My wife and I spent 8 days and 7 nights at Grand Lido Braco (GLB) and here is my report. This was only our second trip to the Caribbean.The other was last year to Grand Lido Negril (GLN). Please excuse my many comparisons to GLN but this is all I have to compare Braco to. GLN is an admittedly tough standard to live up to. Grand Lido Negril MAY be the finest resort on the island.
Transportation We arrived at the Minneapolis/St Paul airport 2 hours prior to departure after hearing that charter flights (Sun Country) are often very crowded and seats are very close. Being 6’2” tall, I thought an early arrival could get us a better seating choice and it paid off. Our Luggage Agent got us a first row seat in the second section of a DC10 and we flew in comfort all the way. The plane left on time and we were actually ahead of schedule, but we were denied access to Cuban airspace, and that killed the 30 minute advantage we had. Thanks Fidel! On our return flight the agent blew our request and despite being 2 hours early she stuck us in a window seat crammed together with all the others. This made for a very long trip home. Fortunately Fidel was in a better mood and we WERE able to use Cuban air space thus saving me 20 + minutes of being shoe-horned in my seat. Our trip through the airport was short and hassle free and we were soon on the bus heading for Braco. Our driver pointed out many places of interest along the way including the boyhood home of Harry Belafonte. It has since been converted into a bar called the “Sober Robin”. Our driver did not hesitate to remind us that he was not an employee of Grand Lido and would be happy to accept any gratuity we cared to offer him. He did a great job, I gave him $10.00.
Arrival We arrived and noticed that the humidity here on the Northern coast was much higher than Negril but a steady breeze made it bearable. After staying at GLN one can only be a bit disappointed at the Lobby in Braco. We were spoiled by the awesome lobby in Negril. We were determined not to let this bother us, after all we were not staying in the lobby. After a few minutes filling out forms and credit card swiping (for phone calls) we were soon being escorted to our room by Marlene. She was a very pleasant and professional employee, and one of my favorites at the resort. We had requested with our reservation, and got, a main floor room on the “au naturel” side. A Jr. Beach front Suite.
Accommodations The room at Braco was decent size, the bathroom was even a bit larger, than GLN. The suite lacked a step down that so nicely separated the bed and TV areas at Negril. One nice touch we didn’t get at GLN was a refrigerator stocked with Red Stripe beer and Pepsi (sorry Coke fans no Coke, Pepsi) as well as Ting a sweet fruit soda. The bed was a King size, bigger than GLN. The pool, hot tub, and bar on the au naturel side are huge. Much nicer than Negril. The pool and hot tub are however behind the rooms and made for a longer walk from the beach to the hot tub and pool. This really separated the guests as either pool people, or beach people. The au naturel side also has a “clubhouse” open 24 hrs, but it is sparsely staffed , and empty virtually all the time we were there. Inside is a ping pong table and a bar and a rather large area not yet used. The kitchen in the clubhouse is used primarily for room service. A small porch in front has tables and was used occasionally by those who didn't want to dress and walk over to the main complex. The Au naturel bar also has a grill and serves chicken, burgers & fries. The main complex has the “Village,” a reproduction that has many shops restaurants etc. Very nice, just a bit smaller than I had imagined. The other restaurants include La Pasta, Victory Market, Nanny’s Jerk Grill, Piacere, and at the extreme eastern edge there is a bar that I assume has a grill for the “Textiles”. Not open yet is the Japanese restaurant and the gym. Work seemed to be going steady on these two places just on the edge of the nude beach. The workout machines are in place and are already getting rusty due to the corrosive sea breeze. The staff had them covered by the time we left, but I am at a loss as to how they will protect this equipment after the gym opens. The workout room now is temporarily being shared with the game room over the piano bar. It has two real nice treadmills that seem to get a fair amount of use. I ran early and had no problem, but slept in a few days and had to wait on those days. The workout room also seemed to have the usual amount of equipment including stationary bikes, weight machine, etc. I saw no Stair masters. The treadmills were soaking wet one morning after rain had blown through windows at night.
