Couples Tower Isle

Honestly, where do we start? We visited Couples Tower Isle (CTI) April/May for our Honeymoon and it was the best holiday we have ever been on. The hotel thinks of everything from spirits in your room to all inclusive excursions but what makes this hotel stand above all the rest is the staff. They were absolutely phenomenal and no task was too big or small. Lots of them remembered your name which was a lovely touch, constantly refilling your water glasses when empty - sometimes before you even knew it was empty and making sure you had the best possible holiday. What I really love about the resort is that they all do this without any need for a tip. The hotel has quite a strict “No Tipping” policy as they believe that everyone should be on the same level and no one should get any extra service just because they have tipped. Food was some of the best and freshest food we have ever had at an All Inclusive and they chefs were always lovely and welcoming. The Pool Grill seemed to be a lot of peoples favourite as who doesn’t like a burger and chips by the pool. Our favourite was Eight Rivers (A La Carte) All included, you just need to book either using the app or Guest Services. Seven Courses and the food was amazing, it felt like a Michelin star restaurant or something. Only couple of negatives we had for the trip was that we felt Guest Services were possibly the least approachable of all the staff and when we asked any questions, they seemed quite put out by it. Not all of them but the majority. We were also a little disappointed that they made a big deal about other guests on their Honeymoon but we seemed to be overlooked. Not that it ruined our holiday or anything, but as we will never get this experience again, to hear that all other Honeymoons received a handwritten card to their room inviting them to the Honeymooners drinks, Cheese and Biscuits, a bottle of Champagne and a couples massage. The reason we were disappointed was that I emailed ahead a month or so before to inform them and we were told they would make a note of it, we also informed them on check in. We did receive the massage, but only because we asked for it, we were unaware of these other factors until it was too late, as the Honeymooners drinks were a day before we left. However, back to the great stuff! They have a Cat Cafe and Parrots in the Garden. The Parrots do say “Hello” and “Goodbye” but only once and then you will spend the rest of your holiday trying to get them to do it again lol. The included excursions are great to do too, particularly the Dunns River Falls. TOP TIP - don’t take anything with you! And if you take towels, leave them on the bus. Whatever you take with you off the bus, you have to carry up the falls and it’s gonna get wet. As you leave you walk through the market and “Everything is FREE” - IT IS NOT! DON’T TAKE ANYTHING FROM THE VENDORS UNLESS YOU ARE BUYING IT! Just carry on walking unless you are genuinely interested. Big Staff Shout Outs Ahjay in the restaurant was brilliant and considering he is still quite new, it seemed like he had been doing it for years. Lamon in Eight Rivers was so Professional and you could see why he was working in the Top Restaurant. Gordon Ramsey will snap him up! Nasheca at the Bayside was great! She actually wasn’t our first server, but when she took poorly, Nasheca stepped in halfway through and was brilliant. Romario, who seemed to work most nights in the Club, was amazing too. He was very complimentary on both mine and my wifes perfumes and from then he became our best friend. Great Cocktail making skills too. Finally to Chinardo, well what a great asset to CTU you have here. Such a genuinely lovely guy. He usually works in the on site Coffee Shop and was such a pleasure to talk to. He wanted to ask so many questions about the UK and actually made us feel even more proud of where we come from. Well Done Brother! All in all, what a great Hotel. We have joined the Rewards Scheme so we will be back!

Following a summer of medical issues and operations we booked this trip fairly late just to get away and relax and we were not disappointed. We were apprehensive about all Inclusive as have previously found them to be lacking in quality and not to our taste, this was our last chance at this kind of trip. For us, the staff were all welcoming, polite and attentive. The reception are at the airport whilst gathering for transport was a great bonus and only dropping off at once resort before us was a blessing. Previous reviews have stated tired and broken fixtures. We stayed in room 2101 which was spacious, yes a little dated but was large and airy and very clean and close to all the amenities. There was a sea and pool view though we did have to look through the tree canopy to see it. This is still classed as out of season so the complex was relatively quiet but this did not reduce the quality or quantity of the food. We ate at Bayside, Eight Rivers, The Veranda, the Pool Grill, The Java Cafe and The Patio. All were good quality and mostly to our taste. We didn’t use the swim up bar but did use the Piano bar and main bar area and enjoyed the entertainment in the Patio. We mainly use the beach on a daytime basis good sunlounger drink service and plenty to view, we either ate from the Veggie bar or brought food down from other areas for picnics. We were concerned about the possibility of sargassum however there was minimal sea weed and the beach waterline was raked and collected at least twice a day. The refillable drinks bottles were a nice touch. As we were both recovering from ops we didn’t book. trips or use the water sports, nor did we go out to Tower Isle, however we enjoyed the comings and goings of those using all the services and did enjoy snorkelling off the beach. This was by far the most relaxing holiday we’ve had and was completely what we both needed. The bonus was the nightly and natural lightening storms.

