Greg & Jane - September, 2010
Breezes Grand Negril Trip Report
Dates: Labor Day weekend 2010 (five nights)
Background
We are a married couple in our 40’s. We’ve traveled to Jamaica our first
time in 1999, and we’ve gone a total of 15 times. We’ve stayed at Couples
Negril the most often (it is still our favorite), along with Grand Lido
Braco (now Breezes Rio Bueno), Couples Tower Island (before renovation),
Couples Swept Away, and Hedo II. While we do participate in activities like
snorkeling and sailing, our primary goal is to relax on the beach and
reconnect as a couple. We’re more likely to hit the sack early than stay up
partying.
We decided to try Breezes Grand Negril based on price – we wanted to return to Jamaica for a long Labor Day weekend (five nights) and spend as little as possible on the trip. Since we had stayed next door at Couples Negril, we had seen Breezes and knew a bit about it, plus we had stayed at its sister property, Grand Lido Braco, so we felt like we knew what to expect. However, with the change in branding (from Grand Lido to Breezes), and the problems that Superclubs seemed to be having across the board, we purposefully set our expectations low. While the published changes (no more 24X7 room service, no more free laundry) were mostly minor (at least to us), we felt this might be just examples of other cutbacks that would be apparent during our stay. Also, the pricing was so low it seemed to good to be true. The run of house pricing was amazing – we opted to spend a little extra for a cove room.
Overall
Overall we were very pleasantly surprised – Breezes exceeded our
expectations. First and foremost, the resort employees were (with few
exceptions) warm and friendly, and seemed genuine in our conversations and
other interactions. The grounds were beautiful and spotless, and the
property is just lovely. Our room, while having dated fixtures and décor,
was large, comfortable, clean and bug-free. The water views off our second
story balcony were great. Snorkeling off the optional beach was fantastic,
and is clearly an unheralded part of this resort. The beach (in our case,
the clothing optional beach) was great – lots of shade, great views, plenty
of chairs and room. Also, having the full bar and grill on the optional
beach gave us very little reason to leave for lunch. The food was, overall,
good, and sometimes very good. For the rate we paid, the resort was
absolutely a bargain – a lot of value for the money.
Would we would return to Breezes Grand Negril? Absolutely, but it is a qualified yes. For the same price, we still prefer Couples Negril. But on this trip, we saved about $80 per night over Couples, and we could have saved $130 per night if we had taken “run of house” rooms at Breezes. That’s a big savings, enough that if Breezes remains this aggressive on price, we might return to Jamaica twice a year.
Staff
Because of all the changes at Superclubs and at Breezes, we were afraid the
staff might be challenged to provide friendly service. We were very happy
that this was not the case. Our bellhop, Orette, was the first guy we saw
(he helped us with our bags, then showed us our room) and he was friendly,
interactive and outgoing. First impressions are so important. The desk staff
was polite and friendly at check in, and with other questions we had. Hats
off to the wait staff at all the dinner restaurants we ate at (Piacere, La
Pasta, Grand Café) as they were friendly, eager to answer questions, and
accommodating. The staff at the nude bar were warm, friendly and outgoing.
Overall, we got a very good impression from the staff.
Beach
The beach on Bloody Bay is one of the best in the world, and Breezes has a
fantastic section of it. The longest part is on the clothed side of the
beach, and is the traditional “perfect beach”: pure sand, shallow, clear
water, deep beach area for lounging, decent shade. There is also a clothing
optional beach, which is smaller (length), shallower (less distance from
water line to end of sand) and rockier, but has better shade and is more
private. Because the two beaches are separated by rocky outcrops, vendors
cannot walk to the optional beach, so it is free of cigarette, t-shirt and
weed vendors.
We had a room on the cove side so we would be as close as possible to the c/o beach. Overall, the c/o beach is great. There was plenty of room, chairs and floats - we never felt crowded. There is a small pool just steps from the beach, and a Jacuzzi. Most importantly, there is a bar and grill right there. The bar is open from about 10 until 6PM, and the grill from 12:30 to 6PM. This is really nice, because if you are naked and beset with “beach gravity”, you can just eat and drink all day without leaving the area. At lunch, they serve grilled lamb chops (fantastic) as well as burgers, jerk chicken, and fish sandwiches (all very good), meat patties, and fries. Also, early in the morning, they put out coffee, juice and a tray of fruit and pastries. This is really nice if you want to just grab a bite before a workout, or if you are the early riser of your couple.
Note that the c/o beach is a little rough under foot (the part that’s under water). There are some clear areas with only sand, but there are lots of rocky areas with real sea life such as plants and sea urchins. If you have sensitive feet you should bring swim shoes.
Towels were no problem. We got our “towel cards” at check-in, and got our first set of two at the watersports hut. Then we discovered that they brought over a stack of new towels every day to the c/o beach. While technically you are supposed to trade, the area with the towels is not manned, so you can grab a couple of extras. We like to have two each (one rolled up as a headrest, for example) so this was perfect.
