We just returned from a week at Beaches Negril and rather than a standard review, I thought it would be helpful to do a comparison of my thoughts on Beaches Negril vs Beaches Boscobel, which we visited last year.
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Travel from airport to resort: Negril is much closer. Boscobel is about 2 1/2 hours north of Montego Bay, while Negril is just under 90 minutes south. Both roads are in pretty good shape. The road to Negril has come a long way since I first saw it back in 1988. The one thing that I really disliked about both rides is that the drivers spent most of each ride talking on their cell phones. Digicell must offer some really good unlimited plans. Maybe I should look into it?
Arrival at Beaches Negril seemed more organized than Boscobel. At Negril, we were met at the bus and they spotted that we were returning guests. We were told we had been upgraded to concierge, and brought to the concierge lounge for check in. That was a nice surprise.
At Boscobel, we got off the bus and the only person there to meet everyone was a bellman who was chatting with another shuttle driver and did not acknowledge anyone until his conversation was over. After that though, he was very pleasant and helpful. We were then brought to the lobby where the check in was pretty standard.
Rooms: Boscobel wins hands down in this category. The room in Negril was surprisingly small for 4 people. I believe it was in fact smaller than the standard two person room at Sandals Whitehouse. We had a top floor room in the Savannah block that had a king size bed, a cot and a small pull out sofa. We had to close the sofa bed in order to get out to the balcony since it blocked the door. This was not exactly what we were looking for when we paid to upgrade to a larger room, but since we were upgraded to concierge, we considered it a wash. The room was clean and served it's purpose, so no big deal I guess. The AC was pretty loud and dripped water. Without my saying a word when we escorted the room, the concierge said she could have someone look at it for us. No one ever came, but not a big issue since we all slept though the rattling. We were in room 423, which overlooked the water park. This was pretty good location since that end of the resort was quiet at night. Can't say I was thrilled with the tacky room caddy, which offered snacks that were not part of the all-inclusive. I know Sandals and Beaches started doing this at many locations, but it's pretty weak IMO.
The room we had in Boscobel was much bigger, seemed more updated and had much more of a wow factor when walking in. The room had a king size bed on the upper tier. The lower tier which was two steps down had a single bed and a pull out couch. It had a huge balcony with four chairs and plenty of room to fit more. It overlooked the courtyard and offered a partial ocean view.
Grounds: Both resorts are in great shape. Gardens are beautiful and well maintained. Boscobel is built onto a hillside overlooking the ocean, so there are lots of stairs. There was at least one elevator and ramps that guests could use, so most people should not have to much of a problem getting around. Negril is spread out along the Beach and is the bigger of the two resorts. I don't believe there are any elevators at this resort, but anyone who has issues getting around should be fine here as long as their room is on the first floor.
Beach: I know I may be stating the obvious, but the beach in Negril is fantastic. Soft white sand and beautiful clear blue water. It's an absolute treasure and Beaches Negril is on a great spot. The beach is much wider here than in other locations. There are plenty of chairs and more than enough shade when you want to get out of the sun. The vendors are everywhere along the beach, but most are not too pushy. We did walk the beach, shopped and stopped at Margaritaville for a bit. My daughters also had their hair braided on the beach next door to the resort. There were two women working outside of Cosmos that braided for MUCH less than the resort charged.
The Beach at Boscobel is pretty limited. It's small and rocky, but IMO, good for families with little ones. Easy to watch out for them here, where as Negril can be a bit hectic at times.
Pools: The main pool in Negril is very large. It has a big pool bar that includes seats under the overhanging straw roof, which is good to escape from both sun and rain. I must say though that the staff seemed to have issues keeping it clean. There always seemed to be straws, bugs and leaves floating in it. I get that this is an island resort and that will happen, but I watched the staff cleaning it one morning and it was kind of a half hearted effort IMO. I hate to be too critical, but I saw stuff floating buy the guy with the pool vac and he just didn't seem to care. I any case, the pool was nice, but not as clean as other places I have visited. The pool by the water park was smaller and very crowded, but was nice, clean and had another swim up bar. We actually spent more time here than the main pool so we could use the water park. The water park is nice, but pretty small. The two slides were ok and the lazy river seemed to be a hit with most people.
The main pool at Boscobel is very active and seemed to be where lots of the parents hang out while the kids are at the water park, which is located a short distance from the main pool area. The water park is great. There are plenty of slides for kids of all ages. I think there were about 11 slides, with 4 large ones that got the most use. While there is no lazy river at Boscobel, I'd say the water park here is better than Negril because all the slides kept the kids (and parents)
busy for hours.
