Review: Couples Swept Away Resort in Negril, Jamaica

Couples Swept Away is an adults-only all inclusive resort located on beautiful 7 Mile Beach in Negril, Jamaica. If you are looking for a tropical vacation destination for you and your loved one, this resort can't be beat.

Transportation

Transportation between the airport and resort is provided at no extra cost. After clearing immigrations and customs, you can make your way to the Couples Resorts lounge located in the airport. Here, you can enjoy a Red Stripe beer while you wait for your shuttle. The drive to the resort from Sangster Airport in Montego Bay took about an hour and forty minutes. Our shuttle stopped twice, once for a quick bathroom break and again to let off guests staying at the nearby Couples Negril resort.

For your flight home, the shuttle leaves for the airport about four hours before your actual flight. We received a paper the day before we were scheduled to leave which confirmed our shuttle time and flight information. It's worth noting that although the Couples resort has a no tipping policy, the shuttle driver and the folks who handle your bags are not Couples employees and can receive tips.

Rooms

Couples Swept Away offers several different room categories. All rooms have large verandahs and all the basic amenities you would expect in any hotel room. None of the buildings have elevators, so take that into consideration if stairs can be troublesome for you. The beachfront rooms seemed to get a lot of traffic passing by during the day, and some of the garden view rooms were rather close to the noisy road.

We chose a Great House Verandah Suite room. It was on the fifth floor, so we were pretty tired of stairs by the time we left. However, we had a beautiful view of the beach and enjoyed a few sunsets right on our verandah. Our room was basic but clean, and housekeeping visited twice a day, once to tidy up and then again for a turndown service. This room had a minibar in it, which was nice, and a television, which we really didn't use. I was able to get a strong internet signal to video chat with our children back home. This room type is a great choice for those who like to be in the thick of things, as it is close to three restaurants, the night club, swim up bar, casino room, and internet cafe.

Food and Drinks

Couples Swept Away offers several dining choices at each meal. The Palms restaurant is located on the lobby side of the resort. Breakfast and lunch are both buffets. The breakfast buffet was really great, with a waffle station, pastry station, and wide assortment of fruits and egg dishes. For dinner, The Palms had a large salad bar and pasta station along with menu choices. The wonderful sous chef at this restaurant prepared a tuna that my husband caught on a fishing excursion. This restaurant also had fun musical entertainment the few nights we ate there.

Seagrapes Cafe is located right on the beach. This restaurant was only open for lunch. It offered mostly vegetarian options, but had a fish taco that my husband swears is the best he's ever had. I really enjoyed the sweet potato chips here, especially the dips they were served with- a black bean hummus one day and an artichoke and asiago cheese one another.

The Cabana Grill was open from lunch until wee morning hours. They served grill-type food, such as grilled cheese and burgers. There was also a self-serve nacho machine.

Patois Restaurant was open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This restaurant is in the Great House, the same building our room was in, and has a more Caribbean flare than the other dining options. We ate breakfast here twice, and loved it. They offer a smoothie of the day and amazing French toast. We didn't eat lunch here, so I can't comment on the selection or quality for that meal. The soup and salad at dinner at Patois really stood out.

Two restaurants, Feathers and Lemongrass, are only open for dinner and require reservations, which can be made at the concierge desk in the main lobby. These restaurants also have a dress code, which requires closed toe shoes for men. I thought that with the dress code, the ambiance at Feathers may be a little stuffy, but it wasn't at all. The food was delicious and worth dressing up for. Lemongrass I was less impressed with. I ordered the spring roll for an appetizer and literally received one spring roll. I asked the waiter for another (it was the best part of the meal) and he brought me one, no trouble. The food was good, but didn't seem to have the Wow! factor that the other restaurants did.

The service at all of these restaurants was amazing. The wait for entrees at dinner was a little slow, but the resort was very full the week we were there, and the food was always worth the wait. Plus, the drinks flow freely while you wait, so there's not really any room to complain!

There are several bars on the resort, also. Each of the restaurants offered alcoholic drinks, ranging from the house wine to Bob Marley shots. We ordered the bartender's special at each place we visited and were never disappointed. There is a swim up bar in the pool by the Great House, and two other bars along the beach. The swim up bar stayed busy the whole time we were there, and was a great place to socialize, if you wanted.

The resort also offers green flag service on the beach, where you put up a flag in the sand and a server comes around to take your drink order. We only used this once, but had a really great server who took the time to make our drinks himself.

Activities

Couples Swept Away offers several activities for guests. There are themed days, with activities such as tie dyeing and trivia contests. Daily activities were posted on a board near the beach. There was no pressure to participate.

Water activities included in the resort were snorkeling trips, hobie cats, scuba trips, and peddle boats. There were three snorkeling trips per day, and you could arrange a night snorkeling trip for an additional cost. My husband went three times and thoroughly enjoyed it.

One of the best inclusions of the resort was a sunset catamaran cruise. It leaves the resort late in the afternoon and lasts about three hours. You travel up the coast, past the end of 7 Mile Beach, where there are beautiful cliffs. At one spot, the boat stops and you can get out and swim to some caves, or just bob in the water.

Beach

Couples Swept Away is on the Long Bay portion of 7 Mile Beach. The beach is the highlight of the property (with the great service a very close second). The sand is soft and white and the water is beautifully clear. The beach area is raked daily, so stays very clean. There is a sand volleyball court set up, along with a horseshoe pit and bocce ball area. The beach has tons of chairs, with cushions that double as floaties in the water. I only had a hard time finding a chair to use on one day.

7 Mile Beach has a fair amount of traffic walking past all day. There are lots of vendors who pass through, but the resort security guards keep them moving along quickly.

Pools and Hot Tubs

There are three pools on the resort. There is one on the lobby side of the resort, which was very quiet. We didn't see a single person in this pool the whole time we were there. On the other side of the resort, near the Great House, is a slightly larger pool which housed the swim up bar. There are also two hot tubs adjacent to this pool. At the fitness complex across the street, there is a lap pool and a warm, peaceful jacuzzi in the spa area.

Spa

The Oasis Spa is located in the large fitness complex. I used the spa twice, for a massage and facial each time. Several other services, including body wraps and manicures and pedicures are also available. I had a great experience and it really enhanced the relaxation factor of our trip. Spa employees are contractors at the resort, so they can be tipped if you choose (and I'm sure you will).

Fitness Facilities

As I mentioned, the fitness complex is across the street from the resort. This street, Norman Manley Boulevard, is very busy. The resort has crossing guards that will stop traffic for you to cross. The complex is huge, with tennis courts, a large lap pool, a cardio and weights area, and racquetball courts. There is also a small bar, which makes great smoothies.

Overall Impression

I would definitely stay at this resort again, although I would probably pick a room type that was a little more private. It was a great vacation because it had a little of everything- you could be active and social or relax on the beach, stay up late in the nightclub or just enjoy the evening entertainment and head to bed. The food was good, the staff friendly, the grounds beautiful- pretty much everything you need for a relaxing vacation with your significant other.