Jewel Grande Montego Bay

I travelled with my two teenage daughters from the UK and we stayed at the Jewel Grande for 2 weeks. We had the nicest holiday. A 2 bedroom suite/apartment, with 2 en-suites and 2 walk-in closets. The sitting room was large, with a nice kitchen (no utensils, but that’s fine - we didn’t cook). We were in block A, which is the furthest from the bars and restaurants. There are lots of steps to navigate, so just be aware if you have young children or mobility issues. Although the rooms were so spacious, they were a little dated and the corridors could really do with a general overhaul. Our 2 butlers were great, Chantell was just amazing especially. Nothing was too much trouble and they made dinner reservations, booked excursions, etc. in the 2 weeks we were there, we had one issue when there was no hot water for 24 hours. Just pleased it wasn’t for any longer! Take bug spray/cream. We did get bitten a few times and the hotel shop was incredibly expensive (I mean REALLY expensive - nearly $15 for a box of 8 tampons & $13 for a small tube of cream for bites). The buffet was particularly good for breakfast - such an amazing choice of food, and great waiting staff. I ate very well there each morning! The waiters would bring your choice of hot and cold drinks. I was less keen on the buffet for lunch or dinner, but it was fine. Our favourite restaurant was the steakhouse, followed by the teppanyaki table at the Asian restaurant. In Waves, the food was good but the service could be very slow - once it took about 90 minutes to actually get our food (including a 50 minute wait for our table, despite having a reservation). There was no real apology. The Italian was mediocre, but the food at the street parties was great! It was so nice to get out of the resort too and eat elsewhere. We always felt really safe and welcomed, whether we were at the hotel or out & about. I never had any problems with getting a bed or two by the pool (we always used the one by the club house). The beds were comfy and the pool cold! We took ourselves to other beaches rather than use the one at the hotel as they were nicer. The vast majority of staff were just lovely. So friendly and welcoming. There were a couple of exceptions (barman at the pool bar for example), but really they cannot be faulted and made us all feel so welcome. That’s why I’m giving our holiday 5 stars - for the amazing people of Jamaica. We loved our holiday so much, despite a few small niggles. Read less

I hate to leave a poor review, mostly because the staff here is very nice, and our butlers helped make our trip memorable. However- the food. I am shocked that people find this food delicious- it is average at best. That may be the expectation for some people at an all-inclusive, but we have had much better food experiences at other resorts. The worst part is that you need to make your dinner reservations in advance of your arrival! No one told us this, nor had we ever experienced anything like that, so we were stuck with the picked-over buffet several nights. The worst part was our last night- we waited the whole trip to get in to Hibachi. The reservation was so late, at 9 pm (not great when eating with kids), and they canceled it on us at 7pm. When do you get food service, you can expect it to be very slow or at best, inconsistent. I would also say- not a big fan of sharing pools with babies in diapers, INCLUDING the hot tubs (hot tub rules NOT enforced, and we were not the only adults bothered by this). But to give credit where it is due: -We stayed in the 2 BR room. It was very spacious, had 3 full bathrooms, and a W/D. The views were stunning. It was worn a bit, as many others mentioned, but we knew that going in to this and didn't mind at all. -The treatments at the spa are great. I recommend a treatment so you get the day pass with the mineral pool and sauna. Great juice bar onsite. -Our butlers, Lennox ane Toby, were friendly and responsive and very helpful. -The nightly entertainment is fun! Read less

Nice place, unfortunately, someone got in our room and stole my wife's credit card along with $100. We suspected someone on staff and were warned by our credit card company of several transactions at one retailer in Montego Bay. Despite giving the information to their security department and being assured they would follow up with that business and the local police, further contacts with Grande Jewel were of no use. They completely dropped the ball. To say we were disappointed would be a gross understatement... Read less

I like to write lengthy reviews because I feel if you are spending the money to travel, it should be worth it. We just returned from Jewel Grande and it was a WONDERFUL experience. We were celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary and brought our 3 young children and my mother-in-law. We stayed in building A and my MIL stayed in building B. Absolutely no issues with accommodations. We had the 2 bedroom suite with butler service. The suite had 3 bathrooms, one being right by the door, which was extremely helpful for showering the kids after the beach. It limited the sand spreading around. We had Denton and Aston as our butlers and we cannot say enough good about them. They assisted us in the dinner reservations, brought mid-day snacks and drinks to the room for us and were always checking in on us. As mentioned in other reviews, there aren't many restaurants but truthfully for the size of the resort we didn't feel like it wasn't enough. We ate at all the restaurants, enjoyed a couples dinner off-site at a local golf course (additional fee - $40 per person and children under 6 eat free) and did the buffet on nights we didn't have reservations. The buffet is much smaller than we are used to but it never felt crowded. Sabrina at pierside (hibachi) was outstanding. She was so personable and she tried the tossing of rice with my eldest at least 10 times until she caught it in her mouth. Toby at waves was also amazing and very personable as well. Our 1 year old was extremely tired and wanted to sleep. As we hadn't finished eating the staff were so extremely sweet and offered to walk him around for us so that we could finish our meal. The lobby bar offers popcorn! Our kids would always get a bag before the show. Chantel and Ann Marie at moonstone and Odane at the pelican grill will take care of you. Truly I cannot say enough good things about the staff at this resort. The level of hospitality we experienced was truly unmatched. Being a small resort allowed to us to build such nice conversation and rapport with all the employees. Nakeisha at the sentry pool was absolutely amazing in keeping the fun going. Whether the adults or all the children at the pool, she was always on it and so fun! Beach does have lots of seaweed wash ashore but they have staff often cleaning it up. Highly recommend bringing some sort of snorkeling mask, you or your kids could spend literal hours of fun. My kids didn't really even mind the seaweed, they spent most of the vacation at the beach. By the sentry pool there is also a small playground and splash pad which was perfect for our 1 year old. Sugar cane cafe iced lattes were the absolute best and it is open until 1030. This cafe also had ice cream and display of desserts and pastries. Fellow Canadians who love booster juice have to visit the smoothie bar inside the spa. The tropical smoothie was my family's favourite. The shows were entertaining, but Jamaica night was the hit. They had a live reggae band and moved the buffet to outdoors. It was truly our most favourite night of entertainment. All in all we truly had the most amazing time and even considered seeing if we could stay a few extra days. Our only "cons" were 2 things. Due to the smaller size of the resort the amenities weren't as much. So on days that weather wasn't great the pools would be a bit too cold and the beach water wasn't as clear/waves were too rough. With having young kids that was just a small challenge. Secondly, service at the restaurants is quite slow. This was the main challenge for us due to the age of our 2 youngest. Even with reservations at 6 we'd be at the restaurant still at 8 or past that because we would be waiting for the next course to be served. A few times I'd have to leave with my 2 youngest to get them to bed. This was really our only big challenge. We would definitely come back!!! Read less

This was a vacation of a lifetime for my family of 5. We were only able to stay 5 nights but the staff made it feel like 15! The resort is stunning and bustling but never crowded. Loungers on the beach were always available and the cove made the water perfect for kids to swim in safely. We splurged and got the ocean villa and it was amazing. We are already planning our trip back! Our butler Ronald took care of everything and allowed us to focus on creating memories with our kids. Sincerely grateful Read less