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couples negril and riu tropical bay 12/10/02
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
> Having just returned from a two week vacation in Jamaica that included > Montego Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios and Kingston I thought it might be helpful > to others to do a report on my findings. Arrival at the Montego Bay > airport was on time at 2:30p.m. on Air Canada from Toronto.. Immigration and customs at Montego Bay was very fast and a great > improvement is that there is now a list of approved taxis and drivers and > you are told up front what the fare to your destination is supposed to be > - eliminating all the bargaining that used to be part of the process. > > > Air Jamaica Express was our mode of transportation from Montego Bay to > Negril. This is becoming a very popular option with visitors to Negril as > flying time there is 15 minutes compared to the land transportation which > takes 1 1/2 hrs. The highway from Montego Bay to Negril has now been > completed and we were told that it is now quite a pleasant trip over by > road. The Air Jamaica staff were helpful and the flight over went > smoothly. This is a great way to see some of the natural beauty of the > island as you fly over both the mountains and the coastline. The Negril > Aerodrome is situated directly across the road from the Couples Negril, > Grand Lido Negril and Riu Tropical Bay resorts. A taxi to most Negril > hotels from this airport is US5.00 - US9.00 if you arrive too early in the > day for the hotels to have a shuttle available for pick-up (we arrived in > Negril at 8:05 a.m.). > > Our first hotel in Negril was Couples Negril and enough cannot be said > about this resort. It was our 5th stay there and has remained one of our > favourites for good reason. Even though we had arrived at 8:15 a.m. > (official check-in time in 3:00 p.m.), we were immediately greeted with > cold towels and our choice of fresh fruit juice while our registration > paperwork was processed. We were then sent in to have breakfast while > they tried to find a room for us as soon as possible. We had requested a > room on block 5 by the beach and they were able to find one for us by > 10:00 a.m. Couples treats repeat guests wonderfully and on getting our > room we were given "Couples repeat guest" tee shirts, a certificate for > free massages and an invitation to the repeat guest dinner party. The > food at this resort is varied and of a very high quality both at the > buffets and the a la carte restaurants. The drinks were always premium > brands and cocktails were very well made. Bar staff always friendly and > well-trained. This is a five star resort that also includes offsite > excursionssuch as a catamaran cruise down the coast of Negril, shopping > trips into the town, trips to Rick's Cafe and also a trip to the crafts > market by boat. All of these outings cost extra at the other resorts > -more on this later. The rooms and suites are very comfortable and > decorated by Jane Issa (the owners wife) who came up with a unique > bohemian style called "Negril chic" and you are kept well stocked with > fresh towels by housekeepers who come by twice daily. Turndown service at > night is also provided. The staff at Couples Negril has perfected the art > of making the guest feel pampered, appreciated and "at home" in very > relaxing and beautiful surroundings and we will be going back again and > again > > Our next stop was Riu Tropical Bay in Negril. This resort is separated by > only a fence from Couples but worlds apart in customer service levels. > Couples gave us a complimentary tax transfer to this hotel and we checked > in at 11:00 a.m. This hotel shares the same beachfront as Couples and is > twice the size (396 rooms in various blocks of buildings throughout well > kept gardens). The lobby is large and airy and the gardens are lovely. > The style of architecture with large roman columns, busts of Caesar and > statues of Venus seem a little overdone for a tropical resort but that's > okay. The room was average hotel room size but very comfortable except > for the two double beds pushed together which were very hard. Only two > bath towels were provided and when we asked for hand towels we were told > "bath towels are all you get!". That attitude pretty much summed up Riu. > Customer service is not too important here. Meals at the buffet style > restaurant could be described as "much ado about nothing". Everything was > battered, fried or covered in sauces. and juices were canned or bottled in > a country that abounds with fresh fruit. Coffee was Nescafe instant > issued from a dispenser in the dining room that sometimes malfunctioned. > At Couples you were always given Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee with > endless refills. I make the comparison between these two hotels as Riu is > marketing itself as a 5 star property like Couples, but should be marketed > as a 3+ or 4 star. Also, some water sports are at additional cost, unlike > Couples, and excursions run US$35 and up. Clintele at Riu is predominantly > European, as is the management of the resort, and it does reflect in the > attitude of the hotel. > > > I hope this review will be useful to anyone travelling to these > destinations.> > Donna
donna brice
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