My new wife and I went down to this resort on April 27 2013 to get married and were accompanied by approximately 70 guests.  Our first impressions were good, the resort looked to be quite beautiful and the rooms were nice.  The only bad taste left initially was the fact many in our group (50 ppl plus) had to wait until 3 or 4 pm for rooms.  However, that was not a big deal. 

After getting settled in our trip started off in the right direction, the weather was beautiful, the buffet food was amazing (we've been all over and this was the best buffet food we've ever had) and the grounds were very nice.  Our only complaint the first day or so is the fact the resort is so large you end up walking for ever to get anywhere.  Also, if you have children i strollers the resort will become your worst enemy by the end of the trip.  There seems to be only 1 elevator at the resort in the main lobby.  This becomes quite tiresome as you have to use it when accessing the second level of the resort.  Also, the cove beach at the end of the resort has to large flights of stairs with no ramp for older people or strollers...impossible to get down if you are by your self.  

Our wedding coordinator Sharlene was amazing.  She was probably the most polite person we met on our trip.  She was very courteous and went out of her way to make sure our special day went off without a hitch.  Our only complaint with the wedding process, which was no fault of hers is that the resort nickel and dimes you for EVERYTHING.  Our reception after the wedding was in the Blue Lagoon area.  We had it booked from 6-10pm.  After 10 pm you have your choice of where you and your group want to go and party, most people go upstairs to the Infinity bar.  If you want to have the blue lagoon area booked until 12 you can do so , however, the resort charges you $6.00 per person per hour!  They also charge you $150.00 an hour to rent the space.  This is a real piss off as that area is dead after 6 pm anyway...It would have cost us over a 1000.00 US to keep the area for 2 more hours...so much for all inclusive.

Our next bad experience was the fact many of the staff there were rude and always had their hands out expecting a tip...to the point where you felt uncomfortable.  They would even ask for it.  You can use ocean Kayaks at one of the beaches for free and paddle around the bay.  When I went to use one of them I had to fill out a waiver and wear a life jacket.  No problem I thought.  When I walked over to push the Kayak into the water a resort worker who watched the Kayaks and helps people if needed walked over to be extended is had palm facing up and said "you got something for Charlie man?" I told him to take a hike, and that wasn't the first time I had this encounter with staff.  They had one shuttle guy in particular who would drive you around telling you how amazing his service was and how he was going out of his way to get you to where you needed.  He to would out right ask for a tip and get upset when you didn't give him one.  

The bar staff were also unbelievably slow to the point where you would order a drink and literally wait 15-20 minutes for it to arrive at your table.  Even going to the bar the service was brutally slow.  In my opinion having worked in bars going through school they had a lack or training and most likely motivation.  Seemed to be a common theme i Jamaica.  If you didn't tip them forget about ever getting a drink again.  They would simply avoid your table and use the excuse it was busy even when it wasn't.  This wasn't the case with every staff member some were great, however, most seemed to be disgruntled with their employment arrangements.  

When we stayed at the Grand Bahai Principe in the Dominican a tip got you better service and in fact a healthy bar tip would give you drinks being sent to you without ordering them which was nice.  They were also extremely fast pumping out the drinks to you.  

The real kicker with the bar service at this resort was when we actually took pictures of how the bartenders at the pool bar were cleaning the cups people were leaving on the bar.  The pool bar is in the center of the pool attached to the Blue Lagoon restaurant area.  The restaurant over looks the bar but during the day that particular part of the restaurant is not busy. Most people are at the beach, pool or buffet and due to the location of the pool bar to the restaurant people really have no reason to hang out there and watch the bartenders work. During our reception we arrived a bit early and decided to walk over to the edge of the reception area and watch people in the pool.  We stood above the pool bar and watched as the bartenders took dirty cups and submerged them in a sink full of dirty water, full of cigarette butts, straws and other garbage and then turned the cups upside down and placed them on a tray to be reserved.  It was gut wrenching to se what they did...we took pictures of them doing this and will be taking it up with the higher up resort management.  The GM Roberto was a total jack ass so we knew our complaints would fall on deaf ears if we told him.  It was also out second last day there so we bit our tongues.  

