TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

After a long wait we were quite disappointed with this hotel. It's a shame too, because it has a great location and many of the staff are great. But the lack of competent management shows up in almost all aspects. As you may see from other reviews, they've been renovating the hotel and failing to inform guests about it. We had no idea until we showed up. Luckily they reopened most of the upper areas while we were there, though things were still being worked out (power outages at the Casanova restaurant). The service is really inconsistent, on our first morning we stood by the podium for breakfast for a long time, unsure if we just seat ourselves, or someone would seat us. Many staff passed by, but completely avoided eye contact. Finally I chased someone down and they brought me to apparently the one person that's allowed to check people in. This idea of every person has just one job is really hurting them. Coffee and tea service is terrible, my wife needs a couple of normal sized cups of coffee to get going in the morning, and I like a cup of tea. It was usually 5 to 10 minutes to get the first cup, and they use these tiny tea set cups that are about a half cup. And it's always a long wait or a chase to get another one. Tea is worse, which is surprising since there's many English people that visit. Eventually I'd get a tea bag, but no hot water... that's another person. On my last night I finally got my tea after I finished breakfast. Similar issues at the main bar at Bella Vista, normally understaffed so you have to just sit there and hope someone will notice you. It would be so easy to just acknowledge people as they come in, tell them you'll be with them soon, and try to keep an idea of who came first. Instead it's really just luck if you're standing in the right place when they finish with a customer. We were in D block, apparently the rooms were recently remodeled. They're nice, but there's issues with water pressure and temperature. The last couple of days there was a lot of air in the lines, so they would continually splash water and the toilet would not refill. There's a strange closet with nothing in it, not even a hang bar (see pic), but at least there's another normal closet next to it. The TV did not work the whole time we were there, I know not very important when you're at the beach, but we usually like to watch a little of local TV to get a flavor of what's going on in Jamaica. Called and also filled out a request on their mobile app, no response. They're pushing the mobile app to do most interaction with them, seems to somewhat work for restaurant reservations, although when we went in person to the desk they could see more slots. It's a very basic app. Lack of information is a big problem. We booked a trip to Dunn's waterfalls, but only learned once were were on the way in the minivan that we would be getting wet and required water shoes. The falls were beautiful, but it's incredibly crowded, lots of lines and a Disney ride feel. Also lots of aggressive sellers that you have to walk through to exit. We were excited to do the nature walk one morning, I checked with the desk the day before and they assured me it would be happening. That morning there were about 6 or 7 of us waiting but no one showed up. After waiting 15 minutes I walked back to the front desk and luckily they were able to call someone who showed up some time later. The food was ok, but again lack of information about dress code. The "fine dining" restaurant Casanova requires long pants for men. Really, long pants when you're on a tropical island at a mid-level resort. I only got lucky because I wore some for the trip since it's cold back home. We did see someone get turned away and ruin their night. It's really silly, the food is ok, but the service is nowhere near a "fine dining" experience. Just drop the pretense and let people dress as one normally does for this type of resort. Collared shirts are plenty. This information is again not available ahead of time, or if it is, it's very hard to find. In summary, it's a shame for a resort that could be so much better by having better management, cross training of staff, and attention in providing information ahead of time. Some staff are super nice, but others seem to just be punching a clock and are bothered that you ask them for something.

I stayed at this hotel since it was the designated hotel for guests of a local wedding (wedding was at a nearby villa, not on the property). The hotel is marketed as a five star resort and priced like a five star resort, but our experience was anything but. 1. Service was appalling. Passive aggressiveness from many members of the staff and downright rudeness from others. Housekeeping barged into the room on my first day there, and when I requested they come back later (I was on a work call), the woman informed me (somewhat snidely) that her shift was over at five. When requesting to book reservations at the restaurants, we were informed that we had to do everything on the Couples app and the reception staff was unable to help. Lastly, I called the staff to request a hair dryer (as there was none in my room) and was informed that they only had one hair dryer on premises - so if I wanted my hair blow dried I'd have to come to the salon. When I asked about the salon, they said the salon was closed. I found out later that my friends staying at the hotel had blow dryers in their rooms, so the statement that there was only one dryer on premises was an outright lie. 2. Food was sub par at best. Fruit was sad - bland and colorless and not what I'd expect from a tropical island. They were out of fish the first day I went for lunch. They said they had no mint when I requested a mojito. Not sure what other reviewers are experiencing when they praise the food here... 3. Internet was down for the entire duration of my stay. There were many of us in the wedding group that had to work during our stay, and having the internet unavailable was a serious inconvenience. We complained several times, only to be told that the team was "working on it". The resort was so disappointing that another couple in our group switched to Sandals when they arrived at Sans Souci and saw the conditions. This resort is a $200/night resort at BEST. I would not recommend this resort to anyone except those who welcome disappointment.

