Service Horrible, will not go back
We stayed at Sandals Negril October 8-12, 2008. Having been to "Couples Negril" another couples-only all-inclusive resort in Negril for our Honeymoon in April 2007, I was expecting a lot more from Sandals since it is suppose to be “Luxury Included” & “Ultra All-Inclusive”. It is far from luxury and everything is not included!!! We went for our friend’s wedding and did not pick the hotel.
Drink Service was horrible: You had to wait forever to get a drink at the bar. During the day, there were only two bars open, one at the mail pool and one at the beach grill. If you were at another pool, you would have to walk across the resort to get a drink. I’m still waiting to get one of my drinks...There were never enough bartenders working!!!
Food Service was horrible: You had to flag someone down to get anything you needed after you sat down-including more drink. One night, the waiter never even took our drink order other than filling the water glasses. At the same meal, we were not offered dessert. There were never enough servers working!!!! This is supposed to be Luxury???
“Reservations not required” is a false statement. We went to eat at Barefoot by the Sea ans Bayside and it was a 45 minute wait at both. The Sundowner, the only air-conditioned restaurant besides Kimonos, was closed the night we were going to eat there for a private reception-which the people had to pay extra for. They do not notify you of restaurant closings in advance. Kimonos was the best place to eat & the service was good-must have reservations.
Towels/floats: never enough of them. They always ran out if you weren’t able to get them first thing in the morning. Staff response to this: you have to get them early.
Nasty Ocean Water/Swimming Areas: Not very clear & not blue. Swimming areas were shallow-did not reach my knee. They had seaweed all in them which was nasty on your feet.
Activities: Do not stick to scheduled activities. We are a karaoke group & there was a “Sing-a-long” one night…it never happened. The dance party didn’t happen one night either…movie they were playing on the beach wasn’t finished yet was all they said. Beach Volleyball was only scheduled for once a day & it would be cancelled if there was a wedding.
Not everything is included: You have to pay $59 a person for the Sunset Catamaran “Booze” Cruise. This was included at Couples. They tried to sell you “better” wine at all the sit-down (not buffet) restaurants. They also try to sell you snacks and things in your rooms too, horrible!!! And “COME BACK SOON” advertisements are everywhere.
Don’t go to Negril in October: It was so humid and hot and there was not a breeze. My legs, feet and arms are covered in bug bites!!!!
Check-in: 3 ladies took four couples to our rooms at the same time. We were the last ones to our room. We had to wait outside each room for them to be taken in and show them were everything was….twenty or so minutes later, we were at our room.
Hotel mess-up: Sandals somehow gave our “anniversary upgrade” that our travel agent put as a special request to my parents. It was room service and a mini-bar in the room. Not too big of a deal, but yet another hotel error.
Room/Bathroom: Grande Luxe Beachfront: It was small, no Luxe about it. It was suppose to have a sitting area, no chair. The bathroom does not have a fan, an outlet or air-conditioning vent! It only has louver vents you can open over the shower. In order to keep your room cool, you have to keep the bathroom door closed & the bathroom gets hot!!!
Internet: You have to swipe your credit card and pay 60 cents a minute to use it. Couples Negril had three computer stations you could use for FREE!
There were actually 20 of us that went and I think that the bride and groom, who paid for a butler room, were the only ones who didn’t have anything to complain about. And the wedding did look beautiful at sunset. We are a fun group so we did have a good time, despite all the things that went wrong.
