Thread: Flip flops?

Hi all,
My husband and I will be at Couples Negril from July 9th to the 17th and I was wondering if flip flops can be worn with sun dresses to the fancier restaurants or if I need to bring some "strappy" sandals too. I love my Old Navy flip flops and I love the way they look with maxi dresses but I want to fit the dress code. Also I'm assuming that a closed toed leather sandal is OK for the hubby. Am I correct or is an open toe leather sandal also acceptable? Any input on this would be great!
Thanks in advance

Yep....also go ahead & bring some strappy sandals...

You will need to bring strappy sandals for Otaheite. My husband has worn closed toed leather sandals in the past but over the last couple of years he has opted to wear his dress shoes.

I thought the shoe rules (closed toe shoes) was pertaining to men. Is there also a rule about women's shoes at Otaheite? Strappy sandals?? We are packing soon and even after reviewing the website fully did not get a hint of these rules for ladies footware until reading the above.
Thanks for any further clarification.

I would bring the strappy shoes, they ask for elegant dress, last time I noticed that did not include flip flops especially in Otaheite. I do not get many of these questions on the board about what to wear when the dress code is very well spelled out. I guess its just me but beach wear, sandals, flip flops, cut off shorts Etc etc, are great for breakfast and lunch, but evening dress should have a little elegance, neat nice look. Am I wrong? I don't know but its just my opinion that the beach wear look should be put away at 7PM when dinner starts. Sorry if I ruffled any ones feathers but even here at home I can not believe what some people wear to a nice restaurant for dinner at night, and I grew up in the late 60s!!! I do not understand why its so hard to throw in a nice couple pair of shoes and couple of elegant outfits. I have seen people at dinner with the same clothes they wore for breakfast and all day long nd believe me they look it and sometimes smell it. Sorry just venting, blast me shoot me, go ahead take aim and send it to me but thats just my thoughts.

Columbo, I agree with you.

Originally Posted by columbo

I would bring the strappy shoes, they ask for elegant dress, last time I noticed that did not include flip flops especially in Otaheite. I do not get many of these questions on the board about what to wear when the dress code is very well spelled out. I guess its just me but beach wear, sandals, flip flops, cut off shorts Etc etc, are great for breakfast and lunch, but evening dress should have a little elegance, neat nice look. Am I wrong? I don't know but to its just my opinion that the beach wear look should be put away at7PM when dinner starts. Sorry if I ruffled any ones feathers but even here at home I can not believe what some people wear to a nice restaurant for dinner at night, and I grew up in the late 60s!!! I do not understand why its so hard to throw in a nice couple pair of shoes and couple of elegant outfits. I have seen people at dinner with the same clothes they wore for breakfast and all day long nd believe me they look it and sometimes smell it. Sorry just venting, blast me shoot me, go ahead take aim and send it to me but thats just my thoughts.

Well said!

Well said - let's put the elegance back in evening dress!!

I love my flipflops, but I am actually kind of excited to dress up at night. 6 more days!

Coloumbo....
If the dress code is "very well spelled out" then are you saying women must also wear 'closed toed' shoes as well as men? The website is not at all specific and not "well spelled out" about footware for women, in fact it does not mention shoes at all right now when I look at the Otaheite info. If you know something specific about the rule, which clearly you do, why just not post a helpful reply without than taking pot shots at the posters who comes here with a question? I know that for me, I am not proposing that anyone wear anything inappropriate to dinner, nor that the rules should not be followed at Otaheite. I have been to many different resort in Jamaica dozens of times since the late 1980's and each one has slightly different expectations at some restaurants. I have only asked for clarification of he rule so my wife and I can be sure NOT to make these mistakes you seem to accuse people of making. I sort of thought this message board would be a good place to get helpful clarification from people who have been to this particular resort more often and more recently. Sorry it annoys you. I hope I find the people at the resort less judgemental than some of the people on the message board.

rhallva,

Its not hard (In my Opinion) to figure out dressing for a restaurant any where including the Caribbean, simply look at the photos on the website of Couples they all have some type of elegance to them, especially at night, do I think flip flops, cut off jeans, mens tank tops should be worn to them, no I do not. Its apparent that this isn't a Mc Donalds, and be realistic about closed toe shoes for women thats just common sense. I did not take pot shots either, just stated the obvious.