Our next complaint was the theft that took place on the resort.  As I have mentioned before we have been all over the world going to all inclusive resorts and the theft that took place here was the absolute worst.  During the day you have at least 4 different people going into your room.  The maid (ours was Donnaly, she seemed nice), then the person who drops off hand towels (really???), then the guy who stocks the fridge (I'm sure he was the thief, I will elaborate) and finally the turn down service.  

There is no reason your room needs to be entered 4 times a day...this is just ridiculous.  The maid should be able to clean, bring hand towels and even stock the fridge at one time and turndown service should be an option.  When we quested it we were told you can hang the red card on your door which indicates "Do not disturb".  After all the incidents of theft many of us decided to just allow the maid in and then put the Do Not Disturb sign up.  

We wanted to see what would happen with the sign in place so I waited in the room when I knew people would be coming by.  We had children who had to nap so it worked out I would be there anyway.  Low and behold even with the sign in place I got a knock on the door.  3 knocks were followed by my door being opened and a man walking into my room to fill the fridge.  I confronted him and he was surprised to see me there.  He apologized and left giving the excuse he just wanted to fill the fridge....guess the sign wasn't clear enough for him even though its the resort policy.  

My father, whom is elderly also had a run in with one of the staff who fills the fridges.  My dad took a bad fall while at the resort and was confined to his room for a few days.  On one of the days he was in the bathroom with the door partially closed, back to the door.  The bar fridge guy walked in past the bathroom to fill the fridge.  My dad saw him in the mirror walk right past the safe and literally grab the handle quickly to see if it was open.  My dad asked why he did that and the response was " I wanted to make sure you had it locked".  REALLY??? 

Out of the 70 plus people we had on the trip 15 of us had items ranging from money, jewellery, electronics to clothes taken.  I indicated my concern with the bar fridge guy earlier the the above story is why.  

Before you say anything about making sure your items are locked in the safe know this...if you have difficulty with your safe it can be opened with what appears to be a master code...you may as well leave your valuables on the coffee table.  

Next complaint is the offering of drugs on the resort.  It seems that every second guy working there will at one point ask, "Hey man you need anything special"...my idiot cousin took full advantage of this while he was there.  The point is it gets annoying especially for people who don't partake in those activities.  It also raises concerns for your safety while there.

Despite all the negative things i've metioned above we still had fun.  I would never return to this resort but that is probably becasue the management is ineffective.   If these issues could be addressed my wife and I would return without question.  

I will now list the pros and cons:

Pros:

Great food

Beautiful grounds

Beautiful beaches

Good rooms

Children friendly (daycare on site)

Fantastic wedding coordinators

Plenty of activities

Nice pool

Fun nightlife and entertainment

Cons

Poor management - yes roberto you're a jack ass and need better control of your staff ( I would fire you if I owned the place)

Rude staff ( not all but many)

Always had hand out for a tip

Huge resort

Lots of walking

poor accessibility for elderly or people with children in strollers 

Showers are designed poorly if you can believe it.  Water gets all over the floors.  (caused my elderly father to fall and be bed ridden for the trip)

Ground floor suites seem to have issues with cockroaches (its a tropical climate so we didn't make a big deal of it) we killed 3 over a 7 day period.  I'm sure they came in from the patio doors.

Bar staff are unbelievably slow

Sanitation of pool bar (drink cups cleaned in filthy water, which I have pictures of and can provide to people)

Nickel and dimed for wedding related things (paid 0ver a 100 US to have clothes laundered).  The bill charged to the resort was 787.00 Jamaican so I should have paid 7.98 US.  I saw the bill when checking out and clearing up our outstanding balance. 

In closing our group had a lot of fun but we also expected more for the money we paid.  This was one of the cheaper 5 stars in Jamaica and I would in the future pay more and go to a different resort. PLEASE read the reviews and be mindful of what people are telling you.  We are regular travellers and know what to expect at all inclusive resorts.  Many people will have glowing reviews, however, some negative comments should always come up.  You can be sure these people are resort newbees or Roberto writing as many reviews as he can.  Also, when people have the SAME negative comment as the theme seems to be that is what we call a red flag!!  

Good luck.