BGN aka Grand Lido Negril trip report

Just returned from GLN after a 2 week vaca. The resort has not changed since I first visited over 20 years ago with the last stay 9 years ago. I have seen GLN in various conditions over the years, some good and some not so good. What has changed in the past 20 years is the vast addition of newer and much bigger properties incl Beaches, Couples, and RUI. By comparison, these newer venues ages GLN and makes it seem smaller and somewhat dumpy. Kind of like me over the past 20 years! The occupancy was around 40% the first week and down to 20+% the second. This left the empty rooms available for whatever upgrade is planned. I peaked in a few rooms under renovation, but was unable to see any hints of changes. Hopefully, they will lighten up the decor and add some creative lighting to the rooms. The bathroom worked fine, although 3 of the smaller of the 7 shower jets were not working. Since I have only one jet in our home shower, I did not feel deprived. Did witness a few people whining about cold water, lack of music at the textile beach, etc. Can't please them all. The c/o side was fairly empty and those that were there were mainly wearing clothes. I have always favored c/o policy vs nude only to entice newbies. However, in this situation I think nude only would be highly appropriate ala the old Braco policy.

The food was good to very good with ample selections at the breakfast and lunch buffets. 3 nights a week there is buffet only dinners, which were also very good given it is a buffet. The French and Continental restaurants were very good and the Japanese restaurant was excellent. Ask for Ricardo to cook for you. Very funny and entertaining. The Italian restaurant was very disappointing, but may have just been an off night.

The entertainment staff was excellent, extremely friendly and a true joy to be around. In fact, all the staff was overly helpful and gracious to us. Night time entertainment was mainly the house band and singer (very good) and occasional outside musical groups.

The grounds were impeccably maintained but take cover for the late afternoon bug fogging. Nasty, but it worked in diminishing the mossies.

We ventured out one afternoon to Negril for some shopping and Rick's for observation. Rick's is no longer the sleepy, rustic and hippy island bar of the 80's. Huge stone terrace, swimming pool, band stand/stage area, numerous bars and beer stands and loads of tourist buses and, therefore, tourists. Once is enough.

The once five star GLN is now 3 star at best. The goal is to have it back to its former beauty and service level by November. An asteroid hitting the earth has a better chance. The plans call for huge expansion of the resort, I guess to compete with the neighbors. I think it would have a better chance of crating a superior, exclusive boutique hotel with outstanding amenities and a return of the free services (laundry, dry cleaning, spa services). Better evening entertainment with Vegas type cabaret acts and restructure the awkward c/o side pool/bar set-up. Anything short of this and other upgrades too lengthy to list here will not command the $500-600/night rates from years ago.

Bottom line - we would return at the $300/night or less c/o cove room as currently it is a good deal.

Hi guys. I changed the title of your post and made it a new thread, so the trip report didn't get lost in the shuffle. Thanks for the report!!

We're booked for Aug 14-19 and paid $244 a night for a Junior Deluxe Cove Suite Beachside on Travelocity. That's the sale price, which is already cheaper than anywhere else, plus a 15% discount code they sent us. This is actually our third booking for this trip. We've cancelled twice to book again cheaper (sorry, Expedia). I get the impression that are pretty desperate to fill rooms right now.

That price ($244) is tempting...

Thank you for the trip report. Ref the cove, did folks have full bathing suits (tops and bottoms)? Mrs. Diggler doesn't much like being on display...

Most had the full monty on and a few topless (Oh My). <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Woohoo!! We just booked for November! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" /> We just booked the cheapest room available and are hoping for an upgrade, but it's not a big resort, so won't be a long walk to anywhere regardless! Looking forward to hearing how your trip goes, chazo!! Recent reports seem to be that the food and service is good, the accomodations are so-so. I doubt there will be many changes before November in the accomodations, but we can hope!

Carol,
You might want to read this and take it with a grain of salt. Lots of different stories about what's going on at GL.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g14...sh_Jamaica.html

Agreed, there are a bunch of different stories going around. The stories going around in April said that they were going to a family resort and closing the nude side. I think the most recent stories are that they aren't actually going to do the big renovations until next year now. I'm not going until November, and one of our members is going toward the end of August, so hopefully the stories will shake out by then. I booked with Go Classy, so I have to assume they will know specifically what is going on also, and if necessary, guess I will change my booking somewhere else....

Lance from Go Classy tells me he has a large group booked there in February and the story of the closing is not true. We shall see!

chazo--are you still booked to go to GLN in a couple of days? Would love to hear a report upon your return!