AS DESCRIBED ON THE WEBSITE:
"Intimate, elegant setting, Dress: Cocktail elegant!!!! Doesn't take alot of thought to understand how you should look or dress with this description. (appears well spelled out to me)


OTAHEITE (DINNER)
Otaheite, named after the Jamaican apple, denotes the quintessentially authentic Caribbean dining experience in an "intimate and elegant setting".

Dinner: 6:15pm to 8:45pm, closed Monday
Reservations: Required
Dress: "Cocktail Elegant "(no jeans; jacket optional)

RESORT INFORMATION
WHAT TO PACK/DRESS CODE
Casual by day, resort chic by night. Lightweight cotton clothing and swimwear attire are perfect for day. For evening gourmet dining and lounging at the bar, cocktail attire is required in most of our restaurants (no shorts or beach cover-ups); a jacket is optional. Check the 'restaurant & bars' section of your selected resort for more details on dining dress code. For certain activities like golf or shopping in town, appropriate attire is recommended.


VERY SELF EXPLANATORY IN MY OPINION!

Can't wait to meet you columbo!

Wow. Glad Linar ask this question before we did. Wife and I read all the info on the site and were gonna ask a question about shoes for her at dinner. I guess the shoe thing is more clear to some than to others (we did read all those things) but I don't want to upset anyone by asking a question. Is there an appropriate area to ask newbie questions without annoying anyone? Just don't want to cause a problem for anyone.
thankyou

rhallva:

From the website for Tower Isle:

"EIGHT RIVERS (DINNER)
Experience Jamaica of old, and enjoy divine gourmet dining featuring continental cuisine with a distinctly Caribbean flair.

Dinner: 6:15pm to 9:00pm, closed Monday
Reservations: Required
Dress: Cocktail Elegant (Jeans, sneakers, flip flops and shorts are not permitted)"

Seems well spelled out to me, it certainly states that "Cocktail Elegant" means flip flops are not permitted.

Originally Posted by rhallva

... I sort of thought this message board would be a good place to get helpful clarification from people who have been to this particular resort more often and more recently. ...

That generally is the case, thankfully.

We've never seen anything specifically pertaining to requirements for women's shoes at Otaheite.
There is a lawyer on this MB that frequently points out that "closed toed shoes" is not equivalent to "closed shoes". In either case the phrase pertained to men's shoes and not women's.

We've seen women with elegant strappy sandals at Otaheite many, many times and they fit right in.

As for the men's "closed toe shoes" at Otaheite, the GM rescinded that rule at least 2 years ago, but, IMHO, he may feel less out of place if he brings nice closed shoes.

I didn't start this thread to cause an argument. With that said I do feel a little disgruntled at the opinions stated in regards to it. Everyone has a different opinion about what's appropriate attire for evening wear. I am going on a beach vacation I do not intend on packing high heels and cocktail dresses for dinner. I just had a simple question and didn't expect to be made to feel like some hillbilly that didn't know what to wear or how to dress. I also want to add that after reading how everyone is so super nice here and how they have made life long friends on vacation here, I'm not really feeling it through this thread. I certainly hope there aren't alot of judgmental people at the resort the week I'm there.

Originally Posted by rhallva

Coloumbo....
If the dress code is "very well spelled out" then are you saying women must also wear 'closed toed' shoes as well as men? The website is not at all specific and not "well spelled out" about footware for women, in fact it does not mention shoes at all right now when I look at the Otaheite info. If you know something specific about the rule, which clearly you do, why just not post a helpful reply without than taking pot shots at the posters who comes here with a question? I know that for me, I am not proposing that anyone wear anything inappropriate to dinner, nor that the rules should not be followed at Otaheite. I have been to many different resort in Jamaica dozens of times since the late 1980's and each one has slightly different expectations at some restaurants. I have only asked for clarification of he rule so my wife and I can be sure NOT to make these mistakes you seem to accuse people of making. I sort of thought this message board would be a good place to get helpful clarification from people who have been to this particular resort more often and more recently. Sorry it annoys you. I hope I find the people at the resort less judgemental than some of the people on the message board.

