Comparision to Other AI Resots?

[gominnesotawild]

Hello!

What a great option for a resort to have message boards!!

My husband and I have have been to Ocho Rios for the past five years. We love the people, the weather, the laid back fun. I already have the winter travel bug and have been look at airfare and resorts online. The past five years we have stayed a S resort ... we love the resort. BUT, right now for February the price is TWICE what we paid last year. I ran across the Couples website today and the resorts look beautiful! I'm thinking that this may be the year for a change. We could do top of the line room at Couples for half of what S would cost.

Can anyone tell me how the two resort companies compare as far as customer service, food, activites, etc.

Just from looking today, I like the looks of Couples Tower Isle for the fact I read it has a private beach, but they do all look beautiful!

Thanks for any advice! Kris

[Shari and James]

The biggest difference I noticed between Couples and "S" is Couples treats EVERYONE first class! S divides services according to how much you spend on your room. Couples food is a little better to. Once you go you know Couples is great!

[RDYJMJM]

gominnesotawild

There is NO comparing the S resort to Couples! Couples is more than just a vacation resort it is an experience. Once you have experienced it you'll know why there are SO MANY of us Coupleholics around.

Be prepared for the change of your life. You won't want to go back to the S resort!

[saint]

just having "No Children" is more than enough reason to stay at Couples.

[turnanburn40]

Amen to that Saint.

[gominnesotawild]

Thanks for the responses so far!

I never know "when is the best time to book." Early? Late? Wait for a good special? I signed up for the Wednesday e-mail specials ... so I am looking forward to what those bring.

I also ordered a brochure ... the online ones are great, but I like to have a hard copy to obsess with. Plus then I can leave it laying around as a "hint" to the hubby!

[mandys]

Our friends who told us about Couples (we are now 3x repeaters) used to stay at the "S" resorts and really liked them. One year, they decided to try Couples. They say they will never return to the "S" resorts now. Couples is home. Try it!

[UNLVmike]

The "S" resorts have nicer rooms, IMO. However they have so many room categories and the service you recieve is based on your room category -- that just bugs me.

The Couples experience is great and everyone is treated like family. Several of the staff members remember us by name every year when we return. They are small intimate resorts with amazing staff and food. The "s" resorts also do not have Ultimate Chocolate and the Aura Lounge. Enough said.


CTI just recieved a multi-million dollar upgrade and looks beautiful... it would be a great choice. Always go with your initial feeling since its alomst always right.

Enjoy!

[jimandpaula]

We stayed at CTI and we LOVED it. Jim had researched a lot of the other resorts before deciding on a Couples resort, and then we had to choose out of them. For various reasons, we chose CTI. We had been at a non-Couples resort in '07, and liked it OK--at that time, I'd had nothing to compare with. The one we went to was a sort of family-oriented place, because we had our son with us. Since this time we were celebrating our 30th anniversary, there was no question of having him along!

Jim played tennis almost every day, and as soon as he got done with that, we'd meet at the Dive Shop and we'd dive. We did this four days in a row and saw all sorts of cool stuff. And for a feeling of comfort and security, especially if you do not dive any more often than we do, there is nothing like a Jamaican resort dive master.

We loved the island, and now I have an all-over tan for the first time in my life. All the places we ate at served great food, I enjoyed singing at the piano bar, where on two nights, I jammed with some people who are in a band at home (Hi, Darcy & Jim! and Hullo, John!) We had fun every single day we were there and we hated to have to go.

We ought to have been home Saturday night--we'd planned for a day of unwinding and catching up on the laundry. But NWA CANCELED OUR FLIGHT! We finally got home at 12:45 Monday morning, but in the meantime, NWA put us up at a resort about 45 minutes away from the airport, the newest one in Jamaica, and one of the largest. It had a Romanesque theme and is owned by a Spanish corporation.

Well, we were glad not to have to sleep at the airport, but the Spanish place was as different from CTI as night and day. For one thing, it really is huge--so much so, that if you're staying in one of the outlying villas, they really ought to provide bar bikes or Segways for you to get between there and the main area. Between the NWA reps and the staff, who soon began plying us with rum punches to soothe our frayed nerves, all us refugees got processed.

But there was something kind of impersonal about the service--at CTI, all the staff were not only alert and observant, but they seemed to actually enjoy their jobs. And they seemed to like the guests. The staff at the Spanish place were efficient, but you could tell that they felt themselves to be At Work. And I suppose that in a place so much bigger than the Couples resorts, all those walkie-talkies were necessary, but they certainly did not convey warmth and hospitality. One was abundantly reminded that this place was a Business.

Once we got to our villa, we couldn't get the electric to go on. We finally figured out that one was supposed to put a key card into this slot next to the wall, just inside, but it would have been nice if this had been explained to us. We finally found mention of it in the ginormous set of instructions that came with the room, but geez--supposed we'd gotten checked in after dark? With no lights, we were supposed to read this, um, how?

Later on I had leisure to read the rest of the literature, which seemed to contain a list of rules as long as your arm. You could only have one beach towel. You were not supposed to remove the white terrycloth slippers that came with the room. Sheesh! We'd assumed they were complementary and were going to take them with us, like soap and pens and such. They did not look sturdy enough to endure repeated washings, which one assumes--one hopes they did between guests...Some of our friends reported that they wanted to take a glass of wine to their rooms, which we did all the time at CTI--but they were told they couldn't do that. Sheesh! This wasn't any better than being in the States, where you also can't take your drink out of the establishment...

