Trip Report , Grand Lido Negril  30 July - 12 August 2000      

This trip was a long overdue return to our favorite island , and our first visit to Negril. Our last trip was in Sep '98 to Breezes , Runaway Bay . I will be making some comparisons of the facilities and services of each resort.  

I shopped the web and eventually chose Catsaways Travel ( Fox Travel ) out of Texas . They provided most excellent service in booking the reservation and answering all my questions including travel insurance and resort info.  Jennifer knew it was my wife's 50'th birthday we were celebrating and had the resort send fresh flowers / fruit basket and Champagne to our room. She made sure we had the ground floor room I had requested . Castaways provided the best service of all the travel agents I have found thru the internet .  I also would like to thank Buddy of Go Classy Travel who I started my trip planning with. Go Classy also was great in assisting in my choice of resorts and the only reason I did not book this trip with him is the price was slightly lower with Castaways.   

We left Phoenix on Air Jamaica , 10:30 PM , non stop to Montego Bay arriving 5:30 AM Sunday morning.  Air Jamaica started non stop service in June 2000 , on Thursday and Saturday nights.  Return non-stop flights depart Montego Bay at 5:45 PM and arrive about 8:30 PM in Phoenix.  With the early arrival and late departure this gives almost an entire day longer to enjoy whatever resort . It is so much more convenient  than other trips we have taken that required the red-eye Phoenix to Atlanta with a couple of hour layover to catch the Air Jamaica to Montego Bay. Customs on the return in Phoenix was also much smoother than Atlanta as there is not the volume of international flights arriving at any one time.  Phoenix is also convenient for many western states residents as it is a hub for competing airlines and so low fares are common to cities in CA as well as Las Vegas and Albuquerque and most are only an hour or so flight.  

Our flight was slightly delayed but other than that , comfortable with the excellent service we've always received from Air Jamaica.  We cleared customs and imigration quickly as we were probably the only flight that had arrived so early in the day.  We had booked Negril Air Link for the trip to Negril as we did not want " the bus ride from hell " .  Arriving as early as we did proved the only kink in the plan as there was no one to meet us and we had to wait about 30 to 40 minutes for someone to arrive and take us to the charter terminal and another 20 minutes or so for the pilots to arrive.  The plane held 8 passengers and 2 crew , a twin engine aircraft.  Other charters , Tim Air , had single engine aircraft , looked to carry only 2 or 3 passengers and Air Jamaica Express a twin engine aircraft that appeared to carry 12 or more passengers.  We were the only passengers that morming and the flight was smooth and a quick 15 minutes in the air.  We booked the flight in advance and mentioned Negril Jeff from the Yahoo - Grand Lido Clubs , and received a fare of $ 55 p/p  each way.  

On arrival in Negril , the airstrip is across the street from Grand Lido , we had a half mile cab ride to the main entrance. Hedo II entrance is directly across the street and Point Resort also shares the private driveway.  The entrance garden is beautifully maintained as the first impression of Grand Lido is a warm Jamaican welcome.  

Grand Lido is situated on a cove that is shaped like the letter C.  From East to West the arc of the cove seemed to be about 3 miles along.  The main beach is at least a quarter mile long with about 15 meters of white sand from surf to grassy lawn in front of the rooms. The grassy lawn between the main beach and the guest rooms was about 50 - 75 meters wide, with a walkway ample distance from the rooms that  guests were not bothered by passersby. The opening of the cove to the sea appears to be about a mile across and about three quarters on a mile from shore. The size of the cove makes for glass smooth waters in the early morning and evening hours.  

During our 13 night stay , there was a breeze and thunderstorm that arrived nearly every day about lunch time and lasted until 4 or 5 in the afternoon.  Evenings the air was still and the water returned to smooth glassy surface. The rain gave us a respite from the Caribbean sun and a chance for an afternoon " nap " . The pick up in wind before the rain was the best time for sailing the Hobie Cats and wind surf boards.  

All the rooms on the resort faced the water , with the ground floor having a 2 x 3 meter concrete pad and the second floor rooms a small balcony.  Two chairs and a small table allowed for outdoor refreshments. One set of building at the west edge of the resort did not have ocean view but the view of the gardens and the quiet location would be fine for those looking for more laid back atmosphere and solitude.  

