Sandals Negril was our favorite Sandals resort in Jamaica until the new Sandals Dunn’s River opened. Set on famous Seven Mile Beach, it’s a beautiful beach resort with a laidback vibe.
What We Love at Sandals Negril
- Amazing sunsets: the resort’s location on the western coast of Jamaica makes for incredible direct sunset views
- Almost all the rooms are beachfront: there are just 3 kinds that don’t have an ocean view
- Unbelievable new SkyPool suites: we didn’t want to leave our room!
- Motorized watersports are included here in addition to the usual nonmotorized activities
- Gorgeous beach: soft white sand, clear calm water, and good snorkeling
- New restaurants: they’ve recently added some new options, including a great Spanish tapas restaurant
- Access to Beaches Negril: although there isn’t another Sandals close by, you do have access to all the activities and amenities at Beaches Negril, including a huge waterpark
Cons
- Public beach: there are vendors here, but we found that they didn’t enter the area where the chairs are set up, and weren’t really bothered by them
- Not close to the airport: the ride takes about 90 minutes, but the roads are smooth
Who Would Love Sandals Negril
Sandals Negril is perfect for anyone who loves spending time in the water, as you can snorkel from the beach and there are additional motorized watersports options available. It’s also great for lounging on a beautiful beach and enjoying amazing sunsets.
Arriving
The closest airport to Sandals Negril is the main international airport in Jamaica, Sangster in Montego Bay. We arrived there and went straight to the Sandals lounge, where they ushered us to our transportation. (As at every Sandals, roundtrip airport transfers are included).
Although it’s not a short trip—the drive takes about 90 minutes—the roads are in good shape and we didn’t have any issues with motion sickness.
When you get to the resort you will check in in different ways depending on the room level you’ve booked. On our first visit we were in a club level room, so we went to the Sandals Club lounge and waited a few minutes, then were shown to our room.
We always like to make our dinner reservations as soon as we arrive in order to make sure we are able to get in where we want. When you’re in a club room, it comes with concierge services so you can call them and ask them to make your reservations.
On our second visit, we were in a butler suite. Our butler met us with a welcome drink and then brought us to our suite, where he helped us check in and handled all our dinner reservations.
Rooms
Practically every room at Sandals Negril is beachfront. There are just a few categories that aren’t, and have garden views instead: the Longshore Luxury Room, the Paradise Deluxe Room, and the Paradise Premium Room. Note that these rooms also face the road and can be noisy.
There are three main categories of rooms at Sandals Negril: luxury, club, and butler.
- Luxury Rooms: the least expensive of these have garden views, but there are oceanview luxury rooms as well for not much more. These are in the Longshore building and include walkout rooms that are just steps from the beach. Note that luxury rooms at Sandals do not come with room service.
- Club Rooms: These rooms come with room service between 7am and 10pm, concierge service, and access to a special Club lounge. We stayed in a Caribbean Beachfront Walkout Grande Luxe club room on our first visit, and loved it. It was right by the beach and also had a nice patio with a Tranquility Soaking Tub™ for two on it. This area was pretty quiet, as it was off to the side a bit. (These are now called Longshore instead of Caribbean, btw.)
There are also swim-up club suites as well.
- Butler Suites: Butler suites come with personal butler service and 24-hour room service. We got to stay in a newly added butler suite on our second visit: the incredible Bamboo Grove One-Bedroom Skypool Butler Suite. These feature a huge private balcony with an elevated private infinity pool and suspended daybed lounger, and we literally did not want to leave our room. You can also find Skypool suites with a roof terrace for extra luxury.
If you like a lot of space, you can also check out the Longshore Beachfront Two-Story One-Bedroom Butler Villa Suite, which has a separate living room, spacious master, spa-like bathroom with soaking tub and rain shower, private patio, and private balcony with a Tranquility Soaking Tub for Two.
There are also swim-up butler suites and one-bedroom butler suites with private pool sanctuaries.
Beach
The beach at Sandals Negril is fantastic. Seven Mile Beach is one of the best-known beaches in the Caribbean, if not the world, and it is beautiful with white sand and clear, calm water.
