Grand Lido Negril Trip Report – May 2017 James & Donna
Grand Lido Negril and Royalton Negril
Grand Lido Negril Trip Report – May 2017 – James & Donna – Castaways Travel
Grand Lido Negril opened in May 2017. Royalton Negril, opened in April 2017, is a large resort comprising Grand Lido Negril (adults only, clothing optional), Hideaway by 
Royalton (adults only), and the main resort, Royalton Negril (families and adults). Total count = 573 rooms, suites, and Presidential suites located in about a dozen individual guest buildings. Grand Lido Negril is a private and exclusive “au Naturel” resort in Jamaica. See the short video of the walking tour at Grand Lido Negril from James & “Champagne” Donna.
Click on the resort layout and map to the right to enlarge the graphic and list of facilities at Royalton Negril, Hideaway by Royalton, and Grand Lido Negril.
Guest building construction at Grand Lido Negril has been completed. However, additional improvements are planned outside including a Grill at the swim-up bar, hot tub, ocean access, and beach … in the plans for 2017.
Grand Lido Negril occupies one of the buildings with 26 Ocean View Suites facing the Caribbean in Negril, Jamaica, about 50 miles west of Montego Bay’s airport. The ride is 1 hour 15 minutes both ways. Opened in May 2017, Grand Lido Negril is located on the far western edge of the property with a spectacular view of the Caribbean and sunsets.
In May 2017, we stayed in corner room # 9116 for a few days in a Sunset Ocean View Suite. Two other categories at Grand Lido Negril are: Swim Out Ocean View Suites and two Presidential Suites.
UPPERS
Grand Lido building construction is essentially complete, and planned enhancements on the grounds are in progress.We found the staff and service on site to be good considering the property is in the start-up stage.
Rooms and Suites are top-of-the-line, well-equipped, and highly functional.
Extras including on-site Butlers, Concierges as well as Club MoBay arrival and departure services are nice touches provided to all Grand Lido Negril guests. See below..
The swim-up bar/grill is cozy with 10 seats. (Grill on order). See more photos further below of the swim-up bar area.
The complete Royalton complex in Negril has a variety of restaurant selections and a variety of attractive features which compare favorably to Hidden Beach where guests can dine anywhere within the complex included in the room rate.
Royalton’s main building ground level where the restaurants and Bar Martini are located includes the Amphitheater and open-air seating for entertainment, music, and events.
Lest we forget, the 300+-year-old cotton tree at the original Grand Lido that was near Timber House (restaurant and room service kitchen) and in front of The Cove suites (clothing optional) is still there! It’s in the center of the Royalton complex next to the beginning of the family section and has a bar!!!
DOWNERS
REMINDER: Bear in mind, that building construction at Grand Lido Negril has been completed and the resort includes all the basics in the building. Enhancements and amenities outside around the pool and grounds continue to be added in phases.
Consider the comments below to be a snapshot in time and may no longer apply as projects are completed.
Missing the tub …. Reported to be on order
Missing nude beach …. Although engineering feasibility studies are in process for an ocean-side facility.
Missing grill to go with swim up bar …. Reported to be on order
The presence of children in part of the resort may be a distraction to some. Most families dined early in the evening and we did not see many kids during happy hour and main dining times of 7-9 PM. Occupancy during our visit averaged about 800
Part of Royalton Negril Resort is for families which may cause some adult fashions or s*xy, sheer clothing to be toned down.
No theme nights or entertainment areas at Grand Lido Negril for events, socializing, and getting to know your neighbor, other than the pool.
Grand Lido Negril lacks on-site dining, although upgraded room service is available 24/7 and 2 dining venues are nearby. The Ocean Point Bistro is next door (cover-up required) and the adult-only Dorado Restaurant in Hideaway by Royalton is about a 3-minute walk. Dorado serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner for adults-only guests from Grand Lido Negril and the Hideaway. Below is a photo of the entrance to Grand Lido Negril and a photo of the pool with Point Village Resort in the background.
Walkways, public reception area, and boardwalk leading to the nude pool require a cover-up since Point Village Resort is located next door. The photo below is a shot of the swim-up bar and boardwalk leading from the resort’s first floor to the lower pool area.
SUMMARY
The loss in Jamaica of Grand Lido Braco, N Resort, Hedonism 3, Breezes Runaway Bay, the original Grand Lido Negril, and others has created a void in the clothing-optional resort market; Royalton and Blue Diamond resorts have taken a bold step to re-enter the market with a first-class operation.
We found the suites and service more upscale than expected. The addition of a socializing area, a grill, a hot tub, and a nude ocean facility would round out the resort. Management told us about specific plans and expectations that these should be added in the future.
Dining choices are varied with menus and cuisine for most guests. The potential presence of children in some of the restaurants in the main building may be a distraction to some, although Grand Lido Negril and Hideaway by Royalton are for adults only and Dorado Restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner are for Adults only.
Quality staff is on site and the management direction seems to be genuinely committed to rounding out clothing-optional facilities at Grand Lido Negril.
See the short video of the walking tour at Grand Lido Negril from James & “Champagne” Donna.
Conclusion: Grand Lido Negril is a welcome addition to the clothing-optional market in Jamaica, a high-quality, upscale, and well-managed resort, with enhancements planned for the addition of a hot tub, grill, and ocean access facility expected.
