Sandals Negril

We just arrived home from our trip to Jamaica. We chose Sandals Negril after a great deal of research for our 25th anniversary trip. We were amazed at the effort the staff put into making the resort feel festive. There were beautiful Christmas trees and decorations throughout the resort. Yet, we were most impressed with the ENTERTAINMENT TEAM. I can not believe other reviews have not mentioned the EXTREMELY talented singers and dancers. Odane, Gayle, and Antonio are super talented singers and the dance team including Ruth, Ashliann, King James, and all the performers are energetic, talented, and dedicated to putting on their best performances. The Christmas Eve show on the pool was outstanding. (Please see photos below of some of the incredible entertainers and performances). When the entertainment staff is not practicing for their nightly performances, they organize activities around the pool such as bingo, volleyball, and trivia. And if they have a spare minute they are bringing drinks to guests around the pool. They do not stop trying to ensure you have the best holiday possible. King James made a special effort to acknowledge me whenever he saw me, which made me feel quite special. We felt this dedication to service throughout the resort. We were greeted by every person we walked by from the gentlemen signing out equipment on the beach to the gardeners to the photographers to the restaurant greeters and bartenders. A special shout out to Shantel at the Bayside Restaurant who greeted us every morning with a huge smile and a beautiful voice saying "please watch your step” as she led us to a table overlooking the ocean. We stayed in a Paradise Beachfront Grande Luxe Club Level room which came with Club Service. Michael and Neno were extremely welcoming, booked our restaurants for us, and answered any questions we had. Throughout our stay, we saw the General Manager, Melissa and she frequently asked us how we were doing and if we needed anything. She was even part of the entertainment staff on Christmas day. As other reviewers have noted the beach is stunning. We walked it several times and every morning there were many employees raking it to make sure it looked pristine. The staff at this resort work extremely hard and seem very dedicated and happy to be working there. The sunsets are also breathtaking and the beach is the perfect place to watch the sun go down. We enjoyed every meal we had at Sandals Negril.  We were always greeted with a smile and felt welcomed.  We loved our meals at Brava, Kimonos, and Sundowner (make sure you try the Coconut Truffle at Sundowner) but one of our best meals was at Barefoot. Annmarie recommended all her favourite seafood dishes and we enjoyed every single dish she suggested.  Additionally, we visited Crema the ice cream and coffee cafe frequently.  The ice cream is delicious and all the toppings are yummy. For breakfast, we ate fresh eggs and omelets. Occasionally we had to wait for approx. 5 to 10 minutes for our fresh orders, which seemed reasonable to us. In our opinion, the buffet provided a large selection of cakes, breads, meats, potatoes, fruit, and sweet pastries. I am confused by previous reviews that people had to wait at the bar for long periods of time and bars ran out of alcohol. This was not our experience at all. Yes, occasionally we waited a few minutes to be served by the pool, however, that gave us a chance to chat with the guests beside you and It did not bother us at all.   Our Suggestions and Feedback for Improvements There were a couple of things that we think could be improved and one of those areas for improvement is the rooms in the Paradise Beachfront Grande. As mentioned, we had an ocean view which was spectacular and we enjoyed being so close to all the activities, however, our room on the second floor was dated and could use some TLC, especially the bathroom and shower area. We were also excited to play tennis, which we did twice. The tennis courts are across the street and are in need of some upgrades. Currently, there is only one court available to use. Fortunately, we and one other family seemed to be the only ones interested in using them, so the fact that there was only one court in use was not a huge problem. But this area is rundown and could use some improvements. We were also excited about the opportunity to snorkel daily. The first complimentary excursion we went on was close to the resort off an island. It could have been the day we went, but the snorkeling at this location was mediocre. The equipment was good and the guides were great but the coral in this area is bleached and not vibrant. We decided to pay for a snorkeling and boat ride to Rick’s Cafe and the second opportunity to snorkel was much better. We saw tons of schools of beautiful fish, starfish, and even a turtle.  We would highly recommend this excursion, however, it does cost $100 pp. We enjoyed the free use of the kayaks, water bikes, table tennis, pool tables, and shuffleboard at this resort. There were plenty of activities to keep you busy if you wanted to do something in addition to walking on the beach or lying by the pool.  We did not get to the gym, however we talked to many guests who did. While on vacation we talked to many guests who were enjoying their experience at Sandals Negril as much as we were. A few other guests said this resort was not as fantastic as other Sandals locations. For us, the attentive service and incredible hospitality made our 25th anniversary extremely memorable and well worth it. We would love to go back! Sincerely Jen and Bryan from Ontario, Canada

