| Product: |
Couples Negril |
| Date: |
27/11/01 (3742 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: very nice beach, calmer sea
Disadvantages: not as isolated so you do get passing trade
Week two of my honeymoon and since both Andrew and I are prone to getting bored by staying in the same place for too long the second week of our honeymoon was spent at the sister resort to Couples Ochos Rios (OR), Couples Negril.
Apologies in advance but this opinion will make a lot more sense if you read my opinion on Couples OR first. This is not an attempt to get more reads but as many visitors do the "Double Take" ie go to both resorts I feel that comparison is very important.
Couples offer a wonderful deal if you split your stay between the two resorts as they will fly you between the two rather than you having to face a very long bus journey. At least we saved the life of one more dog! We hopped in a bus about 9am and drove about 20 minutes to the airport. Now, I love flying and pilot light aircraft myself, so imagine my surprise when we turned up at the airstrip to see locals wandering down the runway, no control tower and a couple of very rusty aircraft sitting on the apron!
I shouldn't have worried. Air Jamaica Express run a good shuttle service between the major towns in Jamaica and the Twin Otter aircraft that we used was fine. I was in my element as my husband and I had been allocated the front row (there were only about 8 rows) and as there was no door to the cockpit I could see all of the instruments clearly. I would definitely recommend the flight - far better than the bus journey. In fact, if you were put off by my description of the bus journey Couples will arrange flight transfers at an extra charge at either end of your holiday, but although the aerial views of the country are spectacular you will miss out on seeing at close range the country which you are visiting.
Our flight stopped off at Montego Bay en route where we changed aircraft and then it flew on again to Negril. At Negril we were met by the hoards of taxi drivers trying to give us lifts and drug dealers tempting us with their wares
(NB it is illegal to possess cannabis in Jamaica so don't get caught if you are tempted) but we knew that Couples would be providing a bus. They needn't have bothered in reality as the hotel was no more than 50 yards along the road - if only we had known.
On arriving we were again met with champagne and wet towels. The contrast between the two resorts though hit home immediately. Negril was far more open than OR and more bohemian in style. The tallest building is three storeys high as Negril planning regulations state that no building can be higher than the palm trees!
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Accommodation
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We were allocated a room on the third floor. Although you can book sea view rooms due to the layout of the accommodation there are only a couple of truly sea view rooms, most just have partial views and as we had been advised of this at the time of booking we went for the standard garden view room.
Before leaving OR we got talking to someone who had been to Couples before and he told us that Negril was nowhere near as good as OR and I must confess that after the opulence of the reception in Negril I found myself wondering whether this man had been right. The accommodation blocks looked like old Butlins chalet blocks despite the resort only being a few years old. There were no lifts and we were grateful that we didn't have to carry our bags.
We needn't have worried. Whilst from the outside the accommodation was a little lacking, internally it was fantastic. The wife of the owner of the resort is a designer and it showed. Negril having been built from scratch, unlike OR, has meant that she can add the finishing touches throughout. The dresser and chest of drawers were Ikea-style wicker baskets, the bed was low to the ground (unlike the four poster we had in OR) and there was the most wonderful painted canvas on the wall, about 5 feet square. This canvas was cleverly lit by a spot on the ce
iling in such a way that at night the colours reflected onto the ceiling and around the room - so romantic.
Our balcony did indeed look over the tropical gardens which, in my opinion were better than those at OR. We even had a partial sea view!
I preferred the accommodation in Negril - it was more modern and had better air con (remote controlled rather than storage heater-style).
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Beach
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Negril deserves its own section on the beach. Rather than being a private beach like OR the hotel is on the main Negril beach at Bloody Bay (they used to slaughter whales here, hence the name) situated between a new Riu hotel and The Grand Lido hotel. The beach is huge, white sand fringed by turquoise water - everyman's dream. Palms on the beach complete the picture with hammocks for two swung between them - a perfect way to watch the sunset!
And what a sunset you will see! Being on the westernmost tip of the island the sunsets are famed and deservedly so.
Again, there were plenty of loungers on the beach and you never felt squashed. The weather was better this week and so perhaps there never is a problem with the beds. One big plus here was that the sunbeds had foam padding on them which were not only more comfortable than the ones at OR you could also take them into the sea as floats - what a lazy way to spend an hour or two!
