Grand Palladium Jamaica - Have you been?

[Anonymous]

I'd like an all inclusive, but I don't love the "sandals" vibe (over-packaged, over-commercialized). Have you been to the Grand Palladium (lady Hilton or the other one)in Jamaica? If so, can you give me the good and bad? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Went there this summer and LOVED it! If you want a place to have fun, kick back and relax, it's awesome.

The good:
-Rooms are nice and there are plenty of places to get food and drinks whenever you want it.
-Buffets were pretty good and they have the 7-8 "themed" restaurants so you can go to a different place each night and not get too bored. The food isn't 5-star so if you are a foodie, this isn't the place for you. But its fine and I was able to find enough variety to keep me happy.
-Its really very beautiful and the pools are great, especially the main pool.
-I found the staff to be very sweet and laid back. I fell in love with the Jamaican people.
-Spa is very nice.
-Location is very secluded and the resort is the only thing there so its pretty quiet and the views of the ocean are great.

The bad:
-Its not in a resort town so if you want to be able to go out at night to clubs or go shopping, etc, this is not the place for you. Then again, we went to both Negril and Montego Bay on side trips and couldn't wait to get back to the resort. If you want to party or shop, go to Cancun or San Juan (or Miami for that matter).
-As I said, food is not the best I've had and drinks are served in tiny cups. Just bring your own insulated plastic cups and they will fill whatever you give them.
-The pools are amazing but the beach is not so great. There is one nice beach area but it tends to be crowded. If you are a beach person, you will be disappointed.
-The resort is about 1 hour from the major airport in Montego Bay so you have to factor in the cost and time of transfers to/from the airport.
-The resort is really spread out so if you stay at one of the buildings that are further out, you have to walk a lot. Try to stay in one of the buildings that are close to the main area. You will enjoy your stay a lot more (then again, I was pregnant when we went so I may have felt differently if I wasn't). There are also really nice "condos" that you can pay for and they are in a great location if you want to spend the money.
-There isn't much difference between the Lady Hamilton side and the other side other than the fact that I think there are less teenagers/young people without their parents on the LH side. I got the feeling that the non-LH side was more of the party side.
-My husband, who has never smoked pot, was offered drugs several times by the staff. If you say no, they will leave you alone but if that offends you, I guarantee it will happen. And if you have older kids, they will offer it them too.
-The evening "shows" are pretty terrible, but I have found this to be the case at other places like this.

In short, I thought it was a great place and would go back in a heartbeat if I could get a decent deal. I have a friend who has stayed at the GPs in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and said they are much nicer. So, something to consider if you are open to other islands.

Have fun!