We are back home from a wonderful stay with my husband, in laws, and our two daughters and their fiancés (one of which got engaged while we were there). We had the swim up room in the Sundowner building. The landscaping around the pool in this area is absolutely beautiful, the views from the patio are some of the best. This wasn't our first trip here, but I seemed to us that the beds were a lot higher than they used to be.....we would joke that we needed a running start to get into the beds. Wasn't a big deal, just something to note. I am 5'3", if anyone shorter stayed there, they would need a step stool to get into bed. The only big issue that we had, was the people staying at the south end rooms were smoking cigarettes non stop during our stay. To each their own, but a big draw for me at the resort is that it is non smoking, and I was greatly disappointed that this continued for multiple days. I didn't say anything because I didn't want issues with our room neighbors for the duration of our stay, I was hoping whomever their butler was, they would have said something to them (and they may have!), but the behavior did not change.
We ate at every place during our stay and everything was delicious. The white wine sangria at Brava was perfection, not overtly sweet, just the perfect amount. I wish that was offered more often throughout the resort as an alternative to the mixed drinks from the bars. I did see someone else mention that Beaches down the way had a better selection of food places, and I'd have to agree with them. I am sure space is an issue, but there were times I was wishing we had the food options like Beaches has. Some in our party wished we had a Soy at Sandals, or maybe adding a frozen yogurt machine or two in Crema would be a nice alternative to just the ice cream there, or the Green Machine for a nice, healthy break from heavy meals.
We typically dive several times during our trips, but this time we only managed to get one dive in. Nonetheless, everyone down at the dive shop and on the boat made the experience amazing. Emeron especially....we always feel safe and in good care when he is around for dives. The reef we went to had more fish than I have seen in a while out there, which was good to see.
While we've been coming here since 2017 and love everything about our stays, what keeps bringing us back is the employees. Their warmth and hospitality is bar none, the best around. I do want to mention a few stand outs from our last visit; Our butlers were Shemoy and Christopher, and we will pick them every time we come back. Stand out service from both of them. They remember what your favorite drinks and snacks were, they met us at the dive boat when we came back with a drink and snack if requested, had our chairs set up, just everything was perfect from them. We thoroughly could not have had a better experience with them. Next is the photographer Keron.....we LOVE him there! Not only does he get the best pictures for us (and I normally NEVER buy pictures, but I do his), but he is engaging, funny, and we look for him every time we are there. Tashi in Bayside for breakfast every morning was perfect. She had us laughing and we found ourselves looking for her each time we came out to eat there. Finally, we have Romaine. This trip was a big one for us (3 birthdays, an anniversary, celebrating an engagement AND an engagement happening while we were there). From first set of communication with him to the day that we left, he ensured that we had everything that we needed. I know we had a lot going on with our group, but between all of that and making sure rooms were good, butlers and all preferences were taken care of before we got there was such a relief. He is what made our trip so seamless, and we are so grateful to him for his assistance. It's these employees that make Sandals Negril feel like home to us, and keep us coming back year after year.
