As per our annual tradition, my wife and I booked our Spring Break trip to a new location. This time, with some recommendations from some friends, we decided to travel to Jamaica and Couples Tower Isle.
Every March, we try to visit a new location, usually (every time so far) in the Caribbean and every year we do all-inclusive on tyhat trip. That way, with work in the rear view mirror, we don’t have to worry about anything.
After 3.5 days (not enough for any vacation, and 4 nights at Couples Tower Isle, here’s my what I ultimately thought of this Jamaican resort.
Getting to the Hotel
The biggest complaint I really have about Couples Tower Isle is the nearly two hour drive to get to the resort from the Airport. There isn’t really anything that can be done to improve this, Couples does have a couple of hotels that are closer to the airport, but beaches and hotels all differ slightly. One day, I might try one of those other hotels since I did like the Couples brand – more on that later.
Traveling in Jamaica is very different than any place I’ve ever traveled to. Once we got of the plane, we went through customs like normal international travel. Once we were through, instead of being a normal exit zone the airport was split up by resort. The Couples Resort company had a fairly large “club” area where you check in, they get your information, and then a car to take you to your resort. There’s a small bar area inside here where you can get a Red Stripe and wait for your taxi to your final destination.
Reading the reviews, I had expected a more lively atmosphere in the “club” but really, it was just a waiting area with friendly workers and beer. There wasn’t much to see.
However, this was the start of EVERYTHING being included. The resort arranged for our transportation to and from the airport and we didn’t have to pay anything extra. In fact, we were the only people on our two hour long shuttle. It was a van that could fit twelve. We felt special.
Our driver was friendly, but not very talkative. The two hour trip felt very long after already travelling all day as well. My wife took a nap on the way, and I played on my phone (thank you international cell phone plan from T-Mobile)
Couples Tower Isle Hotel
Entering the grounds to the resort property was pretty quick. There was a guard and a barricade entering the resort, so there was a feeling of safety here. A short little trek into the grounds and we were at the front desk.
The front desk is open to the world outside. This isn’t a problem I don’t think because the weather seemed to be rather pleasant the entire time. As we exited the van, the bellhops were on us quick to get and hold our luggage. They directed us to the desk to check in and provided us with a Rum Punch while we took care of business. Our driver who was not part of the hotel, but I assume was paid by the hotel was the only one that asked for a tip so far.
Check-in was speedy and the bellhop had all of our luggage on a cart and showed us around the grounds.
It didn’t take too long to get the hang of everything. The resort isn’t that large, but it did have plenty of room to do everything you wanted to do. There were two larger pools, access to the beach, bars, and food places all over.
Out on the beach, there’s a dock and out at sea is an island that the resort owns. The island is a nudest island, and the resort shuttles guests out there on boats all day long. Guest have clothes on as they come and go on the boat, but you can see people in the distance when they go to the edges of the island or when they get in the water by the dock. It is far enough away that you can’t really make out any details, but viewer beware.
The grounds themselves are well maintained. The resort seemed to be in the midst of a repainting as areas had signs of fresh paint. We never really noticed anyone painting but maybe one time, however the sign did move around to new areas every day.
Our room was on the third floor and there wasn’t an elevator in our building. If you have an aversion to stairs, I would request a lower room or a building with an elevator.
Inside, the room was simple. You aren’t coming to Jamaica to really stay in the room after all. There was a bed, table, chairs, smaller flat screen TV. The bathroom was large and only had 1 sink and a shower.
The best part of our room was the balcony though. We had a great view out onto the water.
We would sit out here and watch the sunset over the building or just relax and get out of the sun after a day at the beach. We could also see and hear the music going on at the main stage that was just on the other side of a pool from us.
The Grounds
There were really five main areas on the resort: The Main Pool, the beach, the pool with the swim up bar, the buffet restaurant (which had a stage for the entertainment), and the front desk.
The Main Pool
The main pool was mainly for sunbathing and swimming. It was located right next to the buffet restaurant and the afternoon grill. We spent zero time at this pool, but not for any particular reason. It did have a water feature which looked like a high dive diving board, but the actual board was replaced by a water fall.
