Grand Lido Negril Trip Report 2002
This was the second trip to GLN for my wife and me. As such, this trip report will focus more on what changed between December 2001 and December 2002 rather than specifics about the resort itself. For a detailed trip report more focused towards a first time visitor, feel free to read my December 2001 trip report on this website..
We traveled from December 6th - December 13th (well, not exactly...) on US Air. As usual, we booked our trip on SkyAuction. Going down we were 30min. late arriving and it took about an hour to clear immigrations (very long lines) and get going to the resort. Previously we had flown (Air Link) to the resort but had heard the road to Negril was now finished and the bus ride would only take an hour so decided to take that. Unfortunately we left MoBay during rush hour and it took two hours to reach the resort. That wasn't really a problem, though, as we made friends with the other two couples going to GLN and had a pretty good time with them while at the resort. Going back to the airport, the ride took about 90 minutes, including a stop for gas. All in all a fine alternative to flying, one that we will probably do next time. Traveling home was a nightmare, though. Leaving MoBay an hour late, a plane hitting a deer on the runway, massive fog, and rental car problems all conspired to keep us in Charlotte, NC an extra night before continuing home to Cleveland on the 14th.
I was very apprehensive about returning to GLN because our first trip was so perfect. In that trip report I said that GLN would be the last place I ever visited in the Caribbean. All future Caribbean trips would be to here. This put a lot of pressure on trip #2.
In short: It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times (Simpson's reference).
The people, as always, were incredible. This is really the highlight of going to GLN: you meet the friendliest people, period. We saw several friends we had met the year before and met several other couples that we will definitely stay in touch with and hopefully see next year. It is very hard to explain this if you haven't been here before, but the people here make the vacation.
We spent our entire time on the clothing optional side. Our room was right behind the hot tub. The only problem with it was that it was on the second floor, which means you need to put on clothes to run up to the bathroom. Note that we aren't "nudists". The only reason we choose the c/o side is that we seem to click more with the people on that side than on the textile side.
The renovated rooms now have refrigerators in them that are stocked with beer, soda, and water. They also have new bathrooms that have Jacuzzi tubs. These are very nice, except they are missing stairs which means that unless you are a basketball player you will have a hard time getting in and out. I'm 6'1" and I could barely have one leg on the bathroom floor and one in the tub. They were actually a little dangerous and we met a few people who had bruised themselves getting out of them. Also, water goes everywhere because the showerhead is only about 5 feet above the tub floor. So, to get water in your face you need to point it horizontally (and maybe even stoop down). In fairness to the resort, the management indicated that they were aware of these problems and were working to fix them.
There was lobster at the Friday night dinner and they had vanilla ice cream available 24 hours/day (the last time the only flavor was run raisin). The room service menu has changed drastically. There is a dinner portion that you can only order from between (approx.) 5pm and 11pm. This is the only time you can order lamb chops (Note, you can still get lamb chops for pick-up from the beach grill between noon and 5pm). Onion rings, nachos and potato skins are gone. The 24hr menu is now more like bar food (pizza, (waffle) fries, wings, burgers, etc.).
The yacht is still not back. However, they have a Catamaran trip (booze cruise) that will take you to some cliffs where you can jump off of or do some snorkeling. Personally, I had more fun on this trip then I did on the yacht the year before.
I've seen a lot of confusion about vouchers for free days on the Grand Lido message boards. When we were there, we were told that if it is your 2nd (or later) trip, and you stay for 6 days, you get a voucher for a free day. The voucher is good for one year. Actually, you get one free day for every six paid days (so twelve days gets you two free days). You will have to ask for this as it will not be offered otherwise.
The resort has a new general manager and it shows...and not for the better. The service is no longer top notch and now ranks with a "normal" resort. Not only does the staff no longer go out of their way to help you, there seems to be a general lack of caring spreading through them. You don't see this everywhere, but you see it enough places to notice it. Here are some specific examples:
- No drinks offered when we arrived and were waiting for check-in.
- Friends of ours were dining in the Italian restaurant when they were told that there was no more olive oil. I'm not sure how you run out of olive oil in an Italian restaurant, but I guess they found a way.
- When we dined in the Italian restaurant, my wife, instead of ordering two entrees, simply asked for one with extra shrimp. She didn't get extra shrimp and was told that she couldn't have any because there wasn't any shrimp cooked. In the time it took the waitress to tell us that they could have cooked a few shrimp...but no matter. What really surprised me was that she actually asked for a tip after we finished dinner! (Not only is tipping not allowed it should be forbidden for crappy service).
- Empty room service dishes sat around outside of rooms forever. Sometimes for an entire day.
- We consistently received incorrect orders at restaurants and through room service.
- Wine and water glasses were very slow to be refilled at the French restaurant and the Cafe Lido.
- Horrible Activities Coordinators. On my first trip they were very present, very friendly, and went out of their way to know you and do whatever they could to make your trip more enjoyable. This time they were rarely seen, mostly hung out around themselves, and made no effort to do 1% more than what was spelled out in their job description.