My husband and I spent a week at Couples Swept Away. The grounds are really pretty-very tropical and well-maintained. We stayed in a beach front suite (older section), which was nice-not great. The location was fine-steps to the beach and beach bar, but the room and its furnishings left a bit to be desired. The a/c did not put out cold air; there was a great deal of mold in the shower, and while I understand that Jamaica is, indeed, rather humid and mold is inevitable, it could have been controlled a bit better. The soap dish was covered in mold, and leaving soap on it felt incredibly unsanitary. Our porch was mediocre-there was a large chunk of the table's corner missing and it never felt "clean" to me. The room was a bit more "rustic" than I generally prefer, which I had anticipated but thought I could cope with.

The beach at CSA is fantastic-white sand, warm, clear water, and the staff really works hard to keep it clean. We weren't really bothered by any of the vendors, and security did a good job of making sure that no guests were harassed or made to feel uncomfortable. Water sports were fun; we loved the Hobie Cats when there was enough wind to get them going. Beach towels were a problem; there were never enough clean towels to go around, so we ended up using the same (damp and smelly) towels for 4 days. There was a several day wait to book the glass bottom boat and catamaran cruise (4-5 days for the cruise). The sports facilities were nice; the squash courts have GREAT a/c and are a nice place to cool off from the heat and humidity. I had a massage while we were there and wished I had saved my money. The facilities are nice, but the quality of the massage was pretty poor, with the massause opening the window to talk to other staff members in the middle of it.

As for the service, I'm really mixed. Some staff were super friendly and helpful, while others were incredibly rude and acted as though they were doing us a HUGE favor by getting us a drink/food/whatever. My husband was irritated by the incredibly slow pace most of them worked at, and by the minimal effort they put into their work. It was very disapointing and frustrating and made me wish we had gone somewhere else (or somewhere that allowed for tips, which may have helped improve service).

I was concerned about the food prior to arriving. I'll admit, I'm a pretty picky eater as far as quality goes, and I was ok at CSA (so ok that I gained quite a few lbs!) We weren't able to get into Feathers during our trip, but did eat at Lemongrass (both had a 6+ day wait). Lemongrass was good, not great, though it marginally passed as "Thai" food. I asked for extra spice to be added to my entree (red curry) and found it to be really yummy. My husband had the yellow curry and was disappointed--not at all like traditional yellow curry whatsoever. Other meals were pretty good-white meat chicken most of the time, good seasonings, etc, though the menus didn't change often or offer much variety. Not the best food, but I didn't expect gormet food at an AI. We also had a dinner on the beach, which was fun, although I could definately tell that the meat (steak) had been previously cooked and reheated, which was not very appealing. The experience of the beach dinner was fun and very romantic (but be sure to wear lots of insect repellent!!!)

Overall, it was a nice vacation, but we did get bored after a few days. My husband and I prefer more active vacations, where we get to explore the area and culture, and CSA wasn't quite that. Yes, we should have signed up for excursions off of the resort (hindsight is always 20-20, right?) CSA is more of an American resort that happens to have Jamaican employees and a slight Jamaican influence. Good for other people, but maybe not the best choice for us. I'd recommend CSA to friends if its what they're looking for, though I doubt we'd stay there again. There are too many other places to visit and stay, and we'd love to explore new areas rather than stick with once place.

We had a wonderfully spectacular vacation/honeymoon - the resort was fabulous and refined - there was nothing shody and makeshift about Couples - we enjoyed our stay and all the amenties we could fit in in our 5 day stay - the brochure was exactly on point - everything was grand - our room (atrium) 1st fl bugalow was perfect and clean - the housekeeping staff always did a great job - we wanted for nothing, the staff was very accomodating, - there was always something to do in the way of adventures if we chose - when they tell you all-inclusive, they mean all-inclusive - the only money we spent was for souvenirs. Food / drink - most excursions were all inclusive -there were more than enough bars/ restuarants/ midnight places to eat/ the beach was awesome and always glistening, the resort itself was very clean and well kepted - very exotic it was truly paradise. I have nothing negative to say about Couples Swepted Away because if was a very splendid time and I refuse to nickpick about towels/noise/cleaning crews - all these things go on in every hotel and resort at some point of the day - this resort was well worth the money we spent and will spend again when we return next year - my only regret is that we had to leave.

Louise & Sam - Essex, England.

Before booking our holiday, we read many reviews on CSA and based our booking on these, so we thought we would share our views too...

Well what a spectacular holiday! From the moment we arrived we did not want to leave! We had a 2 week stay and the time flew by! On arrival, we were greeted to a very easy check in. We were greeted with a cold towel and a glass of champagne. Just a word of warning at the airport, the luggage attendant and driver will expect a tip so be prepared and also the guy that showed us to our room wasn't leaving without a tip too, so worth having some dollar ready.

We were lightly breifed about the complex and given maps and information pack. We were also told that you can do an orientation of the complex at either 10 or 5 which i'd strongley recommened, as it is quite big and you get to see everything and hear about things you might not get to know about, plus get to meet the great enterainment team!

We arrived in the early evening so got un-packed and ready and headed for dinner, which leads me onto the food...wow!! Have been to all inclusive resorts before and have become bored and tideous of having buffet, but this was far from boring!! Palms resturant for breakfast was a buffet, which suited us as we like to eat quick and get out in the sun! You can anything from fry ups, fruit, cereal, omletes cooked to order. The only thing that bothered us slightly was they wait for you to get your food before they serve your tea or coffee so by what time they get to you, your be half way through your breakfast, so would prefer it before! It was also a buffet lunch which we sampled a few days which was nice and then a la carte dinner. The food was always lovely, try to lobester tails and they also have a pasta station if you want that one evening.

