Hideaway at Royalton Negril

*Travel Smart Member* Visit 8/8/19-8/12/19 I have been to Jamaica a few times, this was my second Royalton visit. The first was Royalton Montego Bay(which was a disappointment) This second visit was at the Royalton Hideaway Negril and let me just say I will recommend this resort (Hideaway) to EVERYONE! (single, couples) What a complete difference from Montego Bay. The staff were amazing. We had a minor issue upon checking into our room, and it was dealt with immediately by Anna from travel Smart and Paris. Anna was fantastic. Our check into the diamond club was great we were offered drinks and food and everyone was really nice and welcoming. My personal concierge Paris went above and beyond his job to make sure myself along with my guest were happy, comfortable and any issues or needs were addressed immediately by him. He by far has been my favorite concierge at any Royalton resorts I have stayed. The Hideaway is fantastic because it’s all Adults there is constant music playing everyone is interacting with one another and just having a great time. I plan on making the Hideaway at Royalton Negril a yearly visit because of the fantastic service I received!

I traveled to hideaway negril for one week at the end of July 2019. We were 6 adults traveling together with three swim out suites 8026, 8027, and 8028. My husband and I are travel club members. Overall we had a GREAT vacation. There were some ups and some downs but my husband and I are easy going travelers who work hard for our vacations and try not to let the little things spoil our good time. The swim out rooms in building 8 across from the swim-up bar are fabulous!!! I highly recommend them. In July they got full sun from morning till early afternoon. I enjoyed sitting out early morning in front of the pool and we enjoyed a couple late night swims when we returned from the shows and were in need of a quick cool down 😉. It was so freeing to be able to jump in the water, swim, grab a drink from the bar, lay out and then get out and be inside my room when I wanted to use the Bathroom, or take a quick nap. The bartenders at the hideaway swim-up bar were kind and attentive. They worked hard to please and made sure everyone was happy. I enjoyed that they allowed the guests to make requests to the music selections that was being played. It made the pool a bit more lively. My husband and I enjoy laying out, reading and relaxing but we are not 70 yrs old and also enjoy having a some fun as well. If you only want to lay out and read or are very particular about interacting with neighboring guests or want super privacy and quiet then stay in building 9. It was very quiet on that side, with frankly NOTHING going on. But if that floats your boat then building 9 is for you. I loved that the location of most restaurants and eateries was an easy walk to get to. Loved Dorado for morning cooked to order breakfast. The food always came out fresh and piping hot. Another plus was that Dorado was never crowed (breakfast, lunch or dinner). Ocean point was also very good. I have to say that for the most part all the ala cart restaurants were good. We were impressed that the room service menu had a salmon dinner that you could order(which was quite tasty) Overall, the room service was good for a midday or late night snack. The spa left more to be desired. I enjoy my massage and my time there but little things seemed to be lacking. Steam room not working, individual water therapy stations in the hydrotherapy pool were not working, many jets in the warmer spa pool not working, many lockers did not have keys to lock up your personal belongings. I did not let these things ruin my time but definitely took away from the experience. There was a power outage during our 2nd night there. Not a big deal as it happened during the evening, (no lights, TV, AC) however, the outage caused our AC unit to not function properly for the remainder of our trip. We reported it and they immediately responded. Unfortunately, it was a major problem that was not a quick fix, they were able to program the AC to a temp that we desired but we would be unable to adjust it up or down after they programmed it. We were fine with that, however, a day later another outage seemed to occur knocking out the AC again. We just dealt with it as it wasn’t THAT bad (Thank goodness for the fan). This seemed to only affect our room as the other family members had no issues in their rooms. We were looking forward to eating the traditional Jamaican Ackie and saltfish with fried dumplings, but unfortunately, the resort seemed to only have these items once per week and once they ran out they had to wait for another shipment which did not come before our 8 days was up. This was a little disappointing. The BEST thing about this resort are the workers. Tasha from travel smart knew how much we wanted the ackie and saltfish and was so kind as to bring us 6 orders of this dish from a local restaurant, on her day off no less. Now that is what I call dedication! We were so excited and very appreciative of her service throughout our entire stay. The TravelSmart employees, Tasha, Keisha, Paris — Big Paul, lifeguard at the pool, Chana the bartender, Lexia the Dorado greeter, Kaffain the yoga instructor, the other guys that did water aerobics and the boot camp work out classes at the gym(cannot remember their names) were all absorbed wonderful bI can go on and on about many of the employees. They worked hard to ensure we were all taken care of and satisfied. We took a boat to a little island where you pick your very own live lobster and they cut, clean and grill the lobster right in front of you. “Homeboy” was the gentleman’s name and you could see how passionate and proud he was about seeing that we enjoyed our lobsters. They definitely cooked with love. Best lobster I EVER ate. I promise, if you love lobster this is something you don’t want to miss. They seasoned it with fresh garlic and spices and served it with drawn butter and two pieces of toasted hardo bread. The lobsters ranged from $20-40$ depending on the size you chose. “Homeboy” even cracked the claws and assisted in cracking the claws to get as much lobster meat out as possible. A great host and an absolutely delicious meal to say the least. We also visited Ricks cafe for the sun set. It was crowded but we managed to get a table, order food and drinks, watch the divers, take some nice pics, and hear some nice music. Spent a little money here but you’re on vacation, let loose, treat yourself, soak it all in and enjoy 😉. It was fun! The Michael Jackson show was very impressive and should not be missed. The beach was beautiful. Water clear, some sea grass but definitely way better than Mexico and DR and very enjoyable. One last negative point that I must mention, on our second to last day, our TV seemed to go out. We called it in and they were apparently fixing the major issue cause by the powered outage. My husband is a TV watcher so he wasn’t very happy about that. It was our 2nd to last day so we were out and about for the most part but for that afternoon nap and late night going to sleep, it was a bit annoying not to have a working TV. Sad to say this affected the entire resort. Even the sports bar that evening, where multiple TVs are, not one television was working. This continued to the next morning. We were checking out this day so it did not really impact us, but It wasn’t a good look for the resort. And I am sure they received a LOT of backlash over it. So overall, there was good and there was not so good. Nothing that absolutely ruined our vacation. With all of that being said My husband and I would return for another visit to hideaway negril. The issues we had were outweighed by the great times we enjoyed everyday at the pools, beaches, restaurants and with the staff and fellow neighboring guests. The resort was walkable, food was tasty, service was always with a smile, weather was good, pools and beaches were and refreshing, swim out room was a plus and spending a week together with family is always priceless. So far with the Royalton chain we have visited Royalton Bavaro, Chic in DR and Royalton negril. Next up either Royalton St. Lucia or Antigua. Can’t wait 😊 Thank you Royalton and TravelSmart. Until next time...

This hotel was amazing. The food was great and the service was good other from the bathroom fixtures which’s were broken for the most party.The pool was good and so was the spa,my building concierge Kiera from travel smart was so friendly I’ll definitely be coming back.