You guys – With the craziness of the last 6 months, I completely forgot to share my travel round up from the trip Christina and I took to the Royalton Negril last June. I honestly barely remember the summer since it was such an emotional roller coaster – it feels like a blur. But I guess it’s better now than ever to share this amazing destination with you all as you’re gearing up to take a little getaway from the cold!
This was my first trip to Jamaica ever, so I was so excited to take the trip – especially in the midst of such a hard time. Christina is one of my good friends outside the world of blogging + I am so thankful I had her to get away and spend some down time away from the everyday reminders that were around me. For me, it was exactly what I needed right at that time! So when the Royalton reached out about hosting us for a little getaway, I couldn’t say no.
We booked our trip within a few weeks of leaving – and flew right out of Hartford here in CT!
Thanks so much to the Royalton Negril for an incredible stay + accomodations.
*Links to everything I’m wearing are at the bottom of the post!
WHERE WE STAYED
The Royalton Negril in Negril, Jamaica. Negril is located about an hour and a half away from Montego Bay – which is where we flew into. I honestly didn’t know what to expect arriving in Jamaica – wasn’t sure if it would be like Cancun with a beach full of lined resorts or something more quiet and tucked away. To my pleasant surprise, it was the latter! I’m not a huge fan of the resort after resort type feel, so pulling up to the Royalton and feeling like it was ‘just us’ on that part of the island was a total plus.
Like I mentioned, we flew into Montego Bay – which is probably where most of you would fly into. From there, we took a private transfer to the resort via Nexus Tours. You can opt for a shared transfer, which will stop at other resorts on the way making your trip a little cheaper but longer. After a few hours of travel, having the private transfer was perfect for us + makes for a much quieter and quicker ride! I’d definitely recommend this!
From the moment we arrived at the Royalton, the service was impeccable – from the concierge that checked us in, to our room’s butler, and the wait staff at each meal. Christina and I were so pleasantly surprised to find out that they upgraded us to the adults only section of the resort called the Hideaway – this offers additional pools, restaurants, and more. They also upgraded us to Diamond Club level service which included things like priority seating at restaurants, a pillow menu (yes we totally took advantage of this!), additional room service options, and more. It was such a nice addition to our trip!
Our room was absolutely gorgeous – the outside porch stepped right down to the swim out pool and swim up bar shown above. I’ve never had a swim out room before at a resort and this was AMAZING. Christina and I literally did not leave that space the entire time. We grabbed our books and took a few steps out of the patio right onto lounge chairs and spent the day in the sun! If anything, I highly recommend booking a swim out room if you have the option.
As far as making our way around the resort – we actually stayed on our Hideaway side for the majority of the time, until our last day there we ventured across to the other to eat at one of the restaurants.. not even realizing how big the resort actually was! Its more long, spanning the entire ocean side rather than pushing back into the mainland. The opposite side of the resort has more huge pools, restaurants, and was more ‘family oriented’ with play areas, splash pools, and things like that for kids.
WHAT WE DID
The Royalton is an all inclusive resort, so all the restaurants are right on location. Given that Christina and I were two girls traveling alone, we felt so comfortable being able to stay on the resort and have everything we needed rather than venturing out locally in an area we weren’t familiar with. We tried everything but the steakhouse (we aren’t big meat gals!) and our meals were all delicious. My favorites personally were the breakfast spread in the main dining buffet, Gourmet Marche, and Armadillo (the tex mex, you guys know I love my Mexican!)
There’s also a spa on location which we of course took advantage of and I had one of the best massages of my life. Christina and I also took advantage of another diamond club perk at the spa: the steam room, sauna, and hydrotherapy pools. Whenever I get a massage, I usually like to unwind before and also relax a bit after rather than just leave the spa right away so having these amenities easy access was a total plus for us!
I should probably note that while Christina and I stayed on the pool side our entire stay, there are several different beach locations on the resort with little huts for shade and beach chairs to sun in. I’m a total beach girl at heart, but loved the option between the two. I went through two books on this trip since we mainly just relaxed in the lounge chairs and it was so so needed. One thing to note: all of the pools have activities throughout the day (water aerobics, trivia games, etc) so it’s quite hoppin’ and ‘lively’ throughout the resort pretty much all day long. If you’re looking for a place to completely unwind and have total peace + quiet, I’d say this isn’t your spot. For us, that was the only thing ‘missing’ here at the Negril. In Christina’s post she shared: I personally think this was perfect for a girl’s getaway, a (tame) bachelorette with a smaller group, or a couple’s trip if you’re looking to let loose and blow off some steam. It was by no means a “spring break” type of place, but “lively” is the word that kept coming to mind! – and I couldn’t agree more!
