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Beaches Sandy Bay 03/15/02
Reviewers Rating:  Great
Note; This was our 1st to an All Inclusive as well as Jamaica. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Since most of our previous winter vacations were to Hawaii, most comparisons in this review will be to Hawaii- some might say thats unfair. I dont. If after reading the Ugly and the Bad, you still want to visit Jamaica, read the good- considering the drawbacks Beaches Sandy Bay is a 1st class, fun resort. 1) The Ugly; A resort(Hedonism) for fat ugly people who frolic(show off??) around naked on the resorts catamaran is within sight of both Beaches Sandy Bay and Sandals Negril. From Beaches Sandy Bay, Hedonism is too far to see anything, but many of the boat rides offered bring you in sight of the resort. If that isnt enough to sicken you, tales circulated of the nightly activities there will. Next, whenever you leave the Beaches SB you will be asked to buy drugs. Also vendors of various goods will yell to you from outside the fence to buy thir goods, and they are quite aggressive and annoying. 2) The Bad The resort would be a 2 or 3 star in Hawaii. Its smaller, than the pictures and literature would suggest, with a busy road within maybe 10 yards of the opened lobby and 30 yards of the furthest oceanfront rooms- dont worry though the older air conditioners will drown out the street noise. Next, AIs attract the cheap party crowd, so expect lots of loud music, drinking and smoking there. You are stuck on the property, blocked in by Hedonism on the north, overgrown trashy beach to the south; unless you book an outside tour- about $50/pp. 3) The Good I did give the resort a 'great' rating for a number of reasons. 1st, its about as nice as the quote '5 star' Sandals next door. Sandals does have some nicer(not much nicer) rooms, but some were in awful locations. Beaches had renovated rooms that are nice all with ocean views and nice balconies. The sea and beach are excellent and are better than the pictures. Second the watersports program is great and easily accessible for the novice, waterskiing and scuba are included. The weather there was great every day. Food is good, not great, but we did find many gems there- like a 14 yr veteran cruise line pastry chef, lobster at Beaches Negril, Chicken-jerk and banana filled, pastas & seafood. (note; beef, veal and lamb are lacking ) Staff gets an A+, they are happy and very willing to help. Beaches has a wonderful staff, and you will gain complete respect for the fine people of Jamaica. Jamaicans love kids, and this is a wonderful place for your kids to get aquainted with a different culture. Shuttles to Beaches Negril, and the great facilities there are a big plus. Beaches Negril was the only resort there that came close to 5 star. If we return, itll be there. Even though we found kids club at BSB better, our kids always hanged with us at the beach. (note kids dont like the club that much, like you they want to make friends and hang at the beach and do something like banana boat. Personally, we probably wont return until Jamaicans bulldoze Hedonisms(BTW we'll never stay at a Grand Lido/Super Club anywhere because they own Hedonism) and clean up the very open and obvious drug selling that any law enforcement could easily clean up if they wanted to. Between the major tourist chain owners, the fine people of Jamaica(the most underused resource) and the British, resources are available to make Jamaica an excellent resort destination.
Mishka
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