The west end of the resort abutted Point Resort and that end of the cove was marked by rock cliffs about 10 or 12 foot above the water.  The west end of Grand Lido property also has this rock cliff and where a pair of massage gazebos and the wedding gazebo are located.  The west end of the resort is the c/o side.  

The c/o side of the resort was just that. Many of the guests wore swim suits. Guests ranged in ages from mid 20's thru 60's with most in the mid 30's to 50's.

The c/o beach was about twice the size of the Breezes  c/o with 10 meters of white sand from the surf line to the grassy lawn in front of the rooms. The grassy area varied from 1 meter in front of just a few rooms to an average of 30 meters . The c/o side of the resort seemed much quieter and restful and one could hear the ocean and feel its breezes better than the main beach side, mainly because the distance from the beach to the rooms was so much closer.  

The resort appeared to be only about 60 % occupied the first few days we were there so there were only a couple of people up and about at that early hour.  Breakfast , served buffet style starts at 8.  Early risers can opt for room service of a continental breakfast - rolls , sweet breads , juices , coffee , tea , bagels , toast , cold cereals etc.  delivered  from 6 to about 10 AM .  Just hang the selection on the door handle by 2 AM and specify the half hour delivery you want ( 6 - 6:30  ,  6:30 - 7:00 ) and it arrives.  Starting about 6:00 AM at the c/o pool , there can be found coffee , tea , rolls , muffins , sweet breads and fresh fruit.  The selection was not replenished and tho it did not disappear quickly , the early partakers had the best selection.  

The Grand Terraza , the main building of the resort is located between the c/o and main beach . It contains the reception area , restaurants , concierge , disco, night club, gift shop , nurses station , game room etc. The entry is decorated with a huge flower centerpiece and artwork available for purchase.  

The main pool / hot tub is located off the Grand Terraza and overlooks the main beach to the east.  The mail pool is much smaller than Breezes and although towels were always plentiful , there were not enough lounges , even though those that were there occupied most all the pool deck.   The c/o pool was also much too small , only about 18' x 18' , and uniform depth of 5'.  Too small for more than a few guests or really cramped water volleyball. Certainly no floating on mats.  Water aerobics were offered in both but 10 or 12 people maximum could be accommodated in the main pool and the depth made it awkward in the c/o pool.  

To the east of the Grand Terraza is the main beach. The water sports building offered snorkeling equipment along with sign up for scuba classes and dive trips. I must comment on Kevin , one of the dive masters. He was very professional in leading the scuba dive trips and always ensured safety was his first priority.  Hobie Cat , Wind Surf Boards , Kayaks , Water Bicycles , were in excellent condition and available with virtually no wait.   

Directly to the east along the main beach , is Couples resort. We walked the beach and I must say Couples beach was not maintained as well and the resort from what we could see was not nearly as nice as Grand Lido.  There is another resort in the construction process just to the east of  Couples.  I was told it is going to be called RIO, built by a Mexican or Spanish organization.  It is going to be huge and dwarf others in the area.  From what we could see from the beach the resort will be 3 stories tall with 12 rooms per building, I believe I counted at least 12 buildings or over 400 rooms and a huge central facility.  

We arrived at the resort at 7:30 AM and our room had not yet been prepared , we were temporarily assigned to room 1053 .  The room was beautifully made up with fresh flowers on the bed , arranged on a towel that had been shaped into a heart. The room cleaning staff had a number of artistic ways of folding  the towels into hearts , fans , etc.  We checked out the c/o beach , about 6 steps directly outside our door.   The c/o pool was about 100'  along the beach  from our room.  The Caribbean waters were warm and calm in the mornings and the c/o beach was large enough that even at the busiest  times there were plenty of lounge chairs and floats to go around.  The c/o pool was smaller than it could have been and lounges filled often.   