As the team there like to say, this is truly a home away from home. Everyone there is extremely friendly from the cleaning staff to the waiters and entertainment crew (including the amazing water sports staff). The whole resort is very clean and well maintained. Couples Sans Souci is a smaller resort with no big crowd which was definite plus for us as we wanted some intimacy and time to relax as a couple. The three event nights (Jamaican Night, Gala Night and Repeater’s Guests dinner) were amazing and had a very large selection of wet food food for all tastes. These dinners gave us the occasion to meet like minded couples. We will definitely go there again and highly recommend the place, especially if you are looking to spend some time quietly with your significant other.

We just returned from a wonderful 10 night stay, it was great to rekindle friendships made over the years. We do have a bit of a sour feeling unfortunately. We made our reservations last February for what we thought was 10 nights but double checked it in December and found it was just for 9 nights. Our bad for not checking at the time. It's unknown at this time which end the mistake was made on, so there is no finger pointing. I called and got an extra night added on at an exorbitant rate but thought I would talk to them at check in thinking the computor wasn't recognizing the previous nights. After talking to three people over the course of our stay they would not budge a penny on the $850.00 CDN rate for the last night even though it was our 5th visit. After years of managing properties infinitely larger than CSS I would have adjusted that rate, immediately, no questions asked. Their reasoning was there had been many rate changes since the reservation was initially made. This rate I was told is the new nightly rate. If CSS is going to charge rates like this it may make it hard to overlook some shortcomings such as the sewage smell from the area behind A Block, getting locked out of our room as nobody adjusted the computer for the night added on. Minor shortcomings in the dining rooms, we found a clear plastic bag blowing around the hall so we placed it on top of a yellow caution cone where it remained for a week, room service trays sitting in hallways for far too long, to name just a few. If they want to charge five star rates they should pay attention to details. Enough negativity though, the property is beautiful the food is good but there must be something other than snapper out in that water and the staff is absolutely second to none, always smiling with a cheerful greeting, they seem genuinely happy. But with a $850.00 CDN rate per night? Dunno

This resort is breathtaking, beautiful, friendly and fun! The staff are equally kind, hospitable and a joy to be around! My husband and I just returned after a week long stay and could not have been more at peace. The resort is peaceful and never feels crowded and yet it’s fun, all at the same time! The entertainment staff (Dylano) was more than happy to not only put up a volleyball net in the pool but hop in to even things out! Shanae’s energy and smile were missed on her days off! Ashley was sweet and kind. Vashaun, Omar, Texroy and J served smiles, laughs and sometimes brain games along with WONDERFUL drinks! I CANNOT express how special they made every day and night. Every encounter we had with the staff (we consider them friends) was incredible. The food and wait staff was unlike any other all inclusive, LOVE the new Asian inspired menu. Also a huge shout out to the housekeeping staff. Mitzy and Simone gave the perfect couples massage, despite a bird trying to disrupt us! In response to the few negative comments below, they certainly to not speak for visitors as a whole. While driving through Jamaica to get to the resort, I felt truly blessed. Yes the construction TO IMPROVE THE RESORT was not done in December as planned, things happen and its more inconvenient for the resort than to us. Our massages took place near the construction (along with three couples we met) and we all said how truly beautiful it was and that we could not hear the construction once you laid down. Again, this is also short term - do NOT be put off from booking in the spa! Someone also mentioned not having 24/7 food which is not true, we got in late and met Vashaun at the bar. He let us know about room service options and that food would be available starting at 11pm at the beach bar, which it was! I already looked to book again but many of the rooms have sold out so it’ll likely be awhile until we’re back. Final piece of advice, book CLUB MOBAY for entering Jamaica, customs was a nightmare and it is SO worth $50 per person.