I'm still trying to get my head around that business with the key cards and the electric...they explained that this was an energy-saving measure, but I much prefer CTI's methods of saving energy, and letting us having a fresh beach towel more than once in the day did not break the bank.

We're already trying to figure out how soon we can afford to come back to CTI, which need not fear the Spanish place ever taking our business.

[Sportygal]

I have never stayed at "s" resorts so I can only say that since we tried Couples,I don't want to go anywhere else.Saving for trip #5.You will LOVE COUPLES! Sara and Jim,Woodbury Mn.

[Bkhiattky]

Welcome to the Couples Message board!! This message board will help you figure out where and when you want to go. The funny part is that we all will want you to go when "we" go and to the resort that "we" love. For my husband and I, we are CTI loyalists. We have been there 4 times and are going back for our fifth trip in January. You will LOVE CTI!!! It was just recently re-done, and the staff is second to none. The excursions offered are a blast, water sports, glass bottom boat, catamaran cruise (booze cruise), Dunns River Falls, horseback riding, and shopping. ALL INCLUDED!! Don't even get me started on all the food!! DELICIOUS!!

You simply can't go wrong with Couples!!!

[fawnridge]

We have some very close friends who went to the "other" resort, their first trip to Jamaica, and hated the whole experience. It took me a few years, but I finally convinced them to go back to Jamaica and try Couples. They're coming back with us next April for their third trip.

Which ever resort you name (or don't) you can't compare the quality of service to Couples. And when you throw in the "no children" and "couples only" you put the icing on the cake.

[Maxernie]

Our first 3 trips to Jamaica, we didn't stay at Couples - we stayed at an S resort in Negril two of those times & another adults only AI also in Negril once. Had lots of fun at the others & I'll agree with another poster, the rooms were nicer at the S resort but once we tried Couples, we've never went back to the others in 6 more trips to Jamaica & have no plans of ever doing so. Not because they weren't nice enough but they just lacked something that Couples has. I'm not sure I can even put my finger on exactly what it is. It's just a different feeling - a different atmosphere - a feeling of "AAHHHHHH, Now this is PARADISE". We felt it at CSA on our first trip to Couples in 2003 & once we tried CN in 2004, we REALLY felt it. You'll know what I'm talking about once you give Couples a try. Those points you earned with that other resort will just be sitting there in your account unused, just like ours are.

[IsagenixFreak]

Hello, I can't comment on couples since we have not been there yet (264 days to go!!) But I can tell you my experiences at S. My wife and I have gone to their resorts 9 different times (6 different properties). Our first time was for our honeymoon 10 years ago. We had a great time!! amazing! No kids, staff was awesome, food was great... but as the years went on, we noticed the level of service was really going down hill. I don't want to talk bad about any resort, we loved all out vacations, but as I said, the service was no longer the same. After our last trip, we decided we needed to try somewhere new. I had heard of Couples and we decided to give it a shot. We are both very excited to go to couples, and I must say, the help we've gotten from couples, as well as the members of this MB, has already made me feel we made the right choice!!

[JAMMIN KEN]

Is a pool outside your door worth $3,000.00

[Shari and James]

Is a pool outside your door worth $3,000.00

Couldn't have said it better myself!

[jon1963]

Why Couples? The staff are happy and want to make sure you are happy. Others are not like this. Also it is what is included. Most only include food and drink, not things to do. At CTI they include:

Tours:
Dunns River Falls - A must do (Free at CTI)
Horse Back Riding in the hills (Free at CTI)
Glass bottom boat Ride (Free at CTI)
Catamaran Cruise (Free at CTI)
Shopping trips to Ocho Rios (Free at CTI)
Scuba Diving (Free at CTI)
Snorkeling trips (Free at CTI)
Golf - will cost for clubs/cart/caddie (40+45+17+tip)
Trading Places --Go to Couples CSS for a day --Need to be Romance Reward member - Just have to sign up.

I think it mostly the staff that can make or break a good trip.

[JumpinJen]

We have stayed at an S in north Jamaica and the B next store to CSA. We spent our 25th anniversary at CSA in June. I agree with most of what has been said, especially about the $$$ and the different level of services at the S and B properties. I really hate that.

Bottom line for me is that those other resorts have a Disneyland kind of a feel to them. They are fun but they are not real. CSA has this magical vibe that caused us to instantly relax and settle in to our new home. It is hard to describe. It's the difference between a corporate setting (which except for the beach could be anywhere in the world) and a more personal, natural, Jamaican setting.

[jonbuscher]

We are trying out couples after two trips to S resorts. We had a cool reception at the last resort we were at. I guess spending 4000 wasn't enough. We can't wait to go to CSA next april!

[LisaPat]

It's almost as if....if we didn't know this board well enough that this was a baited question.....we all know that "S" does not compare to Couples regardless of rates....just funny to me

[RDYJMJM]

Staying at a Couples Resort is not just a vacation that is great. It's an experience full of great people.

That you won't find at the S or B resort!