We eventually changed to our assigned room, # 1006 at the East end of the property along the main beach.  The rooms all have tile floors , adequate air conditioning once I learned how to work the remote control unit , hair dryers, TV , CD player , phones. All rooms have room safes for valuables. There are dispensers in the shower for shampoo , lotion and soft soap.  No  Hair Conditioner  so that is one thing to bring along as the ocean water , sun , and humidity really makes a woman’s hair frizz.  All rooms enter from the side away from the beach and there is no way to lock the Oceanside door except from the inside.  

Just outside our entry door was tennis courts and the Beach House, one of three 24 hour bars and room service kitchens. The other 24 hour facilities are , Timber House , just off the Grand Terraza in the center of the property and the Stone House at the west end in the c/o area.  All have the same room service menu offerings of club sandwich , potato skins , salads , ice cream , coffee , teas , juices as well as full bar.  All the " Houses " also have a hot tub nearby.   

Everyone on the web has mentioned the baby lamb chops.  I must say they are GREAT !  Tho for some reason I think the ones from the Timber House are better than the others. ? ? ?  

Our first week we spent on the main beach and made some great friendships , some with those we had contacted from message boards and others just hanging out.  I had some great scuba dives although the reef is not as colorful or did not seem to have as much fish variety as Breezes.   

We moved rooms for our second week to the c/o side.  The room was basically the same but we were much closer to the water , only about 25 meters from the beach and although it wasn't any quieter , nights we only heard the tree frogs and surf , it did seem much more peaceful as there were not the people walking in front of our patio when we chose to sit out.  

Our two weeks seemed to go by slowly when we were there but on the last days we were ready to go home to realty.   

We were flying Air Jamaica and one of the niceties of GLN is the ability to check baggage on premises. We had our bags outside the room at 9:00 AM and went to the library to meet the Air Jamaica rep at 10:30 who , gave us our boarding passes , collected the departure tax , and gave us destination tags to attach to our checked bags. We then went to the bell desk , identified our bags , tagged them and they were sent on to Montego Bay.  

We were not scheduled to depart from Montego Bay until 5:45 PM and were flying back from Negril so we did not have to leave GLN until almost 4 PM.  Checkout time is normally noon , but as the resort was not totally booked we were able to get a late checkout and had the chance to enjoy both lunch and be refreshed for the long flight home.  

Scuba dives were at 9:00 AM for certified divers and usually were to depths of 70 to 100 feet.  The 11:00 AM dive was for both certified divers and those taking the resort dive course.  Only one day did I miss diving because I failed too sign up the day before and the boat was full.  Every other day there were only 6 or 8 other guests on the boat for either dive.  I missed one day also because I showed up at 11 exactly , figuring things are on Jamaica time , the boat had left 10 minutes early because the dive master thought he had only two diving that day and they were there. The watersports schedule also listed a beginners dive at 1:30 PM daily but it did not go out the entire 2 weeks I was there ,  bummer.  

Optional Tours : The catamaran trip was excellent, only had 5 other couples and the crew the day we went. It leaves GL on Wednesday and Friday at 10:30AM , returns about 2:00PM.  Stops along the reef between GL and Pickled Parrot  for some snorkeling and then anchors about an hour for jumping off the cliff ( 20') or rope swing at Parrot.  Entertainment and drinks included on the Cat  during the trip.  We also tried the ParaSailing , sign up for both at the tour desk in the game room.  ParaSailing , a launch picks you up on the main beach , you can pretty much pick the time you want between 10 and 4 , and takes you out to the tow boat. Usually up to 3 couples may be on the boat at a time. The launch will drop you off and maybe return others to their resort while you wait your turn. Sit in a harness on the back deck of the boat and you are lifted a few hundred feet in the air.  Air time about 15 minutes then you are winched back to the boat , never touch the water. As long as the boat motor doesn't conk out that is.  :-)  

Glass bottom boat and snorkeling is also available from GL at no extra charge. When snorkeling make sure to grab a few half bagels from the breakfast buffet to feed the fish. They will surround you and feed from your hand.  

Food :  

Breakfast  is buffet style in the Grand Terraza. Selections include omelets and eggs made to order, fruits , pastries , bacon , sausages , cold and hot cereal , anything you could want or imagine.  French toast was excellent. Quality was acceptable, certainly no complaint on quantity.  With the continental room service delivery available from 6:00AM  and the buffet from 8:00 to 10:30 , you couldn't possibly go hungry.  

