Negril Gardens Beach Resort FAM Tour--May 10, 2006

After our site inspection of Sandals Whitehouse, my travel group boarded a bus and headed for Negril. First on our list to tour was Negril Gardens. This, small, colorful resort is on the western end of Jamaica in the Parish of Westmoreland on the famous 7 mile beach. It is 45 miles (about 90 minutes) from Montego Bay and Sangster Airport and about 2 miles or 5 minutes from the Towne Center of Negril. The resort is divided by the Norman Manley Boulevard, with a beachside and a garden side.

We were greeted by general manager Junior Gordon and hotel manager, Belinda Henlon in the reception area on the Beachside. Belinda took us on our tour of the resort and was warm, cordial, and informative. While this is an all-inclusive resort, she did mention that transfers were not included in the all-inclusive price, so that might need checked out with your travel agent or bundled with your favorite tour operator. Hotel taxes, service charges, all meals, snacks, unlimited bar drinks, and non motorized water sports are included. . Sandals manages this value priced resort, but it is not considered one of the Sandals and Beaches collection ,and there are no free exchange privileges at their luxury resorts in this area. The resort caters to singles, couples, and families alike.

There is a small lounge in the reception area, and orientation is provided here on arrival and check-in. A small gift shop is located in this area, and while I did not have time to shop, I could see through the window that there is quite a number of souvenir offerings here as well as some sundries. Outside the gift shop is an internet access station. Listed on the front is e-mail access, MSN Chat, Fun Games, News Online and the notation that internet cards are sold here. I saw major credit cards listed on the front of the station, also.

The beach here looked quite inviting and was being very well used. There were plenty of loungers, but I did not notice much shade here. The Watersports building is in this area, and kayaking, sunfish sailing, windsurfing, beach bikes, and snorkeling (in the swim zone) is available. If you want off shore snorkeling and diving, for extra charge, you can arrange to go through Sandals Resorts, and transportation will be provided in the price. The price when I was there was $15 per person for snorkeling and $70 per person per dive for Scuba Diving.

The only restaurant is The Orchard Terrace Restaurant, and it is an open air restaurant on the beachside of the resort with an excellent view of the sea and if timed right, I heard it has an excellent view of the sunset. All meals are buffet style and there are specific times the restaurant is open. Breakfast is served 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and if you miss that, Continental Breakfast is offered from 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a. m with pastries, fruits, coffee and tea. Lunch is served from 12:30 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. and dinner is served 6:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. If these times or buffet is not to the guests liking, daytime snacks are served from the grill with a choice of hamburgers, hot dogs, or grilled sandwiches. There are different theme nights such as American, Jamaica, Italian, Beach BBQ, Caribbean, Oriental, and International.

The Sunset Bar overlooks the beach. Island branded alcoholic drinks and cocktails are provided, and there was a rather extensive non-alcoholic menu with several kinds of non-alcoholic daiquiris from which to choose (pineapple, banana, strawberry, paw-paw). There were such titles as High Hat, Lime Squash, Buccaneer and of course fruit punch. I had the punch, which had paw-paw, pineapple, strawberry syrup, banana, orange and pineapple juice.

On theme nights, a Mento Band and/or a Reggae Band provide entertainment. I think people often go off this resort to find entertainment in Negril. There is a variety of night life on Norman Manley Boulevard. I have visited Rick’s Café on the west end cliffs of Negril. Besides drinks and reggae music, you can watch the locales dive from the cliffs for change and see the beautiful sunsets for which this place is renowned. Negril Gardens offers babysitting services for extra charge.

For the golfers, Negril Hills Golf Club is about 10 minutes from Negril Gardens. Additional charges apply here.

Crossing Norman Manley Boulevard to the gardenside, the first place to encounter is The Spa Boutique and beauty shop. The spa is not part of the Red Lane Spas offered by Sandals and Beaches, but it seems to be well equipped with a variety of services. The beauty shop also offers a variety of hair and manicure services. The list of services included half head hair braiding as $35 and full head braiding as $52. A wedding style was offered in addition to regular styles.

The only pool at this resort is on the garden side. Set in lush gardens, it looks like a refreshing and relaxing place to be. There is a small shallow pool attached at one side that small children might enjoy, or a good place for a foot bath. There are several loungers around the pool, and at one end of the pool there is a colorful strip of shading over the loungers.

In addition to the swimming pool, there is a tennis court for tennis enthusiasts, and there is a set-up for lawn chess. The managers cocktail party is in the spa lounge on Monday evenings.

There are 65 rooms at this resort with 2 room categories, Beachside and Gardenside depending on the location of the room. Beachside does not necessarily mean that the room faces the ocean although they are on the same side of the resort as the beach. Several of these rooms on this side of the resort have a private balcony and many of the rooms have a garden view. A few on the ground floor have a shared patio with a garden view. The room blocks have first and second floors and there are a few rooms located above the Main Building above the lobby area. There are 39 rooms on the beachside.

There are 26 rooms on the Gardenside of the resort. If you want quiet, this might be the place to find it. Some of these rooms have private balconies and have a view of the gardens or a partial view of the pool. Ground floor rooms and second floor rooms are offered.

The rooms are fairly basic in décor and furniture but have such amenities as air conditioning, in room safes, TV, hair dryers, iron and ironing board, bathroom with tub and shower, clock radio, coffee and tea maker and some rooms also have ceiling fans in addition to the air conditioning. Phones with international direct dialing are in the rooms. The rooms are furnished with two double beds, and a few have queen sized beds. Three adults are limited to a room or two adults and two children.

In addition to the resort gift shop, I believe Belinda said there were some craft vendors once a week at the resort. On Norman Manley Boulevard there is Times Square Mall that has duty free shops with jewelry, perfumes, watches, clothes, crafts, and other souvenirs. The Negril Craft Market is just off of Norman Manley Boulevard toward Negril Village and probably offers the largest assortment of crafts. It is a collection of shacks with vendors selling woven baskets, wood carvings, painted pottery etc. Haggling is expected here. Start with half price, but I would not expect to go so far that the locales did not make any profit.

Choosing this resort would depend on your vacation expectations, the people traveling together, and the vacation budget. This is an affordable, all-inclusive vacation spot for singles, families, and couples who want to enjoy the beach or find a quiet place to relax in lush tropical surroundings or perhaps use some of the vacation budget to enjoy nearby shopping or nightlife in Negril, or for tours.

If a guest wants a luxurious room category, concierge service or butler service, an assortment of dining opportunities, white glove service, a number of pools from which to choose, and all the many amenities offered by luxury resorts, this may not be the place.

The real plus here is a moderately priced, all-inclusive vacation on 7 mile beach!