Azul Beach Resort Negril By Karisma

It is genuinely tough to pick between an average and good rating for this hotel. First and foremost, the location is truly amazing, the beach at the property is pristine and probably one of the nicest beaches I’ve ever been on. The hotel took pride in ensuring that the beach looked amazing every day. No complaints there. As it relates to the experience at the hotel, this is where the average rating came to play. We stayed at another Azul property in Mexico and were blown away by the level of service, the accommodations and quality of food and for that reason we opted to stay at this Azul property. Disclaimer - we booked directly through the Karisma site. Let’s just say everything you read about and see on the website when you book certainly left a lot to be desired when you arrived. Cocktail upon arrival, non-existent, seamless check-in, not so much. We were met by a front desk attendant who let us know it would be a few minutes before they could check us in. When they were finally ready for us we were informed that we had received a complimentary upgrade from a premium ocean view room to a royal swim up suite at no cost to us. We just had to sign a disclosure form and we were all set. They asked for a $200 deposit for incidentals, but upon handing them my AMEX, they informed me we couldn’t use it for check-in but we would be able to use it around the property for other items like the gift shop and could use it to check-out, when I asked additional questions about why I couldn’t use it for check-in I was just told that’s just the policy. Our room wasn’t immediately ready, which we were ok with as we understood check-in was at 3pm and we had arrived at 2pm. When our room was ready we were shown to our room in building 11. To say the room was a bit disappointing is an understatement. Our room was in a dark hallway with an entry door to the hallway which made it hard to even see our door. I even reported that the light was out in the hallway but no action was taken. Our room was a bit on the older side, and had really no ocean view, as it was obstructed by a wall and tree. I later found that the premium rooms are in buildings 8 and 9 with unobstructed views. When you look on their site, you won’t find any Royal Suite options, which seems odd considering that’s what we were “upgraded” to. Additionally when I went back to the front desk inquiring about the swim up suite that we were told we’d get they told me I must have misunderstood what was communicated, and that it was an upgrade to a Royal Suite, not swim-up. I did ask for the document that I had signed to confirm and they refused to produce the document. Disappointing to say the least. Finally, the service. This is where the average rating holds strongly. It was shared with us that we were visiting during their low season so they are not fully staffed. That being said, the resort was not very crowded and yet it seemed like we were more of a nuisance when we asked staff questions about the hotel. In fact most pointed us to download the app if we wanted information about the hotel. Our reservation noted a “beach butler”, that never happened and the one time we did have someone helping us with drinks, we saw the individual once and it was actually faster for me to get out of the water go to a pool bar and get a drink and food. Surprisingly the only restaurant we received great service at was Mahogany, the buffet. The wait staff was amazing and always remembered our name and made sure we were taken care of. The other restaurants the service was average at best. Finally, would I come back, yes with the hopes that perhaps this was a fluke and the service is generally better. Again, basing it on the experience we had at the Azul in Mexico we would hope that the level of service would align with the brand.

We came to Jamaica to attend the wedding of a friend, so we didn’t choose the resort ourselves as Azul Beach Resort Negril was the wedding hotel. Since it’s a long flight to get to Jamaica for us, we decided to extend our stay and do a full 10 days at the hotel to turn the wedding trip into a nice vacation. Overall I would consider the Azul Beach Resort Negril solid 3 star hotel. The issue is that online it’s listed as a 4 star hotel, and if you come here with 4 star expectations I think you will likely be disappointed. As many others reviews noted, the hotel and rooms feel run down, even in the “newer” side of the hotel. Furniture that has fabric is worn and stained in both the room (couch) but also the restaurants. It doesn’t give you the luxury feeling. The staff are fully aware the hotel is outdated so I don’t think they are trying to hide it. They did explain that this resort was purchased from another seller and is the only resort in the Karisma family that was not built from the ground up. They did advise that renovations are planned to start in October 2025 after hurricane season has passed. Also to note there are NO elevators on the property so be mindful of what room they put you in if you don’t want to do stairs. They didn’t ask us at all about any mobility restrictions and put us on the third floor. The stairs were ok for us, but we did notice the older couple next to us struggling a bit. Aside from the disappointment