The Verandah Resort & Spa

So I will break down as much as I can for anyone thinking about going to this resort. I will start off by saying overall we had a very nice time. My husband and I have been on roughly 15 all-inclusive trips all over the place, and most are pretty similar. Nothing too different about this one. property: the property is very pretty, and feels like its built into the hillside/jungle. They have golf cart porters who you can call to come get you, or they have stations set up throughout to wait for one. They pass by pretty regularly though. We walked to the front and back several times as well. Pretty hilly if you have trouble walking I will say. rooms: We stayed in the superior waterfront nestled in the trees right above Lovers beach. It was a gorgeous view. The room itself is clearly older, but still nice. If youre looking for something upscale and all shiney and new, this isnt it. But for people who rarely hang out in their rooms, it was absolutely fine. Nothing wrong with it at all. One thing we are used to though is a stocked mini fridge. They have a mini fridge but they only give you 2 complimentary bottles of water, no beer, no soda, nothing else. Since the water is drinkable, you have to purchase other bottles of water. You do have a sink (other than the bathroom) next to the mini fridge so you can refill water bottles there. Or bring a cup to refill because the little shop on the property is PRICEY! for a bottle of water and sunscreen it was $27 USD. food: Most all-inclusvie offer pretty bland foods to of course suit everyone. My husband and I like spicier, richer foods. This all inclusive is no different and we didnt expect it to be, so it was good. The restaurants food is no different. They really only have three restaurants that are free though, besides the buffet. Sails and Tails and Italian at night, and the beach restaurant is only during the day. Nicholes you have to pay $50 per person extra. We didnt try that since it didnt get the best reviews. Italian was good, but we definitely preferred sails and tails. But both good. The sports bar food was fine. Not great but not bad. Our friends liked the nachos. THE BEST part of the food there was the pizza place. We literally ate it everyday for lunch! Lunch time of course is super busy so go a little early. Once they run out of dough they are done for the day even if its not closing time. Also, NO 24 HOUR ROOM SERVICE. We have been so used to this aspect that frankly it was a bit of an adjustment. If you miss dinner thats it. We loved it after a good night of partying, but oh well. Pools and beaches: The beaches were so chill. almost too chill. We have always gone to more party type resorts, but we are in our mid 40s now and welcomed a more relaxed atmosphere. The issue was that the beaches didnt have any music. Even just at a low volume. Not necessarily an issue but seemed a little odd. They have some music at the main pool area the entire time its open. So the beaches are super chill. Lover beach is the main beach and is very nice. Not rocky, no shells really, but these neat rafts that are permanently anchored out in the water to relax on. Several people can fit on them. Plus you can rent kayaks, and explore the bay for free. Plenty of shaded areas as well. There is a second beach near the very front of the resort called Rasta beach where the beach restaurant is. This beach is super quiet. But there is this neat pool in the corner that is awesome for hanging out and chatting with friends with this cool waterfall feature. grab a few drinks and go chill there. The main pool is where the "party" is at. Its pretty chill though too. They had a foam party which was a lot of fun. They DO NOT have a SWIMUP bar! I guess we took this for granted because every other resort has had one. Which is fine I guess but we really love them. Theres also no one walking around taking drink orders. Bars are easy to get to so its not a big deal but if you thought you could tip someone to serve you, they arent here! Tipping: We are from the US and we tip a lot. Every other resort ive been to, you find a server, give them $20 the first day, and keep on tipping throughout the week. They always find you and make sure you've got a drink. We love that not only for the service but you get to know the person and they always good local tips for fun things to do. Nothing like that here. Again not a major issue but something we always enjoyed. Never really got to talking much with any of the staff even though we tried to. The people all seemed friendly, but at a distance if that makes sense. We also like to tip just about anyone who helps us out or does a service, but no one there seemed to really care that we tipped, and no one else really was. Which was just a bit different for us. I understand tipping isnt a big thing in every culture, but if you are used to it, bring a lot of 1's. We went through like $140 in 1's in a couple days, but assumed like most resorts theyd have an ATM or we could exchange with the front desk. They had neither. golf: we always bring our golf clubs when we travel. WE read the reviews and it seemed like the Cedar Valley was the place to go. THe best on the island....DO NOT waste your money. This place is beat to hell, every single green was covered in some sort of disease so it was like plinko putting! you need an offroad vehicle to get around. So when you see the golf carts that look like they were shot several times and possibly a bear attacked them...you will understand why. it was crazy. It was $100/person when it should have been $25. It was janky as can be. Dont even waste your money to ship your clubs. Just go do something else. Catamaran: we did a catamaran around the island I believe called the excellence and it was perfect. beautiful views, beautiful beach you stop at, but the waves were HUGE! if you get sea sick at all, take some dramamine! It saved me and it was fun! Its not choppy at all, just very big waves. Very cool experience!

