Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa

This review is not all bad - this is a beautiful property with stunning views, and the price for even the top level rooms is very good, but you truly get what you pay for in life…. Here is a list of good and bad in no particular priority - just observations. * Jamaicans are truly very nice people with kind hearts and great disposition’s. What makes them wonderful human beings however, doesn’t translate well into the hospitality business unfortunately. Americans can be very demanding and admittedly have unrealistic expectations of how the rest of the world is, but we are experienced travelers who have been all over, and the work force at this property is slow, unresponsive and in some cases just plain lazy. There are exceptions - one out of twenty work hard (especially the shuttle drivers), but they are few and far between. You have to ask for anything and everything at least three times - like silverware for example? Maybe you’ll get it the third time you ask, maybe you won’t. And you will be treated like a pain for asking multiple times. * The property management does an INCREDIBLY poor job explaining anything in advance. Procedures or process - forget about knowing in advance. Got questions in advance of your stay? Forget about it - they don’t answer emails or phone calls. * Check in process is a NIGHTMARE. We paid for signature level room and had to be shuttled over to another lobby and then shuttled back to check in, and it takes a loooong time to do anything there. * Restaurants run out of many things on the menu every night. The steakhouse ran out of filet mignon the night we were there, which we didn’t find out about until long after our order was placed. French onion soup was beef broth with some onions in it - literally. * Bungalow we had for a room was nice - including outdoor shower. Did not mention that the outdoor shower is the only shower however. Bathroom had a toilet which was child sized. Large heavy sliding doors have no handles on the outside, so my wife could barely open or close them when she was outside. * There were three sanitation trucks outside our room working on broken pumps and septic tanks - which were extremely loud. They didn’t leave until 1:30am - no sleep the first night. Hotel offered to move us the next day to be fair, and gave us a $100 resort credit - but you can’t use it for many things - just upgrades at dinner (unless they run out of what you want). * The ‘Sports Bar’ is a dump. And they don’t have NFL games, decided not to pay for that subscription for guests - so there were a LOT of pissed off people about that on Sunday. * The food overall is not very good - it’s OK. One exception is the Jerk Hut - where the chicken is absolutely incredible. I advise to eat that for lunch every day. * Arranging for shuttles in advance is also a nightmare - poor communication and expensive. * Checkout was a nightmare. Had to go back over specifically to the signature office and pay $8 for the Corona that was not included (which I didn’t know before I ordered it). They wouldn’t let me put it on the room or the credit card they have - had to go specifically pay for it before they give you an ‘all clear pass’ which you have to have - or they won’t let you on the shuttle. I was furious about this. * Watersports is NOT part of the hotel, it is a separate private company, so bring your wallet, they don’t do room charges. Found that out the hard way, after walking all the way over there (long walk) without my wallet. * Desk in our room did not have a chair - you sit on an ottoman they have there. No bulb in the lamp on the desk. * The AC is adequate, but not really programmable - it’s set at a fixed level and you can’t make it colder. * It takes a while to get the hang of this place - and it get’s easier once you’ve been there a couple of days. There are some really, really nice bartenders and wait staff, but like I said - they are the minority. If you find them, stay with them and take care of them. * I am truly stunned at the overall rating this place gets - at 4.6 is just unbelievable in my humble option. People who rate this place so high must not go anywhere with good food and service - because this is NOT that place. * Overall the price must be what attracts people here - there can be no other reason. There overall management system (or lack thereof) is atrocious. Glad I saw Jamaica overall, and got to dive on a really cool reef with a great scuba instructor, but the rest you can have. It’s a one and done for me. Good Luck!!! Read less

This view is only 5 stars because of ASHLEY AT GUEST SERVICES. I checked into my room and was there for my birthday so I wanted to get a birthday package. I sat down with her and went over every little detail. She made me feel very welcome and special. During my first interaction with her, I knew my day would be special. She made a reservation for me and my whole group at the Italian restaurant. She came in early on my day to make sure that everything was just right. She made sure they had balloons on the chairs and a nice setup and talked to the chef to make sure they understood how special my day was. She was so meticulous about everything and the whole dinner time she just kept checking to make sure nothing was out of place and I was having a great day. Anything that went wrong she quickly rectified the situation to make sure that it didn't affect me. I ordered 2 cakes and they brought one but the next morning she had a cake delivered to my room with a special message on it that made me feel even more loved. My whole stay there her presence and energy just made every day good even when it was bad. She made us dinner reservations for every day we were there and made sure to ask when she saw how things were going. I can't thank her enough for all her love and her support while there because the rest of the people are a whole other review to be made. If you want things done and done with patience and care to you ASHLEY is your go-to. Read less