I have never posted a review from any vacation before but this trip has prompted me to do so. What can I say? This trip was fantastic! This was our third trip to Jamaica. This was the first time we brought our kids and our first to Beaches. My wife’s sister also came with us. This resort did not disappoint in any respect. This review ended up being longer than I intended.......
After a long and tiring travel day culminating in a two hour ride from Montego Bay in the pouring rain, we were greeted by the staff with smiles, cold towels and cold rum punch. This being our third time to Jamaica, this drink is the first thing you need after the journey to get here. Our room was the Honeymoon suite with concierge service in the Montpelier block that had a beautiful view of the lawn, gardens and the ocean. It had plenty of room for our family of five with a large bathroom area and sitting area that had a sofa bed. To our surprise the roll away bed was actually a comfy single bed and not a cot. The sofa bed was OK on comfort but hey, it's a sofa bed. The kids never complained because they were so exhausted by the end of day. It was a short walk to the beach and to the Mill restaurant. Any request that we had of the concierge was granted literally within minutes. Our requests were small like needing shampoo or soap, but it was if they were standing right outside the door. I call for a bottle of shampoo...2 minutes later there they are with a whole four pack or shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc, and not the dinky little bottles you get at most places. I ask for a bar of soap they bring two. I ask for a couple of extra towels, they bring four. The room was cleaned every morning and towels changed as needed. Rooms were turned down nightly. The housekeeping staff is excellent.
The beach is fantastic, huge and very clean. It was raked and chairs reset daily very early in the morning. You never felt crowded on this beach. Plenty of chairs to be had but you need to get the shaded bungalows early because they go fast. We liked that you could use any quantity of beach towels and didn't have to worry if you didn't have them all at the end of the day. We have been to other resorts that made you "trade in" your towels each time. With a family, it is impossible to remember how many towels there are or where they are. No worries here! And the sunsets........you have to see them to believe them.
Food was very good at the Mill and Kimonos and good at Seville and Last Chance. We didn't get a chance to eat at the Italian place. On a scale of 1-10 I would rate the food an overall 6.5. We have had better food at other resorts but those resorts were also for adults only. No problem for us though. One thing to remember is that this is a foreign country, not the US. The food all tastes a little different but that's OK. We knew what to expect and it was just fine with us. We enjoyed seafood night that had all you can eat lobster, crab, mussels, oysters, fish, etc. My family loves seafood so we all went nuts. The Jamaican night had many items that were authentic foods, many more that the two other resorts we had stayed at. The other resorts we have stayed at had the typical Jerk chicken and beans and rice. Beaches put out 8 or 10 different things to choose from so you could really get the flavor of the Country. Service in the dining rooms was also excellent and attentive.
My wife and I are certified scuba divers. We did seven dives while on this trip. The dive staff (Shorty, Karen, Damion, etc) were all excellent guides and were very attentive to the safety of all divers. The diving was nice and very relaxing. The icing on the cake was actually on dive #1 on 8/08 in the afternoon. Water was choppy and dark and rain was coming down before we jumped in. But the water was calm at depth and out of nowhere we saw three huge dolphins that swam three circles around us then scooted away. These were not little "flipper" dolphins. They were probably 10-12'. Before writing this review I read a post on 8/11 by someone who was on the same dive! We don't know who he is, but it gave me chills when I read his post because he was there also. I was lucky enough to get two pictures on my cheapy underwater camera!
We went snorkeling five times with the kids and saw many, many schools of fish, two beautiful black eels, puffer fish, stingrays, sea urchins, Lionfish, etc. It is wonderful snorkeling on this side of the island compared with Ocho Rios. We also did the kayak, trike, banana boat, water skiing and played on the beach.
Nightly entertainment is excellent. The staff is tireless and anxious to please. Steel drums, reggae night, afro-carribbean drums with dancing, pool party, beach party, etc. All of it was very entertaining and the acts well rehearsed. Club Liquid is actually open to adults past 11pm on many nights. This place is awesome! They cranked out the dance beat until the early hours of the morning. My kids went with us on "family night" at the club but we couldn't get them to go by themselves (too shy for that I guess). They went to bed early and my wife and I stayed up dancing as late as we dared.....
The staff at this resort were all friendly, hard working, attentive, and energetic. I think this is typical of the Jamaican people overall and not just a show for tourists. If it is a show then they are sure good at it. You cannot get service like this anywhere in the States.
This is an awesome place to vacation with family and to meet people on an International scale. We met people from Belgium, England, Canada, Greece, Asia, France and from all over the US. Even though this place is marketed mostly to families with small children with the whole Sesame Street thing there is actually a ton of things to do for older kids and adults. You will not feel like you're in some cornball "kiddie" resort here. This place was wonderful and will provide many lasting memories for us for years to come. We liked it so much that we pre-booked a vacation to Beaches Turks & Caicos for 2011. If that resort is anything like Negril was, I'm sure we will not be disappointed!