Rhallva....Othaheite and Lychee are very dressy, obviously, Othaheite is even more so than Lychee, but if you go to Lychee, it does tend to be dressed up. IMO, Heliconia and Cassava are more casual, even at dinner. I disagree with all the comments about "elegance" in the evening. I do enjoy dressing up for our dinner at Othaheite, and we don't typically go to Lychee, but the other two, shorts are acceptable with nice shirts. Some really like to dress up for every occassion and that is fine, others, like my husband and I, don't mind doing it once in a while, but don't want to do it every night. I hope that helps. I know it is hard to figure out what to take until you get there and see. Hope you have a great time!

Originally Posted by Linar

I am going on a beach vacation

During your beach vacation, you might find yourself at a formal restaurant. Dress accordingly.

Originally Posted by Linar

I didn't start this thread to cause an argument. With that said I do feel a little disgruntled at the opinions stated in regards to it. Everyone has a different opinion about what's appropriate attire for evening wear. I am going on a beach vacation I do not intend on packing high heels and cocktail dresses for dinner. I just had a simple question and didn't expect to be made to feel like some hillbilly that didn't know what to wear or how to dress. I also want to add that after reading how everyone is so super nice here and how they have made life long friends on vacation here, I'm not really feeling it through this thread. I certainly hope there aren't alot of judgmental people at the resort the week I'm there.

Linar, I hope you don't feel bad about asking the question. Before we went in November of 2009, we read and read and read about all this stuff....knew that Othaheite was dressy, so we were ready for that. I wear a pair of sandals, somewhat dressy but definitely no heels..>I can't walk in those no matter what. I'm with you on the BEACH vacation thing and I guess that is why we feel the way we do...we take shorts and t shirts during the day, hubby takes ONE pair of slacks and shoes. I take one dressy dress and found one more casual that can go with my sandals as well, but most evenings we eat at Cassava and Heliconia and are perfectly comfortable in shorts and a polo shirt, and tennis shoes. I know some people LOVE to go over the top dressy....and there are plenty that do...and some of us like to be comfortable most of the time...and to me that is shorts. Neither of us are "dress up" kind of people and don't need it to "spark" our relationships. Some think that dressy up does that ,but in my opinion it does not.

It is VERY hard to know for sure what to wear...I agree it isn't as spelled out as it seems. Some things say Resort Elegant, some say resort casual and it is up to your interpretation. The first year we had a lot of T-shirts for the evenings and didn't feel dressed appropriately. Last year we had a little nicer shirts and felt comfortable, though we do see quite a few in t-shirts and feel like it is fine. Heliconia and Cassava are definitely more casual because they are open air.

This board sometimes does have it's share of critics...some who seem to feel like they have to answer every reply, even when it seems to annoy them. IMO, if the questions annoy you, ignore them and don't answer and let those of us who don't mind answer them. I guarantee when you get to CN, you will LOVE it and you will find all kinds of friendly people there... and people really aren't judgemental, at least not the ones that we've met. Enjoy and continue asking....some of us really don't mind helping.

rudi,
Thanks for your helpful reply. Apparently the shoe thing is alot more clearly spelled out to some than to others. I appreciate your reply.

johnirene,
Thanks for you post, though my question was about CN and Otaheite. I admit it did not occur to me to look at the info for a different restaurant at a different resort. That same info posted on this site for Otaheite (columbo was nice enough to copy it here above somewhere) makes no specific mention of footware at all for men or women. I guess that's why the question seems to come up so often and why it gets so many varied responses. I understand that it is "VERY WELL SPELLED OUT!" (to quote another posters shouting) to some but it still seems open for some interpretation overall. I am sorry that it angers some folks to find that others interpret things differently from them. Our only agenda is that we get the info we need to interpret it correctly... not to get scolded for not knowing the answer before asking the question.
I always wear my same nice leather loafers to all but the main buffet at dinner time, but the term 'flip flops' seems to cover a lot of ground when it comes to ladies shoes. My wife has 'flip flops' she wears to the beach that she would never wear to dinner but also has other 'flip flops' that are nice leather with attractive styling and shiny beads adorning them in a way that goes really well with her evening dress. Both are 'flip flops' in essence but they are worlds apart in how they look with a nice dress. The lack of clarity about ladies footware is the reason for my question, but the angry response made it sound like anyone asking for clarification about it is someone who advocates breaking the rules and wearing tank tops to nice restaurants or dessing like they are going to McDonalds. That was not the question at all.
" Couples they all have some type of elegance to them, especially at night, do I think flip flops, cut off jeans, mens tank tops should be worn to them, no I do not. Its apparent that this isn't a Mc Donalds, and be realistic about closed toe shoes for women thats just common sense"

No one even asked about cut offs and tank tops, and not even about wearing their beach flip flops to dinner, just about some clarity about womens footware. We were just asking for clarification, but somehow hit a nerve with at least one person.

