TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Background and context: Wife and I have travelled to Jamaica 6 times previously, all spent in Ochi at Couples San Souci (adult couples only with Au Naturale area). Couples have set a high bar of referenc...e for us with excellent food, service and camaraderie at Sunset Beach. With a recent passing of my mother in-law, we set out to book an all-inclusive family “celebration of life” trip for 12 family members, including our 4-year-old grandson. The Royalton crescent shaped property in Negril (Autograph Collection / Marriott Bonvoy) consists of three separate connected resorts; 1 - Royalton (Family), 2- Hideaway@ Royalton (Adult only), and 3 – Grand Lido @ Royalton (Adult Au Naturale). Family was spread across all three resorts; my wife and I stayed at Grand Lido for the 10-day duration of the trip. Note - this is the only resort in Jamaica, possibly the world that could accommodate this diverse family trip! Self-booking this trip was complicated…. Grand Lido: The Grand Lido resort is isolated at one end of the Royalton complex, blocked visually for Au Naturale privacy and access limited (residents identified by a unique red wrist band). Residents of Grand Lido have access to all the restaurants and amenities from Hideaway and Royalton resorts. Grand Lido only dedicated food and drink (Lunch/Afternoon only) are located at the secluded Grand Lido Pool / Outdoor area. Grand Lido rooms: We had a swim out suite. Open the patio door and step right into the pool. An awesome way to begin and end your day! Large, clean and comfortable, the room is equipped with a Jacuzzi tub and double rain shower heads. The room had a stocked mini bar and safe. A call out - housekeeping service from Toysia was excellent! Grand Lido Butlers: Think of the Butlers as your personal assistant for your stay. Our Butlers, Michelle and Romaine helped make this trip EPIC! Easy communications with both of the via WhatsApp and in person. They were keenly focused on us having an excellent experience and helped us tremendously coordinating the activities and reservations for all 12 of us. Grand Lido Pool / Bar / Food / Activities: The pool area is the heart of the Grand Lido experience. The “Mayor” (as we call her) of this area is Simone Johnson, an amazing human who leads wickedly enjoyable activities. She has a huge heart, wonderful sense of humor and made this trip unforgettable. The swim up bar was tended to by yet another amazing person – Peaches, who mixes up the most excellent drinks, is personable and a joy to be around. The chemistry between Simone and Peaches is excellent – all smiles! Last but not least, our Lido grill chef Phelisia whipped up the BEST food we had at Royalton. Tasty and tailored – really good. Supporting cast of Tameka, Kirk and the Acqua-Fit team reinforced the excellent experience. All of these wonderful people work well as a team to support, nurture and form a camaraderie of Au Naturale residents. We have many new friends from this trip who with newly shared excellent experiences! Grand Lido Front Desk / Lobby: Grand Lido is fortunate to have Crystal Gayle running the front desk! She was invaluable and personable, untangling our mess of reservations (6 total rooms, 12 people across 3 resorts) navigating broken processes and making it look easy... Always focused on creating excellent guest experience and owning issues to resolution. Final Thoughts: This was an excellent 5-star trip that brought our family even tighter together, yet opportunities exist for improvement (through my eyes as a well-travelled former executive and Marriott Bonvoy Titanium for Life member). 1) Food quality very inconsistent – more institutional than 5-star level with exception to Lido lunches. No comparison to consistently excellent food at Couples. 2) Buildings / pools in need of maintenance and/or renovation (missing tiles, broken hot tub etc....). I understand that Lido is closing for 2 months this summer to address. 3) Solicitation for excursions / time share a bit heavy. I was clearly targeted with 6 rooms, 12 people across 3 resorts – people knew my name... 4) Broken processes in restaurants – I don’t need to be asked 2+ times at every restaurant if we have food allergies (hostess/host and then wait staff. Ask us once. All said, we can't wait to return!!

Jovie was excellent and provided us with an amazing TRX workout! I’m definitely planning on coming back to take more classes! The gym is also open at 6 AM and close at 8 PM. The staff are all friendly eve...n at the front desk shout out to all the hard work and staff and also to Jovi for a fantastic TRX session. Do you remember that these instructors do a lot of different classes as well as yoga TRX kickboxing Boot Camp aqua fit and other circuit sessions so while you’re here on vacation, you should definitely try. Thank you for your time and patience hard-working stuff.

The butler service (Michelle and Romaine) are absolutely wonderful! They accommodated us the whole time, drinks, dinner, activities, you name it! They also set up a romantic foam bath with balloons and gra...ss tapestries to celebrate our engagement! Simone, Peaches, and Captain Kirk at the pool hosted us for such a fun time with the trivia, entertainment, drinks, lunches and hospitality! What an amazing trip for our first time in Jamaica! ??

Vibe team was amazing. Queen D and Twinkle,The property was amazing and so beautiful. The beach is beside the pool and the view was so pretty. The aqua fit team was amazing especially Jovie and Alpha! Th...anks to them for a great fitness class I will be back

The experience I had here at the Royalton Negril in Jamaica was the most memorable experience. I love the sessions that Jovi and Alpha did at the pool and also at the gym. The classes are great Thank you f...or a great time and a great experience. I will be back soon.