Lunch also  is buffet style with made to order sandwiches along with various hot entrees,  theme days of Mexican , Chinese ,  island quisine .  Fruits , salads , deserts , all tastes accommodated.  Anyone who has been to any other all inclusive resort will appreciate that buffet dining can't really be rated. After a week it all  starts to look and taste the same , you know what you like and choose from those selections.  

Dinner is buffet style on Monday for the Beach Party and Friday for the Managers Grand Gala.  The pork cut from the whole pig is excellent as well as the crab and jerk pork and chicken. The blackened snapper , the marlin , the grilled fish , I haven't had better .  

Restaurants:

There are three restaurants that are open every night with the exception of Monday in the French restaurant.  The French restaurant ( Piaciere ) requires men to wear a jacket and women a dress. No sneakers or sandals.  The food is very good and service the best of the others. Reservations are required and it is the policy of the resort they will not book you more than one night during your stay in order to accommodate all the guests at least one night. They will however wait list you for another night.  Most guests stay from 5 to 7 nights and with Monday closing / beach party night , and Friday Grand Gala buffet , and the other two restaurants available , dinner choices are varied.

Cafe Lido is sit down restaurant , no reservation required. I only saw one or two changes to the menu entrees which consists of about 5 selections.  Chicken , catch of the day , seafood medley, meat choice, Desert and appetizer choices limited to 4 or 5 selections never changing.  Dress code casual but men must wear shirt with collar , no tee shirt.  Service sucked.

Pasta restaurant was very good but with same 5 entree selections of which sauce choice over which pasta. Pasta was spaghetti , fusilli , penne , or bow tie , sauces were turkey / bacon -- excellent , seafood ( shrimp / scallops / fish ) in red sauce , also excellent  and three others  that I heard no complaints about. Service here was also very good.  

Entertainment:  

GLN is a very laid back resort.  Lunch time entertainment consists of fashion show , or bingo , or a treasure hunt .or  the resident band plays a short set.  A high spot was the string quartet we caught playing a  breakfast.  Showtime is in the Grand Terraza with the resident band from 9:30 to 10:00 PM and then a 40 minute show of local singing talent. Although the singers were very good they had a set show that ended exactly on time with no encore even if the audience wanted more.  The night club is very small , would be very crowded with more than 30 people.  Entertainment was a singalong with piano player or karoke. Neither was well attended.  The rowdiest party was the PJ party in the disco on Thursday nights.  About 50 guests showed up for that but I must say the outfits were very conservative.  Of the two PJ parties we attended there was only one guest ( the same both times ) who wore a risqué / revealing outfit.  The toga party was not held either week that we were there and the staff / guest talent contest was canceled one week.   It seemed like everyone headed back to their rooms by 10 PM  most every night.  

I know this is a long trip report but I want to finish up with a few more personal comments.   

Grand Lido Negril Resort is a beautiful property. The beach is the best I have seen in Jamaica and the grounds and three 24 hour bar / food ' Houses " are wonderful .  Timber House staff is the best , with Beach House second and Stone House third for service.  Twenty-four hour room service and laundry / dry cleaning services are super amenities.   

We went to the returning guest reception and met Brian Drew the General Manager. He talked about improvements that will be coming including upgrading all the bathtubs to whirlpool tubs , new room furniture , new lounge pads , and an Internet kiosk in the library for those of us who want to check e-mail etc. He seems genuinely interested in making  GLN  a true 5 star resort.    

The only complaint with the resort , and it really makes a place top notch or not is with the service  / staff.  Unfortunately  GLN  falls well short in service.  I can't tell you how many of the other guests that we talked to over our 2 week stay had the same comments. The attitude of the staff is the one thing that over and over came across from other guests as the most lacking ingredient to make GLN  into what it should be.  

