We just returned from Beaches Boscobel and had a wonderful time. I read some of the reviews before we left but really didn't remember them. I just read a review where the person wrote that he felt tipping was expected! We DID NOT FEEL that way or see anything of the sort!!!!!
Everyone did their best to make sure our stay was fun, comfortable and relaxing!
The major complaint I had as the airlines---Continental but that is for another day!
The Resort: One thing I DO recommend is that you go to the orientation they offer--twice a day. One of the "players" takes you on a tour and explains everything to you. Alicia was our "player" she always made sure we were happy, asked if we needed anything and always stopped to talk to us or our son!
The beach is small but it is relaxing---the vendors that are floating in the ocean really don't bother you. The ocean staff was great--we don't SCUBA but met people who do and they spoke very highly of the dives and instructors. We were able to go out on the hobies and do the banana boat as many times as we liked. I do wish they had someone to bring drinks along the beach, though. As stated in previous reviews their is a group of vendors who stay by the water sports desk and try to get you to "cross the fence" to their "stores" The hotel knows about this and during orientation, we were advised NOT to go over the fence. There is security there who will sign you out then sign you back in to the resort! There is security all over so we didn't worry about unknown vendors!
The pools were very clean and the lifeguards were very alert to what was going on. The water park was SUPER!!! I was very impressed with the amount of lifeguards and staff around all of the slides! Our 4 year old closed down the slides everyday. I wish they stayed open later then 5PM, though!
Our room was a Jr. Suite with a balcony over looking the pool and the ocean. It was great, kept very well and stocked with towels, a fridge stocked with juices, sodas and bottled water.
My son attended the kids camp and loved it. They have a great program and keep the kids engaged with art, science, games and 2 activities a day with the Sesame Street Characters! As an educator, I was impressed with the programs offered and the ratios of kids to adults!
I also did arts & Crafts with Aunt Pat who has been there 20+ years!!
We ate breakfast every morning at the buffet and I had Mimosas for breakfast! We normally don't like Buffets for lunch and dinner so we ate at the Venetian--great Lamb and Ziti!!!
The manager, Ava, took a special interest in my son and they ended up becoming buddies! We got to know the servers and Ava very well!
Arizona had great steaks and a great Club sandwich!! They also got to know us very well.
Yes, there are some kinks and somethings that can be improved but, overall we and our son had a fantastic vacation!
We had a BLAST at Boscobel Bay and are looking forward to returning!

Just got back from Beaches at Boscobel and it was okay. I always go into things with high expectations, so it was a little of a let-down for me. My kids that have never been to an AI loved it. My 9 yr old son loved the kids camp. My 13 yr old daughter didn’t like the teen activities, but participated in the talent show and hung around the Piano Bar (with adult supervision). Well, let me start on the review:

The Good:

The people were nice and friendly. Everyone we met seemed to be very pleasant and cheerful.

The beach was small, but never too full. The Hobie Cats were always available and the staff is very knowledgeable, willing to give you pointers.

The pools were very clean and well maintained with a swim-up bar in the big pool (but I don’t drink so I can’t give you a reference on the bar). The slides were exceedingly fun! I think the adults had the most fun at the slides (Green – fastest, Gray – long and turning, and Orange – slow and turning). There were also smaller slides for the younger set that were fun for the younger kids (no experience because my kids were “too old” for those slides).

The Snorkeling was good. The fish and reefs were not the best but they were alright. They did make you wear a life vest during the snorkeling which did make it quite hard to closely view the fish.

The restaurants were surprisingly good! My wife’s favorite was the Venetian (the Italian restaurant). My daughter’s favorite was the Arizona (“Tex-Mex” style restaurant – quotation marks because don’t expect anything spicy). My son’s favorite was the barbeque grill (as the name implies it primarily grill items – good Jerk Chicken). I didn’t have a favorite. My least favorite was Eleanor’s (their dress-up restaurant), all other restaurants were very good.

The Bad:

Peddlers were all over the beach area always beckoning you to come see their wares or braid your hair or what ever.

