Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: The Ultimate Experience
The entire resort was the ABSOLUTE PARADISE. I will be a return vacationer!! My family and my 4 year old enjoyed every aspect of the resort including the friendly staff and the Amazing food. Entertainment was well done
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Pirie84 -
Verified Purchaser
Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Beautiful resort, great food, but bad setup!
We travelled with my 6 month old baby girl, my parents and my husbands parents. A few things to take note of:
- it's a beautifully kept resort, very clean, view in the room was amazing but you have to upgrade to the diamond club to get the best views of the ocean. On the downside to the upgrade, you are further away from the beach and it's quite a walk to get there, especially with a stroller!
- food was amazing! Best food I've had and we been to Jamaica 9 times. Went to one a la carte which wa[... read more]s the Japanese and it was wonderful
- if you don't tip house keeping you won't get towels. We had no problem as we consider ourselves good tippers and tip the house keeping daily but my in-laws like to tip at the end of the week and they didn't get the same level of service as we did.
- the absolute worst part of the trip was the harassment you got from the employees trying to sell you timeshare. It's beyond annoying! My in-laws went to their "45 minute tour", they were gone for over 2hrs and said it was very intrusive. Once you get a bracelet from the rep, keep it on all week and then will leave you alone.
- another tip, upgrade to Mobay club at the airport. Well worth the money as you by-pass customs and some times you could be waiting in a very hot airport, in line for over 2hrs
Would I return to the Bahia, probably not, as we preferred the Rui over this chain.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Sylvia 21 -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Negril: Beautiful hotel,wonderful helping staff
I loved Negril,the hotel is just beautiful,clean ,and the staff are always asking if we need anything, so helpful.The Food is the best I've tasted,so much and so many choices. The entertainment was great,
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Roxie -
Verified Purchaser
Royalton Negril Resort And Spa: Great location!
The hotel is set in a perfect and serene location close to the 7 mile beach and local nightclub. It offers a beautiful view, calm waters, and a beautiful beach with accessibility to other resort beaches. The staff are absolutely amazing and offer a variety of activities for everyone as well as great evening entertainment. The food wasn't great but the drinks were good. As for the resort building itself, they are closing it down and rebuilding it as it does indeed need a major make-over both in e[... read more]sthetics and functionality but I did like the style of the building as our rooms resembled quaint villas. I look forward to visiting the new resort in the future once it is complete. Thank you Grand Lido for a wonderful holiday!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Surfer Sandra -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Palace Tropical Bay: Awesome resort!
This resort is definitely the best one on Bloody Bay. The staff were friendly and very helpful and it wasn't too large or too small. The beach is a beautiful soft sand and is the same out in the water. I would definitely stay here again!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Vbell -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Negril: Wonderful trip
The resort was beautiful, the beach was amazing, the food was great. However above all the staff were fantastic. We had a great time and would go back to Jamaica and the Riu Negril without any hesitation.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Sherryndavey -
Verified Purchaser
Sandals Jamaica Dunn's River: HMMM....Lacking for a Five Star!
The Jewel Dunns River was a bit of a disappointment. There was 10 of us, 4 of us booked for 10 days, the other 6 booked for 1 week end of March. First of all, arrival at the Montego Bay Airport was full turmoil and the people were rude! Once we got thru customs and were trying to find our bus to the resort...everybody literally had their hand out for money!
Check In was pretty smooth (no wristbands yaay) although we didn't get the room that we requested but switched us the next day. Rooms are pr[... read more]etty nice but some bathrooms are very very small....like you can't even turn around small! Housekeeping was good and provided turn down service at night....that was very nice as they also gave you fresh towels. But, for the money we paid there wasn't even a beer in the fridge!! C'mon Jewel!
Beach was pretty nice, not too long but was substantial. We had 4 straight days of downpours! Boooo! There was a real lack of entertainment and music on the resort!!! Nothing was consistent. The Bling night club was like going to the opera seating!! No tables just cramped little seats! The Tree House Bar was beautiful but only had a piano player occasionally....they needed to put some music in that bar and the place would be hopping! Many times we were at the pool bar mid afternoon and there was no music! What's with that especially in Jamaica!! They had waiter staff at the pool and beach quite often which was nice. The hotel staff seem to be divided....half were grumpy and wouldn't smile, and the other half was great!
Buffet was, well, I have seen much better buffets....the only time we got any beef was when we went to the gourmet restaurant where you had to dress up with closed toe shoes.....there was some pretty funky stuff on the buffet. They had some nice fruit and buns and breakfast was always good....but dinner, not so good! We usually did the a la carte's. One nice thing was that you didn't have to make reservations except for the Japanese....mmm, it was good! They also had a nice dinner under the stars once per week on the pier which we thought was very nice and very organized!