Service This is where I think GL Braco has a ways yet to come. The staff for the most part is real friendly and accommodating, yet one female bartending on the nude side would fill your order without comment or even eye contact. Others fall somewhere in between. At GLN it seems that the grounds, beaches, everywhere was spotless and this was achieved because EVERYONE including management, security, grounds people, the entire staff, was always picking up towels, trash, glasses, ETC. trying to keep the place clean. Not so at Braco. I am not suggesting the place is messy, it’s just not as clean as Negril. One woman we met there was livid with the service and demanded to be transported to GL San Souci. My wife and I both thought this was a bit extreme. They were glad to accommodate her. I had a 25 minute Massage ($30.00) and it was great. The service in the restaurants was fine. I did leave clothes for laundering and it took 72 hrs to return not the promised 48. In short I would say the service was not great but certainly not horrible either. One can be forgiving since it is a staff of mostly new people. If I had never been to Negril I may not have even noticed!
FOOD The food in most of the restaurants was excellent. The club sandwiches that room service brought were one of the few failings. If you like real ketchup bring your own from home, all they have is red water. On Friday night they have a street party with a display of food that is just sinful, including the best lobster I have ever eaten. The room service breakfast needs some fresh pastries, but for the most part the food was “no problem”. One thing I dearly missed was the “Blue Mountain” coffee. It has been replaced with a distant 2nd place “High Mountain” coffee. Also missing were the early morning urns of coffee on the outside bars.
ETC. One of my concerns was the term “Au naturel” at Braco this is: (at least for the female guest),the same as clothing optional. We saw very few clothed people on the beaches or at the pool and those we did see, for the most part, were not harassed for wearing suits. I DID hear a few guests who were rude enough to demand (from management) that all guests be nude on this side. Again a bit extreme to me. One real nice guy I met from Canada said he was approached by a guest and was “invited” to get naked. He refused and that was the end of it. I think gawkers in general (nude or clothed) are lacking manners, nothing else. I did see some behavior on the beach that was clearly unacceptable including one guy who got carried away when applying lotion on his wife (areas that would never see any sun), and another couple who opened both of their French doors to the beach and proceeded to make love in plain sight of anyone walking by! The beaches are still rocky in spots and trash lines a man-made point that goes out from the main complex. We did see some people working on this towards the end of the week but it will take a huge effort to get it all cleaned up. At GLN the beaches were not just clean but pristine. GLN raked the entirely beach every morning. I missed that. The waves (not the fault of the staff) were much higher at Braco than at Negril and the wind was constant. A real plus if you like to sail or wind surf! The other thing I really missed after staying at GLN was the Zein, the 100’+ yacht that went out on sunset cruises every night and a nude suntanning cruise once a week. The skies tend to be cloudier on the Northern coast. We had asked another couple on our plane who stayed in Negril and they had bad weather one day and clear blue skies the rest. I would have to say that the skies were always somewhat cloudy and only for a few days really clear. Despite that I got plenty of sun and rather tan to prove it. I had also looked forward to running in the morning on the “running track”. This turned out to be a very short bulldozed clearing around the smaller nude hot tub. Very uneven and not what I would call a “track”.
In Summary GL Braco is doing a wonderful job. The word I think that comes to me the most is potential. It has the potential to be a 5 star resort. It has a way to go but is doing an admirable job thus far. Would I return? Most people I spoke with there said, “in a minute”. Those of us who are spoiled with the Grand Lido Negril standard may pay whatever it takes to return there. If for nothing else for the better weather and the calmer waters. Braco has advantages over Negril including the pool, hot tub, village, and wind, if you are a sailor. If you have booked a room at Braco, congratulations! You have picked a really nice resort and will have a wonderful time. I look forward to reading other reports and seeing how the progress has come. Feel free to E-mail for any specific questions.
“Jim”
Thanks for the report - Denny