Great Family Vacation to Beaches Negril-May 2008
Posted: 06-08-08Review of Beaches Negril in Jamaica-May 24-28, 2008 (long-sorry!)…
Hi Everyone! Here is my belated review of our Beaches Negril trip. I was traveling on business (I did site inspections of Sunset at the Palms, Couples Negril and Sandals Negril-more on those later!) with our baby boy Sutton (just turned 6 months old)
We flew on USAIR non-stop out of PHL. I flew first class going down, which I normally do not do, so it was a nice treat for us. Sutton slept most of the way down-hooray! We arrived pretty much on time at the MBJ airport. Since we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, the lines in various places were somewhat long. Well, we must have looked really pathetic (we did! Ha!) since twice we were whisked to the front of the line by airport personnel. Yahoo! I did feel a little more “bugged” than normal by porters and I think that was since I was traveling alone.
Our bags came quickly and it was so great to finally arrive at the beautiful Sandals/Beaches airport lounge. We were met by the Butler rep. at the airport (nice touch!) and she helped us secure Sutton’s car seat in the van. We were in the Beaches lounge for a total of 7 minutes (I counted!) so the process was painless and very quick. At the lounge they had a fruit tray and the usual soda and beer for guests.
The roads were a little crazy since we were driving during a pretty bad rain storm. It took us 90 minutes to get there but we arrived safe and sound. Upon arrival, within 2 minutes our Butler Conrad met us at the door! Awesome! We had Conrad last June and he is truly an asset to this company. Conrad promptly told us that he had just had another baby a few weeks ago (his fifth son!!!!!) so I was thrilled for him but right away felt badly that I had not come bearing gifts for the new baby (we had gifts for his other 4 kid’s-lol!). Anyways, Conrad got to meet Sutton but was disappointed that Mike and the other kiddos were not with us. At this resort you only have one Butler for the entire stay (so they work from 9-9!) but the Butlers tell me that they like that so they can really take care of their client’s and get to know them really well. We always enjoy getting to know our Butlers, so either way works for me:) I met three other Butlers who work at the resort. I can not remember her name but there is another (a female) Butler who has a baby around Sutton's age and she was just full of sun shine, energy and positive words. I would expect that she would be outstanding as well, just from my contact with her. Quickly we were whisked to room 411 which is a second floor room in the Savannah block. It was a corner room (more windows and a little more space!)and was newly re-furbished with new bedding, drapes and paint. Very nice and we highly recommend this room number if you book a room in this category (as your travel agency we can request this based on availability)! It was in the Honeymoon Suite category which is a Concierge Room. Note: This particular room category does not normally come with Butler service. They gave us Conrad the Butler as a courtesy since we enjoyed him so much last time. At BNG, only their 2 and 3 bedroom suites come with Butler Service and I told them that since it was just Sutton and I that we did not need that much space. The resort was well over 90 % full during our stay. Some people say that the Savannah block is a little noisy since it is above a lot of action but it did not seem to bother myself or Sutton. By dinner time, the action was in other areas of the resort so my evenings on my balcony were quite peaceful and scenic.
Anyways, Conrad promptly unpacked us, gave him the gifts for his boys, and then talked about our plans for the next few days. It was great to be home! He had a stroller ready for us (you can rent from the resort) and Sutton’s crib was set next to my bed. There was a large fruit basket for us and a plate of cheese and crackers. One thing that I can say is that I did miss Mike and the kid’s a lot this time and it was not the same without them. It’s just a ton of fun seeing how much fun the kid’s have on our family vacations and see all of the friend’s that they meet:) Mike would not allow me (lol!) to take my laptop since he felt that I needed a break and he also did not want me fumbling around with it at the airport, so I think I felt a little “off” from that too. It was a good move though overall as I came back home rested and relaxed.
The first night I did not feel very sociable (just tired) so Conrad brought me room service off of the Seville menu. This is my favorite restaurant at this resort-yum! It is for persons over 16 and they do enforce that as well as the dress code. I had steak, a cool salad called the Limbo Dancer Salad (with pineapples in it) and some type of chocolate mousse for dessert. Very good! I ordered it earlier in the day and it was delivered by Conrad exactly for when I asked for it. Room service is available in the Butler Suite categories. A nice plus is that you do have exchange privileges at Beaches Sandy Bay and that they have complimentary shuttles going back and forth throughout the day (they do take a break for lunch so be mindful of the schedule). It was only a $5 each way cab ride away if you do not feel like waiting for the shuttle.
