I will break down this review into headings for ease of reading.
Resort
The hotel is beautiful, it is maintained daily by an army of workers. The pool was beautiful, it’s not the cleanest of pools and I did find myself running scared when numerous hair extensions embezzled themselves around my toes. It’s also worth noting that there are toilets near the pool but these were definitely not used as much as you would expect with people opting to remain in the pool for hours upon end. Pouring drinks down their necks. This pool was a contributing factor to an unfortunate infection I got in my foot, which required medical intervention. Swim up bar, towels and entertainment.
The beach was at the end of the hotel services regularly to remove the seas deposits. There is a sector that a little rockier than the other but on the whole it was a beautiful natural beach. Throughout the resort the water doesn’t not pass you ribs, 3ft in the pool and a buoyed sea makes for the same. The beach is lined with parasols which have handy hooks to keep bags off the sand. Also a watersports stall where you can go out on the windsurf catamaran and kayaks free of charge, me and hubby booked a scuba dive through these and that experience was amazing.
Room
The room was not bad. But this it is the source of the majority of my complaints. On face value the room is exactly as the brochure presented. However on further inspection it wasn’t ideal. Some things are quite finicky but it’s rated as a 5star resort so that’s how I am basing my judgement. The bed is comfy, the room was serviced daily and had a huge amount of storage. The shower was heavenly, products were okay but I would recommend bringing your own as they are quite watery. The toilet is separate which is nice. The jacuzzi bath was nice unfortunately let down by some slap and dash silicone which when the bath was full dropped pulling the silicone away the tile.
The fridge is neatly tucked away in a cupboard, however it is hinged opposite to the cupboard so it’s very tight to open the fridge, I actually grazed the back of my hand causing a scar opening the fridge.
Our main issue which I will elaborate on in the customer service sector was a missing egg chair on our balcony.
Furthermore the main door to our room made an awful metal on metal grinding noise when opening and closing, which was most disruptive to our neighbours.
Food
Wow, there is not much I can complain about here. There was always somewhere to eat. I believe 14 restaurants on site. Just beautiful. One of our favourites was the blue moon which we went twice. The only niggle I had was the speeding which the a la carte food is served, in route 66 I was literally taking the last bite of my starter and the waitress was stood over me with my main, however when asked they did slow down the service to enable me to digest food a little.
Customer service
The customer service on the whole was okay. I had an unfortunate experience with Nickie/Vickie on guest services. I went to the desk to follow up the fact I had reported the loud door and missing egg chair, she was very ignorant, granted she wrote down the remarks and offered to move our room but she did all this without looking at us and whilst doodling next to the notes she had just made, I made comments about the room and how it shouldn’t be in service if it isn’t as advertised. She went on to spout that you only get the room that you pay for, I stated that ours was the only room without the egg chair and every room wasn’t taken she didn’t take note (maybe a doodle) and repeated her previous comment, I was rattled and instead of rising and arguing I walked away. Following this experience that nights whilst enjoying a drink in the lobby the manager Andre was introduced to us, he had been notified of our issues, we highlighted them and remarked about the egg chair and the bolt int he floor which we had fallen over numerous times. We went to the room he saw the issues and having been told there were no egg chairs available miraculously at 9am sharp we had a gentleman knock on our door to install one. Andre was a silver lining in this situation, he went above and beyond, he set up the sports bar with F1 for us and he showed willing to listen to my remarks. Probably just humouring me but it’s made a sour situation lighter.
Most staff at the resort are super friendly and relaxed the ground men the catering the cleaners all let on and smile.
Experience
The overall experience is okay, as a Brit I paid a hefty chunk of cash to visit Jamaica and stay in a 5star rated resort. Unfortunately, due to its close proximity to USA, the weekends are not the peaceful holiday you expect you have paid for, it turns into a rowdy loud festival, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I not tarring everyone with the same brush, but the Americans have no decorum or respect at times, they claim seats that they don’t sit on, they are loud and obnoxious, they disturbed the peace, it became a daycare with them dropping drinks in the pool, playing music on speakers at full volume, talking at a level that was unnecessary. The nights they were loudly proclaiming where they were sleeping. This isn’t the hotels fault but it is worth noting that from thurs-sun it is a club rather than a hotel.
I do feel this hotel is overrated at 5star, elements of the resort are but its finish is not. I would return to Jamaica but I would stay elsewhere with the noise levels of the Americans. They really ruined the holiday for me and for other brits I spoke to. Hope this is useful for someone albeit lengthy.
Catherine G2025-06-04
