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    Jamaican Resorts

    My wife and I went to a sandals st Lucia resort last summer. I contacted a travel agent about other places to visit this upcoming summer. We are thinking about Jamaica. Does anyone have any input in any all inclusive resorts there and your experience there? I’m trying yo figure out what to expect at each one

    #2
    We ended up at Sandals Royal Caribbean thanks to a Hurricane shutting down Sandals Royal Bahamian. We really enjoyed the resort. Stayed in a butler suite with plunge pool. However we did not enjoy Jamaica at all. Our favorite stay with Sandals thus far has been Sandals Emerald Bay. We have stayed at 4 Sandals Resorts so far.

    That being said - look into a VRBO in Grand Cayman. We enjoyed that more than Sandals . Driving is safe, grocery store is clean, direct flight from Houston, etc.
    Last edited by Maddox; 07-12-2021, 01:19 PM.

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      #3
      The wife and I have been to Couples Negril in Jamaica twice. Once for our honeymoon and again for our 15 year anniversary a couple years ago. It was great both times. Completely all inclusive and adult only. All activities on the resort are no extra cost. You can do off resort excursions for added cost but we always just stayed on resort and relaxed. Food was great! You can walk down the beach to an area where locals sell all kinds of stuff. We are planning to go back again next year!

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        #4
        On a side note we did have someone steal some perfume and cologne out of our bags on the way home. So if you go make sure any valuables are in your carry on!

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          #5
          Jamaica is a sheethole. I would stay on the resort and not leave. They will be sittin in boats on the ropeline of your beach tryna sell you drugs.

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            #6
            Don't remember if it was all inclusive but it was top notch.

            Discover a luxurious escape to Round Hill Hotel & Villas. Our world-class staff and ocean-view villas & rooms encompass the very best of understated luxury.

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              #7
              Couples Swept Away. It is awesome! Have been several times.

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                #8
                We stayed at Sandals Montego Bay a few years ago. Overall, we were very pleased. We had a swim-up room that was a butler suite. If we ever go back, we would get the same.

                Few things we liked -
                - The Resort is literally 10 minutes from the airport; other Sandals resorts in Jamaica like in Ocho Rios require a couple hour bus ride. This just cuts down on travel time.
                - Beach area is privately owned by Sandals, so no peddlers or locals trying to sell you stuff
                - Resort was gated with 24 hour security. We never felt unsafe and security guards patrolling the grounds was noticeable at all hours
                - Grounds were well maintained and staff were all polite and courteous.
                - There's another Sandals resort about 10 minutes away and Sandals offered a transport service between the resorts if you wanted to change things up for the day.
                - Resort had 2 snorkel trips per day as well as Scuba dives. No extra charges for any of it. Scuba obviously requires a certification, but it's a great deal if you are certified and like to dive.

                Few things negative -
                - Although the resort being close to the airport is good for travel time, you also get a lot of airplane noise from planes taking off. This is something very noticeable at first, but you kind of get used to it after a day or so. Also, there was no plane activity in the night time hours.
                - The 2 primary Resort pools were pretty small; although we had a swim-up room, so it didn't matter much for us, but I can see it could if you didn't
                - Nicer restaurants required reservations in advance. My understanding is this is not specific to this resort, but more to Sandals resorts in general
                - Food service was pretty slow at restaurants. I'm talking like 30 minutes after you place an order.
                - You were pretty far from Dunn's River Falls, which is a popular tour site visit

                If you do any Sandals resort, get a butler suite if you can swing it. The butlers help with dinner reservations and they will reserve you a nice spot on the beach every morning.

                With that said, Jamaica is what you make of it. There's a reason Sandals and other Companies have a lot of all inclusive resorts there. If you are looking for a very relaxing getaway, want to take in all you can from an all-inclusive resort and perhaps take a sanctioned tour or two, Jamaica is a good choice. If you are more of the wanting to venture out on your own type of deal and not be as tied to a Resort, you probably will want to look elsewhere.
                Last edited by CaptainDave; 07-12-2021, 02:25 PM.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by xdaryl View Post
                  The wife and I have been to Couples Negril in Jamaica twice. Once for our honeymoon and again for our 15 year anniversary a couple years ago. It was great both times. Completely all inclusive and adult only. All activities on the resort are no extra cost. You can do off resort excursions for added cost but we always just stayed on resort and relaxed. Food was great! You can walk down the beach to an area where locals sell all kinds of stuff. We are planning to go back again next year!
                  2nd this. This place is top notch. We went there for our honeymoon. And I highly recommend going into town. Lots of cool stuff to see and do.

