Jewel Grande Montego Bay

My friend and I visited the Jewel Grande last week and enjoyed our time there for the most part. We have been to Jamaica over 60 times, most recently staying at the Hyatt Ziva the last 2 times. I know that Ziva and Jewel are both owned by Playa and that factored into our decision in staying here this visit. The property is beautiful and clean. The rooms in the C building are renovated and spacious. I did enjoy that many of the restaurants were also located in that building. Our cleaning lady was fabulous and very friendly. The area that the hotel seemed to lack in was service by the pool, the food at the buffet, and the quality of liquor. Having stayed at so many hotels on the island, this was the first hotel where I had to constantly get up and go to the bar to get a drink. At the Ziva, they are constantly coming around and asking if you’re okay. It appeared that only 1 waitress was working the pool area outside of the C building. Also, the liquor was of extremely poor quality. I understand not having top shelf, but what happened to at least having Appleton? I saw a lot of liquor that I have never seen before. There is an option to purchase top shelf bottles if you wish to do so and in the clubhouse bar, you can purchase shots. The food at the buffet was sub-par. There is not much of a selection. The Ziva’s buffet is far more extensive, especially when it came to the Jamaican station choices. At Jewel, there was usually one Jamaican main dish in the mornings. This is the first time I struggled finding something to eat that I enjoyed at the buffet. The restaurants besides the buffet were good. I especially enjoyed the Jam-Mex, Moonstone, and Waves. There were some employees that were great. Nekeisha, one of the hostesses at Orchids was great! Always smiling and polite. M&M and Nekeisha are part of the daily entertainment team and were great. Damion, Romack, and Carlos at the pool were always friendly and helpful. We are planning our trip for October and I think we may go back to the Ziva based on the service and buffet. Jewel was a lovely property, but the little things do matter when choosing a hotel. Read less

What an amazing 10 day stay we had at this resort. This was the best holiday we’ve ever had. I went with my wife and 2 boys, 8 and 1 years old just after Easter. They also had the time of their lives. We didn't want to leave! The setting, the vibe, the hospitality, all were second to none. The staff truly made this holiday exceptional for us. Carlos at the pool felt like family, the way he interacted with us, like a brother. Jermaine kept us entertained with conversation and great games of connect four at the pool. Kerrol at the Rum Runner bar was also like another brother, great service and chat with this guy. Ewan, my fellow football fan and our server at the breakfast buffet, yet another brother! Warm and friendly, I could chat with him for days. Nikesha, our host at the breakfast buffet, so sweet and personable, she remembered us from our first day and throughout our stay. Last but by no means least, big up to the entertainment crew, Suzy, Whitney and Monique. You guys made our time by the pool fly by, with the music and the vibes, ladies you were made for this job - just play more Capleton for Nick, your Jamenglish brother, and I should have won some of those quizzes! The grounds were impeccable, clean and well maintained. We stayed in building C, 6th floor by the elevators and our room was a true sea view, nice, clean and spacious with 2 large beds. It was perfect for us. Our cleaner was such a sweet lady, I didn’t get her name but she did a great job and gave us everything we required. We were overlooking the pool which had most of the daily entertainment. The nightly entertainment was also visible from our balcony which was so handy as the kids were sleeping by the time it started so we were able to watch/listen to it from there. Although the rooms aren’t soundproof, we didn’t mind falling asleep to reggae every night! The restaurants were all ok but I expected more flavour in some of the dishes, I didn’t get that real authentic taste. I was so disappointed with the Jerk that I went out of the resort specifically to find some REAL jerk with all its Smokey goodness, which I did from Scotchies down the road. Breakfast was always good, the spicy shrimp pasta at Moonstones, the fried battered fish “fingers” and small patties at Crickets, nachos at the Pelican grill and everything we tried at Waves were the stand outs for me. The Pierside and Le Bouchon are OVERRATED. Apart from the view at sunset at Pierside, the food was just ok. Go to Moonstones or Waves instead. The drinks were defo not skimping on the rum! I’ve also developed a taste for Red Stripe since this trip - they have it on tap. The kids couldn’t get enough of the virgin daiquiris - also on tap. The kids were catered to at the buffet, lunch mostly with the burgers and chicken strips available at the grills, although room service menu could defo do with some work. There were basic things for the kids like nuggets, chips, pizza etc but not enough variety and some of the stuff was just not very tasty for the adults. My youngest went off milk on this trip. Room service brought us it anytime we needed, warmed up in a cup or by the carton, but it’s long life stuff, clearly not to his taste versus fresh milk. Everything was pretty accessible to us from where we were, it’s not a huge resort which was good for us with young kids and a stroller. There are a lot of stairs at the Clubhouse pool entrance so we found it easier to walk around the front of the property, not the beachside, if we needed to go there. The beach is small but we preferred to stay by the pool anyway. The little pier by the beach was nice to take a walk on with the crashing waves splashing us, the kids loved it. I would definitely go back for the hospitality alone, we’re already planning our next trip! Me and the wife rarely visit the same place twice, but this is worth another 12 hour flight with a neurodiverse 8 year old and a feral toddler!! We will be back Jamaica! Read less

