Enjoy a Couples Resorts Romantic Vacation!
Couples Resorts offers the ultimate all-inclusive romantic vacation package perfect for honeymoons, anniversaries, or for no occasion at all. The beautiful villa-style rooms, elegant restaurants, and unblemished beaches give each resort an aura of intimacy and romance. Couples Resorts also offers enough versatility for those who want to relax in a private hammock on their patio, or get pulses racing on one of their many tennis courts or fitness complexes.
Either way, you're sure to experience why Couples' clients return again and again
“seventh trip to couples, a repeaters opinion”
Will try to keep my review fair and honest and please remember these are just my personal opinions and impressions.
Our first visit to Couples Swept Away(CSA) was five years ago for our wedding, we have since been back seven times in five years so needless to say we are big fans of Couples and have some pretty big expectations!
ARRIVAL:
We arrived on USAIR on Sunday morning about 11:30- took about 2 hours to make it through customs and immigration and get on the bus. Please note that your luggage may be pulled off the carousels and placed to the side- no one informed us of that, just happened to spot one of our bags. The couples lounge was good, checked us in, gave us a few beers and we hit the road. Drive was uneventful-we stopped briefly for a bathroom break and were at CSA within 1 hour and 15 minutes!
CHECK IN:
We walked straight into the lobby and were given the paperwork to fill out. Our group consisted of 6 of us and three other couples checking in at the same time. As we were repeaters we asked if we would receive the complimentary upgrade that was offered for our level and were told that due to the resort being full it was unavailable. We later found out the resort was only at 50% capacity- so we were left wondering why after seven visits we could not receive the promised upgrade. However we booked a garden verandah knowing we liked that room and were ok.
Headed straight to our room and luggage followed right behind. Was a little surprised at the state of the bathroom-for one of the newer rooms it was a little moldy/mildewy-however it is the tropics so we went with it. Our friends however were in a garden suite and their room smelled of urine and the AC didn’t work- they asked to move- keep in mind resort was only 50% full and were told they would have to wait until the following day-so they waited and ended up paying for an upgrade so they could get into a nicer room-they were also same level repeaters as us so not sure why they paid for an upgrade that per the repeater program should be rewarded if available, obviously it was available, they just had to pay?
RESTAURANTS:
PALMS: ate breakfast lunch and dinner here- service was hit or miss-not all the friendly faces we were used to- the omelet guy wouldn’t speak at all but made a great omelet. Also noticed the variety of the food on the buffet seemed to be less than previous years.
PATOIS: Ate breakfast lunch and dinner here as well-food was fantastic and always had good service- the pizzas are always good and as always the banana stuffed French toast was great- also enjoyed the sangria they had at lunch one day.
CABANA GRILL: Lunch was god- meat pies were yummy and service was good.
LEMONGRASS: Absolutely fantastic!!! The food was soooo good and the service was great, Leighton was our waiter and he took very good care of us.
FEATHERS: Unfortunately this is where our trip took a turn for the worse- We had reservations for 8:30 for two tables of four- we both arrived within ten minutes of each other- one table sat right away, the other was waiting on two people- we were told our reservations were for 7:45 and that if they didn’t show up soon they would cancel our reservations-even though our cards specifically showed 8:30! They showed up and our other table was sat- Orders were taken, apps and soup and salad came out ok-then we waited for almost an our for our entrée- our other table that was seated a good 20 minutes after us- was halfway through their entrees before we got ours. Then once we started eating everything was either undercooked or overcooked. My friend complained to the waiter and he huffed at us and took our food. At that point we decided it was probably best just to leave. I did speak with the manager and she was very friendly but unfortunately our experience left us wondering what was going on at Couples!
REPEATER DINNER: Another great time at Patois- Had a good conversation with Ricardo Bowleg- he is a wonderful man and always tells us anything we want to know about Couples. For those of you interested we were told no to the minibars in the atrium suites that this was not in the refurbishing plans, Also that Trelawny is sort of put on hold- Couples is part of a big development plan for the area and have to go with the overall plans for the area so they are not sure when it will start.
BARS:
We tried them all, and for the most part noticed the same thing again, employees just didn’t look happy. With the Exception of the MARTINI BAR- ROMAINE and DERMON are fantastic!!!! I had a special request for a martini on our first day and from there on they remembered it everyday- they would fill it up before it was even half empty!!! These guys are great- we ended up meeting up here every night!!! Definitely stop in and see them!
HOUSEKEEPING:
Very much improved from previous visits. Our room was cleaned everyday and we received turndown service every night. Only weird thing was we love the towel art. We didn’t receive it once- Our other friends received it every day- just another little inconsistency we noticed.
GUEST RELATIONS:
This was another interesting area of the trip, in the past we have been taken great care of, Alex always made sure every need of ours was met and always checked on us. However we were informed at check in that he was no longer with CSA. We never met any of the guest relations crew this time- they just didn’t seem to be anywhere during the day, we definitely noticed the void this time… Alex was the greatest guy and a true asset to CSA and we will miss him terribly!
Also have to admit it was strange listening to Exodus without Marky Mark- got a little teary eyed one night! The new singer is very good as well though.
THE SPA:
This was the highlight of the trip. The new spa area is absolutely beautiful!!! The new pool and the new rooms are great. Locker rooms were spotless and the staff was wonderful. I indulged in the hot stone massage- FANTASTIC!!!! The best massage I ever had… We also extended our repeater massages to a full hour and we were both so relaxed afterwards. I do hope they get the tipping policy clarified. The first massage we were told they could not accept tips. So I had to sneak it to my masseuse. When we went back later in the week we were told they could- so not sure what the actual policy is!
The pool at the sports complex is also a great way to start out your day- swam laps every morning and really enjoyed the peace and quiet!
This trip was spent relaxing and not doing a lot- so I cannot comment on the catamaran cruise or any water sports- we did not partake. We did make hats one day by the pool on the old side and that guy is great!! We had a lot of fun with him
My husband surprised me with a private sunset cruise for my birthday for our group that we booked outside of couples as there was a little more miscommunication with couples on this one. We had a great time. Would definitely recommend it for any group looking for something a little more private.
Overall we did have a wonderful time with our friends, there were some good aspects but also we unfortunately noticed that service did not seem to be improving in most areas.
We have come to Couples for the last 5 years with about 6-15 people each time and usually are “wowed” everytime. This time the wow factor just wasn’t there. I agree with another person who posted a review, the staff seem to be unable to help with anything outside of their daily routine. This is where the big change was noticeable-gone are the days of them trying to meet all expectations before YOU even know what you expect!
Swept Away will always hold a special place in our hearts, but we are unsure of when we will return. !
One person though who really did make it feel like we were back home was Tamika the wedding coordinator- she is fantastic!!! She stood and hugged us all goodbye when we were leaving and waited for the bus to leave-truly a great asset to Couples!
As an additional comment to this review- I tried to post on the COUPLES Message board, and was told that it would be forwarded to executive management and I would hear back, they preferred not to post it as it would create a lot of animation and rude responses. This was over a week ago and I have not heard anything back!