We stayed 4 nights in a WaterFront Suite King. Our room was clean and very spacious but it was not as updated (especially the decor and furniture) as I expected given that the resort was renovated recently. The only thing that appeared to be updated was the flooring. We did receive complimentary bottled water in our room when I know that other guests received bottled waters in their rooms. When I asked guest services to have bottled waters delivered to our rooms, we never received them. Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly by reception and were treated to refreshing welcome drinks. After being taken to our room, we grabbed a late lunch at the Beach Grill. Our waitress was not friendly and she forgot to bring our drink orders. After sitting for at least 20 minutes, we requested them again with another server. It’s not as if they were busy..we were only a handful of people there. Once our food order finally arrived, we were rather disappointed with the quality of the food. Needless to say, we did not go back to Beach Grill for the remainder of the trip. We had breakfasts everyday at the Seabreeze restaurant, which serves a daily breakfast buffet, and feature an omelet and smoothie station. We were satisfied with the selection and food quality. We also had pizza for lunch one day at Papa Ricco’s. The pizza was just ok. But given that we are from NJ, where we have access to the best pizza places, I did not expect much anyway. We also had lunch and dinner twice at Sails and Tales where the food selection and quality were satisfactory. The views if you sit near the balcony, are stunning. Our favorite dining experience was at Portofino’s where the food was very good as was the service. One thing to note is that the menu did not change at all at Sails and Tales or Portofinos during our 4 night stay. Not sure how often they change their menu, but for anyone staying 1 week or more, the menu options can get stale. The resort grounds are beautifully maintained and the main pool area is lovely. We spent most of our time relaxing on Lover’s beach, a small quiet and lovely beach where the Lazy Pelican Bar is located. We had no problem getting chairs or umbrellas for the day. The nightly entertainment at the poolside bar was always fun given there is not much nightlife near the resort. Overall, we enjoyed our stay.

We couldn’t have been happier here. The resort is well run and the people were incredibly kind and helpful. Would like to give a shout out to Vanessa at guest services for all her help, Lassondra at the pool bar for her service, Nicole and Tasha at Portofinos , and Dale who was everywhere doing everything with a smile. The food was very good from the Ala carte, the Italian restaurant, Sails and Tails and the burgers on the beach. Oh and the pizza was delicious!! The rooms are very comfortable and the air works great! There are a lot of stairs and inclines so beware you will get your steps in but they do have golf carts to take you around too. I would definitely come back here!!!

The resort is lovely; a mix of beaches and pools with another large beach nearby. We thought the food was good- we didn’t pay for Nicole’s but enjoyed Sails and Tails, and Portofinos and thought that the buffet, both breakfast and evenings was decent. Drinks were good and we found the barstaff willing to make customised cocktails. Where it is let down is some of the staff and overall organisation. Some are great; friendly and engaging but others disinterested and feels that they’re forced to work there!! Overall though everyone is welcoming. We found a lack of overall organisation. Cleaning didn’t happen twice and we had to chase- cleaning did then happen but they forgot the next time leaving our room uncleared for 4 out of the 9 days. Some advertised activities just don’t happen as staff don’t turn up, including the initial orientation. We would recommend this place and enjoyed our time there but don’t be fooled into thinking that you’ll get 5* customer service…

I was un-sure of The Verandah before we arrived, as I had read some very poor reviews. I have been pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness, friendliness and quality. Unlimited drinks - all named spirits, not local cheaper brands. Staff so friendly, jolly and happy. No issue with towels, I did notice some residents take 3 towels each ! No issues with getting sunbeds. Really relaxing here. Great reggae band last night, mini golf, darts, pool table. Great sports bar with lovely staff too.