I want to give a big thank you to RUSTY who took us to the falls and shopping and a lobster dinner with the locals at Daves Lobster Shack......that was pretty cultural and fantastic but make sure he stays with you!! haha Lobster...MMMM!
I don't want to bash the resort because it was very nice and the grounds were also kept very manicured, however, I would recommend it with caution but we would not return....we may not return to Jamaica itself. The people need a lesson in dealing with their tourists to keep them coming back!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Skaterdad -
Verified Purchaser
Sandals Inn: Perfect Getaway Oasis
Sandals Carlyle is a unique gem in the Sandals chain of resorts in Montego Bay Jamaica.
Having stayed Sandals Montego Bay resort in our "youth" some 25 years ago, we wanted to return to the area to at least partially relive the memories of that time and to create some new ones in a slightly different but equally luxurious environment.
Sandals Carlyle did not disappoint . Sandals neighboring Montego Bay and Royal Caribbean resorts, however, have suffered from some over-development that has taken [... read more]away their attractiveness for us as places to base ourselves on vacation in Jamaica.
The Carlyle "Inn" unlike the others, provides a wonderfully intimate (50 or so rooms) and relaxing place from which to base exploration and enjoyment of this and the two much larger and more fully "equipped" luxury-inclusive couples only resorts at Mo-bay and the Royal Caribbean. Both of these resorts are less than 20 minutes away on the free hourly shuttle to and from the Carlyle. At both you enjoy all of the luxury included features, and facilities, beaches, restaurants, bars, water sports and excellent services that all resident Sandals guests enjoy . We spent 10 days taking advantage of all three resorts including more excellent evening gourmet dining opportunities at all the resorts than we could possibly do in that time.
After 25 years away we found the Mo-Bay resort to be as equally luxurious , and providing excellent dining, activities and services , but much more "lively" than we remember or would really want to experience all day and all evening now. There are many more rooms, more restaurants and expanded facilities to accommodate more guests today, but less "room" on the beach, at the pools, in the more casual eating areas and around the bars and other facilities. Sandals Royal Caribbean is somewhat smaller, equally luxurious and well-serving, but similarly more busy than it was in the past. Unlike 25 years ago we experienced waiting for seats at beach-side dining facilities and bars , some scrambling for available beach and pool lounges and general overcrowding around the larger resorts in comparison to our earlier experiences. That is not to say that excellent service, quiet dinners in the excellent restaurants cannot be readily enjoyed at these. It's just that you have to make reservations ahead of time and search out the very few quieter areas that are available at these larger resorts .
The Carlyle is for us a much more attractive Sandals option providing the highest quality in all-inclusive services.
When not venturing out to the bigger resorts during the day or to their restaurants in the evening, we really enjoyed the quiet relaxation of a day by the pool and around the grounds of the Carlyle. While the beach is a tiny public one across the street, which can be busy with local residents particularly on weekends and holidays, the Carlyle's pool area was never crowded and we found to be very quiet, well serviced and much more enjoyable than the busier pool areas at the other resorts. The two Carlyle on-site gourmet restaurants, the Nibbles lunch and late night snack restaurant.and the wonderful "Sunset Bar" were always welcoming and excellently served by the friendly staff. The meals and bar services were always exceptional and served with a personal touch that the other resorts didn't always provide because of their size. No problems finding a seat here, even though the hotel was fully occupied .
Carlyle staff at every level are simply magnificent . Whether it was a friendly chat with the gardener about his amazing floral displays or with the chefs about their delicious international and Jamaican creations, bartenders about special cocktails , service staff, resident photographer ,or security guards... all made sure that everything was just right all the time. It was a wonderful vacation. 5 minutes from the airport,10 minutes by free shuttle to all-inclusive facilities at 2 other Sandals resorts in Montego Bay. Great value great fun and true relaxation.
We will be returning to the Carlyle as soon as we can.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Maritime travellers -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Palace Tropical Bay: Great beach, and fantastic staff
I was lead to believe this resort was adults only. It's not, and we were wanting an adults only resort. That being said, the beach was fantastic. They have a waiter on the beach serving drinks. We spent no time at the pool. The resort was very well kept, including the grounds. And our room lovation was great, beachfront. (Most rooms at this resort have oceanviews.
We had a bit of difficulty getting a reservation for the steak house (only one night).
