Zoetry Montego Bay

I’d like to start by saying the staff individually are wonderful people however this was the worst vacation my husband and I have ever been on. We don’t travel often but we saved up for a while to take this trip. We paid extra to stay at the ‘wellness’ hotel of the Hyatt Jamaica sisters but we left 20x less ‘well’ than when we arrived. I have never been so let down. Everything we planned to do was cancelled at the last minute and we were never informed ahead of time so that we could make other plans. They had a schedule posted outside of the lobby and maybe two of the 15 events posted happened (both required extra payment, shocker). Yoga was honestly the only thing I enjoyed. After a few days we could tell that the hotel used to be great until it was bought by Hyatt. For example they still had covid signs everywhere requiring social distancing and how to wash your hands. They really need new management. I’m leaving out a lot but honestly I can’t keep dwelling on it. I just want my money back. OH there was also a promise on the website that you could take a boat ride to any of the other sister hotels so there was a total of 13 restaurants to choose from- that was false. You had to attend a time share event if you wanted to go off property and it was a min 45 car ride, no boat. So we were stuck with the one restaurant open a night. Basically the same menu every night- not what I consider an all inclusive. The 24/7 butler is also a joke. They worked maybe 3-4 hours a day and didn’t assist with anything. For example we tried to get room service and they would say call the front desk and then the front desk (once they finally picked up) would say contact your butler. We had 3 different guys over the week and never knew if they were working or which guy we should contact. Overall I just think it was unmet expectations and again it wasn’t the staff’s fault. It’s definitely a Hyatt problem and extreme miscommunication.

Our 2nd time at Zoetry, and we are thrilled we chose to return. The property and staff were attentive and beautiful. We were concerned about some negative reviews, but wonder if some people just don't do their research. Zoetry is a quiet, low-key, relaxing resort. Attentive staff, and well-kept rooms. Room service and housekeeping were very good. It's not full of busy activities, which we knew. If you're looking for loud and hectic, don't come here. Barbara at Harmony bar was just wonderful! So friendly and warm! Staff in general, including managers, stopped to see us daily making sure everything was going well. Variety and service at the restaurants was good. Butler service was overall helpful and attentive. Jerky Joe's was again awesome!! Before a few somewhat negative observations, let us say we will absolutely return. Zoetry checks most of our travel boxes, and we had a perfectly wonderful time! Two things: OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT must get serious about a better bar experience. It's advertised as a 5-star resort, but there are no actual bartenders other than Barbara, who is inside. The staff tending to the pool bar does not know how to make drinks at all. It's always awkward to order an indulgent (not complicated) drink if every time there's an awkward pause while we try and make them understand. (Pina coladas aren't made with OJ). It's an absolute MUST for any all-inclusive tropical resort to have a fun bar experience. Every bar like this needs a drink list of fun, tropical drinks to choose from. This is what makes it fun, and gives variety! Beer and mimosas were the only predictable things to order. Do Better! Butlers seemed to have "connections" with taxis and the rafting tour we did. This might not necessarily be a bad thing, except: Taxi fares were inconsistent. The rafting tour was absolutely a side-hustle. We were told the Great River tour was better than Martha Brea, but don't believe it now. Our "guide" was not part of whatever company the other guides were from. He told us he "got a call early that morning about guiding us". They all wore green Jamaica uniforms. Ours wore shorts, baggy boxers showing, and a tie-dye. He gave no "guide" at all. We heard others shared stories, sugar cane, coconut water, interesting things about the river, etc. Ours told us how hard the job was. The actual rafting ride was less than an hour, and not scenic at all. She did get a limestone foot rub. Solidifying the fact that this was a side-hustle, it was "cash only" and nonrefundable. We should have known better, but we trusted our butler. Next tour we will use Amstar, available in the lobby daily. Even with these small issues, we love Zoetry, and will return. It's a wonderful resort!

I am highly disappointed with our stay at Zoetry Montego Bay and I greatly regret using these few days of vacation that I receive to spend here!! If I could give this resort a 0-star rating I would. I am beyond perplexed on how this resort is identified as Category D/5-Star. First, the room that we were placed in was not fully clean! There were thick spider webs in a couple corners of the room. In one corner there was even a live spider still sitting in the web (nickel sized spider - zoomed in photo below). I notified our butler as soon as I saw it and it took hours to finally get it addressed. The bed was absolutely uncomfortable, the pillows were horrible and neither myself or my husband got good sleep while staying at this location. I was immensely happy that we were only there for 2 nights!!! While the customer service is good, the restaurants were not! The food was dry and flavorless. The dinner we had tasted like water no matter what we ate. We ended up giving up on the dinner provided and going back to our room and sleeping hungry. Rick’s Cafe was amazing tho (had to go 2-hours away to get good food smh). I’m sure there is good food closer, Negril was just one of our stops on our full-day excursion. I WILL NEVER STAY HERE AGAIN!!!!