Sandals Negril, Jamaica November, 2024 As a frequent Sandals customer, Sandals is our happy place. In our opinion, Sandals consistently delivers on vacation expectations with a high level of customer service and satisfaction. My favorite Sandals Resort so far is Negril, Jamaica because they have mostly an exceptional friendly and caring staff. This was only our second trip to Negril and many of the staff remembered us and treated us as part of the Sandals family. We had a wonderful trip reminding us that Sandals Negril will always be on the top of our repeat list. Special recognition of staff include Emron (aka Batman) and Robin for their scuba diving expertise, education, and safety. Thanks also to Francia for managing my additional certification paperwork and scheduling my dive times. Thank you to Regina for also scheduling dive times and validating my dives in my log book. Also to Admiral Gary Mudslide, thank you for running a tight and safe ship with navigation to all the best dive sites. Of all the Sandals I’ve been to so far, Negril has the best and most professional dive/aquatic center. As always, the food and accommodations are excellent at Negril. Many of our servers even remembered us from last year. A very special thanks to Akeeme for promptly booking our dinner reservations at the club level lounge. Our dining experiences at Sandals are extremely important to us and Akeeme took care of our needs when another club lounge staff member was uncooperative. My wife ranks the dining experience as the most important part of every Sandals vacation. She loves Chef Joshua’s coconut shrimp and talks about it between Sandals vacations. Thank you to Shantae’ at Barefoot Restaurant for remembering us and making our dining experiences special. Overall, the food and dining experience at Negril is 5 star quality. The only personal exception for us was the new restaurant Brava where they serve Caribbean-Spain dishes. For us, the food was so spicy hot we could not eat it and at home I put Frank’s Extra Hot Sauce on everything. Therefore, when I say it’s spicy hot, it is a whole new level of hot for me. Additionally, the restaurant was very warm to the extent it was very uncomfortable. The cooking preparation area was in the center of the building with the heat rising to the ceiling. The large ceiling fans then blew the hot air down on our table. Considering the very hot spicy food, the high temperature in the building, and the warm evening, we had to leave. A big thank you to Asana for welcoming us back to Negril and for providing a wonderful birthday surprise to my wife with rose pedals, decorations, and special wine in our room. It made her feel very special for her birthday. Also, thank you to Judean and Gayonne for their heartfelt welcome back to Negril. It is very nice to see many of the same people upon return visits to Sandals. However, we did notice some staffing shortage issues during our stay. A long overdue and special thank you to Christopher (Chris) at the small pool bar. Last year’s review I referred to him as Charlie instead of Chris so he should get double credit this year. He remembered me at first sight and brought me a beer over to my chair and pool without even asking for it. This level of personal service and friendship exceeds expectations. Dillion (aka Will Smith) at the main pool bar also remember me and welcomed me back to Negril with some excellent drinks. Trevolyn was also very much appreciated for her lunch service and bartending skills. When things were very busy at Perla, she made a special effort to take care of us…thank you Trevolyn. Our housekeeper Samantha did and absolutely super job. Thank you for quickly providing the bed comfort pad and for a spotless room. She is the best housekeeper we’ve had over our 38 nights so far and counting with Sandals. Lastly, recognition for the young man Raymar who took good and prompt care of our luggage coming and going. He works exceptionally hard at what he does with a constant smile on his face. Based on only observation, I recommend he be provided some type of moving dolly with stair climbers to ensure his safety. Some of the bags I saw him with appeared very large and heavy. Thank you Sandals Negril for a wonderful trip.

This was my 1st international trip & it has set the bar extremely high for my next vacation. The people were amazing and so friendly. If you have chance to meet these wonderful ladies (Chrisany, Shanteln, Shellece, Trevolyn, Chantay) they will treat you like your family, with the biggest hearts, & beautiful welcoming smiles. As for the men Akeem was the very helpful when we arrived by helping us adjust. However, Carl through our stay was so attentive. He always made sure we had what we needed and had given us history about the Jamaica culture. He was absolutely the perfect person to go to if you needed anything in and out the resort. So if you go can request him as a Concierge you will never regret it. I would absolutely recommend Sandal Negril as an amazing vacation destination.

The resort entertainment staff were so talented and friendly. King James really made an effort to learn names, personalities and be the life of the party! If he saw you not smiling, he would make an effort to cheer you up! Made all the difference to our family! Chevy and Andrew were also so friendly and nice! Everyone in the coffee shop Crema were so sweet. They would give recommendations of what to get and always had a smile on their face! They made my family’s mornings and evenings with the affogato!

We can't say thank you enough, especially to those who touch us most during our visit. We were there for six days, and it sure wasn't long enough. The hospitality and humbleness everyone provides needs to be recognized. Below are some amazing people we had the opportunity to interact with and wish we had more time to create more memories with them. For now, you have amazing team members. Chrisany at Perla was very friendly and a pleasure to talk to. Shellece's smile for sure lit the room up and great customer service Chantay was very humble and sincere Pepper, the chef at Kimonos, was a great cook and entertainer Shantel was a pleasure to talk with. She is so kind and sweet. Carl was very attentive and helpful and so much more Kevon helped tremendously with our request Xavier came to our room and got the wifi to work for us Akeem was amazing. A very friendly smile and to carry our baggage up and down the stairs was impressive Trevolyn was so sweet and kind. It was a pleasure to talk with also. Travis was very kind and courteous Tameka was friendly and helpful.