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DETAILS
SERVICE TOUCHESServices offered are top shelf. Each Grand Lido Negril Suite includes complimentary Club MoBay expedited airport arrival and departure service and private club, Royalton’s “Diamond Service” package plus Butlers and a full-time concierge in the reception lounge on the first floor, staffed 24 hours/day. Upon check-in, we met our Butler who accompanied us to our suite, explained all the services in the room, and received his service device to summon him or her at any time of day or night. OUR SUITE
We were surprised how luxurious we found our suite with everything you need in a room to make yourselves comfortable. See the full list of services in Castaways’ Grand Lido Negril resort report. We enjoyed the double-bowled lavatories, king bed, reading lights, sitting area, separate toilette, a large one-person Jacuzzi bathtub, desk, separate shower stall plus a fully stocked fridge. We enjoy bottled water, diet Coke, champagne, and red wine; a simple request and our Butler re-restocked our stash immediately. Our Butlers included Shahay and Anthony, both professionals with prior experience at Sandals.
Expecting the usual hiccups for a new resort in a start-up mode, our building lost power several times during the visit but the delay was very short. Power interruption was reportedly due to external service supply disruptions. Our Royalton goody bag fortunately included a couple of small LED flashlights but we didn’t need to use them. Each time the power was lost, the air conditioner software had to be reset.
A couple of days included the usual tropical downpour but no leaks or inconveniences popped up for us. Other guests did experience some leaks which took time to clean up. In one case, guests moved to a different room after becoming impatient with the response time.
Grand Lido’s list of Diamond service amenities and Club MoBay details are listed in Castaways’ Resort Report We had no complaints about the Suite or service encountered and enjoyed the extra little touches.
We overlooked the usual glitches that always come with the soft opening of a new resort (just like moving into your new home). We made the best of it by roaming the Royalton property & sampling the cuisines while enjoying the amenities at Grand Lido Negril.
CLOTHING OPTIONAL FACILITIES
ALERT: Although the initial list of services and amenities on the Grand Lido Negril website included: Clothing optional pool, swim-up bar & grill, clothing-optional hot tub, and nude beach, only the nude pool and swim-up bar were in operation during our visit.When we met with the Management, they indicated their web pages for Grand Lido have now been updated to list facilities actually in operation. Plans include the addition of a hot tub, nude ocean facilities of some kind as well as a pool grill with the bar. The existing “clothing optional pool” is composed of actually three separate facilities:
1) The first level is a plunge pool with entry from Swim Out Suites plus the pool deck with loungers.
2) The second level is the infinity pool entered from the pool deck.
3) The third is a small plunge pool with 10 bar stools at the swim-up bar.
We thought it a bit inconvenient with split levels where guests had to exit the main pool to walk down the steps to access the swim-up bar in the plunge pool.
Service was friendly and accommodating.
ROYALTON FACILITIES and DINING
The resort complex is big (573 rooms). A walk from one end (near Couples Negril’s fence on the east side) to the overlook point adjacent to Grand Lido Negril on the opposite side required about a 15-minute walk.
No dining facilities are on site at Grand Lido Negril although the Ocean Point Bistro shares a fence with Grand Lido. The outside bistro requires Grand Lido guests to wear clothing or a cover-up for daytime lunch and drinks into the evening. The location of the Ocean Point bar and lounge offers guests the best, most spectacular sunset view anywhere on the property.
The Hideaway by Royalton (adults only), adjacent to Grand Lido, includes the Dorado Restaurant (adults only) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which is the closest to Grand Lido. A walk from the Grand Lido lobby to Dorado was about a 3-minute walk.
Next in line to Dorado on the ground level are the boutique and logo shop and Gourmet Marche, an extensive buffet restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Its selection of dining choices, entrees, meat, poultry, fish, salads, veggies, and of course, deserts, is impressive. At the grill in Gourmet Marche, guests order their entree serving from fresh cuts prepared by the chef in front of them.
Down the row from Gourmet Marche are several specialty restaurants featuring Asian (Zen), steak (Hunter),
TexMex (Armadillo) grill and Caribbean cuisine (Calypso). There’s a gourmet restaurant (Culinary) as well which carries an upcharge for dining. Elsewhere on the family side of the resort is Grazie, the Italian specialty bistro for lunch and dinner. Score, the sports bar adjacent to the main lobby, was fun and one of the staff was an original from the prior Grand Lido Negril resort. In addition to lots of TV sports, it’s a place for dancing, until a nightclub is planned. A gelato shop and pastry shop with fancy desserts and extensive coffee selections (no charge), a lobby bar plus a large seating area in the main building round out the diversions there. See below.
Just off the main reception lobby are the spa and fitness center, beauty boutique, travel, and guest services.
We found all our meals and dining what you would expect of an all-inclusive resort. Service was attentive but not overbearing. Staffing seemed to be about right although one evening, our steak order was delayed somewhat as a crowd hit the place at about 8 PM all at once.
Our favorite bar, other than the location of Ocean Point Bistro, was the Bar Martini, in front of the restaurant row. A large open-air lounge and viewing area in the center court facing the restaurants on one side and The Amphitheatre on the other which is used for entertainment, music, and acts on a nightly basis…with the original Grand Lido cotton tree looming overhead! See below.
Stay tuned for more developments and resort enhancements as they are completed. See the short video of the walking tour at Grand Lido Negril from James & “Champagne” Donna.