To be sure there were OUTSTANDING  staff , Kevin in the water sports , Shelly Ann in Grand Terraza , Tamara at the front desk , Glendon the wine steward in Piaciere , Orlando and Carrie Ann and Felicia in entertainment.  The lady who cooked French toast and the omelet chef at breakfast.  Davion in the Grand Terraza and our room cleaning crew were always friendly and helpful. The staff at the Timber House  were always friendly  and made us feel as welcome guests.  The resident band played very well and the string quartet  were excellent. It was wonderful to hear them at breakfast and lunch.  

I hate to compare it with Disneyland , but there management ensures that the staff always puts on a happy face and smiles and greets their  guests. Having stayed at Breezes the difference is night and day between the staff attitudes. GLN staff seem to look at their work as just a job they would rather not be doing.  For sure if we would say 'hello' or 'how are you doing?' we would get a response but there was never the enthusiasm of making the guests  

To give some specific examples of my dismay with GLN:  

Room service . On one occasion I went to the Stone House to order a couple of sandwiches , a cup of hot tea and a red stripe. Our room was only 100' or so away and so I went back to the room to wait.  An hour later it still had not been delivered so I went back to find out the problem. The server told me he was waiting for more red stripe to be brought to the Stone House as he was out. About 15 minutes later all was delivered.  Another order never arrived , and we gave up and went to sleep , and an order for two ice cream requested about 1:30 in the morning was an hour delivery time.  

Cafe Lido....  My wife and I went one evening , the place was about half full. I did not have a collared shirt on and was informed of the dress code.  I went back to the room for another shirt and my wife was seated at a table for two , handed her menu , draped with her napkin and had her drink order taken.  A few minutes later the hostess came up to my wife , I had not yet returned , and told her she had to move her to another table because she had another couple she wanted to seat at that table.  Strange because tables for 2 were empty both to the front and back of where she was seated.  My wife said a number of times that she was happy with where she was sitting but the hostess insisted my wife move so another couple could have that particular table.  There certainly wasn't anything special about the table as there were at least 4 or 5 empty tables in the restaurant at the time. My wife was understandably flustered and left the restaurant to find me on my way back.  I asked for the manager on duty at the time and told him the story , he apologized and walked us back to Cafe Lido and had us seated at another table.   Of course he COMPED us for the meal !  No other apology was offered.

I observed a guest at the Beach bar on the main beach return with a drink her husband had just gotten for her and she nicely said to the bartender , this is not what I wanted.  Instead of just taking the drink and asking how she might help the bartender in a surly tone commented , well that is what  was ordered.   

The most glaring example to me that GLN is not the premier resort it wants to be occurred on Thursday 10 August.  After we had eaten in the restaurant it was about 9:25 PM and showtime was about to start.  Other guests who had eaten at Piaciere , dressed formally came out to the Grand Terraza for the entertainment. A number of tables were occupied , about 18 or 20 , one couple who had been married that day  , still dressed formally and most of the others just casually in shorts and shirt.  All of the lower level tables had had their flower centerpiece removed and piled onto one table in the corner. The tables were dirty , hard wood topped and not a tablecloth on any of them.  Of the class-topped tables on the upper level , all the seat cushions were haphazardly thrown around either in chairs or piled on the tables.  Again not a single table had a tablecloth or was cleaned for a guest to sit at.  There was no table service for drinks , everyone had to queue at the bar where 2 bartenders were frantically trying to serve.  

I went to the front desk and asked for the M O D  as I wanted to register a complaint.  He arrived in a few minutes and as I pointed out the sorry state of the Grand Terraza and lack of servers , I commented that this was not what I expected from a Grand Lido property.  He agreed things were not as I should expect  and promised to do something about it.  I saw him talking and motioning to someone I took to be the head of the dining area set up crew.  He did arrange for one server to take drink orders from the tables but that was woefully inadequate considering the number of people in attendance. No attempt was made to clean the tables or  provide table coverings.  

The  final  question is  Would I go back  to GLN ?

At this point I would say definitely NOT.  Though the resort is beautiful and the beach the best  I have seen , now that I have had a number of experiences with Superclubs , and all the other guests I have met have raved that Sandals staff treat their guests so much better, I think my next visit may be with Sandals

Frank & Joan