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Negril - Jamaica |
Here are a few trip reports submitted by
some of our clients. |
| November 2011 - RLB |
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Our second year to Couples Negril. We've been to more than
a dozen or so Caribbean resorts, and this is by far our favorite. The staff is
extremely friendly and helpful, the facilities are first class, the food was
excellent, and the entertainment was better than most. The sandy beach reaches
far out into the water, unlike the North coast. Our only complaint, which we
shared with the Director, was the scarcity of older Jamaican music content
(Calpyso, Reggae, etc.)which they acknowledge; and their reply that it simply
isn't that popular with the younger crowd (including Jamaicans), and they must
seek a balance. We are planning to return for the third time in 2012. |
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| December 2010 - DB |
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I keep forgetting to e-mail you to tell you how much we
enjoyed our trip to Couples Negril in early December. This was not our first
Island experience, so we think we have a good frame of reference by which to
judge ---over the years, we've been to many Caribbean locations: Club Med
Guadaloupe and Martinique in the '70s and '80s, Club Orient somewhere in
between, and Hedonism more recently. We truly believe that our most recent time
was the best.
The room couldn't have been better, all of the service
was excellent (particularly noteworthy was when the GM Karen went around and
asked if everything was OK and if we had any suggestions or complaints), and
the food was perhaps the most pleasant surprise for an all-inclusive. I had
asked the Chef when he was going to have escoviched fish, and he came up to me
the night it was served at buffet and told me where to look for it. Otaheite
Restaurant is simply outstanding.
One personal highlight --- my wife
won the women's table tennis tournament, beating a bunch of young chicks who
weren't very happy about losing to a 74-year-old grandmother.
The only
possible complaint was the lack of more Jamaican music content, whether it be
the old-time Calypso, or the more recent Reggae and Soca --- seems like the
current vocalists all want to provide North American music [though the steel
drum night was unbelievable]. We can hear Streisand, Sinatra et al. anytime on
XM radio at home if we're so inclined. |
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| May 2007 - Robert & Crystal |
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Our trip to Couples Negril was wonderful! The hotel
facilities are well kept and the decor was an aged, tropical look. The service
was excellent because the staff was very attentive, yet equally friendly and
relaxed. The activities put on by the staff were fun, but if you just wanted to
hang out and relax on the beach you could easily do that without being
disturbed. We also really enjoyed the water sports, especially the SCUBA diving
and night snorkeling. The food was also quite good and the drinks were well
done, not watered down.
As for the nude area, it was reasonably sized
given the low usage it receives. There is a large Jacuzzi in the nude area, as
well as a clothed one on the other side of the resort. While the nude area is
not totally private (its open to a public beach), you can still obtain some
relative privacy by occupying one of the lounge chairs near the back of the
area. While the rest of the beach is clothed, they didn't seem to mind people
from the nude beach swimming nude in the ocean. It was also common to see
ladies topless on the clothed area of the beach. For most of the day, the bar
is staffed although the selection of drinks is less than at other areas of the
beach.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Couples Negril and would
highly recommend it! |
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| May 2000 - Sue
& Ed |
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What can we say the club was fantastic, the trip was not,
to our fellow couples travelers if you can arrange for round trip by air from
Montage Bay to Negril Couples do so it is well worth the extra cash, the flight
time was roughly 20 to 25 minutes by air and much more comfortable then the Bus
Ride from Hell 2 and ½ hours UGH UGH UUUUUGH.
OK. So that's
enough on the worst bus ride ever, now lets get to the fun stuff the Nude beach
has been moved to the North west end of the beach, soon to have lush greenery
around the area right now a bamboo fence seems to work well, For those of you
that love to do topless seems to be the area on the beach for that also around
the nude beach area and east, it will have its own bar and bathroom this year
if all the couples plans work out as they hope they will.
Beach is long
and has a nice look to it good for that early morning walk or that late evening
stroll with your significant other.
Water is a pleasure to be in, it is
extremely clean and clear the week that we stayed we walk out to the roped off
area and could still see bottom some fun fish nothing to large and scary, and
of course some crabs but no sea urchins or other stickiery things
Food
in all the restaurants (having there own flare) great food and very good
service at all the restaurants during the day and evening, the buffets and full
service was excellent, very large selection of good food both healthy and not
healthy (the really good stuff). Breakfast was outstanding with the selection
of foods and fruits and cereal's and BLUE MOUNTAN COFFEE, YUMMY.
