The Daisy Family Suites at Ocean Coral Spring

Adding few points to my previous review. 1. Discussed the situation with the manager. Internet was fixed next day. 2. AC was fixed, still little hot but happy with it. 3. Food is still excellent as before. 4. Manager advised , he would ensure the situation would not happen again for us or new customers which i am happy to hear. My previous review is below. Today was our first day, flying from Ottawa to Toronto and then on to Montego Bay. We checked in earlier than the official check-in time and were asked to wait until 3:00 p.m., which we did. Around 3:15 p.m., our room still wasn’t ready. It appeared that reception assigned us a room that seemed to be vacant. Unfortunately, when we entered, the air conditioning was not working, and the floor and beds were wet, which I assume was caused by condensation from the AC. Someone was sent to look at it, but the AC still wasn’t working until around 7:30 p.m. At that point, reception gave us keys to two different rooms so we could check them and choose which one we preferred. The AC wasn’t working in one of them, while the other appeared to be functioning properly, so we decided to move to the latter. Earlier in the afternoon, my wife called reception to ask for an update about the room and the AC. She was told that because we had booked a standard room through Air Canada Vacations, “we get what we get.” My wife was understandably unhappy with that response and asked for clarification. She was told that the call would be transferred to a supervisor, but the transfer never went through. She called again, and another receptionist answered. We could hear the previous receptionist in the background asking the new receptionist to transfer the call, but once again, the call did not go anywhere. On a positive note, the restaurant staff have been great so far. My daughter and I also tried the Indian restaurant, and we enjoyed the food. It’s been a frustrating first day, especially after a long journey, but we’re hoping things improve from here. Let’s see how the next 13 days go Read less

I normally wait until the end of a vacation before leaving a review because I like to give a resort a fair chance. However, I’ve only been at Ocean Coral Spring for two days, and unfortunately, I already wish I had chosen somewhere else. I’ll start with the positives because there definitely are some. The arrival/check-in lobby is beautiful — easily a 9/10. It’s modern, well-designed, spacious, and has a bar right in the lobby. The staff who initially greeted us were also friendly and welcoming. The resort itself is attractive. The rooms are nice overall, although some of the furniture, closet knobs, cushions, and smaller details could use updating or better maintenance and cleaning. I also really like the layout of the restaurants. Most are grouped together in one central area that almost feels like a little restaurant village or town. That is actually a great concept. At many all-inclusive resorts, you have to walk long distances or take a golf cart just to get to dinner. Here, most things are conveniently located. Unfortunately, that's where my experience starts going downhill. Check-in needs serious improvement. Despite the beautiful lobby, we waited approximately 45 minutes to an hour just to check in. After traveling, the last thing guests want to do is stand in a long line for nearly an hour. For a resort of this size and price point, there has to be a more efficient process. Food: 5/10 So far, the food has been extremely hit or miss, and what has surprised me most is how frequently things seem to be unavailable. On my first day, I went to the lobby bar and couldn't get a frozen drink because the blender wasn't working. I later went to Red Snapper and wanted the lobster salad. No lobster. I returned again and was essentially told that lobster hasn't actually been available in that dish for quite some time because it isn't in season. Fair enough — except lobster apparently is available if you're willing to pay approximately a $110 upcharge for it elsewhere. If lobster isn't available for the included menu item, update the menu. Don't advertise something that guests routinely cannot order while simultaneously offering lobster as a substantial paid upgrade. The jerk hut has actually been one of the best and most consistent food options I've had here. The jerk chicken and pork are good. The lines can get very long, but I can live with that. What I didn't appreciate was asking for dark meat and an extra leg and receiving attitude over it. I was given the three pieces of chicken. This is an all-inclusive resort. I'm not asking for an entire chicken — I'm asking for an extra leg so I don't have to stand in a long line again. If the answer is no, fine, but there's a way to communicate that without making a guest feel like they're asking for too much. Service is far too slow and inconsistent This has been one of my biggest frustrations. You order a drink and sometimes have to ask multiple times. Servers may take a long time to circle back. The water frequently isn't cold, so I'll ask for a cup of ice and then wait 15–20 minutes, remind someone, wait again, and sometimes have to ask another person. This hasn't happened once. I've experienced variations of this multiple times in only two days. At an all-inclusive resort, guests shouldn't constantly have to chase down basic things they've already requested. The reusable cups concern me! Drinks around the resort are served in reusable plastic cups. I want to