To recap, we paid 3k for 7 nights at Couples Negril, that price includes our flights out of Milwaukee, transfers to and from the airport, and a complementary catamaran cruise through Island Routes. I think it was worth every penny!
The pool area was so nice, with a swim-up bar and pool volleyball every afternoon. We spent most of our time here.
The beach at Couples was perfect, much nicer than the beach at Sandals Negril and Riu Palace - totally smooth sand, no rocks, large and long...you could walk forever!
The catamaran cruise was added on as a special deal through Cheap Caribbean, and it was SO amazing - we got to drive the boat!
I wasn't good at it, that's for sure. The staff took my camera and got some awesome shots of us. I can't thank them enough!
Shaun is obsessed with this 'eating the sun' picture - we tried to get more like it throughout the trip.
We got a funny one of me jumping holding some big leaves...nerd!
The food at the resort was decent at the buffets, and really great at the sit-down restaurants. We ate at the asian restaurant twice, the food was so delicious! This is about all we did with the chopsticks, we are 'fork' people. I guess that's because we are uncoordinated.
I also must mention the booze - they have TOP shelf stuff here. Grey Goose martinis, good whiskey, and lots of champagne in the evenings. I loved it!
(BTW - there is no tipping allowed at this resort. That really makes it easier to not have to carry around cash wherever you go - it was amazing)
All the drinks definitely helped me take my mind off the dozens of bug bites, heat blisters, and sunburn I got by the third day. It doesn't matter that I was in all the same places as Shaun, he got no bites, no rashes, and hardly burned. I was under a hat, an umbrella, with SPF 85 on and I still got all messed up! Stupid pale, sensitive skin. Paradise didn't agree with it, that's for sure. Oh by the way, don't visit Margaritaville if you stay in Negril. It's a dump, and this tiny margarita was $10.50. Say wha??
Shaun made me feel better with a note in the sand. AWE.
The last couple nights we were there, there was some burning going on nearby. I heard some people say it was old sugar cane crops, others said it was just trash - but we saw this Saturday night:
It looked like the whole resort was on fire! And Sunday, ash and burned leaves covered every surface - including the pool and all the walkways. The resort staff was up very early hosing everything down, and they never did get the pool very clean. When we woke up Monday for our flight, the smell of smoke was so overpowering that we were incredibly happy we were leaving. If we had been just starting our vacation, I would be so pissed! That is the only big negative we experienced. And the shuttle ride to and from the airport was about 1.5 hours, so that was definitely tiresome.
That didn't stop us from having a wonderful time, though! We can't wait to come back someday soon.
If you have any burning questions, I am happy to answer them. Please make sure you have a link to your email or blog in your comment so I can answer you. I can't wait to start working on the house again...and catching up with all your blogs, of course!
