Friday, March 19, 2010

Our personal trip report from Breezes Negril!

Travel dates:  October 26th to November 2nd, 2009


First off:  Grand Lido Negril is no more, as we stayed at the resort it was re-branded to Breezes Resort and Spa of Negril.    As of 11.1.09 it's Breezes.  So I'm writing my review mostly about the resort itself, the great staff there and the location.  It's unknown how the new resort name might affect future stays.   A few things are known about the changes...


1.  A discontinuation of room service.
2.  A discontinuation of free manicures/pedicures.
3.  A discontinuation of free laundry service. 


That's mostly it, all other services appear to remain.  And with these services going down, it's supposed to lower prices a bit.   Word at the resort was that the changes were being made by the SuperClub powers-to-be to lower company costs as it's cheaper to have many resorts under one name for bulk purchasing of product.


Review:   The resort itself is very very nice.  I compare it to a 10 year old big Cadillac because of it's look and personality of the guests that attend.  The rooms and resort are very nice but show some signs of age.  The resort was built in the 90's and it looks like some things have not been updated since it's birth.  


*ROOMS*

A few things in our room didn't work  (AC for one day but they fixed it, a suitcase holder in the closet had a broken leg, window in the bathroom didn't crank)  but over all the room was clean and comfortable.   The mini-bar was stocked with water, sodas and beers, there was a nice big flat screen TV with a surprisingly large amount of American TV channels and a few local channels.  (not a big fan of TV while on vacation).

The room had a nice balcony that overlooked the ocean.  It was a highlight of the room, that and the shower.   The shower had 8 different squirt heads, impossible to come out of that thing dirty!   :-D

Only word of advice with the room is this:  Don't leave food out and exposed as it can attract ants.    *THIS IS THE TROPICS PEOPLE*    Ants and bugs will always be a part of the tropics, if you don't like it, go to the Arctic.   Just don't leave things out to invite the ants to you and you'll be just fine.



*FOOD*

The food at this resort is one of the biggest draws.  Breakfast is amazing with a lot to choose from and always a omelet chef ready to make you anything you like.   Remember to say "thank you" and "please", not only with it get you better service but it's the nice thing to do.   

For lunch you can eat at a number of resort grills by the pools or go to the main dining hall where again they give you lots of choices.
 
For dinner you can choose from 4-5 of the resort restaurants which were all very very good with EXCELLENT service.   Or you can eat in the main dining hall most nights then enjoy a show or live music.   


For drinks you can order about 500 different drink types from about 10 different places.  The main bar is a great place to meet people with it's central location and 20 plus bar stools.  


*THINGS TO DO*

There is enough to keep you occupied that you don't need to leave the resort during your stay if you don't wish.   We mostly hit the beaches during the day after a nice breakfast then watched the shows after dinner then danced the night away, how you decide to handle your days are up to you.   

(an infamous "boat" guy off the beach)

Pools, hot tubs, water sports, ping pong, pool, a small casino, the piano bar, the disco, laying out in the sun, watching shows, eating like mad, shopping.   You can pretty much do it all.   *note, we saw a guy win $600 on slots one night, cool!


The disco at the resort was mostly hit or miss.  With the typical guest there it was pretty slow during our week.   We made sure the spank the planks ourselves tho and made our own party.   It seems most guests went to bed by 10am or so, this resort is NOT Hedo II or a younger crowd.   If you want to party a lot, go to one of the Hedo's or elsewhere.     Maybe Breezes will attract a more spirited crowd?


*THE BEACHES/POOLS*

Amazing!!!   They have two sides of the resort.  One "normal" and the other a true clothing optional side.   Both have a pool, hot tub and beach.  The "normal" beach is an amazing beach with calm waters and complete with a wide beach with lots of chairs.  This is also where you can find the volleyball courts and the water sport shack.

The clothing optional beach is smaller but also very nice.  It's close to the pool complete with a bar and grill.   The water there was a little more wavy but it was great laying in the water on a Grand Lido raft.


*WEDDINGS*  

We got married at the resort  (yeahhhh)  as we stayed there and we were mostly pleased with how it went down.   Can't beat the cost as Superclubs paid for it with our 7 night booking.   You can choose at least from 3 different locations and we choose the gazebo overlooking the ocean.   Can't beat that location IMHO.  


They have a spa to help get the ladies ready altho it's costly, $70 for tips.  They also did my now wife's hair and makeup and there was some confusion on the price that they'd charge.  Bottom line, make sure you have prices in writing and sign off on any services.  This being said, she was happy with the spa staff, just not the prices and how we got a "surprise bill".   This we plan on talking to Superclubs about.


Good news, the resort photographer Gary is super cool and helped make our wedding really something special.    He took some amazing shots and was very very nice during the entire process.   You want a person on your big day that's like a friend, and he was.  Good man.


We felt the wedding coordinator at the resort could have helped us a little more with the wedding details but again, we worked things out.   We're NOT high maintenance people either, but beings that that they have people assigned specifically for weddings they could have been a little more organized and helpful.


*THE STAFF*

The staff is 90% amazing.   Jamaica is a special island and these people work their tails off 10-12 hours a day just so you can have a great vacation.   In the dining room it's hard to have an empty drink, at the bar you'll get service quickly and the maid staff cleans your room nicely daily.   Please remember to say "thank you" and "please" and you'll notice even better service on top of what you already get.   They're people too.


Special shout outs to Sade a EC, Gary the photographer, Natalie at the front desk, John the main manager, Ken the sales manager, the wicked cool DJ at the disco and our funny cook at the Japaneses restaurant.  
(Gary the resort photographer and hard working man)

2 comments:

  1. Great report! It sounds like you had a really nice time. One of these days we'll get to that resort... :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bed and breakfast are found all over the world, and are often a pleasant change from the impersonal feeling of a giant hotel.

    Rio Pousadas

    ReplyDelete

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