There is a reef right offshore so you can go snorkeling from the beach and see some great marine life. It’s also perfect for all the complimentary watersports, or just for relaxing and enjoying the view.
This beach is public, not private, so there are vendors and musicians walking along. However, we didn’t find them to be a bother.
Pools
Sandals Negril has multiple pools. At the main pool, you’ll find a lively vibe with a swim-up bar, music, and activities like water volleyball. We also liked the Crystal Lagoon pool, which is near the beach, and the pool in the Bamboo Grove area.
Food and Drink
There are 8 restaurants and 5 bars at Sandals Negril. Bars include two swim-up bars and a beach bar.
At breakfast you can choose between buffet style at Bayside and a la carte at Barefoot by the Sea. We always started at Crema, which is a great coffee shop with excellent Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee drinks. Our favorite place to eat breakfast was Barefoot by the Sea, which has tables in the sand right by the water.
Lunch is a casual meal, and you have a few different choices:
- Perla: One of our favorites, this new restaurant serves Latin fusion and we loved the tacos. By the beach with outdoor seating.
- Bayside: buffet-style with a wide variety of dishes to choose from or a la carte menu; has a nice outdoor area.
- Bella Napoli: great brick oven pizza
Dinner offers 5 options, some requiring reservations. You can also get late-night bites at Perla from 10pm-3am.
- Brava: This new restaurant offers Spanish tapas, so you can share multiple dishes. Our top picks were the Croquetas de Pollo, Gambas al Ajillo, and Carne a la Parilla. It’s open-air with beautiful beach views and requires reservations.
- Kimono’s: Serves excellent Japanese teppanyaki and is another of our favorites. Requires reservations.
- Sundowner: Delicious Caribbean cuisine and a great sunset view; requires reservations.
- Barefoot by the Sea: Open-air restaurant on the beach serving fresh seafood in a relaxed atmosphere.
- Bayside: Serves a la carte Mediterranean dishes from France, Italy, and Spain; lovely outdoor seating with sunset and water views
You also have access to all the restaurants at Beaches Negril, just a short taxi ride away. We loved the new restaurant Yuka, which serves Peruvian cuisine (try the chicken kabobs, the ceviche, and the seco de Cordero). Another great choice is Soy Sushi.
Entertainment
Sandals Negril is pretty laidback but there is entertainment each day, as at all Sandals resorts. During the day you’ll find music and activities, mostly centered at the main pool.
Each night there will be something going on, from theme parties to live music to beach parties.
Activities
Like all Sandals resorts, there are a ton of included activities at Sandals Negril.
- Watersports: This is an excellent resort if you like to go snorkeling, as you can do so right off the beach here. In addition to snorkeling, other nonmotorized watersports include kayaking, paddleboarding, and Hobie Cat sailing. Scuba diving is also included for certified divers. Sandals Negril also has motorized watersports, including waterskiing, kneeboarding, wakeboarding, and tubing.
- Land activities: This includes day and night tennis, beach volleyball, bocce ball, and pool.
- Fitness center with exercise classes
There is also a full-service spa, but services there are not included. It features a steam room, plunge pools, gardens with relaxation areas, a beauty salon, and a yoga studio. You can also get massages on the beach from locals.
Excursions
While offsite excursions cost extra, we usually suggest trying at least one to get out and see the local area.
One of the best excursions from Sandals Negril is going to Rick’s Café. It’s set up by some cliffs, which locals jump off of while you watch. You can even try jumping from some of the lower ones if you want to.
To get here, you can either take a catamaran tour or a taxi. We recommend the catamaran tour that is booked through Sandals with Island Routes. It picks you up at the resort and you can enjoy the ride along the coast as well as snorkeling in addition to the stop at Rick’s for drinks and something to eat. We had a great time.
Other local excursions including ziplining, rum tours, ATV tours, historic and cultural tours, food tours, and more.
Exchange Privileges with Beaches Negril
You also get access to the nearby family-friendly Beaches Negril. We enjoyed going here as we liked the beach and the waterpark, as well as several of the restaurants. We recommend Yuka, Soy Sushi, the food trucks, and the frozen yogurt shop. The waterpark is amazing with multiple waterslides and a surf simulator, but it can be crowded during the summer and school breaks so be aware.