This seem to be the place that the sunbathers would go to. There never really seemed to be many people in the pool, other than when they were doing scuba trainings and tests.
The Beach
The beach was on the small sizes, and the actually swimming area seemed even smaller since part of the beach was a boat launch area. Still, there was plenty of lounge charis, and even some swings. We never had a hard time finding a spot on the beach which felt like a blessing compared to some resorts were you have to claim your spot early in the morning otherwise you’re not going to get anything.
On every lounge chair, the resort put a foam float for added cushion, which was a nice touch I hadn’t seen anywhere before. The foam was in good condition and likely checked daily.
On one of the days the water was pretty choppy and there was a ton of seaweed floating on the top of the water. It made it undesirable to get in or near the water. This wasn’t the resorts fault at all, and in fact they did a great job of cleaning it up. The morning after, they had a backhoe out and they were raking the entire beach to get it ready for the day.
While lounging at the beach, there were waiters that came around to take and bring you orders. We were given a red flag to stake in the ground if we needed something as well so that would bring the waiter over. It could take a while for someone to come to you or bring you a drink though. It was never so bad that we were upset however.
The resort doesn’t allow the employees to take tips, so you didn’t have to worry about bringing bills to tip these guys either – more on that later as well.
Just behind the beach was a vegetarian snack shop. I never tried anything there, but my wife got a wrap and said it was delicious.
The Swim-Up Bar
The swim-up pool was very nice as well. The bar provided shade, and we never struggled to find a place to set our stuff. There was always music (90% Bob Marley) and the drinks continued to flow as much as you wanted.
The bartenders were friendly and the pool was well maintained.
My only complaint -and it’s not much of one – was that shade was hard to find at this pool unless you were at the bar. If you want the sun and a tan, you’ll be happy. If you’re trying to avoid the sun because you got burnt on the first day (like me) or you just don’t want to get sun, it can be a challenge.
Just like at the beach, there were plenty of lounge chairs with a foam float here as well.
The Food
I would say that for the most part the food was a touch better than standard all-inclusive resort fair. We had some meals that were excellent, but we also had some that were not as good.
The main buffet usually had a few selections of vegetables and meats. They also had cooking stations where the cook would prepare whatever it was they were offering, like a pasta station. I had an omelet, Gyro, and waffle, but they offered pasta and a few other options as well.
If I had one complaint about the buffet it would be that there wasn’t too much variety. You knew that at breakfast there would be a stuffed french toast of some kind and potatos at every meal. I would have liked to see just a little more variety, but I was mostly happy with the options.
If you didn’t like the lunch buffet, you could go to the grill. We ended up doing this as we got to the resort. We had eaten at 7AM and then been flying or driving to the resort until about 3:30 in the afternoon and hadn’t really had a meal that entire time. So we went to grill and got our grub on. The Jerk Chicken was probably my favorite off the menu at the grill, but the Jerk hamburger was also good. The Chicken came with cole slaw and corn as well, while the hamburger came with fries.
We also made reservations at two of the restaurants on the resort – the Asian restaurant and the Old style Jamaican restaurant.
The Asian restaurant was out over the beach and had a majestic appearance. The food was mostly good but spicy. You’re given an appitizer try that contains a sample of everything so you don’t have to pick anything. Every thing on the tray was tasty. Then you can choose soup or salad. We asked for both. I would recommend the soup over the salad, but beware the soup is spicy. Then you get to choose your main course as well as your dessert. Gentleman will need to wear a nice shirt and at least some shorts, if not pants. The service was great here and the bar was close so the drinks didn’t take long to get there.
The 8 Rivers restaurant had great food as well. You get a 5 course meal and get to select what you’d like. We both had the beef tenderlion and it tasted great. My only complaint here was that you need a reservation and the only option with our time frame was very late- 8:45. We were one of the last diners in the restaurant. The service was very slow, but I’m not sure if it was the time or what. We didn’t get out of there until 10:30 or later. We were both exhausted and ready for bed before our main course had arrived.
What to do
The best part about this resort is all the things that are actually included with your stay. Usually, they say these things are included, but you end up having to pay for these things when you get here. Not once did we have to pay or tip for anything we did here.