We only dinned in Lemon grass the once, because the menu doesn't change and we are not lovers of all Thai dishes but when we went there it was very nice.

Patio Patios was lovely and the waiters were all lovely and polite. You could not fault any member of staff throughout the whole of the stay, everyone is so accomodating, polite and happy (mind you if i got to work in the sun all the time, i would be too!!) We never had breakfast here but the lunch was lovely, ideal when it started to rain as it was sit down, so treated ourselves to a two course lunch! The menu does change and changed whilst we were there and the chefs even took the time to come round and speak to the dinners to get their opinion on the new menu etc.

Feathers was lovely. How people have complained about this i do not know. The staff in there are wonderful, Staish and Chris (hillarious) were lovely and always looked after us. The food was perfect and eating that here in England with the amount of champage we drank would have easily cost us £200 a time. There is meant to be a dress code although i did see people slip through in trainers and flip flops (its not hard to make the effort though)

We also had lunch a Seagrapes cafe which was veggie and even though were not veggie it was lovely and Jonathan made it a delight. We also once ate at Cabana Grill, but found this too heavy for us at lunch time so didn't venture back.

The beech is out of this world! The sand and sea are breathtaking espically first thing in the morning when there are not that many people around. See many sea creatures, including crabs, starfish, sting ray (ranging from babys to big mummas!!!) and lots of fish. Was lovely just floating out at sea with our mats from the sun loungers. Didn't have perfect weather being the sun worshipers we are, but you make the most of it in the morning and don't let the afternoon rain bother you, sitting in the hit tub in the rain doesn't harm anyone?!

Plenty of watersports to do, water-skiing, hobie cats, Katarmans, glass bottom boat, snorkelling, squba (book early though to avoid disspointment, opens at 8) We went out to two different reefs to snorkel which was good and Marlon is a good laugh.

Also done some Jet Skis and Parasailng, We spoke to Cosmo (wears yellow top and hat!!) and he sorted us out good deals, we just gave him a tip at the end of the holiday and he was a friendley guy and always had a chat with us.

The green flag service is a treat, doesn't open until 10 though, although there is filtered water on the side to help yourselve to. Alrick was a legend and never see us go thirsty, always bringing drinks over before we requested them. Also gave us fruit kebabs, snow cones and cold towels in the morning.

We didn't really get involved in any enterainment, as we just concenrate on chilling and of course getting a tan!! But they team were lovely, Julieene and O'Neil always took to time to speak to us and they offered plently of things to do throughout the day.

In the evening there is enteraintment in palms, beech party on Friday, bonfire on Wednesday and Saturday is film night, with popcorn!! We went to the piano bar which was great, Chocolate was funny and a great player and got everyone involved.

We went with a garden room as upgrades work out alot with us, as the 9 hour flights cost alot! But it was fine, we didn't have mini bar or tv which we knew before which was never a problem as you can get drinks from the bars. Room was cleaned every day and also a turn down service which was nice.

Over all though we had such a lovely time and would definatley go back. People may complain that the Jamicans are slow, they are just carefree and you are on holiday so what is the rush!! I would recommend this resort to any couple wanting time out to chill and relax with staff around you that only has your best interests at heart and wants to you enjoy your "home" whilst you are away from "home"

Yeah man.

Having just got back from Swept Away, we were glad to be home. Its not that the resort was not wonderful but things became repetitive after a while.
We are the type of people who vacation in another country to experience its culture, food, and sights. You might say that we have "ants in our pants" because we are always doing something or going somewhere. Swept Away is about hanging out on the beach or by the pool, getting some sun (when it is not raining or cloudy), and having drinks. After the first full day of lounging, we were ready for more.
HIGHLIGHTS
Scuba: My husband took the Open Water Certification course for scuba for $365. I got to dive with him on some of his required open water dives since I already had my certification. The dive team is great. Not only are they a lot of fun and safety minded, but they really help you become a better diver by pointing out things that you could work on. Diving with Olaire was the most fun. He's got eagle eyes and can spot some of the most obscure sea creatures. It really makes the dive so much better when you have someone who knows the sites well and knows how to show you the things you would otherwise miss. We would've been more stir-crazy if we didn't do this everyday.
Beachfront Suite: Since it was in the old section, the greenery was full and lush. It was nice that the greenery hid us for the most part but we could definitely see the beach and everyone walking by. The sunsets and sunrises were amazing. The room service on the patio was a nice touch too. Our chambermaid, Nadeen, kept the room perfect everyday. She was a real sweetheart, too.
Sports Complex: The gym was fully equipped with current Cybex cardio machines, weights, and cables. It was very impressive for an open air gym. There were plenty of machines so that people did not have to wait in order to use equipment.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
Food: The food was typical resort food but there was a variety of different places you could eat. The hours of breakfast and lunch times were not so good for the main eateries if you wanted to dive. The menus didn't change very often and the service was spotty. Feathers was the best by far in terms of service and food but had a waiting list of at least 2-3 days. The food at The Palms was better than the other eateries so we preferred to ate there more. However, it became increasingly infested with flies. Patios Patio had the slowest service by far. One night it took us almost 3 hours to get through our meal. The fish at the resort did not taste fresh at all and the fruit did not taste like it was in its peak.
Service: At first the employees were very accommodating, respectful, and nice. There was always a greeting when we passed by. By the end of the vacation, there were far fewer nice employees and more rude ones. I felt like I had done something wrong by the end of the vacation because they were snubbing me.
Overall, it was one of the better vacations I have been on but there were lots of little things not worth elaborating on and/or not the resort's fault when it comes down to whether I would return (rain, crowd demographic, lack of TV in room). But I am one of those "been there, done that, let's move on" types of people.