| Sandals Negril Resort Review from Billie - Posted on the Sandals Bulletin Board 8/5/2004 | |
We just got back from Sandals Negril (Aug 2). Some things that Andrew
posted I'll second, some I feel differently. Since I don't smoke, I can't
comment there. The Beach is great 5/5. The watersports folks have the beach
clean and raked every morning by 8 so the sand feels like soft powder from
the time you first step out on it. The grounds are immaculate (5/5) and the
gardeners were always polite and respectful. The food is okay.. (3+/5) You
go to the Beach grill if you miss the other restaurants that are open 2+ hrs
at a time. The beach grill also has a bunch of nutty people working there
which makes the food all the better! I agree that the Sundowner was the
best, followed closely by the Four C's. The watersports guys I'd have to
give a 10 out of 5!! We spent almost ALL our time on the beach. Between
these guys, the Beach grill, and the bartenders at the piano bar, we seldom
strayed. The watersports equipment was fair, but always in good repair. The
staff was quite knowledgeable about their particular 'expertise': sailing,
windsurfing, etc. I will have to disagree STRONGLY with Andrew's rating of
the staff. As I stated before the watersports guys had to get at LEAST a
10/5. The other staff (restaurants, admin, cust. service, grounds, etc.)
were all very polite and helpful. They were always VERY professional and
prompt w/ their service. Many are cool at first (and probably because of bad
experiences w/ bad tourists), but they will *quickly* warm up to you if you
are friendly and polite. Again, they'll do ANYTHING to make your stay
better!! But, back to the folks we fell in love with... I'd name names, but
I'm not sure that is necessary. I wouldn't have room anyway! The first
couple days we were treated as tourists. By the end of the second day (our
first full day) we were accepted as family. One man seemed to adopt me and
worked his darndest to make sure my needs (and my husband's)were always
taken care of. My hubby quickly found out that most of these guys liked a
good laugh. They picked at each other incessantly. This was primarily true of
the Beach Grill nut. |
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| The shopping
trip was a drag. We found some good deals, but.. not what I expected.
Sandals did have some artisans come in a few days and they were a little
better. I certainly wasn't hounded like I had been in the marketplace. I wanted to go on the Riverwalk... really I did! But, laying on the beach took precedence. The organizer, Shelly, is terrific. About the walk to Sandy Bay... it wasn't all that bad. If you tell them to leave you alone, they will. My husband was approached by two different guys on two different occasions about all kinds of drugs. They left him alone when he said no. The only ones that ever 'pestered' were the ladies that wanted to braid your hair. They even walk through the Sandals beach asking. (the eventually left me alone...) The guards seem to keep everything in check. They cautioned us about the walk, but only said to 'be careful' and that if you said 'no' (and meant it) those 'salesmen' would leave you alone. Another thing that looked interesting was the parasailing, etc. Since Sandals did not recommend it we didn't feel comfortable doing it. There was no way of knowing how safe these off-site people were (who were in that nice-little-area between Sandals and Sandy Bay.) I've got to run. My house certainly looks like it was abandoned for 10 days (or worse!!) Billi |