The second day, Sutton and I went to visit Sunset at the Palms (more later on this) which is about 5-7 minutes down the road (a $10 taxi ride each way-I probably could have gotten it for a little less but it’s not a big deal). Kid’s are allowed at this resort so I bought him with me for my tour:) In the afternoon, we did a trial run at the Kid’s Camp with his Nanny Althea (sp????). She came highly recommended by several sources and Sutton loved her. Yeah!!!! I rarely leave him, so this was all a stretch for me. The Kid’s Camp (the baby room) always seemed a little chaotic at check in but once your baby got in there and got settled I found that the Nannies were VERY loving and did really seem to like their jobs. Another Nanny who was recommended to me is Pollyanna and she also seemed awesome. For the older kid’s for a Nanny, we recommend Naje who we used on our last trip. She is young and friendly and the older kid’s loved her! She remembered me right away, which was neat. Nanny service is currently $10 per hour at the Beaches resorts in Jamaica ($12 an hour in Turks) for up to 3 children. In cases like ours with 4 children, the family would need 2 Nannies. Or you can just sue the Kid’s Camp which is already included in your vacation. I had to go off property twice for about 90 minutes each time to 2 different adult all-inclusives without Sutton and I was a nervous wreck about that. I could have just had him be a part of the Kid’s Camp as it is free but I wanted one person to be responsible for him. Our Butler checked in on him numerous times each time I was away from him and would call me on the cell phone (Butler guests get cell phones to reach their Butlers) to give me a report. That was very reassuring and another nice thing that Butlers can do for their guests staying at Beaches. For more details of what Butlers can do for their guests, please contact us and we will be delighted to inform you about this very important service! We have had Butler Service 5 times now and LOVE IT!!!
On the second day, I spent the afternoon on the beach while Sutton slept in the nursery. Throughout our stay we saw numerous large and small weddings and got some great pictures of them. The two main wedding consultants at BNG have been around for a few years and that seems to make a difference. The wedding parties that we spoke with all seemed to be thrilled with their choice to go to Beaches Negril for their Destination Wedding(s). With the Preston Bailey Wedding Collections, they really offer more luxurious choices than other resorts in the industry.
The AMAZING beach at this resort:) That is my favorite single thing about Beaches Negril. Ah………….
The next day, I went to Couples Negril in the morning (more later). Apparently, Sutton slept the entire time I was gone, so I did not miss much in regards to his activities:) Another afternoon on the beach (Sutton was back in the nursery). A new addition are the Family Beach Cabanas. You can rent them for a day or for the day and the evening. I can not find the pricing at my fingertips but having one for the day was approximately (I may be incorrect) $190 and would include a fruit tray, lunch from the beach grill, drink service, misting from your Beach Butler and an assortment of sunscreens. For the evening option, I think it was something around $250 and included dinner on the beach. I will clarify this later since I really am just guessing on the pricing. I met two of the beach Butlers and they seemed very attentive to their cabanas. I asked one of the families if they thought it was worth it and they loved having their own reserved place on the beach. The one family that I met, had purchased this for at least 3-4 days. In my head I was doing some math and personally, I would have just preferred to stay an additional night for that amount. To each his own!
I did not go to any of the Sesame Street activities this time, since Sutton is too little to appreciate this stuff just yet and since I just wanted to relax. However, I did witness the beginning of a Sesame Street birthday party (additional charge) and it seemed like a grand event with small gifts for the birthday children, plenty of time with the characters and lots of fun, vibrant music.
