My girlfriend Natasha and I, Dave, stayed at Grand Lido Negril, Jamaica, June 26, 2008 through July 6, 2008, to celebrate my Birthday and our Anniversary.

This was our 5th trip together to Negril Jamaica since 2005 (6th total for Natasha). We have had a pleasure of staying at other high-rated resorts: Couples Negril, RIU Tropical Bay & Sandals Negril. Although we always had a wonderful time, Grand Lido was a step above the rest. This amazing resort exudes class and provides such amazing service.

It is obvious that General Manager, Mr. Roberto Pelliccia and Assistant General Manager, Ms. Barbara Burton take great pride in their amazing resort and do a wonderful job in making their guests feel welcome. They went out of their way to surprise us in many unexpected ways to make our vacation and celebrations even more special. Please read the rest of our review to learn about the rest of the GLN staff that contributed to our unforgettable vacation.

ROOM:
We stayed in a Luxury Beachfront One Bedroom Suite with Private Patio Jacuzzi. The room was spacious, with a wet bar that was restocked per request with water, soda and beer, and two plasma TV’s, and a dining room table which the staff set daily in case we wanted to dine in room. The Jacuzzi was nice to have. I chilled out in it most days after the beach while Natasha was taking a shower and getting ready for the evening. They filled the Jacuzzi with fresh water as we arrived. We expected the multi-head shower that was described on their website, however it turns out they had not yet upgrade the bathroom in these suites. The room service was amazing. We ordered many items from the menu including champagne, wine, burgers, cheese plates and fruit plates at all hours. The delivery persons were always courteous. Expect a 45 minute wait for room service on average (sometimes quicker, sometimes a little longer), however the burgers were still plenty warm when they arrived, and they never made a mistake or forgot an item.

The best part about the room is the prime beachfront location. It is literally 30 feet from the beach sand. I’d recommend any room on the main beach for this reason. We did not notice the road noise from our room, although some people in the rooms towards the edge of the resort complained about traffic at the gas station across the road.

DINING:
We were here during the Epicurean food festival. We attended famous Jamaican chef Norma Shirley’s crab cake cooking demo. The sample cakes were excellent, and her views on Jamaica were intriguing. This was the only demo event we attended as we preferred to spend time on the beautiful beach. We paid the $125 per person extra for the 8 course Epicurean gala dinner where the world class chefs that were running the festival, each presented one course. Overall, the gala dinner was a great experience because we had a blast with the other guests at our table, but we expected more from the food, wine and service.

The resort food was generally very good, better than the other resorts at a comparable level in the area. There were plenty of fresh options at breakfast. I usually had poached eggs and fruit. They served authentic Jablum Blue Mountain coffee. The pasta station at lunch was amazing. We’re glad we did not discover this until our last few days because we would not have tried all the other food and may not have fit in our bathing suits for the beach.

Speaking of other food, Robert did make the most amazing lamb chops at the pool side lunch snack on the Clothing Optional beach. If you are like us and don’t like gamey tasting lamb, check out this shack. The jerk chicken was also great. If you spend your days on the main beach, not the C.O. beach, don’t be afraid to walk over to the C.O. shack to get Roberts tasty food and a delicious frosty drink.

The Timber house was a good overall place to get tasty burgers and other food and drinks all day long and late into the night. If you are going there in the summer time, make sure to spray down with mosquito spray, because after a couple of late night drinks, you may not realize you are getting eaten alive, until the next morning.

For dinner on the first night we went to the Reggae Café which describes itself as serving very authentic Jamaican cuisine, and we can confirm that they served the most tender and tasty jerk chicken and pork that we’ve ever had in Jamaica. Unfortunately this was the only night this restaurant was open, due to lower occupancy of the resort. If you get a chance to eat there, take it, and don’t be surprised when you get your salad served with no dressing; that is the authentic Jamaican way.

Munasan, the Japanese restaurant featuring Teppanyaki cuisine, had good food and a fun atmosphere. We did not fancy the sushi, however are from Los Angeles and are therefore used to the highest grade of sushi available. The chefs were very friendly and entertaining, and service was great. We dined there twice.

