CN Review

[EricW]

I am not a regular poster but since I do use the message board I thought that I would post the review of CN that I just put on Tripadvisor. Enjoy


Traveled to Couples Negril with wife Feb 4 – Feb-11 2011. This was our second vacation to one of the Couples Resorts the first having been to Couples Tower Isle in 2010.

Immigration: Fastest trip through immigration on any international trip, we were from aircraft to Couples lounge in 20 min.

Couples Lounge: Had time to change into shorts and have one beer and they called us to our van with one other couple.

Trip to resort: I had talked to the second couple about whether we should stop on the way and they agreed that they just wanted to get to the resort (the shuttle drivers are in cahoots with a vendor along the way and they stop so that you can purchase food and beer) I think that this angered the driver as he did not say one word the entire trip. Mo-Bay traffic was terrible as it was rush hour and it took us an hour just to get out of Mo-Bay. This made for a 2 hour trip to the resort. If I arrive during rush hour again, I will take the inter-island transfer and fly to Negril for $75pp.

Reception: Cold scented towel and champagne were waiting for us, reception seemed a bit disorganized but they got the job done. I was listed in a ground floor and I requested a top floor if available and I was accommodated with a smile.

Room: Garden view top floor with an excellent view of the pools, trees and birds. I don’t know why people pay extra to look at the ocean, you do that all day on the beach, I would rather see the wildlife! Hummingbirds galore were in the trees. Room was kind of close to the road but I am a light sleeper and it did not seem to bother me. The air conditioner worked great at night when I turned it on and it was just loud enough to drown out any other noise. The bed was very comfortable and easy to fall asleep in. The maids serviced the room daily and kept it very clean and they even brought me a whole bottle of good Jamaican rum to keep in the room. Our shower needed a better showerhead, it was not the kind that delivers much water which made it hard for the wife to wash the soap out of her hair.

Food: EXCELLENT quality food with a few service glitches. Breakfast buffet had mostly the same items every morning but enough variety that it was OK. Maybe breakfast was not such a good thing, an endless tub of delicious bacon was kind of like heroin!!! Lunch was good at the buffet or at the pool grill. They had buffets for dinner 3 nights, these were fabulous. On the nights that they did not offer the buffets, they turned the buffet restaurant into an ala-carte like the other 2 fancy restaurants. We found this to be disappointing as we do not like to spend a lot of time on vacation waiting for table service. While the service was polite, it was EXTREMELY slow. One night it took us 1 hour just to get a salad and appetizer! All three nights that we ate here on the ala-carte nights, it took us over 2 hours just to get appetizer, salad and dinner. All 3 times we walked out without dessert because we were sick of sitting there. This needs to be improved!!!! We did not try Lychee or Otheihate as the menu did not appeal to us.

Bars: Drinks plentiful and not watered down. Very friendly bartenders everywhere, they would accommodate your every request. Plenty of name brand top shelf liquor to choose from. They even have Miller Lite for those of us who do not care for Red Stripe Beer. Ask for the drink menu from one of the bars and there is something to please anybody. I had a headache or two in the morning because of that drink menu!

Beach: Beautiful beach with just a few vendors. Couples had security to keep the vendors from bothering you if you did not want anything but a smile and “no thank you” sufficed just fine for us. Never had any trouble getting a lounge chair. Just stick your red flag in the sand and the waitresses will come to you right on the beach and bring you whatever you want.

Activities: Everything is included at Couples, we snorkeled 5 times and saw a lot of marine life. Diving is included as well as golf and non-motorized watersports. We had so much fun on the booze cruise that we did it twice!

Other Guests: This was the most friendly/happy group of fellow guests that I have ever met at a resort. We made a lot of friends from all over the US, Canada and the UK. This is what made the experience so wonderful for us as we are social and like meeting new people. We will truly remember this aspect of the trip for years to come!!

Summary: I will consider this resort to be highly recommended, you cannot go wrong with the Couples company. I know that I listed a couple of negatives up there but remember, I challenge anybody to find a resort that is perfect! Couples does however come close to perfect.

[custer]

I love reading the positive reviews about CN. We will be back "home" tomorrow.... our third visit and I am over-the-moon excited. We are presently sitting at home in -28C weather.....soon we will be in +28C....yay!!!! I don't think I will sleep much tonight. Today is our day to blend up some dirty bananas, put the reggae on and pack our bags!!! Tomorrow soon come!

[smroot]

In less then 24 hours, I will be there. You are spot on. Third trip to CN.

[klmurphy2005]

Which did you like the best CN or CTI? )

[MnK]

endless tub of delicious bacon was kind of like heroin!!!

Hysterical!

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

[EricW]

Answering your question which I like better, CTI or CN I would have to give the nod to CN but if you ask anybody they will likely give you a different answer. I liked CN better because it was more spread out and it had more gardens and trees with birds to watch and more room to walk. The beach was also much better at CN in my opinion. As far as food and service go I would say that both resorts are the same in this aspect, both are wonderful. I don't really think that you will have a bad time at any of the Couples resorts.

[tiffersfrye]

Thanks for your post Eric, these are nice to read for first time couple guests.

[binnie]

I totally agree with you about the nights the buffet was turned into ala-carte...it was sooooo slow we got very upset and just wanted to get out of there! It took us over 2 1/2 hours to eat. They should just stick to having a buffet every night at that restaurant. The buffet is so delicious and fun to pick out whatever you want! Hopefully, they will consider this change...it is our only complaint.

[randijean46]

No, no, no more buffets! That's what we love about Couples: mostly a la carte and just a couple (pun intended!) of nights of buffets. So it took a couple (he he) of hours. What else do you have to rush off to? Relax, mon! lol