The big downside (for us) is that the beach is clothing optional, not mandatory nude (like Braco, or the island at Couples Tower Isle). When we were there, about half of the people on the c/o beach wore suits (though some of them became nudists after a couple of days). Clearly, the grill was a draw, as well as the great shade, so people just migrated over there. There were no obvious “gawkers” or pervs, but if you like to sunbathe in the buff, you just need to be comfortable that others may not partake. I’m completely comfortable being nude on the beach, but at one point I was getting food and was the only one waiting naked among about 8 people – it felt a bit strange. A couple was giving me nasty looks, even though the posted menu says “Nude Grill Menu”. Sorry, folks, them’s the rules. If you are first-timers, or thinking about sunbathing in the nude, this might be a good place to get started; the same applies if only one of a couple likes to “hang out”.
The other downside on the c/o beach is that there is no bathroom. If you are staying in one of the nearby rooms, it’s not so bad, but if you were staying farther away it would be a pain.
We did some beach walking both along Bloody Bay and on the long part of the seven mile. Breezes and Hedo have an agreement where you can cut through Hedo to get to the seven mile – you just have to tell the Breezes security guard (who writes down your name and room number), then the Hedo security guard (who tells you how to get down to the beach), then the second Hedo security guard (at the gate on the far southern end of the property). It was great to be able to do that, as it avoided a taxi ride.
Snorkeling
I made this a separate category because the snorkeling off the c/o beach was
just fantastic. Even if you stay in the roped off area you can see a lot,
but if you stray just a bit (toward the left, if you are standing on the
beach facing out), the snorkeling was better than any I have done on the
“organized” snorkeling trips we’ve taken in Jamaica. We saw lots of fish,
including some very large game fish and lion fish (the ones with all the
spines), sea urchins, starfish, gars, jellyfish, and sea anemones. There is
a lot of coral, including some large, undamaged drape and brain coral. At
one point, we saw a school of small silver fish that took several minutes to
pass us – there were literally thousands of fish swimming under and around
us. We talked to people who saw barracudas and stingrays. Very cool.
Food
We were glad to see lots of fresh fruit at all meals. After a trip to H2 in
2008 where most of the fruit came out of cans, we were glad to see lots of
guava, papaya, pineapple and bananas.
Breakfast was tasty and more than adequate with an omelet station and lots of other choices. We stuck to the fruit, bacon and French toast. Breakfast service was occasionally slow as you would sit down with your food and be half done before you got water and juice.
We ate lunch at the nude bar grill every day except the first day (Reggae Café) and the second day (main restaurant). Don’t bother with the Reggae Café – it took more than 20 minutes to get our food (burger and jerk chicken), and it was clear that the food was being made elsewhere (main kitchen). We heard many other guest complaints about the Café – mainly around the slow service. Compare that to the nude grill which had basically the same menu but with the guy making it right in front of you and if you wanted more jerk sauce, “no problem, mon”.
I give Breezes points for the “college try” on the lunch buffet. Even though the resort was pretty sparsely occupied (estimate 50%), they still had a pasta station, meat cutting station, sandwich station, etc. They had warm food selections like curry chicken, plus rice and other items. Plenty of choice, and plenty of food, but overall the lunch buffet seemed uninspired. Plus it was plenty hot while were there, so a big pile of stewed chicken and rice didn’t seem all that appealing.
For dinner we ate both of the buffet nights (Thu, Mon), plus once each at Piacere, La Pasta, and the Grand Café. The buffet nights were both great – lots of selection, good food, and some interesting selections like sushi. At the beach party night (Monday), they had some of the best jerk chicken I’ve ever had. They were finishing it (properly) on a charcoal grill, and the combination of the tender chicken, black charred parts, and jerk sauce was awesome.
Piacere was very good. We had the “full course”, and each course was appropriately sized (small) to not be stuffed silly at the end. Service was excellent, and the dishes come out on the appropriate schedule.
We really liked the Italian place. They were very busy, but the staff was really hustling. The food was not “Italian out of a can”, there seemed to be some care in the preparation. My linguine was appropriately al dente, and delicious.
The Grand Café was good not great. I had Thai fried rice that was at least spicy, if uninspired.
Overall, we would eat any of the restaurants again, except the Reggae Café.
Room
Our room was on the “cove” side, which means that it overlooked the clothing
optional beach. By category, it was a “Cove Junior Suite”. On the second
floor, the room was large, about 12 feet by 24 feet (including the
bathroom). It had exactly the same décor as Grand Lido Braco’s nude side,
including dark furniture, heavy green drapes (same pattern!), and strange,
rococo style lamps. While a bit dated, the furniture and bed were functional
and comfortable. The bathroom was updated, and included lots of tile and a
Jacuzzi tub. The cleaning lady did a great job – the room was spotless.