be very clear here: I cannot say definitively how the resort sanitizes these cups behind the scenes. However, based on what I have personally observed at some of the bars, I haven't seen cups being run through what appears to be a commercial high-temperature washing system. My impression has been that cups may sometimes be quickly rinsed or placed into a sanitizing solution before being reused. Maybe there is a sanitation process that guests simply don't see. If so, great. But when you're repeatedly serving drinks in reusable cups, the cleaning and sanitizing procedure should inspire confidence. From what I've observed so far, it hasn't inspired confidence in me. Drinks: 3/10 This is another major disappointment. The mixed drinks I've had are primarily sugary mixes or syrups blended with ice. They are extremely sweet, often watered down, and the liquor quality has not impressed me at all. I'm not someone demanding premium top-shelf liquor with every drink. But there is a minimum level of quality I expect from an all-inclusive resort. Right now, it feels like I'm consuming hundreds of empty calories without even getting a particularly good cocktail out of it. Then came the "one-hour" presentation... My wife and I were approached about attending a presentation for the resort. We were told it would take approximately one hour. We were there for more than three hours. Ultimately, it became a sales presentation for their membership/vacation package. I was fine with that. I did want to hear what they had to offer and was willing to buy. We listened, asked questions, and gave it genuine consideration. They worked through several different package configurations and price points with us, but I kept explaining that price wasn't really my issue. My issue was simple: The value wasn't there for me. I felt elements of the package didn't equate. Why would I commit to repeatedly vacationing with a resort brand when my experience within the first 24 hours was already disappointing? You can lower the price, change the financing, restructure the package, or add benefits. None of that fixes the underlying issue if I don't have confidence in the experience I'm buying. The Privilege experience really bothered me This is probably the part that pushed me toward writing this review before even leaving. On our second day, we went to Sugar Cane for dinner and were told we couldn't come in because there was an issue "with the kitchen." Nothing more, nothing less. But guests that were in privilege that had made reservations could access the restaurant? If that's the case whats worng with the kitchen then? Meanwhile, we had previously been told that Sakura, the Japanese restaurant, was the restaurant that required reservations. People continued arriving at Sugar Cane and being turned away while there were visibly empty tables inside the restaurant. Then we learned that Privilege members could make restaurant reservations and therefore had access that regular guests didn't have. I understand loyalty programs. I understand premium memberships. I understand giving members additional perks. Practically every major resort company does some version of this. What I don't like is when the regular guest experience feels intentionally diminished compared with the membership experience. Privilege membership advertising is everywhere — restaurants, main lobby area, elevators, around the property. It begins to feel less like an optional upgrade and more like the resort is constantly reminding you that there's another class of experience available that you didn't purchase. The irony is that this approach makes me less interested in becoming a member. The better sales strategy would be: Treat me so well as a regular guest that I start wondering, "If this is how good the normal experience is, how amazing must Privilege be?" Instead, my thought after two days has been: "If this is my experience now, why would I pay thousands of dollars to commit myself to coming back?" Overall There are things Ocean Coral Spring gets right. It's a beautiful property. The lobby is impressive. The restaurant area is well-designed. The rooms are decent. The jerk hut is good. And I've encountered some genuinely pleasant staff members. But a beautiful property doesn't compensate for inconsistent service. Check-in: too slow. Food: 5/10. Drinks: 3/10. Service: inconsistent and often slow. Property/layout: very good. Overall experience after two days: disappointing. What frustrates me most is that I was genuinely excited to come to Jamaica with my family to celebrate my sons graduation and I was excited about staying here. I didn't arrive looking for problems. I came expecting to relax, eat well, have some good drinks, enjoy Jamaican hospitality, and have a great vacation with my wife. Instead, only two days into the trip, I find myself thinking about the resort's operational problems. All-inclusive resorts need to be held to a high standard. "All-inclusive" shouldn't simply mean unlimited access to mediocre food and sugary drinks. It should mean hospitality, consistency, cleanliness, quality, and making guests feel taken care of. I still have more time left on the property, so I'm leaving room for Ocean Coral Spring to turn this experience around. If things improve significantly during the remainder of my stay, I will absolutely update this review to reflect that. But based on my first two days, I am extremely disappointed and, if I could make the decision over again knowing what I know now, I would not have booked this resort. Read less