Sailing
We did a quick little sailing around the island (bewared if you do this, you might see some of the clothing option people from the island). We didn’t need to sign up, it was pretty much just go to the water sports center and ask about it. Two minutes later we had life jackets on and were pushing off from the beach.
It was quick, easy, and free! I would definitely try this out if you get the chance.
Snorkeling
We also did a snorkeling excursion through the resort. You meet at the water sports center, get a life jacket, and then everyone gets onto the boat. The drivers take you out to a little reef that you can skim above. From the resort we got life jackets, fins, and we were offered masks and snorkels but we had our own.
It took some swimming to find the fish, but there were many out there among the corel. Then, after swimming for a while, the boat honked its horn, we swam back in, and returned to the shore. If we had stayed longer, I think it would have been interesting to see if the spot rotated or changed every time. We heard that they do travel to different sites, but we didn’t actually get to try it.
Dunn’s River
Another day, we decided to go to Dunn’s River water fall climb. I can’t say it enough, this was all free. You didn’t even have to sign up for this one. You simply wait in the lobby of the hotel in the morning until the bus comes.
We jumped on a bus, giving our room number to the driver. The bus started to pump in the Bob Marley and we drove about 20 minutes down the road to Dunn’s River complex.
The driver was very serious about making sure that everyone that was going had water shoes of some type, and even pulled over at a shop to let people get off to buy some if they didn’t already have them. Having completed the trek, I would say that a pair of water shoes are a must.
We had to wait just outside the entrance to the complex while the driver squared everything away with the numbers I guess. He came back with wristbands for us and we went into the complex. It is a fairly large complex with shopping, lockers, and more. On the bus, we were offered to leave our stuff there, but we took ours with us. Instead we purchased a locker. The smaller size was $8, but offered a $3 rebate once you brought the key back. It was plenty of space for my wife’s stuff and my own.
We took our GoPros (you can see the video above), but I wish I had just brought it on a chest or head mount instead of the hand held grip. When you are actually climbing the falls, you are going as a group and must hold hands for most of the climb.
If you don’t have a sports camera, the tour guide that will take you through the falls will film you. They will also try to sell the video to you for I think $40. Our tour guide would stop along the way and take pictures of us with our camera which I thought was nice.
The climb itself had some scary moments, but they were more about miss steps than anything. It was mostly easy going. It was a fun divergence from sitting and relaxing on the beach, but it’s not for the couples looking for a rush of excitement.
The entire thing took the 15 of us that went about an hour to climb. There were adults and kids with us. Once we were done, we were strongly encouraged to provide a tip for our tour guide. It was honestly the only time we were hounded for a tip the entire trip. Still, we did tip him; he was a nice and funny guy if not slightly pushy about his tip.
Getting out of the complex was the hardest part of the excursion though. No one really told us how to leave, they just left us while they took the next group. We did manage to find our way, and the only exit was through the store front area. As you walk through, everyone will try to offer you deals and specials or Red Stripe. One guy even offered us a “free” rose, which we declined. Last time we were offered something free like that, we were then hit up for money to pay for it.
As we got free of the complex and headed toward the bus parking area, another guy followed us for a while offering beer even though we said no a few times.
It wasn’t anything terrible, but it was unlike anything that we experienced at the resort. If you are looking for something like waterfalls to do, I would suggest looking for something else unless you just want to try this because it’s free. It was a fun excursion, but not enough to go back and try again if we ever end up in Jamaica. I would try the Blue Hole waterfall. We would have done it but it was about an hour from the resort and we didn’t want to be in a car that long this trip.
Catamaran
The last excursion we took advantage of was a sunset Catamaran cruise. This was probably the best thing that we did. You do need to sign up for this one at least the day before, and you will need to sign a waiver. You’ll wait in the lobby and the same bus from before will come and collect you.
The bus took us to the marina which was about 20 minutes away again. We jumped on the boat and we were off.