Also, there was no musty smell, smoky smell or insects, everything worked,
and there were nice features like a magnifying lighted mirror, umbrella, CD
player (no iPod dock), electronic safe and hair dryer.
The balcony is small – about 4’ X 6’ – which is a shame since the view of Bloody Bay is fantastic. The doors open outward, so going out to sit on the balcony is an exercise in shuffling, chair moving, and trying not to hit your toes on something. There is no ceiling fan – it would be nice to have one over the bed. The A/C worked fine.
We don’t spend a lot of time in the room, so it’s not a big factor for us. But this was overall a nice room – large, clean, comfortable, with a great view. It was very quiet at night. The small balcony is just silly – an opportunity wasted on the drawing board 20 years ago.
Also note that the rooms on the main part of the beach would probably be very noisy, as they are quite close to the road. The cove rooms are well away from the road.
Entertainment
The EC’s met our requirements in that they weren’t pushy or loud (trying to
get people to participate). It was probably a boring week for the EC’s, as
the number of guests was low. We didn’t see much in the way of the planned
daytime activities (on the activity sheet) actually taking place. This
wasn’t Breezes fault, it was a combination of low guest count, high temps,
and sand gravity.
Like other resorts, there is an in-house band, and some outside musical guests (who are backed up by the in-house band). We saw only one of the outside guests, a man and woman vocalist who were quite good. During the beach party, a Breezes EC introduced a guy from Margaritaville who would lead a program for us. I was afraid it would be a bald promotion for Margaritaville, but the guy was talented and hilarious as he led an audience participation competition. It was laugh out loud funny and a great last evening for our trip.
The Grounds and Layout
The property seems larger than the advertised 21 acres, and it is lovely. It
was clean, swept and well cared for. If you are interested, there are some
beautiful massive trees on the property which clearly date back to the “few
lived here” era of Bloody Bay. The big pool seems fine, though we didn’t
spend any time there. There is no swim-up bar if that’s important to you, so
the pool doesn’t really seem like a social hub. The overall layout of the
resort is a bit spread out. Unlike newer resorts which seem to have a
central “hub” (Braco, Couples Negril), the layout has different features all
over. For example, the main beach could really use easier access to the
Reggae Café (at least a better version of it). There is a bar on the main
beach, but it is all the way at one end (next to Couples Negril) so it is
not convenient unless you are rooming over there. This is clearly part of
the draw of the c/o beach as there are pool, hot tub, grill, beach and bar
all together.
Compared to Other Resorts
Breezes Negril compared to Hedo II
We last visited H2 in 2008, but we did walk through during our 2010 trip to
Breezes. Virtually everything is better at Breezes – the rooms (larger,
bigger bathrooms, balconies, better views, newer décor), the beach, the
pools, food, grounds, etc. H2, for example, served exclusively canned fruit
at several breakfasts when we stayed there, which seemed criminal in
Jamaica. Based on recent trip reports, they had the “no banana” problem at
H2 during the week we were at Breezes. Ironically, there were a ton of
bananas at Breezes, bunches of them in the dining room and at the bars.
H2 guests did have more party energy than Breezes, and there was more participation in games and evening, uh, activities and entertainment. While H2 is certainly unique, it must be difficult to attract new guests with their old buildings and décor, and their perennially broken waterslide and shortage of key provisions (food, liquor). We talked to two couples at Breezes who had taken tours of H2 during our stay. Both of them said they wouldn’t consider Hedo based on the old buildings and small, badly decorated rooms.
Breezes compared to Couples Negril
We are big fans of Couples Negril, and it is still our favorite. One reason
is that they make continuous small improvements over time. For example, they
have a soft serve ice cream machine that is available 24 hours, as well as
soda dispensers, so you can get a Ting or Diet Pepsi any time you like. The
food is better at CN – they have more buffets during the week, and better
breakfast, lunch and dinner selections. They have a real mastery of breads;
their fresh baked croissants are magical. While we were impressed by the
staff at Breezes, we are annually pleased with the staff at CN, many of whom
we’ve gotten to know. We prefer the more “natural” grounds of CN to the
Euro-style landscaping of Breezes, and we like the way CN is built around
the central hub of the pool and common areas. The nude beach at CN is
mandatory nude, which we prefer, however it is much smaller and less private
than the c/o beach at Breezes. CN has a manned bar at the nude beach, but no
grill like Breezes. There is no equivalent snorkeling at CN – you would have
to leave the property to get the same snorkeling as you get right off the
beach at Breezes. The balconies at CN are large enough to hang out on – nice
during the early morning hours or during rain. CN does include, at no cost,
several items that Breezes does not. CN has a free internet café, with
enough desktops that you can always get online, whereas Breezes charges.
Other CN “includes” are the catamaran trip, snorkeling trips, trips to
Rick’s, and glass bottom boat trips.