Room
on average are good the 800 block of rooms is closest to the road and the air
port so they are a bit noisy during the day they stop flying around 6:00pm and
the large trucks seem to be gone at the same time, the 900 block of rooms on
the ocean side the larger suite rooms look over the nude beach nice touch, I
think. But the rooms are clean and kept up well made service is average and
they are fairly prompt getting to each block of rooms, one thing I wish they
had was an Ice machine on each floor or at each block of rooms, oh well I'm and
Ice nut Sue could care she loves room temp water.
Well I think that
about sums it up I hope all you lovers and lovers to be enjoy the club as much
as Sue and I did and oh yes we will return.
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I don't think we could have had more
perfect vacation than the one we had at both Couples resorts. It's hard to
explain it without sounding like a salesman, but it really was fabulous. Both
resorts were great and uniquely different. The double-take is very worthwhile.
Couples Ocho Rios was older but had a colonial or Jamaican feel to it. The
excursions were great. I wouldn't miss horseback riding, Dunns River, or the
Sunset Catamaran Cruise. They were all great and are extra at most of the other
all-inclusives. I would get an ocean view room in Ocho Rios because it really
is worth it.
We enjoyed looking out over the water and being able to
hear the waves roll in was very nice. The food was great. The Bayside and the
Verandah were exceptional and very romantic. They both had strolling musicians
to serenade you. Le Gourmet, the formal French restaurant, was great but I had
a hard time getting in because I didn’t bring any closed toe shoes. They
are very strict on the dress code. All the bars were great and served almost
anything you could think of.
The plane ride between the two resorts was
on a six-seater Piper. My wife is terrified of flying and after it was over she
admitted it wasn't that bad. We were the only passengers and we felt very safe
with the pilot. I would rather fly forty minutes than ride and the Jamaican
roads for four hours. Plus you get a great view of the Island. Couples Negril
is literally across the street from the air strip. Transferring between the two
resorts only took two hours out of the day and was well worth it. It seemed
like we had two vacations at once. Couples Negril is very modern and
resort-like compared to Couples Ocho Rios. It was a nice contrast.
A
garden-view room in Negril would be fine since none of the buildings directly
face the water. We were in building six which is the closest to the pool and
main eating area. This was very convenient but at night it was very loud until
the band quit at 11pm. They offered to move us after the first night but we
liked being so close to everything so we just stayed put. The water is Negril
is perfect. The bay is very quite and is not a part of the seven mile beach all
the other resorts are on. This kept down on the foot traffic. The spa/massage
services were great.
The sunset catamaran cruise was really fun, They
stopped at a place with a slide, rope swing, and cl! ! iff diving. The
snorkeling was better in Negril, there was more colorful coral and fish. The
scuba diving also seemed more popular. The food was great at the Cassava
Terrace. Otaheite, the formal restaurant, was very elegant with excellent
service. It was also the only one with air conditioning which is a nice break.
We ended up staying two extra nights in Nigril because we just couldn’t
pry ourselves away from the beach. There seemed to be a little more to do in
Ocho Rios and I would recommend staying there longer if you had to choose.
However, if you are a beach bum Negril has the edge, with the exception of the
clothing optional area. In Negril it was pretty non-existent. It was right next
to the water sports area and was never used. They have plans to move it to the
other end of the resort where there is a lot less foot traffic.
A lot
of the women in Negril did go topless on the regular beach, but it wasn't a big
deal. The nude island in Ocho Rios was less intrusive and kind of intriguing.
If your going for the clothing-optional areas Ocho Rios is the place. If it's
not your thing it's all done in very good taste and is easily avoidable. I
can’t say enough good things about our experience with Couples. It is a
first class operation that takes the time to think of all the little things
that make all the difference between a great and a fabulous vacation. The best
part for me was leaving my wallet behind and not worrying about how much things
cost because it’s truly a all-inclusive resort with no hidden charges.
We would return tomorrow if we could. If you have any other questions
feel free to contact me again. Hope you choose the Couples double take, you
won’t be disappointed! . |
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| Sept 1999 - Ron & Cheryl |
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We went to jamaica for our honeymoon. the
places we stayed at were Couples - Ocho Rios first for 4 days then Negril
Couples for 3 days. We did what is called a double take. Ocho Rios was fun, the
bus ride was not very long and tiring but when we arrived they had wine for us
.. big plus. We were able to get our bell hop (Kirk) to get us an up grade to
an ocean view from a deluxe mountain view room for $20.00 plus then anything we
wanted Kirk got us. The island is great everyone is super friendly and out
going. the bartender was m.i.a most of the time so we all got to play bartender
for awhile. The food was good, alot better than in couples Negril. The spa
services were great they treated you like royality. very romantic area. Negril
on the other hand, the nude beach was not very private... Jamaicans always
bothering you for sex, drugs, to buy things. the food was just ok. The room was
nice. The spa services were ok not as good as Ocho. |
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