dffisher

Planning a trip in Dec with my wife. Could anyone recommend a choice between Couples Negril or Couples Ochos Rios. I like the horseback riding of Couples Ochos Rios but I would love to hear everyone's opinions! Please help!

cartera45

If a gorgeous beach is high on your list of priorities, then choose Negril.

dffisher

What is wrong with the beach at Couples Ochos Rios. Is the food and everything else comparable?

mgtwise

My husband and I stayed at Couples Negril this spring and it was fantastic. We then stayed at Ritz Carlton Rose Hall, but Negril's beach was far superior and not windy. Rooms were moderate, but everything else was top notch. Food, service, watersports were great and beach was perfect. We didn't go to Ocho Rios but several people had done the combo. They said Ocho Rios had more party activity going on and Negril was more laid back. Negril had very little "nightlife" and few organized pool activities. Ocho Rios seemed more for the 20s and Negril seemed for the 30s crowd. But there was always plenty around to do, including water volleyball most days. There were always HobieCats, kayaks, etc. and waterskiing available. We also did Cliff jumping- a must do! Can't remember the name of the nice restaurant there, but you have to make reservations to go only every 3 nts- we managed to hit it twice and it was very good. We had breakfast delivered to our room and ate outside every morning. I am sure you can't go wrong, but we loved Negril.

DebbieH103

We stayed at Couples Ocho in our 30s, and at the time, everyone was 30s and 40s. We are now both 41, so I hope it isn't all the 20s crowd.

We are staying from October 5-10, so you can email me when we get back. At the time it was great, as we loved the horseback riding and the food. Hubby likes golf in Ocho better than Negril, so that was a factor, too.

littledarlin3

We stayed at Couples Ocho Rios in March of this year. It was fantastic. The age range of couples when we were there were 30's and 40's, very few 20's. The food was good, the beach was very nice and the staff was incredible. If you feel like "letting it all hang out" you can explore the au natural island.

There wasn't much night life at the resort. Everything pretty much shut down at 11:00 except the piano bar, which stayed opened "until last guest retired", which turned out to be usually around midnight! We're not big partyers (?) but on vacation we like to have a little more nightlife.

Our room was very nice (we had an oceanview) and the grounds of the resort are beautiful.

Overall, we had a wonderfully relaxing vacation and not only would we recommend the resort, we would go back in a heart beat.

Hope this helps!

dffisher

Thanks for the info. It is very helpful. I have reserved Couples Ochos Rios Dec 10-15. Littledarlin3, which restaurants did you like best and should we make reservations thru our travel agent prior to getting there? What else did you find enjoyable? Which off-site excursions did you do? Thanks for the info!

dffisher

DebbieH103,
What is your email so I can email you when you get back? Have a wonderful trip!

littledarlin3

Dffisher - there are 2 "reservations only" restaurants - one italian and one french, but I can't remember the names. We only ate at the Italian one (my hubby didn't care to get "all dressed up" for the french one) and it was very good. I don't think you can make reservations before you go. However, you will get a sheet upon arrival that lets you choose the days/times you want to make your reservations for the restaurants as well as your off-site excursions. Make sure you turn it in asap so you get the days/times you want.

As far as excursions, we did Dunn's River Falls, which was a lot of fun. Lots of people (I think the cruise ships were in port), but still worth the trip. We also went horse back riding, snorkeling, shopping (not the one that takes you to Margaritaville, but that's only because it didn't work out with our schedule)and the sunset catamaran cruise. All of them were fun and I would recommend them. We never managed to make the glass bottom boat trip or take scuba lessons. There was just too much to do and too little time (we were there 8 days/7 nights).

Don't confuse the excursions offered by the resort with the excursions offered by the "on-site" excursion company. All of the excursions I mentioned above were included, free of charge, by Couples. There is another company that is on the property that will leave excursion info in your room. I'm not discouraging you from taking their excursions, just giving you a "heads up."

You will have a great time at this resort!

Let me know if I can answer any more questions. And please post a report when you return and let us know how it went.