in the state of the room/furnishings, we had issues with the room not being stocked with items it was supposed to be. When we arrived there were no towels, bathrobes/slippers or Kleenex in our room. When towels were delivered they brought two, when I asked for a third the housekeeper said no and that I had to call and ask again. When they delivered the bathrobe it was only one and I had to call again to ask for a second. When I asked they said they have any Kleenex/tissues they seemed confused, even though there is literally a Kleenex/tissue holder in the bathroom. But then three days later Kleenex showed up lol. It was a struggle just to get the things that were already supposed to be stocked, and I got the sense they were just trying to cut corners with room amenities. We later found out the washer/dryer on premises was broken and that all laundry/towels had to be sent out so maybe that’s why they were trying to skimp on things. Either way it was not a great impression getting started and it didn’t give us the feeling of good customer service. Looking past the room/amenities, most of the staff (aside from maybe the housekeeping/front desk due to the struggles mentioned above) were very nice. We had great experiences with the bell hop, all of the restaurant staff and the entertainment staff. I would consider the staff a definite positive of the resort. We had fun trying to do the daily activities with the entertainment staff but because it was slow they were often cancelled (not the staff’s fault though). In slower months there are only 3 restaurants open per day (4 if you include the coffee stand). One is always the buffet (for breakfast/lunch/dinner), there is a beach grill open for lunch only daily, and the 3rd rotates between their other restaurants on a nightly basis for dinner only. For example on Sunday/Monday/Thursday the Italian place was open for dinner, and on Tuesday/Saturday the Jamaican restaurant was open, and on Weds/Friday the Asian restaurant was open. As vegetarians, the options were a bit limited at the buffet. Not terrible but not great. I wouldn’t consider the food a selling point, and I don’t know if I would call it “gourmet” as advertised on the website but it was ok. I did try room service one day for breakfast and it arrived promptly, although I didn’t realize I needed to specifically ask for condiments like butter or jam when ordering toast. The beach is at the top of the Seven Mile Beach in Jamaica and the water and sand was truly beautiful. Because we came during a slow time there were a lot of chairs and cabanas (first come first serve) available. They had several large trees on the beach so if you could get a chair under the tree it provided wonderful shade. There were some vendors trying to sell things along the beach but it wasn’t too bad. We often saw the same people every day and they were not overly pushy. We have been to some places in Mexico where the vendors were so aggressive I avoided the beach entirely but it wasn’t a bother here. I’m glad the beach was nice because the pools I would consider a disappointment. They were quite small and also outdated, and often the water looked a bit cloudy (likely due to chemical) but it wasn’t very enticing to swim in. Do not expect to find picturesque romantic infinity pools or anything like that. The only other I would note is that the resort is going to try to get you to sit through a sales pitch for their vacation club. It’s not a time share, but it’s a similar idea where you pay a large 5 figure upfront fee to book at their resorts at a discounted rate for a 5 or 10 year period of time. They are a bit pushy about sitting through the sales presentation. Similarly their spa staff are a bit pushy about getting you to sign up for treatments. This also could have been because it’s the slow season and I’m sure they are not seeing as much business as usual. Aside from the above there were some other little things to note. * The Ocean View “premium” rooms have a side view of the ocean, so you have to go out to your patio and look to the side to see it. You cannot see it from inside the room so it might be misleading. * Phone in the room has a screen with a bright backlight so it’s annoying overnight. Had to cover with a washcloth. * Toilet paper is in an incredibly inconvenient spot in the bathroom and the roll constantly falls off the holder. * Rooms on the 3rd (top) floor in the “Premium” section don’t have a roof on patio so it can mostly not be used when it rains (if coming in July it rains every day) * Review your receipt thoroughly before check out as they may try to charge you for extras or free things. (For example we had a credit for a private dinner but they tried to charge us for it anyway). * While tips for the staff are not necessarily expected, you will find the staff goes above and beyond with service if you do discreetly tip them. (I think technically they are not “supposed” to accept tips) * Trip Advisor is blocked by the hotel for some reason. Overall if we were to come back to Jamaica I don’t think we would stay at this resort again. We did love the staff, and the upgrades will hopefully help the state of the hotel, but the feeling of corners being cut with room amenities didn’t feel worth the value to us.

