TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

CSA Christmas and New Year celebrations were outstanding the professional entertainment food and decorations including the entire team made this holiday memorable. The resort is rustic with lush and well kept grounds. The beach is simply stunning with the water-sports team working hard to keep it pristine. We has an Atrium room with a huge comfortable bed, this room had shutters with without glass enhancing the sounds of nature and wildlife. We have previously stated in a beach front room and to be honest we preferred the Atrium room.

This resort is one of my favorite places on earth! Beautiful grounds set in the middle of a rainforest, top notch food at every restaurant, wide variety of dining choices, top notch scuba team (and it’s included!!) great snorkeling and water sports, all on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world!

We went to Couples Swept Away for Christmas 2024. When we first arrived we received our welcome drink and check in was fast. We booked the Oceanview Verandah Room. We found the room to be very cozy and thoroughly enjoyed the spacious patio. There was no tv which was ok. The mini fridge was restocked daily and you could fill out a paper to tell them what you wanted more of. Housecleaning was remarkable and did and great job cleaning the room daily and replenishing towels etc.. I will mention that the bed was comfy and we appreciated turndown service. The only thing we did not like about the room was that it was so dark we couldn’t see, especially at night. There needs to be more lighting in the room. Now for the food… I hate to say it, but most of it was bland. The grill that had the fish tacos, geesh there was no seasoning at all. Palms had a wide variety of food, BUT my husband who is a strict vegan had a difficult time finding something to eat. He mainly stuck to callaloo or vegetables and potatoes if they didn’t put butter in it. The head chef did say that they were trying to expand their vegan options. I will say that my husband got to meet with a chef at the different restaurants like Feathers and Lemongrass. Chef Carlos Hylton cooked an amazing meal for my husband in which he thoroughly enjoyed. The grill that served jerk chicken was good, but they DID NOT have patties the whole time of our stay which was disappointing. Also, I have no idea why the workers there seemed to have attitudes and did not want to be bothered it seems like. My 2 favorite bartenders were Keshia and Harold. Keshia thanks for making “The Keshia’s Special” for me. You absolutely rock! Harold always had an amazing smile and ready to make my favorite drink and dis it well!!! There were also two servers that stood out, Joshshia and Talencia. Thank you for being so kind, working so hard and smiling the whole time. For the beach, it is simply beautiful and calm. They do such a great job keeping the beach clean daily. No seaweed or anything, it was amazing. My husband and I did enjoy the water bikes and Catamaran Cruise. The cruise was so fun and the rum punches are yummy! We also enjoyed the glass bottoms boat. These things are free with your stay, so enjoy. I will say as far as lounges and floatables, you had to get up early to claim a spot and I did not like that. Overall, we did enjoy our stay and would probably come back.

The resort has a policy of only smoking in designated areas and not in the rooms or on the balconies. Unfortunately for me this policy is not enforced because the first hour we were there we saw 3 rooms surrounding us with people smoking on their balconies. We complained but the following morning cigarette smoke came up to my balcony on the second floor from 2 separate balconies below me. It seems to me if the resort wanted to enforce their policy they could tell people at check in what the policy is. There were supposed to be no smoking signs on the balconies but we did not have one on ours. Finally, if any security was walking around in the morning they would notice this. Really disappointing

Another 5-star visit to CSA is in the books for us. Most significant for us this visit was how strong are the Couples management and staff teams. Despite challenges all resorts in Jamaica are facing—staffing shortages, unavailability of key foods like bananas on a regular basis due to hurricane crop damage, inflation—they still delivered an A+ experience during a period of very high occupancy. They have added accessibility ramps to 4 rooms for guests who cannot manage stairs. We stayed in a renovated beachfront verandah suite, our first time in a renovated room. Though I’d seen many photos, I hadn’t appreciated until in how significant the changes were. The design is understated and beautiful. As important as form, the function of the room is a vast improvement, with significantly more and better space to unpack, organize, and store luggage. Food was delicious and varied. Activity offerings are top notch as always, with excellent instruction. They pull off Herculean feats in their elaborately festive holiday displays and events, from light displays to gingerbread houses, to sorrel cocktails, to delightful elves and a surprise arrival from Santa, to African drumming and dance troupes, to a poolside fresh fish fry. Since Hanukkah fell at the same time as Christmas this year, it would have been wonderful to see any nod to it in the decorations or traditional food for their many Jewish guests who visit that time of year besides a “Christmas cookie” in the shape of a Star of David. Perhaps next time because a potato latke recipe would use ingredients already on hand and be very easy to serve up. Likewise a jelly donut. From their VP of Customer Care, their Social Media Director, GM, owners meeting guests around the grounds, pre-arrival reservations and guest relations team, reservations and guest relations managers and teams to the entire staff (sports complex, spa, housekeeping, food and beverage, grounds, entertainment, and more) Couples and Swept Away are unique gems in a world of bland, cookie cutter AI resorts. Thank you for another memorable stay that will fuel us through the winter.