up in! We arrived at the hotel at night, we had a Honeymoon grande luxe beachfont room with concierge. The view of the ocean was great and the room clean and functional. The concerige service isn't really worth it but at least you get a fridge stocked with whatever you like to drink! We were in the Savannah block and you could hear the nightly entertainment and noisy inconsiderate neighbors. We had our wedding here and all was organized well. The wedding did take place on the day expected and we agreed a time. It was beautiful. Everything is organized for you but it all costs!!! We arranged a candlelight dinner on the beach for our wedding night which was lovely although they did charge $25 for our daughter to have a plate of pasta! Expensive pasta! And not a candle in sight! but still lovely. Photos were great and so was DVD! Again pricey but it is your wedding! We ate in all the restaurants. The Mill buffet style for vast selections of everything that you could ever want and more. Great quality and fresh. The teppanyaki you must book a few days ahead so plan this meal. Again great food and entertaining. Our 5 year old thought is was fab! The Last chance saloon was good although it was closed 2 nights of every week. Pizza at lunch time was great and also club wraps, burgers, hot dogs, jerk chicken etc. The lazy river was fantastic and very clean. Great fun as are the water slides. The beach is outstanding. Clean beach, white sand, blue sea! Who'd want to be round a pool anyway! All watersports are great though the watersports guys are not that friendly! Snorkelling is great fun. Kids Kamp was excellent for our daughter. She loved the helpers and the activities. Take very high SPF suntan lotion. My daughter had 50 SPF and still got a sun burn. VERY HOT. I did take insect repellant as we all got a few bites so I think it is worth taking it. Great cocktails at the bars. Hummingbird, mudslide and fantastic pina coladas! All in all a great vacation. We didn't think 5-star more like just a 4-star. Gwen, Ohio ********** 5/08 My family spent six days in May at the Beaches Negril resort. We originally had reservations at the Beaches Sandy Bay, but upon arrival in Montego Bay the Beaches representative informed us that we had been upgraded to Beaches Negril. What a great way to start our vacation!! At Beaches there was so much to do we were busy from morning to night. We got up early everyday to walk the beach then have breakfast at The Mill (the buffet restaurant). Breakfast here was my favorite - they had such a huge selection. The fresh fruit was fantastic (especially the pineapple). After breakfast we would usually go for a morning swim in one of the two huge pools (the main pool was the biggest pool I ever saw). Both pools have swimup bars. Most of the water sport activities start at 9 or 9:30. The watersorts were fantastic! We snorkelled, waterskied, kneeboarded, kayaked, sailed on Hobie Cat, rode the banana boat - every day! First time snorkelling and it was great! The water sport staff was great - my son really liked them. There are hundreds of beach chairs set under trees/huts. We usually ate at the beach grill for lunch - they have a nice choice but we usually had burgers or jerk chicken - yummy! My son liked the pizza bar. Mid afternoon can get hot on the beach - be sure to bring lots of heavy duty sunscreen! We usually relaxed under the sea grape trees and huts for a couple hours sipping frozen pina coladas or strawberry daquiris - paradise! For dinner, we tried all the restaurants except the Seville. I've heard good things about the Seville, but felt bad leaving my son out. So, we ate at the Last Saloon (surprisingly good) and the Teppanaki (good food and great entertaining). Other nights were supposed to have beach party buffets but chance of rain caused them to be cancelled. Instead, we had to eat at the Mill. Dinner buffets were also good here (not as good as the Last Saloon). At night they had entertainment (reggae festival, staff fashion show, guest competitions). They were pretty good. We were tired from long days so we usually went to our room around 10. TIP - make sure you bring insect repellant. I didn't see many mosquitos, but I got bitten by "no-see-ums". Didn't hurt but boy did they itch for a week! This is the first time we ever stayed at an all inclusive and I would never do it any other way. It was so nice to be able to eat whatever, whenever, however much you wanted to. Same goes for the drinks. I think I drank gallons of frozen pina coladas and strawberry daquiris. I'm not much of a drinker, but they had quite an assortment of alcoholic concoctions to choose from. The very best thing about this resort is the staff. They were all so friendly and helpful. They were happy to talk to you if you initiated a conversation. The resort prohibits tipping, but we tipped anyway (be careful and sly how you tip - the staff can get in trouble if management sees them accepting tips). A few US bucks goes a long way and the staff treated us like royalty. I am sorry this is so long but it was definitely the best vacation ever. I don't care to go to any other Caribbean island - I will go right back to Beaches Negril! Jenny & Mark, Chicago ******** 4/08 Recently returned from a week at Beaches Negril with my husband and 3 kids ages 14, 12 & 9. We stayed in a one bedroom suite and just loved everything about it. We used the water sports everyday of our stay and my youngest could not get enough of the kids camp. We had no problems with the food or the service. My kids could not get enough of the self serve ice cream and by the time we left even had their favorite frozen drink (which the bartenders seemed to always remember when then came to order before they even asked). I cannot understand how someone could not have a great time at this resort. Our room was perfect size for our family and always cleaned spotless. I did have a hard time getting the shower water to a good temperature but after my 3rd shower I figured that out. Overall I would absolutely stay here again and can't wait to get back. Teresa, Michigan ********** 12/08 What an incredible vacation! We spent 10 nights in December with 2 adults, 2 teenagers and a 10-year old. The staff goes out of their way to make your stay enjoyable. We had adjoining oceanfront rooms that were exceptionally clean, spacious, and had beautiful views. The beach is the nicest we've ever seen, including Hawaii. Many activities to keep everyone as busy as they want to be. Our 10-year old had a ball in the Kid's camp. Golfers try Negril Hills which is close by, very scenic course with challenging greens. This was our first visit to a Beaches resort and we'll be back. BL, Indiana **********
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