Activities: Playmakers are very active at both locations, but they were limited to the main pool area in Boscobel. BN's playmakers seemed to be everywhere, alternating between the different pools and the beach. The playmakers are lots of fun and while they really try hard to get young people involved, they were never to pushy with the adults, which I definitely think is a plus.
Both locations provide arts and crafts centers for the kids, but Boscobel was more organized IMO. It is run by Auntie Pat, who recently won Sandals employee of the year. She always seemed to have something going on and the kids loved her. The crafts area at BN was fine, but not what we would call well organized. They had a schedule of things going on, but they locations were ever changing.
Beaches has also started charging for certain crafts. Not a lot of money, $8-$10 to do some glitter paint stuff, but I guess I am just a little annoyed at the ultra all-inclusive nickel and diming that seems to getting worse every time we show up.
Food: In most reviews I have read about Beaches Negril, people have been somewhat critical of the restaurants. I guess I would agree to an extent. Overall, I would say the food was ok. The main buffet at the Mill was good for breakfast, but just mediocre for lunch and dinner. The variety and quality were just ok. We liked the Seville and the Last chance Saloon. Both had enough choices on the menu to please everyone and the food was good. We really enjoyed Kimonos. It was quite a treat for the kids to have an entertaining chef cook right at the table and the food was very good. The café carnival by the waterpark were a nice option. We got lunch there on most days. The food was surprisingly good and there were plenty of options such as pizza, bugers, sandwiches, patties and fries.
One benefit to BN is that you can visit Beaches Sandy Bay to dine there as well. We went to the Sundowner at Sandy Bay one night and had our best meal of the week. Steaks were tender and cooked perfectly. We tried to get into the Italian restaurant here, but it was filled for the night. If you plan to head over to SB, make sure to catch the 5:30 shuttle, the next one comes at 7:30 and by the time you get there the restaurants may already be filled up for the night.
Staff: The staff at both resorts were very good. They are professional, friendly and courteous.. But I need to point out from the perspective of a parent who's child has a nut allergy, that the staff at Boscobel really went out of their way to make us feel more comfortable that we would not have any issues. Upon arrival at both resorts, we met with the executive chefs and discussed the allergy issue. At Negril we were told to call the chef two hours prior to dinner each night and let them know where we would be dining so the staff would make sure that there would always be something nut free available. We did this a few times and were told by the person who answered that the staff was aware of the allergy and not to worrry. However, when we arrived at the restaurants and asked about nuts, the staff often seemed confused by our questions. They were nice enough and did their best to follow up, but more than a couple of times my daughter was told not to touch the deserts because they were unsure if anything had come in contact with nuts. Some staff were great and went into the back and came back with something that was nut free, but that was not always the case.
At Boscobel, the staff went out of there way to make sure she was taken care of. Alberga, one of the food managers, met with us, went over the details and then made sure he knew where we were dining at all times so that he could have a special nut free chocolate desert ready for her after each meal. He usually brought it to the table personally. He is a great guy and did more than anyone could ask to make sure our daughter was happy.
Now just because we have a child with an allergy, we don't expect special treatment. Beaches Negril handled everything as one would expect, but I just want to be clear that the Beaches Boscobel staff went above and beyond in this area.
Misc: Sandals: While at Beaches Negril, my wife and I did get over to Sandals Negril for one evening. The one thing that stood out right away is how quiet Sandals is. Being a family resort, Beaches Negril can obviously be a little loud and out of control. It was so nice to just get away from that and relax in the peacefulness of this Sandals resort for a little while. We had only been to SN during a day trip about 5 years ago and I have to say that I didn't give the place enough credit. After walking through the entire resort, it appears to be a very nice place. I may need to add it to my list of places to stay in the future.
Beaches Sandy Bay: Visited a couple of times and is MUCH smaller than BN. But I liked it. It has much more of a laid back small resort feel to it, where as Beaches Negril and even Boscobel seem much more active. We talked to some people who came over to BN from BSB and they said that they liked BN, but were glad to head back to Sandy Bay at the end of the day.
Overall, The Beaches resorts in jamaica are very nice and are great for family vacations. There are certainly differences between Beaches Negril and Boscobel with each offering a unque experience. It's impossible to say that one is better than the other, because it really comes down to each travelers taste and expectations. I'm glad I tried them both and while we enjoyed each, our family seemed to like Boscobel a little more. That's not in any way a negative about BN, but simply a positive about our experience at Beaches Boscobel. IMO, it's a tough call because I really love the beach in Negril.
There's plenty more that I could have added here, so if there are any questions, feel free to contact me.
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