The water here is much calmer than at OR and as a result the water sports are more popular, although again there is never a problem getting anything out. The roped off swimming area is also larger and the sea is warmer. Imagine slipping into a warm bath and that was what it was like. The water was so warm that you actually felt slightly chilly on occasions as you got out.
Again there was bar service on the beach and they even brought round frozen fresh-fruit skewers!
There is an au naturel section to the beach at one end which is shielded by bambo
o screens but we never saw anyone anywhere near it!
Being hotels either side on the beach we did get a number of drug dealers cruising along but the security guards always had them under close scrutiny and they were never a problem. There did not appear to be a problemwith non-residents taking advantage of the hotel, the guards, again, were first class. You were, however, not confined on the beach and it was perfectly possible to walk right round the bay on the other properties, so long as you did not detour from the water's edge... and who would want to!
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Food & Drink
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Once again the food was excellent. The buffet-style meals in the main restaurant were better with more variety and a slightly better quality. The desserts were far better. Rather than the cake based desserts that were the staple at OR there was a wide choice of dessert ranging from cake to hot puddings and, most importantly, ice cream! OR never had ice-cream available in the main restaurant although you could get a whippy-style ice from the beach grill (Negril had both and also had chocolate flavour ice-cream as well as vanilla by the beach!).
The beach grill was also good although they did not have any chilli for the nachos and it was a little further from the beach than at OR.
The let down on the food front was the gourmet restaurant, the Otaheite. This was poor in comparison to OR. There was no musician and the tables for two were arranged around the edge of the room with both of you looking in to the centre of the room where there were tables for 6. This made it feel a bit like you were a game show contestant and was not conducive to conversation.
We didn’t have room service breakfast so I don't know whether Negril suffered from the same timing problems at OR. The room service breakfast menu was not as extensive and in any case I fell in love with the breakfast smoothies available in the dining
room all freshly made to order!
Again all premium brand drinks were available.
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Entertainment
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I felt that the entertainment at Negril was better than at OR. Two nights we had international acts on and on the whole the atmosphere was better. This may have had something to do with the fact that the guest profile was not as wide as at OR with most guests seemingly falling within the 20 - 40 age range (again mainly US). Like OR, there was no pressure to join in.
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What to do
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The excursions from Negril didn't seem to be as good as those from OR. We went on a sunset catamaran cruise (and saw the sun set this time), a trip to Rik's café (of film fame) to again watch the sun set and the cliff diving and a glass bottomed boat trip (where we saw the most amazing fish and wildlife!).
The sports facilities were about the same (although no squash courts) and the pool was much better - it was larger and laid out in two sections, one of which had a swim up bar. If you like hot tubs then OR is better as Negril has only two, both seating about 6 and situated at the edge of the pool.
Negril has a more extensive beauty and relaxation suite than at OR, situated in tropical gardens fed by natural pools.
Whilst we were on the glass bottomed boat the staff took us on a trip along the coastline to compare resorts and I can honestly say that if I were to go to Negril again (which I hope to do) I would pick Couples again. Sandals Negril is right over the flight path to the airstrip (with about 6 flights a day) and you can see the aircraft pass overhead about 200 feet above ground. Next to Sandals is Hedonism II (need I say anymore - concrete and bare bums!). I think Couples really did have the best stretch of beach.
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Journey Back to the Airport
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This cannot go without a mention.
As we had not seen much of this part of the island we decided to take the bus back to the airport. In fact we were allocated a car. The roads were almost non existent in this part of the island as they are rebuilding them all and rather than doing a section at a time they have just dug up the whole lot. It was a very slow and rough journey but again I am glad we did it as the road follows the coast and you see much more of the country that was home for the last two weeks.
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Conclusion
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Of the two resorts I definitely preferred Negril, the beach was better and with the exception of the gourmet restaurant the food was better than OR. I would go back to either at the drop of a hat and hope that I am able to do so.
PS DooYoo's synopsis of Couples resorts is wrong - singles are NOT welcome, only mixed sex couples.
Summary:
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