Cameleon SeaCastles Beach Resort

Jamaica

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*Don't waste your money!* Visited: May 2003
Posted by fowood
	This was our first trip out of the USA and I wanted it to be a special trip for my wife. Well, pictures on-line and words from bias reports are very misleading to say the least. Seacastles was the pits! The staff was reasonable and some were somewhat friendly. The entertainment was not worth watching. The rooms were not the greatest and the maintenance crew was nonexistent, until we tried to call to the travel agency we made the reservations through; then they get on the ball rather quickly. The beach smelled really bad, as there was seaweed all over it. The grounds looked fairly decent and the rooms were what you pay for in that country with a low budget. Needless to say, we were supposed to be there for seven nights, but after the first night, we looked down the street in Rose Hall and changed hotels the next day. We paid a lot more down the street, but the rest of our trip was well worth what we spent for the all-inclusive package. Do yourself a favor, and do not judge Seacastles by their advertised price or the pictures online. The owners of this resort need to take a close look at what they have there and invest some time and money so Seacastles can be what it is capable of being!
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*Don't Go Here!* Visited: February 2003
Posted by jamessco
	In my opinion, this place is poorly managed. When I asked the employees questions, they didn?t help me. When going to them with problems, they didn't care. The food was awful. It was not hot, and lacked variety. There is only one buffet line and the line didn't open when they said it would--always late, which put a damper on our day. The drinks were watered down and many times they didn't have "Coconut Milk" to make many of the drinks with. They were also out of Diet Coke. They always told us they would get more, and they never did. We had to wait very long in the bar for a drink. They only had one blender. There was no bar at the beach either. There was seaweed on the beach when I was there, which was gross. The workers down at the beach hardly worked, and would come up to the guests and bother them. There was no hot water for showers. The rooms weren't maintained. There was no refrigerator. The air didn't work in our room. The shower curtains were too small, leaving water all over the bathroom. There were no lock boxes for our valuables. There was no shuttle to Rose Hall. There was no shuttle to Montego Bay. I couldn't get a phone line to the U.S. There was no entertainment. There was no Mento band every night. Don't waste your money or time here. You will be very disappointed.
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*Horrible!* Visited: August 2002
Posted by grp1993
	My wife and I went to Sea Castles for our honeymoon in August 2002. I booked the trip thru a travel company in San Diego and was told Sea Castles was an all-inclusive 4 to 5-star beach resort. The place is a dump. We arrived on August 11, 2002 and were told that someone from the resort would be there to pick us up and transport us to the resort. No one from the resort was there and we had to pay $40 for horrific taxi ride from hell. Be prepared to pay for everything in Jamaica. I think that the people have a pathetic work ethic. When my wife and I arrived at Sea Castles, we were amazed. The buildings are in pathetic condition and cows were roaming in the front of the hotel. When I first saw this, I wanted to leave, but my wife and I decided to make the best of it. That night, we decided to eat at the hotel. We were told that the resort had two restaurants and plenty of entertainment. There was a griddle by the pool and a radio playing music from a local radio station. The meal was horrible. The hotel room we stayed in was dirty and reeked of mildew. The sheets appeared to be clean, but we were not sure. While we were sleeping, "little friends" (bugs) from Jamaica decided to visit our room. Our "little friends" decided to stay the entire evening! The next morning, we did not have hot water. I complained to the staff, but they did not seem to care. So we went to breakfast, which was disgusting. My wife and I were miserable. We wanted to make the best of it because it was our honeymoon. My wife suggested we go visit the pool at the resort, so I agreed. The pool can be described in one word, chlorine. The pool was horrible and contained so much chlorine my eyes burned. We decided to go back to the room and take a shower, but we were out of hot water. My wife came out of the bathroom, which was nasty, crying. We left Sea Castles and went to another resort. Later, I got violently ill and think that it was from the water at Sea Castles. The last 3 days of our honeymoon were spent in the hotel room due to my illness. My wife also became ill from the water when we returned to the U.S. It was a miserable trip and experience. We do not plan to ever leave the U.S. again for a vacation.
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*H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E-!-!-!-!* Visited: February 2002
Posted by dogylove
	Man it stinked the management was so bad it mad me barf. The showers were cold and the beach was realy short. I'm never going there again!!
