Probably the worst experience with a hotel in my life. We arrived at 2AM on Christmas Day. Our party consisted of 4 adults and we had paid for a room with 2 double beds a month in advance.
From the moment you walk in, there is this realization that this is not the ideal garden spot of Jamaica. The entrance had this feeling that it could really use a sprucing up , not to mention a good cleaning. We had to leave a "key deposit" of $20.00 US money. We were taken around and up to the second floor to a dimly lit stairway leading to a somewhat distressed door. It appeared that this was some sort of joke. They gave us a room that in fact was a joke. One double bed for four people. The bathroom was disgusting. Brown water in the toilet, a garage sale mat on the floor, no toilet paper, a half used bar of soap in the shower, no towels but a roll of paper towels was left on the counter. There also a noble and well used toilet plunger to help with any concerns regarding blockages. The kitchen had a rusty stove but a thoughtful person threw some aluminum foil on the burners giving it a lackluster glow. The kitchen utensils were leftovers from the Truman era. The kitchen sink had a foggy appearance and the roaches scattered when the lights went on. There was a storage closet where an old curtain was rolled up and thrown on a shelf and there was a mop and a broom that for some reason was not used as kindling for a bonfire. The sleeping area did have a television nicely set atop of a plastic patio table which sat atop of another plastic patio table giving one an Andy Warhole type of experience. The electrical wires were strewn about in such a way that it lead one to wonder how anything actually operated. There was one small dresser with four drawers that was salvaged after it fell off the back of Fred Sanford's truck. However, there was a safe in the room, That was interesting, I guess that is where you were supposed to keep the key since that was the most valuable thing in the entire room.
We went to the front desk to find out where our room was that we had paid for a month ago. We were informed by a person who claimed to be a manager that that was the only room that was available. When we informed this woman that the room was not acceptable, she seemed to forget how to communicate in English and managed to return a vague Jamaican stare. The brochure had wood floors and modern furniture, this room must have been imported from another planet. She knew nothing about the brochure nor was she able to help us since the owners were not available but would return in the morning. We informed her that our previous experiences with a normal lodging did not include such primitive luxury. There was no way in hell we were staying in that dump.
There was a maintenance worker that heard our concerns and offered to help. There was an apartment that was undergoing renovations but it had tow double beds and that would at least give us somewhere to sleep. They took about 15 minutes to "clean" the room. It did have double beds but only an opening in the wall where there had once been an air conditioner. There was not much choice. We decided to pass up on the penthouse suite and stay in this room, at least this one had toilet paper.
We were up at 9 AM and were told that the owners would be in shortly. We learned that in Jamaica, that doesn't really mean anything. They tell you "10 minutes" and that can mean either 1 to 2 hours of maybe 3 days. The day manager told us they were getting our room ready. We decided to take a walk around the lovely resort.
As worn as the rooms looked on the inside, that motif continued on the outside. The balconies had railing that were rotting and rather that have them welded or repaired, they added another coat of paint. We experienced the wild life which consisted of about 8 cats going in and out of the balconies sleeping on the chairs. The pool looked nice and it might have been enjoyable except for the sign that said "pool closed". There was also a hot tube which had an interesting array of pipes running exposed beneath it. I didn't want to get in it, I only wondered if it actually worked. There was a sand beach leading to some very nice clear water. The resort had managed not to ruin the water.
We went back to see how our room was coming along. Surprise! They didn't have a room yet but they were working on it. We had been waiting 2 hours and the owners had not come in either. The day manager seemed to suffer from the same affliction as the night manager, loss of comprehension of the English language. We had seen enough and got the phone book to get another hotel. We did get our $20.00 back for the key. I told the manager that the safest place for the key was probably in the lock since nobody with any sense of decency would go into one of those rooms anyway.
We had made our reservations through hotels.com and they were also basically useless. Upon return to the US, we attempted to get a refund. After 5 calls, the hotel agreed to only charge us for 2 days stay. How could they charge me for 2 days when I was there only a 9 hours? They claimed we made changes without prior notice. We didn't make any changes, they didn't have the room that we had paid for. Again, this is not their fault, it is our fault.
I am obligated to share this with anyone who wants to visit this place. It is so amazing to see that some people thought this place deserved a good or excellent rating. What the hell were they smoking? Make no mistake, this place is a dump. They don't care about what they do to you, especially if you have already paid in advance. Unless you find the need to write about vacation dives and rip offs, stay away from Negril Beach Club Resort! i would give them a zero rating but that would be too generous.
Just as a side note, we went and stayed at the Westender Inn. It didn't have the sandy beach but the rooms were nice, the staff was polite, the grounds were clean, they had shuttle bus service and there was a restaurant and bar that was quite nice. When we wanted to go to the beach, we took a ride into town and went to Margaritaville.
I would l
Room Tip: try some rooms on the other side of town.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC