Azul Beach Resort Negril, Jamaica hotel review

This beach resort is a slice of natural Caribbean paradise, where staff tell you to slow down, adopt a Jamaican pace and enjoy the view.

Location

Negril is a rural town just over an hour from Montego Bay airport by car, a journey that glimpses colourful local markets, grand former sugar plantations and holiday homes of the rich and famous. Azul is in the middle of Jamaica’s Seven-Mile Beach, a 10-minute boat ride from the resort’s private shoreline to a bountiful reef, where sea turtles make frequent appearances.

If you’re looking for a party, a 20-minute drive away – or better still, a quick catamaran boat party away – is the popular Rick’s Cafe, where an Ibiza beach club meets the Caribbean.

Vibe

Azul is surrounded by long, pristine stretches of white sand, between shallow turquoise waters and vast lush green plains. Wildlife is inescapable, with dolphins, sea turtle and pelicans, and you may even spot a crab the size of a dinner plate attempting an escape via your balcony. The hotel displays a consistent contemporary minimalist look, coated in white cool tones with the occasional pop of coral blue. The resort is made up of a scattering of uniformly bright white buildings, each housing around 20 rooms per block. They look out over the ocean as they line the beachfront, broken up by the occasional cluster of palm trees and swim-up bars. The buildings are individual enough to feel an element of privacy but the resort is small enough to harbour a sense of community.

Read more on Caribbean travel:

The service

That renowned “island time” is in full swing at Azul; you’re explicitly told by staff to “stop walking on London time”. And while you can expect some staff to be friendly, you should not always expect speed or enthusiasm. It felt as though some staff did not always want to engage in chit chat, and rather seemed to prefer to read off a predetermined script to minimise their guest interactions, giving the impression they were simply a bit bored.

Housekeeping is a little troublesome, with rooms often cleaned at inconvenient times, differing every day. Mini fridges, however, were diligently stocked with soft drinks and the local delicacy: Red Stripe lager.

Bed and bath

While the resort lists…