I went to visit the new Beaches Negril Concierge Lounge (to the left of the stairs as you enter the resort!) and it was HUGE, air-conditioned and really pleasant to look at. Warm chocolate chip cookies were waiting for me on the table! I noticed a lot of guests utilizing their services and there always seemed to be something going on in there. We took some pics and then spent some time with Erica, the Loyalty (SSG) Manager. She is a doll and is very passionate about her job! She informed me that over 50% of the guests when we were there were SSG members!!! The SSG party takes place on Wednesdays at this resort in the afternoon but I was not around to attend since we left on a Wednesday. They give the usual rum, t-shirts (that you pick up in the gift shop) and some treats in the room for being SSG members. The Managers Cocktail Party was on Monday and they had a bar set up with appetizers as well. They gave away some excursions and other prizes to guests and had a large amount of the management team there. Everyone was very friendly and mingled well with their guests. I do not think that more than 25 guests were in attendance.
I also went to visit Iesha Samuels who is the Resort Sales Manager. She had contacted me upon arrival so it was nice to spend some quality time with her. She has worked closely with us in the past on client’s vacations, and always sees that special details are taken care of. Iesha is excellent at her job and is a very caring, attentive person. I asked her a specific question recently about the resort and she answered me last night via e-mail at 9:30 PM! If anyone is ever at this resort and needs anything that is not taken care of, she will do anything in her power to put you in the right direction. She is another great asset to this resort.
This resort has had a few General Managers in the last year, so I think that some consistency in the future will do them wonders. The current GM is Howard Spittle and seems impressive from what I can tell. He called us before we arrived and upon return in the US and I have heard that this is pretty normal for him with other guests. He was on vacation when we were at the resort. His “hands on” style will serve him well at a busy resort like Beaches Negril.
Another night we went to the Teppanyaki Restaurant for dinner. This resort does require reservations and the menu seemed to be enhanced from the year before. It is also open for lunch which is a pleasant change from the past. Our meal was good and the entertainment by the Chef was lively. I sat with a very quiet group and I think that they thought that I was kind of nutty to be traveling with just Sutton. Lol! Since I do not eat seafood, my portion was given to a teenage boy at my table and he loved it!
Our final full day at the resort was busy. In the morning, I went to Sandals Negril (more later on this) for a visit and again, spent some of the afternoon on the beach. For dinner, we had a private dinner on the beach. This is included in your Butler Service or can be purchased as an add-on of $160 in Jamaica if you are in a regular or a concierge room. Some resorts, with Butler Service only will do the private, candlelight dinner in your room (still very nice!) and some will do it on the beach. It is up to the resort and Beaches Negril will fortunately do it on their beach. Our table was beautiful, the weather was gorgeous and all was well. I invited the 3 persons that I had met earlier to join us as it was their anniversary and they were also celebrating their sons graduation. They kept thanking me (which was really sweet but not necessary!) and had showed up with a necklace that they had purchased for me earlier that day from one of the Jamaica vendors (which means so much to me!). Jamaican vendors were in the area in front of the gift shop on Tuesdays. There was at least 5-6 tables set up for guests to browse and shop. It (the necklace) was a large wooden heart, with a little heart next to it and on the back it was etched with Amy + Sutton on it. Every time I look at it, I get the warm fuzzies:) Anyways, we all ordered different things but on our menu (they printed a special one out for us) included some of the following items-Jumbo Shrimp, Snapper, Rack of Lamb, Medallions of Beef Tenderloin, and Chocolate Truffle Mousse. Our waiter was a gem as well! They gave us 3 menus to choose from and you could pick from all 3 of them.Yum! Yum! It was a great way to end this mini-vacation.
Conrad packed us up and brought us some of our wash (he did our wash!) to go home. Traveling home was uneventful and Sutton was a trouper again. For once, I was really anxious to get home and see the rest of my family:) We did have a very enjoyable stay and do highly recommend this resort to families. We will return with our entire family and I am already plotting our next trip back. If you are looking for a memorable family vacation, the staff at Dream Makers Vacation Services will be delighted to make your vacation dreams come true whether it be at Beaches or another family-friendly resort. As one of the top agencies for Sandals/Beaches in the US, we offer inside information that booking through Beaches directly will not give you (and our services are free to you!). For additional information on this resort or any other resorts that you may have any questions about, please call us at
Amy 888-449-3563 or through our website. We look forward to talking you soon and greatly appreciate your business and referrals! Thank you for taking the time to read this...
All the best!
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Amy McHugh
Owner, Dream Makers Vacation Services
CSS, PSS
