Couples Tower Isle

Our stay at Couples Tower Isle was a mixed bag. While the staff were incredibly friendly and went above and beyond to provide service, the property itself showed its age and could benefit from some upgrades. Pros: * Friendly Staff: The staff was great. They were consistently helpful and accommodating. * Good Dining Options: The Verandah, Bayside, and Eight Rivers restaurants offered enjoyable dining experiences with dress codes. The Jamaican food night on Wednesday was good. * Java Cafe: Provided excellent coffee. * Entertainment: Good events/shows nightly. Cons: * Outdated Property: The property feels dated. Issues like missing floor panels in the elevator and inadequate A/C in the room was noticeable. * Beach Amenities: Limited beach chairs and no umbrellas were a drawback. * Restaurant Issues: * Patio Restaurant: Initial food presentation the night we arrive was unappealing. This got better as the week progressed. * Pool Grill: Food was ok. Tables need maintenance and cleaning. * Breakfast: Buffet was good but there always seemed to be a line at the egg station. Lack of alternative egg options. *Mixed drinks: The mixed drinks were just not good to me. I stuck to beer and wine. * Poor Signage: Navigating the property was challenging due to a lack of clear signage on the first day. They should provide a map at check-in. * Scuba Diving: Inconvenient setup with no dedicated dive shop. The dive boat is loaded from the beach and you carry everything (including your tank) out to the boat so don’t have anything with you that you don’t want to get wet. The flag on the dock is not an indicator of if they are going to go out. Make sure you stop by the equipment location before 8:30a to see if they are going. * Parakeet and Conure cage: Seems pretty but not sure why they need it. The cages and wood platforms the birds sit on need maintenance. * Excursions: * Dunns River Falls: Hotel excursions were overpriced and limited. Provided minimal time at property. Consider booking independently for more flexibility. Hotel cost was $60pp with group or $80pp for 2hrs to 2-1/2hrs. About 10 mins from hotel. Driver told us a lot about Jamaica in those 10 mins. * Martha Brae River: Expensive and included a long drive. Bamboo river rafting was good. Bring your own mosquito spray. They sell it for $16 a bottle on location. Hotel price is $120pp for about 5hrs which includes a 90 min drive each way. Driver didn’t talk or tell us anything about Jamaica either way. Overall: Despite some shortcomings, we enjoyed our stay. Meeting other guests who had returned multiple times speaks to the hotel's loyal following. Tips for Future Guests: * Book excursions independently: Explore options like Viator for more affordable and flexible Dunns River Falls tours. * Pack accordingly: Bring water shoes for the falls. Consider a waterproof phone case or GoPro on small handle for excursions. * Plan ahead: Make reservations for popular restaurants the day you arrive or next day at the latest.

Nostalgic 1950s vibe combined with amazing staff and food result in the Couples Tower Isle out-performing other, more modern hotels on the island. Location is perfect. Lots of water sports and activities that are complimentary. Staff are incredibly friendly. The nature walk in the morning is a must if you want to get close to hummingbirds! Only downside is the hard sell of the spa with staff prowling around the pool each day - not necessary at a class resort like this!

This was our third stay at a Couples resort having been to CTI in 2019 and Sans Soucci in 2022. On all three occasions we have had a great holiday and will almost certainly come again. We did however have some suggestions for the management to improve the experience. We arrived at 21.00 local time from the U.K. We were welcomed with towels and a drink but then found out all the restaurants and room service were closed. We dashed down to the buffet leaving our luggage at reception and managed to find a few left overs. It was over 4 hours since we had last had any food. We were not the only couple on this flight. When we got back to reception we found there were no longer any staff to show us to our room. We were given vague directions and made the best of it. I really think a hotel of this category should have made some arrangements to look after us better. This must happen quite a few times with this BA flight. The long corridor leading eventually to building 5 is so dark, drab and with carpet that is worn with holes in places. The commute down this corridor is depressing and lets the hotel down. It would not take a huge investment to do something here. Some pictures, better lighting so you do not feel you are in a subway. Even some of the outside windows have moss growing on them as you get towards building five. We love the Island but the single toilet there really lets the hotel down. It needs much more attention, as at times it smelt and had a very wet floor. A huge shout out to the tennis and pickleball coach Colin, he was fantastic. Pickleball though at 11.00 is not a good time as it is just too hot. There was no mechanism for people staying to arrange any games with other players - you just had to turn up at 11.00. I am not sure that the hotel promotes pickleball enough as there are no photos on the website either. It is the fastest growing sport in the world and its popularity will only increase. No beginner sessions either for people wanting to try it out. I hope someone reads this attempt to provide constructive comments as to how a very good hotel could be made even better. The food was fantastic at all the restaurants and the staff are a real credit. They make Couples the repeat venue it is for so many. We enjoyed our holiday and look forward to returning again.