We sailed just off the coast of the island for a while before we dropped anchor. On the way, we were given some punch or orange juice. This didn’t have alcohol in them, just FYI. Once we dropped anchor, we were given time to swim. We jumped off the boat, and swam around. They had a few masks if you wanted to snorkel, but there wasn’t anything to really see here. This was more about jumping off the boat and swimming in the beautiful water.
Still, they had music going and the water felt great.
Once we were done swimming, the music started and the boat started again. It was a dance party, and the crew made it a fun time. The same punch and orange juice was being aggressively put into your hands, but this time it was a little heavier. The crew seemed to have a game with it, and as soon as my drink was half done, I’d have another one in my hand.
It got to be too much sugar, but it was a great time.
The crew tried really had to get everyone to dance and have a good time on the boat. They weren’t bossy or anything, but they did try to get everyone involved. If you said no, they would leave you alone – they weren’t pushy about it. It felt like just the right about of push to me.
We returned back to the marina after a at least an hour of sailing, dancing, and partying and loaded back up on the bus.
Everything else
I would say that 98% of everything there was to do at the resort was included. I know that they offered a night snorkel but it was $20 a person or so, maybe more. Motorized water sports cost money as well I think. I met someone that had gone water skiing for example.
If you are a scuba diver, you’re going to love this place. Every dive is free.
You could literally do 2 dives a day for your entire stay and it wouldn’t cost you a thing. So while the resort might be a little pricier than other, all the included things make up for it as long as you do stuff.
The resort also had a game room with a really nice ping pong table, pool table, and card table. And across the street from the hotel are tennis courts which belong to the resort. I noticed the tennis courts on our way out of the hotel for one of the excursion. It looked like the tennis courts were a grass surface and since I’ve always wanted to play on a grass tennis court, I headed over when I could. Sadly, they aren’t true grass courts, but an synthetic grass surface.
The tennis pro, Colin, is a great player. We played a set of doubles and had some laughs. I had played college tennis with one of his former tennis associates so we bonded over our connection. If I had more time, I probably would have tried to play more than I did – which is something I never do on vacation.
Night life
One area where we were a little let down was night life.
The resort has a stage and it booked entertainment every night. The quality of the night life shows weren’t the most entertaining that we had ever seen.
One night was a beach party. Dinner was served on the beach and there was a stage set up. We got as close as we could, ready for a good show. The first act was a band made up of people from the resort. The singer of the group was outstanding! He could really hit the notes. They sang lots of reggae and tried to get the crowd going.
After the band, the resort brought in a steel drum group in. The group played modern songs on the drums and at first it was very engaging and fun. After the third song or so it started to get boring. Finally, towards the end of their set they started to through in some flips and gymnastic like moves. They were interesting, but the last one they tried to clear a space between the tables and the people still sitting there to try and flip back to the stage on. The musicain(?) made it about two flips in before he went off track and landed on a customer.
Our waiter went to check on her, but the performer never really did anything to make things right for landing on her. I don’t hold it against the resort, but the group here.
Other than that, the resort usually had some music on the stage at nights. We didn’t really see any dance groups or any fun skits or anything. But after we watched a little bit of a show, we’d go find something else to do (usually sleep).
Everything is included
If I haven’t mentioned it enough, everything at this resort is actually included. None of the staff takes a tip. They do go out of their way to be helpful and pleasant though.
At checkout, you will be asked to fill out a survey and asked if any of the employees made your stay exceptionally great. This is how they get bonuses and promotions. So learn names of the people that do help you. We regret that we didn’t remember them all at the end of the trip.
Wrap Up
So what did I think about Couples Tower Isle?
When I first got there, I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be. We paid a little more than we normally do for this Spring Break trip and I thought the place seemd a little older than I was expecting. As the trip went on however, this place zoomed to one of the top spots on my list.
There was plenty of food and drink. There was always a spot for us where ever we went and everything was included.
But more than that, the people were genuinely friendly.
Be prepared to travel though, since this place is a little out of the way. I’m not sure that I will return anytime soon (we like to try out different places) but this is only the second resort I’ve been to that I would say that I would come back to sometime. More likely, I’ll try out another Couples Resort in Jamaica.
Bottomline: My wife and I really enjoyed this vacation, placing it around third on our list of best vacations.
jarrva world wide 