Overall we enjoyed our stay at the Jewel because of the small size, layout, and atmosphere of the resort. Its really relaxing if that’s what you want and fun too if you want to participate in the sports and activities. Some staff members were great, friendly and helpful, like the waitstaff at the Coral Cafe, the bartenders everywhere and the cooks at the Beach Grill. Use the water sports equipment. We sailed with Vidal and he took a bunch of great photos of us. For these reasons we would recommend the Jewel to others. Book an ocean view though. We booked the mountain view figuring we wouldn’t be spending much time in our room so it wouldn’t matter. But we weren’t expecting the next hotel to be at an angle and proximity where those guests could easily look into our room.
We would advise that you go with expectations of mediocre food. Specifically don't bother going to Moonstone (too salty, meats/fish were dry and over-cooked). Jade was fine and good to do at the start of your visit because it’s a great way to interact with other guests. The private candlelit dinner on the beach was lovely. Its an added cost but worth it. One thing I'd like to point out to future guests is that on one night some restaurants were closed because there’s a beach bbq party. It was on a Tuesday during our week there that Platinum was closed, don’t know if that’s always the night. Had we been told that when we checked in on Sunday it wouldn’t have been an issue because we would have gone to Platinum on Monday instead of Moonstone. But the only notification we received wasn’t until Tuesday morning when we read that day’s newsletter. We had already made plans for a private candlelit dinner on Wed, Jade on Thurs, and Fri is the resort’s dinner on the pier which we attended with guests we met during the week. We were really disappointed and felt cheated out of what may have been the only good meal at the resort.
A real negative experience for us at the resort was the front desk staff. When checking out, all we were asked was for our room key; no smiles, no inquiry as to our stay, no hope to see you again. During our stay we called the desk twice for assistance but those went undone. Because we had read Tripadvisor before arriving at the Jewel we know that the manager always asks that guests mention their concerns when they occur not after leaving the resort. So we visited the desk about those issues but the response was an insincere sorry. The impression that we get from the desk is that they don't care.
Fortunately there’s not much interaction with the front desk so again, overall we’d recommend the Jewel. It’s a nice intimate place so you see the same faces and meet a lot of great people.