                  OP, if you do it, get the private plane flight to Negril. It's awesome, and as you land, the pilot has to honk to get the goats off the runway.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by WItoTX View Post
                    2nd this. This place is top notch. We went there for our honeymoon. And I highly recommend going into town. Lots of cool stuff to see and do.

                    OP, if you do it, get the private plane flight to Negril. It's awesome, and as you land, the pilot has to honk to get the goats off the runway.
                    Our pilot on the return to the airport from Negril sat on two pillows and looked no more than 14 years old. Good times!

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                      #11
                      We did Sandals (South Coast ) for our honeymoon and it was amazing. Not crowded even at they're "busy" time New Years. Very laid back, everyone willing help in every way they can. No reservation needed for most restaurants (dinner) except 1 place. All the food was amazing. Lots of beach, and everything is with in a 5 minute walk, and overall good flow. They have the over water bungalows if you're a high roller.

                      Cons: Drive from the airport is a solid 2 hours through mountains, but again if you're a high roller you can pay like $500PP to get a helo from the airport to the resort. If we go back to that resort we might just splurge and take the helo just for the views.

                      We did Sandals (Ochi) with a group, it's only 20 minutes from the airport, but you're still basically in town and the staffing showed. A lot of kids working who said they would do something and just walk away and never show back up. Every time we made dinner reservations we would show up and they were never made, with wait times 2-3 hours. Granted the resort was at full capacity but it was very frustrating.
                      Also just a bad layout the resort is separated into 2 area that required a shuttle ride. Very little beach that was separated into sections by stairs that get annoying quick. Diving was subpar, and basically in the surf. (I got sea sick)

                      Good luck with your search. If we didn't have two littles we would go back to South Coast in a heart beat.
                      Last edited by BassMaster13; 07-12-2021, 03:54 PM.

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                        #12
                        Has anyone gone to sandals and couples? It seems like those are the two winners from what I’ve read. I’ve been to a sandals resort already so I’d like to see a first hand comparison if anyone has it

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by BassMaster13 View Post
                          We did Sandals (South Coast ) for our honeymoon and it was amazing. Not crowded even at they're "busy" time New Years. Very laid back, everyone willing help in every way they can. No reservation needed for most restaurants (dinner) except 1 place. All the food was amazing. Lots of beach, and everything is with in a 5 minute walk, and overall good flow. They have the over water bungalows if you're a high roller.

                          Cons: Drive from the airport is a solid 2 hours through mountains, but again if you're a high roller you can pay like $500PP to get a helo from the airport to the resort. If we go back to that resort we might just splurge and take the helo just for the views.

                          We did Sandals (Ochi) with a group, it's only 20 minutes from the airport, but you're still basically in town and the staffing showed. A lot of kids working who said they would do something and just walk away and never show back up. Every time we made dinner reservations we would show up and they were never made, with wait times 2-3 hours. Granted the resort was at full capacity but it was very frustrating.
                          Also just a bad layout the resort is separated into 2 area that required a shuttle ride. Very little beach that was separated into sections by stairs that get annoying quick. Diving was subpar, and basically in the surf. (I got sea sick)

                          Good luck with your search. If we didn't have two littles we would go back to South Coast in a heart beat.



                          We did south coast for our honey moon as well. We did the private car service and that was the longest, and bumpiest 3 hour car ride with room temp red stripe I wasn’t prepared for all that. The driver said it’s typically 2 hours, but with all the construction it made it 3. A downside is since the resort is far away from everything so we didn’t do any excursions. I wouldn’t go fishing either, Atleast not with the sandals boat; talked to a guy that said he’s gone on 6 trips with that boat and the only thing he’s caught is a buzz

                          As for the restaurant, sushi on the sand wasn’t near what I was expecting; but everything else was pretty good. Bring pants and a collard shirt for the fancy restaurant

                          But our favorite part was it was a quiet and laid back and wasn’t packed

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                            #14
                            Go somewhere else.

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                              #15
                              Best trip I ever took to Jamaica was for 3 weeks and hopped all over the island staying in small B&B's. Met locals and got to see some non tourist sites that were really cool. We took a large suitcase full of school supplies and donated to a local school once we got there. Great way to get in with the locals. They showed us all kinds of great places that most tourists will never see. Although it has been 15 years since I have been I wouldn't hesitate to go that route again. I go to other places to see the culture and you sure don't get it at the all inclusive resorts. Reach Falls was my favorite place to go.

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