This place is so awesome, and top knotch service. We booked our trip for the spring, and we're having our 25th anniversary vow renewal. I love the old Hollywood feel, and the food, entertainment, and staff are out of this world!! A big shout out to Kirk, he's one of the best that works at the resort. The staff are wonderful and makes us feel so welcome. We made friends our first trip at Couples Tower Isle, and now we consider them our close family. Visit Couples Tower Isle and you won't regret it!!

Couples Resorts Tower Isle is a great all-inclusive resort hotel located about 90 mins from Jamaica's Montego Bay airport. The hotel has its own small lounge at the airport (on the left once you have collected your bags and passed through the Immigration and Customs area) with toilets plus beer and other drinks on tap. Help yourself whilst they arrange your free transfer! It was a long transfer (on a cramped minibus) but on arrival at the hotel we were greeted with a rum punch and a porter who swiftly took our bags up to our room. Remember they have a (welcome) no tipping rule in the hotel so no need to worry about what to tip and scrambling around for the right change. There are lots of staff working here so you never want for anything. Most are very friendly and go out of their way to speak to you. The room (we were in 4301 – block 4, 3rd floor) was excellent – modern, large with a small balcony and sea view over one of the two pools. Lots of hot water and excellent water pressure in the shower. Efficient, albeit slightly noisy, air-conditioning and fridge. There was also a ceiling fan which was very good. There’s unlimited complimentary drinks and mixers available which you can order on an app (actually a website) they give you a link to. They put the drinks in your fridge for you - we ordered a rum and a gin expecting to get single shots and received two full bottles! The Patio restaurant is the main (largely self-service) restaurant on site. At breakfast you can get an array of fresh fruits, freshly cooked meats and pastries plus made to serve omelettes/eggs and smoothies. For lunch and dinner they had an even greater selection of options to choose from, which did differ daily. Yes, sometimes things were a bit lukewarm and repetitive but from experience that’s what you get from the main restaurants all all-inclusive hotels given the amount of food and numbers of people they are catering for. Dinner in there was generally disappointing but the hotel also has 2 excellent speciality restaurants serving a la carte food. You must reserve in advance, but this was easy to do and when we were there in November we had no problem booking them multiple times. The best of these was the 8 Rivers (fine dining so dress up accordingly!) closely followed by the Bayside (serving Asian cuisine). We also thought the food in the Verandah restaurant was excellent and couldn’t understand why this was not a reservable restaurant as it was so good! Also, a shout out to the Java Café which served fresh coffee and cakes/pastries most of the day and night. Not all the restaurants are open every night, or as per what’s advertised on the website/new arrivals sheet, so double check timings when you arrive. The beach was in a small cove, nice and sandy and (like the pools) there was no need to get up early to bag a sun bed. We never had a problem with this the whole time we were there and in fact you had plenty choice of places to sit. Fantastic! No umbrellas but plenty of shade from the palm trees. There’s also lots of different free water sports available for you to try. The water bikes were great fun. The seawater was lovely and warm – the pool was colder. We didn’t use the naturist island but went over for a look before it opened! It seemed to be well used. Rather disappointingly the hotel now only offers two free trips - a catamaran and a shopping trip. We did the catamaran trip which was very good as it’s only a short drive away. It takes about 3 hrs in total, and you just sit back, see some scenery, drink the free rum punches and do some swimming - great combination. We also used the rep in the hotel to book the Dunn River falls to do the famous waterfall walk. This was another great half day trip (you do need beach shoes) but we would have liked more time there as there was a beautiful beach we never got to use. On reflection it was quite a pricey trip ($80 each) - you could book this cheaper from other suppliers or do it yourself on bus or taxi, as it’s only $25 admission! Ask to make sure you avoid a day when the cruise ships are in port as we heard it does get very busy. Regarding money take US dollars as that’s really all we ever saw things priced in. Reception can also change notes which was useful. The other trip we did was a ‘Kingston highlights’. An enjoyable day out but again it was expensive as entry to attractions was not included. However, it was reduced in price as there was another couple on the tour with us. We went for a drive around Kingston’s ‘downtown’ area (rough neighbourhood so we didn’t get out and the driver didn’t stop!), then a short walk around Emancipation Park in the heart of New Kingston. Then it’s the Bob Marley Museum (very interesting even if you’re not a fan) and Devon house (lovely stately home of Jamaica’s first black millionaire). There’s also some nice shops in the Devon house complex including the famous ice cream parlour (massive ice creams at half the price back home). All in all a lovely hotel and welcome break from the November weather back in England.