All-Inclusive is very limited – they had very few beach crafts outside the Hobie Cats and the Kayaks. It even cost to get a resort scuba certification for my wife ($70). All excursions were quite pricey. It even cost over $50 to go into Ocho Rios. I was very disappointed with the extra costs (but was expecting them). Everyone was hinting at tips from the moment you get off the plane to the moment you return.

Scuba diving was poor (I am a PADI Certified diver). The sites were badly beaten up and I saw more fish and better choral on the snorkeling trip. The dive masters were knowledgeable, but not very safety conscious. They did not enforce the buddy system (they mentioned it, then said we are using a group buddy system where everyone is your buddy – yeah, that will work). They did not keep a good track on your air supply – one guy was down to 200 lbs of air and was one of the “Resort Certified” divers that didn’t know that he was really low on air. I had a leak in my BC and the dive master said “No Problem Mon” and ignored it. Our dive trip was an hour late without any explanations (they had us waiting on the dock in the sun for over an hour). I was not happy with the Scuba diving!!!!

Eleanor’s was terrible! The food was average, the service was poor (by my standards if I say the service is poor, it was very bad by most other people’s standards). The waiters were flirting with the girls at the next table so all of their engagement with us was flippant.

The rooms smelled of mold. The beds were quite firm (if you like that, then it would be a good thing). The pillows were very small. The air-conditioning was loud.

The workout facility was small, hot and smelly. The equipment was badly in need of a tune-up. But, it sufficed. I was able to workout every day. Some days it was empty, other days the facility was packed. It just depended on how many people were getting married that day (as if one day of working out will overturn years of neglect).

The Ugly:

It rained most of the time we were there which confined us to the very limited covered areas. I know that the rain was not the resort’s fault, but the way they entertained you during that time was. They didn’t have many (if any) activities during the rain.

So, all-in-all, this was an okay vacation. I don’t think I will return to Beaches Boscobel. I’ve been to a few AI resorts, this was average at best. I can understand some of the reviews about having a great time (if you don’t place too much emphasis on the bad and the ugly, then you too should have a great time). I can also understand some of the reviews about having a terrible time. It is all in perspective. I had an alright time (not a great time, but not a terrible time).

We enjoyed the friendly service from all the front desk staff, servers, drivers etc...The food was decent, though we think the Venetian needs to develop stronger receipes that capture more of the Italian flavor. The tiramisu and creme brulee were terrible - nothing like their actual flavors are meant to present.

We went to this resort for a wedding which turned out very nice! Our friends brought their children and we all enjoyed the water park and pool time! The unfortunate thing about this being a family resort is they allow people to smoke throughout the outdoor areas. This means young children are walking through cigarette smoke on their way to meal times and play time. This surprised and disappointed us. The rooms were decent, we were on the ground level which offered us a lanai right out to the main grounds. This was very convenient! We did not spend much time on the beach. The sand was a bit rocky and the beach VERY small. One day we all went snorkeling - the water is quite warm! My husband asked the watersports staff to look up his 15+ year scuba diving certification. After two days of waiting - it's an easy internet search they stated would take 10 minutes - he placed an international call to the states to have it faxed in. Once received he checked back with water sports and they stated they wanted him to take a dive check class Monday (additional cost) and from there he could dive Tuesday. This occured Friday and we were leaving Sunday. Needless to say this was a big disappointment since we had waited so many days for them to do as they said they would.

We did travel to the golf course a few times. The course was enjoyable and our caddy was polite and at times helpful. In the brochure it states golf lessons are complimentary. This has changed and is being advertised incorrectly.

If we chose to travel to Jamaica a second time we would chose a different resort, possibly in Negril.

I loved my vacation and so did the children. The staff was great . the children felt at home at the kiddy camp. We had a ball my favorite part was when i walked by my son was with the kiddie camp and he was the only one on stage and everyone was shouting his name and my 3 year old was doing the limbo. The only complaint i did have was that my room was not cleaned in a timely manner other than that everything was great. Please dont forget to take your family portairt i just love mine. Food was great it was a big selection that comes in handy when you have picky children such as i do.