Couples Swept Away

There are plenty of dining options. The Palms is a rattan-furnished open-air restaurant on the ground floor that serves breakfast and lunch buffets. Dinner is a la carte daily.

Lemon Grass offers Thai food in a dress-casual, outdoor environment. At the beach, the Sea Grape grill specializes in local dishes, including fish and jerk chicken cooked on open flames, pita pockets stuffed with spicy yoghurt and meat, and vegetarian offerings for the health-conscious. Night owls can gorge themselves at the moonlit Cabana grill, which stays open from lunch until 5 a.m.

Another great thing about this resort is the nightlife. Cabaret shows provide entertainment, and a TV room, billiards room, board games and a library brighten up rainy days.

A house band strikes nightly, a virtuoso plays in the piano bar, and the manager’s weekly cocktail and beach party draws guests together.

Also, the facilities are excellent. One of the three whirlpools flanks the elaborate lagoon-style pool, and a security force guards the thin strip of beach. Lounge chairs have pads that double as rafts, and the latest addition is an infinity pool.

The island’s largest state-of-the-art fitness centre is outstanding. It includes an open-air gym, a large aerobics studio for step classes and yoga, an Olympic-size lap pool, massages, saunas, steam rooms, squash, racquetball, basketball, and ten tennis courts (five clay, five hard-surface, all lighted).

Watersports are extensive, and rates include diving, waterskiing, and boat use. Complimentary greens access at the Negril Hills Golf Club is also part of the package, although the mandatory caddy and cart cost extra.