We found the food at the French restaurant, Piacere hit and miss. We dined there twice. The steak was amazing, but the fish was dry or fishy tasting. The appetizers were good and the deserts were excellent. The restaurant was air-conditioned, however I found it stuffy and warm being required to wear my jacket the entire time. The service was good.

We stopped by La Pasta for a mid afternoon snack. The Caesar salad was great, but the pizza was awful by any standard: doughy, dry yet greasy, and tasteless.

We attempted to go to the Lido Café for dinner which is an indoor restaurant; however the combination of a long wait, non-functional AC, and a very musty smell eventually convinced us to try somewhere else.

Don’t miss the Manager’s Gala dinners or Beach Party buffets. The food was consistently good with plenty of variety and the atmosphere was fun and social.

The bars were stocked with premium liquor and the bartenders were always responsive and often promoted the vibe of the situation.

ENTERTAINMENT:
The entertainment was good and worth checking out. They had a house band that played a mix of world music and served as the backing band for many top singers in the region. They usually had an audience participation part. I don’t want to give away any surprises, but the audience participation is worth being a part of. Try it out; they don’t embarrass you too much. They also had some variety shows. One night they had a fire eater.

The piano bar was a great place to have a drink and relax to the melodies of an amazing piano player, Ike. The audience could sing along with the piano, however this was not promoted with song books (except for 1 night) and generally the audience just listened.

THE BEACH:
We stayed on the main beach of the resort on Bloody Bay, which is the best part of the best beach in the world, Negril’s Seven Mile Beach. The water was warm and calm and you could walk out forever. Beach lounge chairs were comfortable with big, cushy pads on them. There were plenty of them available any time of day. They also had plenty of foam floaters available. Even during the afternoon summer rain showers, the water was so nice; we felt no need to get out.

THE GROUNDS:
The grounds of the resort were beautiful and immaculately maintained. It was a pleasure to stroll through them and absorb the nature. The hammock by the main beach was a great place to take a nap in the afternoon.

THE PEOPLE:
In addition to the beauty and location of the resort, Grand Lido Negril’s great staff made out vacation unforgettable. In addition to Mr. Pelliccia and Ms. Barbara Burton we would like to say Thank You to some of our friends:

-Carlene from the concierge office for taking care of our dinner reservations & Gala reservations even before we arrived.
-Damien Kerr for being the greatest bartender and waiter on the main beach. He even predicted when we would need a new drink and cold water before asking for it.
-Lloyd and the whole crew in the SCUBA shop for helping me get PADI certified and taking me on daily dives.
-Conrad from Water Sports for giving us fun Hobie rides around Bloody Bay and Boobie Key.
-Christopher from front gate security for being so friendly and taking all of our shopping bags to our room on the golf cart, and taking care of our many pieces of luggage at check in & check out.
-Nicolia Lee for waiting on us at the buffet. She always had our coffee and drinks refilled, table cleared off, and provided friendly service.
-Novlette & Marcia from the Spa for the best seaside, sunset, couples massage ever.
-Robert from the C.O. beach shack for making the greatest lamb chops ever.

The other guests seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as we were and we had no problem making many resort friends. We generally find this to be the case in adult only, or couples only resorts. Every one has more incentive to get out there and meet everyone else.

Once again, we would like to thank Grand Lido Negril for an amazing vacation. We can’t wait to go back.

My husband and I visited Negril in August of this year for an anniversary trip. We originally booked a room at Couples Negril, but asked our travel agent to move us to another hotel after the first day since the resort was not that great. We moved over to Grand Lido, and found it was a great change for the better! The grounds are well-kept and clean, the rooms are nice and spacious, and the staff is helpful and courteous. Although we got caught in Hurricane Gustav and the resort wasn't able to do any water sports (we wanted to snorkel, windsurf, etc.), we still laid out by the pool and had a blast! The food was pretty good, the drinks great, and we had a wonderful time. I'd definitely recommend it! If you go into town, I also recommend Sweet Spice Restaurant and going to Times Square to do some shopping.