Our travel group of 2 couples arrived at Azul Beach Resort by Karisma in Negril Jamaica after a long day of travel. As we entered room 72001 in building 7, our eyes immediately went to the light fixture physically hanging off the wall with bare wires exposed. The two rooms, ours and our friends' (room 72003) were quite different in layout. Although we booked and paid for the same style room, room 72003 did have a big beautiful bathtub with an unobstructed beach view, as our room 72001 had a much smaller bathroom, without any bathtub and a partial ocean view with the remaining view being the roof of the beach activities building. We also found the side window to our room to be broken and unlockable. Keep in mind that this window IS ACCESSIBLE by the walkway and anyone that comes up the stairs to this level of the building. After another visit to the front desk and requesting a new room, only to be told there was not any left in the "level" we purchased, we were offered a room in building 1, but the couple we were travelling with would have to stay 7 buildings away. We stayed in room 72001 once the lock was adjusted to make the room safe to be able to stay closer to our travel companions. Another quick note on the room is that there is very limited space for clothes, no dresser, no drawers. The one closet that has shelves is shared with the coffee maker and refrigerator, the other doesn't have any shelves at all. We did throughout the nights of our stay hear electrical surges in the wall(s) that also would trip the outlet in the bathroom daily. The bed was as hard as a board. Towards the end of our stay, the ac unit in the bedroom part of our room began to drip water onto the floor to the point of saturating bath towels and having to be walked around to avoid getting dripped on. Walkways are not level throughout the resort especially on the wood decked areas. There is much upgrading needed on this property throughout. Room cleaning was ok at best, but every single day we needed to call the front desk for something that was not replenished. We had to ask for bath towels, hand towels, washcloths and/or coffee. On a side note, we actually only got the coffee replenished 2 times throughout our entire stay, even though we requested it every day it was missing. The food was a whole other issue. The buffet was the same, over and over again with very little to choose from and most of the time with little flavor. The Asian restaurant was very good both times we ate there, the first better than the second however. The Italian restaurant was very good the first time and not good the second, including the service and quality of food. The Caribbean restaurant was good the one time we tried it. We also did enjoy a candlelit dinner on the beach which was excellent. The Garfield restaurant was not open any of the days/nights of our stay other than for private parties. This included the bar at the Garfield as well which we found disappointing as it's the only actual bar on the beach. The West Coast cafe at lunch time was ok, but again had very limited options and would run out of food. There were multiple days that a grill was brought out on the beach for a light lunch option of jerk chicken along with pasta salads and deserts. This grill would run out of chicken every day it was brought out and not replenished even when asked. The coffee bar was decent but also not consistent in quality and flavor of drinks. The bar drinks were inconsistent at best throughout the resort. Many times we were told "I don't have..." whether it was tomato juice or mint... and nobody would even attempt to get what should have been available. The liquor choices were lower level in brand. At one point, we needed an ice pack for a back injury. A visit to the Nurse's Office was surprisingly not helpful. The nurse on duty suggested going to a bar and getting the bartender to give us ice and then spoke about how unprofessional she must sound. Beach/Pool chairs and towels are limited which is ridiculous. If by 6:15am you, as a guest, haven't gotten towels from the stand by the beach, you need to find and tip an employee to dig some up for you. Same with the chairs at the beach...and forget about a chair at a pool, those don't exist. There is absolutely no reason for a shortage of chairs and towels. The entertainment was repetitive and non inclusive unless the staff was trying to get reviews. During the day, the music was blared to the point of not being able to hear the person next to you talk. It was communicated to the staff but nothing changed. The staff continued to dance with each other like it was a nightclub. Those areas were empty for the most part for these reasons. At night, there was more karaoke than any real entertainment. The Apple Vacations representative that was stationed at this resort had very limited time on property. She never did reach out to us throughout our stay, not even the day prior to our departure to be sure we were set for the next day's travel. We were lucky to catch her that day as she was preparing to leave for the day after just 1.5 hours of being there. That being said, we did have a wonderful experience with our personal concierge. She made it a point to connect with us everyday and check in. We're not sure if she was sent to us to get us to sit through the sales pitch or if each guest has this personal touch, but either way, she was great. The other plus to this resort was the beach itself and the water, as both were beautiful. With the vacations we've taken, we do know what we can get for the money we spend each year. This particular vacation was OVERPRICED for what we did receive. This all inclusive resort should have been rated no higher than a 3 star and even that is being generous. Had this resort been rated where it actually belongs, we would never have chosen this resort. Never have we been to an all inclusive that ran out of food and drink, nor have we had to reach out daily for room necessities to be replenished. This property is dated and needs major renovation.

Quality and variety of food and drinks was poor. Rooms need to renovation. Customer service was good, except for a few instances.Entertainment was non existent.it was hard to get clean and usable beach towels. They kept all the swimup bar closer to bulding 12 open on time. We had to walk from building 1 all the way to building 12 for most of the meals.