Staff at the buffet were great, especially the[... read more] omlet guy:-)
I would not recommend the spa. Massage and pedi not up to par.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Yanos -
Verified Purchaser
Royalton Hideaway Blue Waters: Nice family place
We just got back and it was perfect
The food was good, staff always there to help and Jamaican people are so cool. The resort is perfect for a family. Every thing is close and they have a great pool for young kids.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Winnipeg family of 6 -
Verified Purchaser
The Oasis at Sunset: Excellent - 2nd time back in 2 years
Grounds very well maintained, plenty of beach chairs, very clean, the food selections were excellent and of great quality. Very friendly staff - great to see them all the second trip in - especially Daneisha and Nicoise and Mr. Brown on the Oasis side, and Ernest at the lobby bar. We forgot some jewelry in our room when we checked out, and the resort emailed to tell us - full marks for honesty and great service. We're looking forward to going again next year!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Shieffer -
Verified Purchaser
Sandals Jamaica Dunn's River: Fantastic
This was one of the nicest places I have stayed. The staff were extremely nice from the managers down to the gardener? The place was every clean...of special note were the washrooms at the beach. No line ups at the restaurants and reservations were only required at the Japanese restaurant due to the limited seating.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Sheriff pro -
Verified Purchaser
The Oasis at Sunset: Fantastic fun fabulous
This is our 2nd trip to the oasis at sunset. This time we brought the whe family. The staff r great the rooms r clean. Food big problem so much u can't possibly eat it all.
Retuning guests were treated like royalty with a very special retuning guest dinner with a beatiful floral spead our hostess Denisha was an awesome delight..
She went above and beyond our expectations,
We can't wait to return again
Thanks to all the great staff and service
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Maggie86 -
Verified Purchaser
Grand Decameron Montego Beach: awesome more than a 3 star
nice small resort, clean, great food, so fun! perfect location. close to the airport. lots to do, great staff, every room is ocean front. I always felt safe, the grounds were well maintained and always enough loungers! great resort! we will be back!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Arnie62 -
Verified Purchaser
Couples Tower Isle: Very nice place well worth it
This was our 2nd visit to Couples Tower Isle. This resort is so lovely, the service is unbelievable and the food was great !!!! The staff work extremely hard to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. Check in was a breeze, staff at the front desk were very helpful & extremely friendly. The servers worked nonstop to shuttle drinks back & forth from bar to beach and always with a smile. Contrary to most resorts in the Caribbean, the service (all areas) is fast and very efficient.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Gabrielle -
Verified Purchaser
Bahia Principe Escape Runaway Bay: Good resort
All in all this is a very good resort. We were on the Don Pablo side (Luxury). I enjoyed this as we had our own pool area, restaurants, lobby, etc as well as being able to use the rest of the facilities. The A La Carte restaurants were great !! The buffets were really good as well. The pools are very nice !! The rooms are also very nice .... all suites :)
My only negative comments about the resort are: The resort layout is the not the best. The beach is far especially from Don Pablo and not a v[... read more]ery big beach area either. It took most of us about 4 days to figure out where things were and how to get to the restaurants, lobbies, etc. Not a huge problem when you are on vacation though !!!
We didn't see too much of the entertainment but what we did see was ok. Nothing fabulous but ok.
All in all, it was a good resort for the money spent !!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Jen72 -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Negril: Good and Bad
PROS: The rooms are very modern and clean. The view is amazing. The food is fresh and cooked to perfection.
CONS: The resort is very small. We seen 2 small stingrays in the swimming area so we tried to stay near the pool. There was only one small pool for the whole resort. This left the adults drinking alcohol with the young children running around. There were way too many rules at this resort. They had a pool bar at the pool but you couldn't stand in the water at the edge of the pool to drink i[... read more]t. Not a big deal, but there was no smoking around the pool area. You couldn't smoke by the upper bar during the day but at night they would put out ashtrays. And about 50% of the staff that work there are super obnoxious. Don't bother asking questions cause they will snap your head off. All in all, in my opinion, way to expensive for what you get!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Wilson -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Palace Jamaica: best resort we ever stayed at
Hotel room was beautiful, clean the grounds were well kept. The staff was AMAZING and very friendly and accomadating. Our private tour guide was very friendly, and informative on the sights and history of the island . Our room was always ready, clean and done upon our arrival back to our room at the end of the day. The fridge was always stocked. The staff is VERY trustworthy. I left my jewelry and money out on the dresser wirhout any issues.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
D OL -
Verified Purchaser
Jewel Runaway Bay Resort: Great resort for families and groups
Stayed here March 30 to April 6, 2015. Older resort but very well kept. Rooms in Building 2 were good. Beach is great, grounds were nice and the staff were very friendly and helpful. No problem getting a chair on the beach. Good variety of food and lots of it. Pizza place was quite popular. The addition of the water park is great for kids and adults. Entertainment was average.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Olgak -
Verified Purchaser
Grand Palladium Jamaica: big and beautiful
we enjoyed it. resort is beautiful, food is great. lots to do for kids. beaches-some are very good, others are hard to swim, because of the rocks. stuff is friendly for the most part. trying to sell massages all the time though, but not too annoying.