We just got back from Grand Lido Negril. I'll try to write a more detailed trip report sometime soon, but thought I would mention some of the highlights. They claimed about 50% occupancy, but I figure it was closer to 25%. When we got there they asked for our Groupon voucher (we booked on Travelocity), so they must be getting a lot of people from that promotion.

The term I would use for the resort is "faded glory". Superclubs must have run it into the ground. And, Sunwing plans no major upgrades until next year. But, there were workers around the resort pretty busy while we were there. They seem to be focusing mostly on central facilities and the main building does look pretty good. It needs paint in many places, but they were painting some while we were there.

The rooms are the worst part of the resort right now. I get the impression they don't want to put much work into the rooms. The furniture looks old, the jacuzzi didn't work, the doors don't close right, and the draperies are really faded. But, the room was clean and comfortable, so we were okay with that.

The clothing optional side was pretty busy. The snorkeling over there is very good and it was rare that you did not see someone out there. Men were nearly all nude and probably 50% of the women with quite a few others topless. There would pretty much always be one couple around in suits, but there was no lurking at all. The nude pool is 20 foot square and a uniform 4 1/2 foot deep, which is pretty small, but it got good use. The pool needs a rehab pretty bad. Both pools were cloudy when we got there. The Cove pool cleared up the next day, but the main pool never really cleared up. The hot tubs were all working, spotless, and clean. They are a bit loud when running.

The food was generally good. We had some things that were not good, but there was always plenty of other options, so we would just pick something else. The restaurants were all good, though La Pasta's pasta was a bit weak. If you are going to the buffets, go early, since they tend to leave things out a long time. We saw Sushi out from 8:30pm to after 10:00pm. I would not suggest trying any of it. Personally, I think sushi on a buffet is not a great idea, anyway.

Would we go back? Absolutely. The clothing optional beach is great. The beach furniture is mostly old (they appear to be cycling in new stuff), but it was comfortable and there is plenty of shade. The grill is good and the jerk lamb is excellent and a real treat. Hobie cats, kayaks, and paddle boards were readily available to use. We are "read on the beach" types, so we were very happy. It's not the greatest resort and it needs work, but right now the price is pretty darn cheap, so it's hard to beat.

Avoid the vacation plan salespeople like the plague. We managed to dodge them, but heard horror stories from others about hard, hard sales.

Thanks so much for the note! We paid a very cheap rate in November, so are definitely not expecting the Ritz either. If you could, during your trip report or in this thread, could you address dress code for the various restaurants, what alcohol is provided at which bars (some people have said you could not get premium alcohol at the beach bars), did you tip and if so, who did you tip and how much. Also, it will be football season when we are there and was wondering whether we would be able to see Sunday night or Monday night football on TV. If you noticed, was there access to ESPN and NBC?

Dress Code: The concierge said no dress code for women, only men. I think he was kidding, but the main requirements were: French Restaurant: Collared shirts, long pants, closed toe shoes, not jeans. Munason: Collared shirts only. The rest were not requiring any dress code, but I think that may vary a bit. No jackets or ties required anywhere.

I don't think they had premium alcohol at the beach bars, but I think it varies quite a bit. I did get a good Cognac in the restaurants and the main bar. They make a great Flaming Bob Marley in the main bar.

We tipped the maid in the room $2 a day, but nobody else. There is a lot of staff, so I'm not sure who we would tip. Most were not tipping, but there were some who tipped constantly. Two couples we called the "Texans" tended to hand out bills every time they got something. I really don't think there was a difference in the service. We spent a lot of time in the Cove and where would you put the money?

They did have ESPN. The main bar tended to run ESPN2 all of the time. We don't watch much TV on trips, but there were about 30 channels, several from Florida, so I imagine NBC was in there somewhere.

Ok, thanks much! On the shoes, when you say 'closed toe shoes', does that include tennis shoes?

No tennis shoes. Sorry, I forgot that one.

Oh, cr*p. Eric loathes slip on shoes, so he doesn't possess boat shoes or anything like that. Do you know whether they really enforce that? Guess he will have to take a pair of dress shoes..

I wore gym shoes to the French restaurant as that plus sandals were all I brought. No problem. For long pants all I brought were my cheesy looking white linen outfit. Glad the paparazzi were not around.

The long pants isn't a problem for him, but I guess we will throw in a pair of dress shoes, just in case.