Sandals Negril

We have been coming here for years I think the resort is the most beautiful it’s ever been. Service is amazing. Don’t forget your garden tour with Simone. It’s my first and I loved it. Don’t miss it if you love flowers

We were able to move to Negril post hurricane Melissa, as SRC was still closed. Beach was fantastic, we even walked to Beaches and used the lazy river. Our butlers Delroy and Felix were both great and really ensured we had all our preferences. Felix was probably the top for that in all our stays. The water sports team was great, especially Alex and Leo, highly recommend both the private coastline & cave tour and private snorkeling with them, they made our trip.

The Booking & Billing Nightmare: Our nightmare began before we even arrived. Sandals messed up my booking number, transferred my booking to a travel agent without my permission, and then tried to charge me an additional $900 despite my account having a $0 balance. This set an unprofessional tone for the entire stay. ​Plumbing & Technical Failures: We stayed in the Bamboo Grove One-Bedroom Skypool Butler Suite with Rooftop Terrace. While the room was beautiful, the utilities were a failure. The water pressure in the shower went in and out constantly. During one shower, while I was completely lathered in soap, the water shut off entirely for several minutes. My eyes burned from the soap very badly while I waited for the water to return. Additionally, the television service was in and out the entire stay, and the Wi-Fi was horrible. ​ The "Invisible" Butler & Final Night Failure: We have stayed in butler suites in other countries and even other resorts in Jamaica, and we have never received such horrible service. We were never informed of the free amenities or inclusions. We felt hungry the entire time, and on our last night, we could not reach a butler at all; we called repeatedly to order room service and no one ever responded. Furthermore, when our primary butler was off-duty, the fill-in butler never even came to introduce himself. ​ Staff Attitude & The Beach Exclusion: While a few staff members were kind, the majority were very unfriendly and unwelcoming. We felt like an inconvenience. On New Year’s Eve, our butler insisted we move from the beach to the pool for party setup, yet no other guests were asked to move. We were forced away from the ocean while everyone else remained undisturbed. ​ Excursion & Private Transfer Disaster: Our prepaid excursion was canceled with zero notice. Even our escape to Rick’s Cafe was ruined. We paid for a private transfer but were squashed into a small car with another couple. I ended up soaking wet on the ride back because the other guests were allowed to board in wet swimwear. ​ Final Verdict: The food was sub-par and the New Year’s Eve party lacked variety; it did not cater to international diversities, but more so appealed to one group people. A beautiful room and rooftop terrace cannot make up for a complete lack of hospitality and basic utility failures. I will never return to Sandals Negril, and I will never step foot in another Sandals resort again. They have lost a customer for life.

Kevon, the water aerobics instructor at Sandals Negril, was an absolute highlight of my stay. On mornings when I didn’t feel like running or hitting the workout facility, his 30-minute water fitness class was the perfect way to take the edge off while still getting a legit workout. The class is great for all fitness levels—Kevon has a rare ability to challenge you while also meeting you exactly where you’re at. I’ve done water aerobics before, but his sessions stood out. He mixed in classic moves that worked the whole body with some genuinely unique elements, like using the swim bench for intense flutter kicking and even a creative “running up a hill” sequence that definitely made you feel it. The energy was fun, motivating, and never intimidating. You leave feeling accomplished, not destroyed—unless you wanted to be 😉 10/10 experience. If Kevon is leading water aerobics while you’re there, don’t skip it.

My wife, some friends and I just had our vacation at Sandals Negril and as you know we all have what we think should be a perfect holiday, in other words "meeting our expectations". When you look at what this means in the dictionary, it says “something successfully fulfilled your anticipated standards, requirements, or hopes”. At this Sandals Negril our group had amazing experiences for the 11 days that we were there. Let’s start with the food which was consistent and tasty at each restaurant we went to, the local dishes of oxtail and curry goat were outstanding, and the lobster, fish and meat dishes flavours did not disappoint, bravo to the chefs. The nightly entertainment was exciting and engaging by the performers who were well rehearsed and prepared. The facility was well maintained with beautiful landscaping and well-kept grounds. Our room was clean and stocked with the required amenities. Thank you. A major standout for us however was the customer service. It was fantastic to see the pride everyone took in their job, all the staff were friendly, accommodating and genuinely cared. You could tell that the culture was one of “never say no,” but try to do the best to help or fix issues positively, so as to not take away from the guest experience. I would like to share a couple of experiences, our room had issues with no hot water and Nicolas came to the room at 11:30pm, and did his best to fix the issue, but could not get it rectified. He however came with an option and knowing I was desperate for a shower he let me use a vacant room to shower that night, it was much appreciated and thanks for coming with a plan. The next day we were moved to another room since there was still an issue with the plumbing. It did not stop there, Cion (CeCe) offered us a candlelight dinner on the beach which included our friends, this was totally unexpected and much appreciated. To wrap up my last experience, I lost my wedding band, which was a family heirloom one night, I retraced my steps, but had no luck in finding it. I told the young lady Yaneek at the front desk what had happen and if anyone turned it in to notify me and went back to my room. Later that night I decided to go back and retrace my steps again with my wife and as we were walking we saw Yaneek with a big smile on her face and she had the ring in her hand. With a sigh of relief and gratitude Yaneek went out of her way, found my ring and turned an ugly situation into a wonderful story. An operation like Sandals Negril does not just happen and we had the pleasure of meeting and talking with the General Manager Melissa Clark. You can see that it is through her leadership she has created an undeniable outstanding culture and her thumbprint is embedded in all areas of the operation. At the Loyalty dinner she spoke very highly of her team and importance of taking care of the guest authentically, it was a pleasure to see such passion and energy from a leader. My wife and I would like to just recognize some folks that we interacted with, our shout out to, the two Terry Anns, Rochelle, Ricardo, Yaneek, Nicholas, Dwayne, Karlene, Michael, Tova, Cion (CeCe), Jodi, Kevon, Ann Marie. Thank you for your attention to the details and professionalism. Lastly, we want to applaud the entire Sandal Negril team on how well they performed and how ready they were after the horrific hurricane they endured, we arrived after 5 days when you reopened. Well done! Everyone we spoke said that their families were safe which was great news, the resiliency and the positivity of the Jamaican people was admirable. God bless and thank you for a great holiday. Chris and Cecille Straughan