We were excited to go back to Couples Swept Away for our winter vacation this year. We had been there 10 years ago for our honeymoon and loved it, but never had a chance to go back. We were a bit concerned that the resort and dining options wouldn't be as good as on our last visit, but the reviews on Trip Advisor and Facebook groups were glowing in most cases, and they still get a lot of repeat guests. And overall, were were very happy with our entire trip.
Our flight on Delta was fine, we had upgraded to Comfort Plus as a Christmas gift to ourselves and we lucked out and had the row of 3 seats to ourselves.Since we were close to the front of the plane we were one of the first off the plane and found no lines for customs and immigration and zipped right though to the Couples Lounge by bag claim.
Couples Lounge at Montego Bay airport
There is a bar in the lounge so you can enjoy an drink while you wait for your transportation to the resort. There is also a private restroom, which I used to change clothes. We had considered doing Club MoBay on arrival, but didn't find it to be necessary.
The van ride to the resort was uneventful and took about 90 minutes as expected. At the resort, they told us they were upgrading our room, but actually this room type was one category lower. We checked out the room, went to dinner and went back to the front desk to ask when we could be moved to the room type we booked. Apparently our type was full and they ended up giving us $100 resort credit for the trouble.
love the robes in the room!
Also we had a second floor room and the bathroom ceiling is open to the rest of the room, so not a lot of privacy!
mini bar area
The patio in this room type is a lot larger, which is nice.
This was a beachfront suite. It was OK, but the slats for windows really let in a lot of sound. We could hear the main building with the buffet and everyone walking by. It was far too noisy for us and I barely slept.
view from the patio of 1231
I didn't take any notes like I usually do for our trips, so some of the info is a bit vague. I really got into relaxing this time and didn't worry so much about documenting everything. Plus, pretty much all of our daily activities included simply sitting on the beach each day, so there are not a lot of things to report. I read a lot of magazines, and even finished one book and started a second book.
Our first dinner was at Patois and the photos are above. We found all of the food and service throughout of visit to be excellent.
After dinner we went to the main building (that houses the buffet) and checked out the martini bar. The bartenders up there were excellent, and very fast and friendly.
beach view
The next few photos were from lunch at Seagrapes. The service was kind of slow, but the food was very tasty.
By late afternoon our room was finally ready. We were supposed to be in a Beachfront Veranda Suite. This room type was better as we were higher up on the third floor and the doors had glass, which blocked out a lot more sound.
The bathroom had been updated since our last visit, in particular I believe they took out a bathtub shower combo and out in the shower with the glass wall. It looks nice, but water goes all over the bathroom.
minibar and TV. The juices in the minibar were fantastic- the brand was Jamaican and I'd never heard of it before. We also made friends with the guy that restocked the minibar, so we had plenty of Red Stripes throughout our stay.
patio
View of the rain from our patio-- it rained a couple of afternoons during our stay, but didn't last long in most cases.
The next few photos were taken during the catamaran tour.
I believe our room was in the building on the far right.
Another meal from Patois is below.
I think this was from lobster night...
more rain
After the rain, we decided to go to Rick's Cafe. We took a taxi there, which was nice because we could leave when we wanted to, the driver waited for us. The atmosphere was along the lines of spring break with loud music and the beer were overpriced at $5 each. They had a band playing and a nice sunset view though.
These are terrible, dark photos from the Lemongrass restaurant.
This shows how close our building was to the beach. Building, sidewalk, beach, water are all right in front of the building. I should note we were in the same building as our first trip 10 years ago, just on the third floor instead of the second floor.
Since we had been to the resort in the past, we were invited to the Repeaters dinner. My goodness, they really go all out and make returning guests feel special. Since it had been over four years since our last visit, the only benefits were were offered were the sister resort exchange and the Repeater's dinner. I believe if you return more regularly you get resort credits and special logo gifts.
Yup, a bonus steak and lobster dinner! By the way, we found seafood to be just so so at the resort, often overcooked. The steak and chicken were always very good and very juicy and tender.
At the Repeater's dinner were were seated with the manager of the spa. It was nice to get to meet her and talk to her at length. Each table had a manager of some department at the report at their table to interact with.
Breakfast at Patois- it was a nice change from the buffet, though that was faster and had lots of choices. I just forgot to take buffet photos.
Next are photos of dinner at Feathers. The service and food were excellent. Love the Couples twisted palms logo so much.
We did the trading places day and went to Couples Negril one day to check it out and compare it to Swept Away. We found it to be a much smaller resort with a smaller beach and only one pool. The rooms are setup in a few horseshoe groupings, so not many are super close to the water, the whole resort is set back from the water quite a bit more than Swept Away.
Since we were at the resort on Valentine's day they had a garden party that evening. It was quite elaborate with a band, a full bar, appetizers and other fun surprises.
One of the girls from the entertainment team was telling us that they all plan the events like this and how much work they put into them. I have to say, all of their work is impressive and much appreciated.
After the Valentine party, we had dinner at Patois patio restaurant. This was probably my favorite as I prefer to be waited on for dinner and the buffet didn't look that great when we did check it out a couple times around dinner.
I don't have the underwater photos yet, but we did do the snorkeling tour and the glass bottom boat tour, both on the same morning. The glass bottom boat tour was OK, not that exciting, but the snorkeling tour would maybe be worth going on a couple times as it was really good. We saw a lot of fish and the guides were very good. They brought good to feed the fish and made sure there was a lot for everyone to see.
loved the yogurt at the Palms buffet, so rich and creamy!
a few breakfast pastries- freshly made every day on site!
amazing views! No filter!
my last mango daiquiri.....sad face
The transportation to the airport was fine, the driver was very chatty, working for his tip I guess and the flight home was uneventful. We lucked out and managed to get a whole row to ourselves on the way home as well.
We really enjoyed Couples Swept Away on our second visit. We need to make sure we go back before four year pass so we can take advantage of the repeater bonus resort credits. I would also like to visit the other side of the island and stay at Ocho Rios or Tower Isle.
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