I have been leaving reviews on Tripadvisor a long time and I have never had to leave a really bad review before so this is not easy. For reasons I cannot understand this visit to this hotel was just not at all as expected at the price point. We did only spend one night, we were there about 30 hours altogether. Maybe because it was low season (Easter weekend though?) but they were out of many things on the menus, things just never showed up (like our room service order), no bellman when we arrived to help with bags, toilet roll holder hanging off the wall, our front door looked like it had been hacked by a crow bar or something. The people were lovely and honestly did what they could but if the hotel is looking to save money by not stocking things then perhaps that should show up in the price point? Anyway I would not go back to this place with so much choice in Montego Bay and doubt I would try any of their other properties either unfortunately.

Front desk staff were polite and efficient. They showed us around the site and made us comfortable. Our luggage was taken care of. The room was perfect. We were impressed by its size and the modern installations. The hotel common areas were clean. The chairs at the beach were very comfortable what with the thick mattresses, some of which, however, were in dire need of cleaning (ugly stains). The beach and the pool were well maintained, except for the Eastern end of the beach where it seems all the flotsam and debris were accumulated with no apparent hint of it ever being disposed of. Every day, a workman was busy with a motor-powered blower, apparently flushing leaves off the small lawn areas and the pathways. Because of the constant Easterly winds, theses leaves and debris were almost immediately re- blown back where they had been. The noise from the airblower was noted to be between 85 and 100 dBs (I have a noise measurement app on my iPhone) which is very annoying, to be polite. Room cleaning. We found the staff to be efficient and timely. Except for one evening lady who came two days in a row at 1815hrs to do the bed turning over. We hadn’t even left for supper. When we asked her to come back later, she was adamant that it was now or never. We asked her to leave. The other evenings, however, apart from this lady at whose service we seemed to be, the turning in service was discrete and efficient. The room cleaning staff, as seemed the case with many other staff, was not very prepared for unusual requests. When told about a burned out light bulb in one of our lamps, she didn’t seem to know what to do. I unscrewed said bulb and placed it on my night table where it remained for a week. It was still there when we left. One day, the maintenance staff did some work on the AC unit, after which copious amounts of dark stained debris spewed out from our unit for a few hours, all over the floor and some furniture. When we pointed this out to the front desk, they said they’d take care of it. Nothing came of said promise. It was only when we corralled the night cleaning lady and she swept the floor that the debris was taken away, hours later. Nobody, however cleaned the furniture. We just swept it off onto the floor and pushed it under the bed. When we left, ten days later, it was still there. Now for your biggest problem: the eating facilities. We realize that there were important issues with said facilities and witnessed the constant efforts by management to improve. This improvement was much needed. When we arrived, the evening (dinner) staff was in dire need of training, both on the floor and in the kitchen. Bland food with not much resemblance to what was written in the menu seemed to be our unfortunate lot. A few days after we arrived, however there was a sudden and marked change in the quality and preparation of the food. Seemingly, a new chef had arrived. At this point, our experience was entirely positive. Much appreciated were the daily menu changes. The food was tasty and plentiful. If any suggestions : more seafood would have been appreciated, especially for an island country and especially for a five star rated hotel. The floor staff. A disaster. The main impression was that said staff was sullen and some, even surly. They looked as if the guests were bothering them in their chat sessions held in the kitchen, sessions which could clearly be heard from the dining area. Two exceptions were a young man named Tariq and a young woman named Kanisha (sorry for the spelling) which proved that it could be done : prompt, efficient service personalized and without half-hour waiting times between dishes. How do we know that the others were inefficient and that, contrary to what they said, it wasn’t the kitchen that was at fault for their tardiness? When the others brought us our food, it was cold, a sign that it had in fact been prepared in a timely way and that it was the waiting staff that was either lazy or inefficient. One evening, we even witnessed the manager loudly berating a server. This was, in our opinion, quite well deserved as she was one of the most delinquent lazers and chatters. Perhaps, however, the berating would have been better served in private. Mind you, this state of affairs was observed in a dining area rarely even half full. How they will manage when the place is packed is anyone’s guess. This state of affairs was much, much worse in the morning. Sullen, sultry, even hostile looks were our daily breakfast welcoming. Some of the staff even throwing menus as a sign of their dissatisfaction. This was not just us having a problem. Similar behaviour was observed with other guests. Others couldn’t be counted on to bring what we ordered. Even when it was as few as three items, often only two appeared. And cold at that. Breakfasts were definitely not a pleasurable experience. Our worst morning, we timed it. Sat down at 0900hrs. Water and orange juice served at 0915hrs. Order taken at that time. Order arrived incomplete and cold at 0950, a full 35 minutes of waiting while they chatted away in the kitchen. The café by the pool. If breakfasts were a disaster, this was horror. We went twice, the second time to give them a chance. Staff uninterested in the guests, food undercooked or raw. They even managed to serve us soggy toasted bread. The only enjoyable place to eat was the jerky shack where the lady was nice and the food excellent. One valuable asset you have is the evening bar staff. Both Barbara, and her off- day replacement Curtis were professional and very efficient and always in a great mood. After we arrived, we learned that the place was under new management by Hyatt. We saw the place improving daily, but you still have a very long way to go before you can call this a five star resort. In conclusion, we think the price we were charged did not merit the so-so or bad service we experienced. We are left wondering what effect such a bad review as this one would have on your business if posted on Trip Adviser or any other travel medium. If we are asked if we recommend the resort, our answer would be a resounding “no.” Hope this helps.