Our Honest Sandals Negril Review
Sandals Negril is one of 7 Sandals resorts in Jamaica, and it was our favorite one until Sandals Dunn’s River opened. To help you decide if this resort is right for you, here is our honest Sandals Negril review.
Things to Know About Sandals Negril
We have been here a couple of times and really enjoyed both stays. Not only is it a beautiful resort on a gorgeous beach, but it also faces west for really spectacular sunsets.
Getting to Sandals Negril
Sandals Negril is located in Negril, about 90 minutes from the Montego Bay airport. When you arrive at the airport, you just have to go to the Sandals lounge and then you’ll be taken to the complimentary airport transfer shuttle. It’s very easy and the drive is on smooth roads.
Sandals Negril Rooms and Suites
Almost all the rooms are beachfront here and there have been some recent additions, so you have plenty of options for a lovely stay. One of the swankiest suites is the Bamboo Grove One-Bedroom Skypool Butler Suite. This has an elevated private infinity pool and comes with 24-hour butler service. We found it hard to leave the room, it was so nice!
Another great new room type is the Bamboo Grove swim-up suite, which has ocean views. There are also two-story beachfront butler suites.
We also really liked the Caribbean Beachfront Walkout Club Level Room, which comes with concierge and room service and is just steps from the beach. It also has a nice private patio with an outdoor oversized soaking tub.
Something to note when you are considering rooms—while the rooms with a tropical garden view are less expensive, they are also near a noisy road.
Sandals Negril Restaurants and Bars
Sandals Negril has 8 restaurants serving a variety of cuisines and 5 bars including a beach bar, swim-up bars, a piano bar, and a traditional British pub.
There are some new restaurants here, including Perla, which serves Latin fusion, and Brava, which has Spanish cuisine including tapas. Both of these are beachfront and have beautiful views. We really liked the tacos and burgers at Perla for lunch. Brava’s dishes are small bites that you share, and we loved the Carne a la Parilla, Gambas al Ajillo, Croquetas de Pollo, as well as the inventive cocktails like sangria made with rum.
Other restaurants we recommend are Kimono’s for Japanese teppanyaki and the Sundowner for its varied menu and great sunsets. Barefoot by the Sea is exactly that, and was our favorite spot for breakfast with an ocean view. We also really enjoyed the Crema coffee shop.
Something cool here is that you also have access to the family-friendly Beaches Negril, so you can go to the restaurants there. We liked Yuka, a Peruvian restaurant that serves dishes family style, and the Soy sushi bar.
The Beach at Sandals Negril
Sandals Negril is set on the world-famous Seven Mile Beach, which has soft white sand and clear, calm water. It’s perfect for swimming and all the complimentary watersports, which include not only the usual nonmotorized activities but also motorized activities like tubing, waterskiing, and wakeboarding.
There’s a reef just offshore, so you can even snorkel here right from the beach. It’s also nice and long so you can go for extended walks along the beach if you enjoy those. And it’s generally easy to find beach chairs.
However, this beach isn’t private, so there are vendors on it. They usually won’t bother you, though.
The Pools at Sandals Negril
Sandals Negril has multiple pools. The main pool has the most going on, with music and activities as well as a swim-up bar. There is also a lagoon-style pool by the swim-up Crystal Lagoon suites, as well as by the Bamboo swim-up suites. These pools have beach views.
Sandals Negril Activities and Amenities
As we talked about in the beach section, there are tons of complimentary watersports at Sandals Negril including motorized as well as the usual nonmotorized, such as snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding, glass bottom boats, and Hobie Cat sailing. As at all Sandals, scuba is included for certified divers.
There are land activities like tennis, beach volleyball, bocce ball, croquet, and pool, and there’s a fitness center with classes as well.
At night, Sandals Negril has entertainment including beach parties, theme parties, live music, and more.
You can also go to Beaches Negril, which has watersports and a waterpark. (We also think the beach is better there, so we liked going just to hang out.)
Services at the onsite spa are extra, as are area excursions.
Excursions at Sandals Negril
You can choose from a wide variety of area excursions if you want to see some of Jamaica during your stay. We recommend the trip to Rick’s Café, where you can see daredevils jumping off high cliffs as well as have a drink and something to eat. There are even lower cliffs that you can try jumping off if you want to.
Other popular excursions include zipling, catamaran cruises, the Mayfield Falls river walk excursion, rum tours, ATV tours, deep-sea fishing, and cultural tours.
Sandals Negril Honeymoons
Like all Sandals resorts, Sandals Negril is romantic and excellent for honeymoons. You even get a free honeymoon package if you come within 30 days of your wedding. This includes a bottle of chilled sparkling wine, a romantic turndown service with flower petals on your first night, breakfast in bed one morning, and fresh flowers.
Sandals Negril Cost
Sandals Negril is one of the more affordable Sandals resorts. Currently, rates here start at $226 per person per night. Oceanview rooms start at $264 per person per night. The Butler suites start at $331 per person per night.
Sandals Negril Pros and Cons
We really like Sandals Negril and would recommend it. Pros are the newer rooms, which are especially luxurious and quieter; the beautiful beach and the ability to snorkel from shore; the extra watersports; and the new restaurants.
Cons would be that the beach isn’t private, and that it takes about an hour and a half to get here from the airport.
After reading our Sandals Negril review, what do you think? Would you stay here? Let us know in the comments! And if you’d like help planning your trip, feel free to contact us!