Fantastic staff. Very family friendly. Protected beach that's clean, safe and private. 3 BR suite. Great family vacation. Spacious suite; privacy yet plenty of room for together time. Spacious deck accessible from every bedroom with a Panoramic view of the Caribbean. Decent bedding and showers. In suite kitchen with full refrigerator, freezer and microwave C building more modern, most convenient to pool, kids pool and breakfast buffet. B building also nice, more traditional decor There are plenty of lounge chairs on the beach, but the cabanas were awesome for sun protection for the toddlers. Significant daily charge. Cabana hours are 10 to 5. Our kids were active on the beach earlier. Pool lounge chairs like cruise ship, lots of unoccupied "reserved " chairs, so stake yours out early. Food was quite good. La Bouchon steakhouse was our top, Waves finer dining, fish and continental. Jamex on the patio, and beachside sushi and continental. You can book tables before your visit. Grilled snapper was outstanding. Room service has adequate menu, but very slow. In some cases waited over 2 hours. Scheduling breakfast night before did not help. Wide selection of bar drinks included. Bombay gin didn't have the typical smell or taste,, but martinis still good. They don't have in room liquor like most all inclusive. Additional bottles are pricey, but the butler will deliver drinks from the bar at no charge. Nicer wines available at dinner are pricey. If you have a specific liquor taste, consider picking up a bottle at the airport. Gym is small , open 7 AM to 7 PM. There's an attendant, and it's Very clean and orderly. Great massage at the spa, mineral and plunge pool. Clean, professional and first rate service. Some resort offers take a little sting out of the prices. Easy 15 min transfer from airport. We used a booking service, 75% less than the hotel price. We're not big drinkers, so all inclusive is not the best value for us, but we will return for location, great service and excellent rooms Read less

Overall a fantastic family holiday. Yes there were a few issues but this place was amazing. We were a family of 4 with 2 young kids. First we were in block c which I believe is the newer of blocks. Our room was awesome. It was so clean every day and it had everything you could possibly need. The staff as everyone says were incredible and they made the holiday. The receptionist remembered us, the beach staff helped my young daughter and overall they were brilliant in every aspect. Food was mixed. Sometimes it was amazing sometimes just about ok. Breakfast and lunch were great but a lack of buffet option in the evening was so disappointing. We were told all but one restaurant, u didn't need to book however we never managed waves despite turning up at 6 on multiple occasions. With young kids the food options were disappointing. The 24 hour room service however was a saviour The drink was ok but again disappointing. Only had cocktails- mainly. The wine was awful and the g&t was terrible, but at least they had beer. The night entertainment was ok, however was basic and with younger kids expected slightly more Beach was amazing and plenty of shade if you select beads under the trees. Sea was lovely and warm. Lots of sewead but not like uk and with beach shoes causes no issues. Sunloungers were disappointing. Didn't feel busy but everything gone by 7 so hate to see what it is like in peak season Overall it was brilliant and made by the staff. I would stop again, but not anytime soon an once the kids are older Read less

We are a family of 5 and stayed in a 2 bedroom ocean front butler suite in building B. The room was very large but very dated. The pull out couch was too thin for even a child to sleep on, the washer and dryer kept breaking, and 2 of the 3 bathrooms had no water pressure so we all used just one bathroom. We also had an issue with moths (lots of them) in one of the beds and on day 1 we asked house keeping to clean the shower because it was covered with mildew. The butlers were great. The made our dinner reservations, brought us a cooler at the pool, and brought laundry detergent when asked. I was surprised they were not able to reserve a spot for us at the pool like other resorts and so we had to get up and go out every morning at 6 just to get chairs. The entertainment is not on par with other all inclusive resorts. At the pool there was little music other than a CD of the same Bob Marley songs on repeat. They played good music during water aerobics and then turned it off. I feel without question our experience would have been improved greatly by having a DJ at the pool and continuous trivia or games for all. At night, they would have no music playing during dinner hours and then a cheesy low budget something at 8:30 followed by an adult only DJ. When traveling with kids to a resort, you expect there to be entertainment but we were disappointed. The beach was the biggest disappointment because it was so filled with seaweed, we never went it. Also, there were no umbrellas at the beach other than the cabanas or about 5 near the water activities. The drinks used all well liquor or cheap wine. They have some top shelf liquor in the lobby bar but it is a cost up charge. I only drink Baileys and they had it one day and never again so my entire stay I had nothing I enjoyed drinking. If you don’t mind well liquor, the frozen drinks are perfect. The food was okay, but with kids it was hard. We went to the steakhouse two nights because it had the best selection for my children and the food was not consistent. One night it was delicious and the other, just okay. Hibachi was good but the experience want entertaining and it was so hot and Smokey. Staff: the best part of the resort was the staff. They were lovely. The butlers, the waitstaff, bartenders, and pool staff. The staff makes this resort. I probably would not return to this resort and would not recommend it, but had a nice time. Read less