This was our first Couples resort and probably the last; we have been to a few other resorts in Jamaica and this was not great. I can see the shadows of the glamourous resort it once was, but just based on the common expectation of food, service, and infrastructure it all felt very lacking and standing on the last breathe of air. Pro -the ground is beautiful, it's a compact resort so things are very within reach, and they offer complimentary outtings like golfing (you pay for equipment and caddie), shopping trips and resort trade with Couples San Souci; -beach was well maintained, lots of free water sports and complimentary snorkling trips, diving, catemaran trips, and glass bottom boat tours; the au naturel island was fun and a nice option to be away from the activities on the resort; -decent gym and love the seperate yoga room; 24/7 icecream machine and late night pool side grill was awesome, coffee shop made fantastic drinks, alcoholic drinks were strong, martini nights and piano karaoke nights were fun; -our room was big and bed was comfy, AC was strong and mini bar well stocked Con: the food, the service and the infrastructure felt like they want to care but stopped trying. -Food was not great, mediocre at best. For the posh dress code Eight River demands, the "seafood cake" was clearly made of a cheap frozen fish cake, the lobster bisque tasted like adding boiled shrimp water to a diluted can of cream, the pan seared "catch of the day" was again frozen fillet, and we had steamed eggs masqueraded as cream bruleé and a tart crust that I could not break with a spoon and tasted powdery; the Bayside restaurant is supposed to be asian fusion except there was NOTHING asian, whatever they served was not tom yum goong nor padthai and definitely not basmati rice, which would've been fine if you just called it "soup", "fried rice noodles", and "rice", don't name the authenticity if you can't deliver; the buffet had VERY limited selection, lunch and dinner was a la cart main and it's a hit or miss with how salty things were, the Veranha and the Wednesday Jamaica party were the only time I had good flavour food -The swimup bar pool had a thick layer of sunscreen and leaves by mid day and no pool maintenance during the day, as the main pool also was littered with leaves by early afternoon, the "pool volleyball" is just someone throwing a red kickball into the pool, and workers were often on their phone or chatting in a group, I've never seen this at other resorts -Our room sink had a big rusted crack, shower head & soap holder all rusted, celing fan had loose screws, TV is just cable can't connect netflix/prime/whatever, room safe stopped working, "couples" sticker on doors/mirrors half peeling off, slipped on the rattan mats many times; but I guess everything works -Service staff were either ecstatic or look like they couldn't care less; our room was well cleaned for the first 3 days then staff changed and we had no housekeeping no shower towels for the last 3 days; the bartenders either made fun suggestions and asked our experience, or just stared at us until we ordered; food service people felt very flat, usually just took our order and left, barely any eye contact; I'm not sure if everyone is just overheated, there weren't many smiles nor the general welcome feeling as we were used to at other resorts, but I guess we also never had a bad service experience This place gave me a general "we are okay with being mediocre" feeling, and for the price there are definitely better resorts around. I don't usually name drop on reviews but special shout out to Danique at the buffet, Devon, Rochelle and Coushina at the bar, Tahjay at the au naturel island and Phelecia at the café for making this otherwise unimpressive stay so much better :)

We have just come back from an incredible stay at Couples Tower Isle and I am so pleased we went. I was a little worried about the ‘dated’ reviews on here, although the hotel is a little in areas it adds to the charm. If you are wanting something ultra modern then maybe book elsewhere but if you are wanting luxury, to feel genuinely cared for and a wonderful experience this is the place for you! The food was absolutely amazing, I cannot fault a single meal that I have eaten whilst being there. I cannot thank or sing praises about the staff enough, what wonderful, friendly people you employ! A special thanks to the below who made our stay truly special: Kirk- porter Phelicia Kasey- Asian restaurant Jodi- Guest services Kymani- restaurant Coushna- Bar staff Giovanni- Bar staff Damion- Chef Samoy- Kitchen Demario- Bar Jumananne- Boar Kevor- Boat Rhoshanne- Kitchen Rachel- Towels Garth- Entertainment It is lovely to hear that these staff feel treated well by management and enjoy working at the hotel, for me this gives the hotel extra charm. The drinks were faultless and all very lovely. Although the room was a little dated, the shower worked really well and we had a fabulous view. The bed was really comfortable and there was a wonderful walk in wardrobe. The bottomless boat trip was incredible and I would highly recommend. They have so much knowledge and the music is really good. The only frustrating thing for me is this hotel has a ‘no tipping policy’ however, I constantly saw the Americans tipping people and one set made a big spectacle/scene about it, which really embarrassed me in the piano bar. It is lovely people want to tip and show gratitude but when we are told it is not allowed, it can be embarrassing. We weren’t treat any differently by the members of staff anyway. I would also suggest that in the lounge when you arrive at the airport, maybe have a champagne or wine or cocktail selection for people who don’t drink beer. I feel this was very catered to men. I am the third generation of my family to visit this hotel and will be back, it really was all my expectations come true! Thank you so much Couples Tower Isle for our wonderful stay 😊

We did have a lovely two weeks at this resort but it's a little bit tattie and tired in places, our room had a cracked sink and door handles that were badly fitted. The pools could have been lovely if not for missing tiles and the beach is very small with quite a lot of road noise but It must be doing something right because it has a lot of returning guests.