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*Needs some work, but definitely a keeper!* Visited: January 2002
Posted by janeto153
	I don't know where to start or what to include! We stayed in a two bedroom unit and it was wonderful! There were not only two separate bedrooms, but two bathrooms too! There was no fridge in the kitchen, though. The unit was clean and tidy. The housekeeping staff was friendly and very accomodating. The dryer broke, so there were no clean towels for a day and the water went off a couple of times, but not for long periods. We had lots of hot water, but people in other buildings had problems. The bar staff was friendly and poured a good stiff drink! But all booze was not available at all times. When we first got there, there was no beer!. It only took about 20 minutes for them to get more, but for that 20 minutes, people were panicing! The food for the first two days was downright pitiful. Breakfast was always fine - eggs cooked to order, fresh fruit, bacon, pancakes, etc. Many times there was no cream for coffee or milk for tea, though. Lunch was a buffet with salads, a couple of hot dishes and desserst. They have a grill going until late afternoon to get burgers, hotdogs and fries, so you won't starve in the afternoon! Dinner was pretty bad at first, but improved as the week progressed. There was a variety of dishes, but no one was sure what they were! The two restaurants served the same food as the buffet except at a table with service instead of serving yourself. You won't go hungry, but don't expect anything close to gourmet or fine dining! The entertainment staff is excellent and enthusiastic! There were a lot of activities and games in which to participate. But if you didn't want to participate, nobody tried to bug you into it either! The beach stunk! Literally! It was covered for the most part in seaweed but there were many shady spots to sit and sip a cool drink from the beachfront bar. Bathrooms and a grill on the beach for snacks was a good idea too. I grew up on Lake Huron, so maybe my idea of what a beach should be isn't what other people would expect. All in all, the location and the hotel suites were excellent, the staff was excellent, the food was acceptable and the beach bit the big one! I'd go back for the positives and hope a few of the negatives were worked out before I arrived! I'll give them another year to work out the kinks and try again! What you have to remember is that you're not in North America and you're not in Europe either! In Jamaica, everything is slower and much more easy going than we are used to.
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*Wonderful staff, but rough around the edges.* Visited: November 2001
Posted by Steelguy
	This place is exactly as you should expect a three-star resort in Jamaica should be. The staff was absolutely terrific. Gary, Simone and Horrace, the bartenders, were wonderful. The wait staff was friendly and courteous. The shuttle driver Garth, a friend. The beach was messy after Hurricane Michelle passed, but all of the resorts were the same. Apparently there is great snorkeling 150 yards out, but the water was too rough for us to head out. They shuttled us free, about 5 minutes down the road to a beautiful beach, Rose Hall Beach. The food was repetitive, but always very tasty and interesting�a lot of local dishes. I would most certainly recommend this place, but remember it is a 3-star, so it is a little rough around the edges. (A diamond in the rough.) The view and the architecture is splendid. The best rooms with a view are the second and third floors, ocean view blocks A and D.
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*Basic, budget resort.* Visited: October 2001
Posted by janinepaprota
	I visited the Seacastles on October 29 and was due to stay for 8 nights. After 2 nights I'd had enough. The rooms were pretty basic but spacious, the entertainment was not entertaining unless you enjoy watching the bar staff dance around acting like models in a fashion show.During the day the hotel did have a notice board to show the activities they were holding, but we never saw any of it happening. We were offered to play board games once when it was raining and that was it. The hotel rate itself as all-inclusive, but limit you to what you drink, some of the guests decided to get together when it was raining and play some drinking games which would be good fun. After all of us ordered a drink for our game, the bar staff complained that we were drinking to much of their rum punch! The hotel had an a la carte restaurant which had poor service and the food wasn't too good. The hotel grounds were quite nice in size but it's a shame the hotel doesn't look after them. The beach was dirty and covered in seaweed, and the beach bar was closed. There was no one to work the watersports so you couldn't use them. I would, however, recommend this hotel to anyone who is on a tight budget.
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**Lovely Hotel Wonderful Resort * Poor Management*** Visited: October 2001
Posted by KIMLAY01
	During the 4 days of my scheduled trip we had a wonderful time. Myself and four of my close friends stayed at the resort. The staff was excellent. The food and beverage staff were also wonderful. However, the desk clerk was the complete opposite. The date that we were scheduled to leave, there was a hurricane threat. The airport closed and the planes were reportedly flown over seas for safe keeping. When I went to the desk to have a call put through to the airport so that I could secure seating for us to get home, I was told that the airport was closed and that a call could not be put through. I finally got the clerk to connect me to the airport that evening at about 6:00 pm on Sunday. When I spoke to a rep I was told that the 1st available flight was on Thursday. I was told that accommodations could not be made for me. So I paid for the additional night. I was told by our travel rep that the hotel is indeed responsible for verifing my flight schedule. The manager was of no assistance and refused to allow me to see the general manager. So in closing, when staying at the Sea Castle Resort you will have a wonderful time as long as you don't have a problem to be dealt with by management.
