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Grand Lido Negril 07/30/02
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
This was our second trip to GLN after a five-year hiatus, which occurred from 7/7 - 7/14/02. Not much has changed with the resort in the intervening time and several employees recognized us, which added to the special feel this resort has. We stayed for seven nights and will increase that when we go back to Jamaica. We took the plane to Negril from MoBay and it was a breeze. Since the road is mostly done, we would probably take the bus, but getting to the resort at 11:30 was great. Our room wasn't ready (check in is at 3 and they almost always honor a late checkout request) but after a drink at the Main Bar and a quick stroll, we were in our room by 12:15. The resort was at around 60% capacity and with only 200 rooms for such a large property it never feels full. The grounds on the CO side of the resort are beautiful while the main beach side has a lawn down to the beach. More trees and beds would be welcomed here as Couples and the Riu down the beach have palms to the high tide line. Since it was the low season, work on the resort was ongoing. Not so much as to be a distraction, though. The oft-bashed rooms were fine by my standards. Once the room upgrades are complete (end of next low season says management) they will be luxurious, but right now, they are OK. The bathroom is the only visibly tired area of the room but is large and functioned great. It will be redone in green marble and a huge tub once renovations are complete. We had a beachfront room on the CO side which was very near one of the club houses where you can get drinks and food 24 hours a day. Waits were about 15-30 minutes on food, none on drinks. The food was good to great. Dinners at a restaurant instead of a buffet are a treat. They have three tiers of dining: casual, semi formal and formal. La Pasta was casual Italian. Think of a Macaroni Grill with a more limited menu. Our one meal here was fine. Cafe Lido is semi-formal (which means tailored shorts and leather sandals) and is fine dining with several courses and fantastic desserts. Piacere is a ten-piece place setting kind of place with white glove service. It is a culinary experience that you should not miss. Please bring one pair of nice shoes and be ready to get stuck in a huge loaner jacket if you donít bring your own. I only wish we had more than one reservation. Dinner takes about 2.5 hours and is very, very good. Buffet breakfast and lunch were fine, varied and plentiful. I never ate the same thing twice if I didn't want to. The beaches are superb. Bloody Bay is the tops of Negril and it shows. Tons of sailing and floating going on. The CO beach at GLN is very private and not subject to people just walking the beach. There is a bar/grill on hand and a small pool and hot tub which were well maintained and used. My wife and I were on vacation to veg so we were up pretty early and down early as well. I wouldn't count on the resort to fill your night for you but if you make friends with your neighbors or the folks on the beach, you make your own excitement. Or you can cab it down to the Negril bars for more action. All in all, this was a wonderful vacation. Once the room upgrades are finished this place will be perfect but is still excellent in my book right now. I thought it was silly when during our first stay I saw repeater t-shirts that say We Do Lido Again Ö and Again Ö and AgainÖ, but now I know. Feel free to email with specific questions. We are planning a 10-day trip next year to Braco and GLN (5 and 5) and will then check out Couples or maybe even leave Jamaica all together. It is a big Caribbean, after all. Things that were great: 24 hour room/bar/food service; never waiting for a drink (premium calls all the way); the food; the included laundry and dry cleaning; SCUBA; never being without a float or lounger and never having to scope one out; eating on your schedule; the plunge pool; the laid back atmosphere; and most of all, the employees and people we met. Things that werenít great: the bathrooms, the mosquitoes (it was July and the tropics after all); no music at the bars except what you bring on CD; lack of live music after dinner; and the laid back atmosphere if you were looking for a spring break kind of experience (which we werenít).
Dylan Wood
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