I'm not sure why anyone should be criticized for asking a question about CN in the CN forum. That's all.

Originally Posted by Linar

... I also want to add that after reading how everyone is so super nice here and how they have made life long friends on vacation here, I'm not really feeling it through this thread. ...

Understandable reaction, but please realize there are many different people on this MB and the dress code topic frequently elicits passionate response.

The fact (OK, my interpretation on fact perhaps) is that the dress code is confusing. Even if one believes the website information (http://couples.com/negril/restaurants-bars.php) to be clear, there are so many posts on the topic it is a reasonable conclusion that it is not clear enough for all.

Additionally there are other sources of dress code information that are not consistent with the the website link posted above, so it is not just you (or rhallva, or DaveC).

A] The "activity sheet" handout guests receive has slightly different dress code information on it:
http://couples.com/mb/showthread.php...-list-Feb-2011

B] The sign outside of Otaheite has still more slightly different dress code:
http://couples.com/mb/showthread.php...7503#post37503

C] The card given when one has made reservations for Otaheite states:
Dress Code: Casual Elegant. - No: T-shirts, Jeans, or shorts

D] The card for repeater's dinner states at the bottom:
Dress code: resort attire (Jeans, shorts, sneakers, and flip-flops are not permitted)
(n.b. the repeater dinner is now at Lychee, but the card had the same code when it was at Otaheite.)

All of this is more of a (slight) critique of CN than directly answering your question, but hopefully shows you there is a bit more information on dress code out there. We've had several conversations with the GM about the dress code (it is quite the headache for her, in both deciding the policy and enforcement) and perhaps we'll convince her to consolidate into consistent statements.

That said, IMHO, for Otaheite, and probably Lychee, you likely be more comfortable wearing dressy sandals in favor of the flip-flops.

Linar,
I did not intend to make you feel like a hillbilly, sorry if coming off so very direct in my post but that's the way I am, if my comments appeared rude I apologize. The comments made in general and from experiences I have witnessed during my trips to CN. I will let you know ahead of time that I have seen men asked to leave Cassava restaurant in the evening when they showed up in a tank top or sleeveless shirt, so even though it is viewed as more casual it still has some restrictions on dress. If you believe that going on a beach vacation dictates a lower level or presents a more casual level of dress for dinner in the evening than by all means go for it. I have been on many beach vacations and all are not the same, would I wear flip flops and tank top to dinner on the beach in Cocoa Beach Florida at the casual in the sand style restaurants, yes I would, would I wear them in a restaurant in on the beach in Tulum yes I would. St Barts, Anguilla(Except Banky Banks), St Martin or Couples? I would not. My point which was very misconstrued by " rhallva" is very simple, look at this website, look up some older posts, look at their references to dress and look at the photos in the albums at the style of dress in the pictures and what the restaurants and resort represents, what its image is, as than you make the choice on how and what you feel should be worn. If you do not want to wear high heel shoes ( which I do not recall mentioning) on a "beach" vacation that is your choice, but rubber flip flops from Old Navy may not be the direction either, for the beach Bar B Q party no decisions to be made you do not have to wear anything on your feet.

Originally Posted by wileeandrr

Can't wait to meet you columbo!

We will be the over dressed couple if it is 7PM or later, or the under dressed couple at the pool bar around430- 5PM hanging with Franklyn!!!! We have the repeaters dinner on the evening of the 8th, which I think is your last night there.

Thank you columbo for the apology, I appreciate it. Cleversole, thank you for your advice and information and thank you for the way it was given. Also thanks to everyone that attempted to answer this question as well. I think I have a pretty good idea of what is expected at each restaurant at this point (I did not realize this was such a hot topic.....lol)