My wife and I stayed at the GLN from 7-11 Sep ’08 and we must say that the resort fell far below our expectations. We paid approx. $600 per night and expected much more for the money.

Here are the highlights of our review:

Check-in: We had requested a garden view, and upon our arrival we were told that we were being upgraded to the clothing optional side. The hotel was at a 20%-25% occupancy rate (approx 75-90 people) and at that, we waited 40 minutes for our room. We were invited to have lunch while we waited, so the time went by quickly.

Room: Spacious, ample closet space, but quite a bit outdated. We had an A/C problem on day 2. The condenser unit was not working properly, creating condensation to accumulate on the floor and a puddle of water behind the sofa. Went to the front desk and within 1 hours time, it was repaired. Housekeeping came twice a day to refresh the room and they were great.

Restaurants: Because of the low occupancy rate, the Grand Terrazza was never available for lunch (contrary to the brochure) so our only options were the Lido or Timber House. The Piacere was semi-elegant. The service was outstanding, and the presentation was great. Bear in mind that jackets are required and they will discreetly give you one to wear if you forget. Munasan is the place to go, but you can either dine at the tepanyaki tables or sushi bar, not both. The portions are large and the preparation is a show in itself. Sherika prepared our food and she did a great job. The Lido offered 2-3 selections and the entrée selections changed daily, but the restaurant had a musty odor.

Overall, the food in my mind fell below the purported claim of “The Best in the Caribbean.”

Water Sports: For the first three days, we were repeatedly told that the water sports would not be available due to high winds and visibility problems. This phenomenon happened only at the GLN as our neighboring properties had activities. The day before we left my associates Q, Blonde-Bond and our wives, M, Miss Money-Penny and Holly Goodhead decided to push the issue and get upper management involved. Low and behold, the seas calmed and the visibility was no longer an issue. So on the day we left, we were able to use the glass-bottom boat.

Pool: In need of repair as many tiles are missing from the side wall. Around the pool, be careful as tiles are cracked.

Jacuzzi’s: The water was much too hot for me and my associate Q. When we brought this to someone’s attention, they told us they did not know how to adjust the temperature. The Jacuzzi is the only place you will find a lobster, you after you get out.

Staff: Front desk staff is good. The housekeeping staff is great. Barbara the second in command did her very best and was responsible for getting us on the glass bottom boat. Roberto is the GM of the hotel and you can spot him very easily. Just look for the frazzled guy with a phone pressed against his head. But, go to Barbara if you have a problem.

CAUTION:
Male bartenders seem to get a little too friendly with the female guests.

A water sports employee asked me if I was good. I said I would like a beer. He said he wasn’t allowed at the bar, but did say he could get me anything else I wanted. (Read between the lines if you wish).
One bartender informed my associate Q that he would “wipe him off the face of the earth.” At this point, Q had to give the man a lesson in foreign relations and the situation was diffused, luckily for the bartender!

Waiters, contrary to policy do and will ask for tips.

Overall: I realize that we chose to come here during low season, but that does not mean that we should expect less. I don’t know how this property got into Conde Nast’s “Best in the Caribbean”. Nor do I know what the other SuperClubs are like if this is the Flagship. All I do know is the property is 18 years old, and in need of major renovations. It is obvious that the GLN was grand at some time, but that time must have been many years ago.

I recently returned from my first stay(but not my last , I'm going back in February)at Grand Lido Negril. The resort as a whole was quite beautiful. The rooms on the au naturale side were very nice but the excellent treatment by the staff is what impressed me the most. Everyone seemed completely dedicated to making my stay as relaxing and comfortable as possible. I went scuba diving each day and the watersports staff of Seaweed, Lloyd and boat captain Donovan were wonderful dealing with both experienced divers and those just learning. 24/7 room service is great if you don't feel like dressing up (or dressing at all).

I can't wait to go back!