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*We can't wait to go back!* Visited: September 2001
Posted by nikki_jaine
	This was my second visit in two months. My first visit was in July. I thought the rooms were very clean and all you could expect from a three-star hotel. The hotel had a lot of potential, but needed new mangement to bring the best out in this resort. The reason I returned to SeaCastles was because I made a lot of good friends. The staff was the best I'd met anywhere in the world. In the afternoons, my friend and I would sit at the bar, and Gary, Kirk, Heinz, and Horace were always ready to make us a cocktail. We could never go thirsty with them around. Also, Tammy, Christie, Garfield, Damien, Hubert and the other entertainment staff would make sure there was never a dull moment. Their shows in the evenings were very amateur, but entertaining. All the staff was wicked, I even asked about getting a job just so I didn't have to leave! Whilst in the pool, Bruce would always jump in and challenge us to a game of volleyball (when he wasn't beating people at table tennis). The first time I came to SeaCastles, the beach was covered in a lot of seaweed. When I returned, it was alot cleaner. But, the Rose Hall Beach was only down the road and the hotel provided a shuttle bus to there twice a day. Rose Hall Beach had a lot more water activities to offer with no seaweed in sight, the only disadvantage was that you had to pay for your drinks. The food was great. If the buffet wasn't open, the chef would cook something on the grill. I found that the restaurant served the same food as downstairs and was very slow. We loved SeaCastles and still keep in contact with some of the staff we met here. I will definitely return this year. The only problem is that we don't know of any English tour operators that still use SeaCastles. When I was here in July, I met a girl named sarah from north London whom I would really like to get in contact with!
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*A very poor resort* Visited: September 2001
Posted by stuart_yarnold
	This is most definitely a budget resort, everything seems to be done as cheaply as possible. The grounds are large and could be pleasant if they were maintained properly. There is a beautiful sea view though. The food was the worst I have ever experienced in any hotel anywhere in the world. Poorly prepared and served and with very little variety (chicken, rice and beefburgers mainly). The breakfasts were almost inedible with the exception of the the eggs which were prepared to order. The entertainment was abysmal and consisted mainly of the hotel staff miming to music. Some nights there wasn't even that. This in the home of reggae and in a part of the world famous for steel bands. None of that here I'm afraid. The beach was quite nice with plenty of shade although there was a lot of seaweed. The water sports equipment was good and freely available. There was only one poorly stocked bar and on an even half busy night you could wait ages to be served - usually in plastic cups. The water supply was off when we arrived and went off about another seven or eight times in the two weeks we were there. Also one day the electricity was off for hours. The bed linens were literally paper thin. Having said that everthing seemed clean enough. We did four excursions: 1.The luminous lagoon. This was quite good and worth doing. 2. Day trip to Negril beach. The beach is much nicer than in the Monetgo Bay area but you are pestered to distraction by the locals. 3. Dunns River Falls. This was nothing spectacular but good fun nevertheless. We enjoyed it. 4. Submersible trip. This takes you out over the reef at Montego Bay and gives you wonderful views of the reef and the fish. We were lucky enough to see a school of dolphins swimming alongside which apparently is quite rare. This is well worth the money. All in all though, we won't be coming back to Jamaica or to Seacastles.
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*A good value overall, but accommodations were average.* Visited: August 2001
Posted by mr_1
	The staff was excellent and the food was very good. Beverly was also very helpful. My niece had a good time at the disco, too. Although the hotel was very nice, it needed some improvement. I observed problems with the water. Also, we had to change rooms and we looked at three other rooms before getting a comfortable one. We enjoyed our original beach front room, but when we had to move to another location, it was not that great. Special thanks to Garfield, Christy,Tamisha, the taxi driver (I think his name was Clifton). We will be back.
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*A definite three-star hotel.* Visited: August 2001
Posted by lynn1
	We visited in August, which is not busy season. On arrival, we were impressed with the friendly, courteous staff and the cool rum punch welcome drink. Our one-bedroom apartment was very nice. It was clean and adequate, nothing overly fancy but had lots of room for my family of four. The studio rooms were large with bed(s), TV, sitting/dining area, kitchenette and bathroom. The 2-bedroom apartments were quite large. There are 6 buildings of apartments total. We suggest either A, D, E or F (not the studios in E, F), as these four buildings were further from pool area, which had music playing and can be loud at night. All was quiet after 10pm though. Food was good/nothing special, but variety. The fine dining restaurant had a nice atmosphere, slow service and food that was not great. The Jamaican restaurant closed in slow season. The beach was okay. Seaweed does exist in areas. There was a free shuttle to Rose Hall Beach daily, which was a nicer swimming beach. Water sports were good-Hobi cat, paddleboats, kayaks, windsurfing. Beach bar/grill and washrooms were convenient--65 stairs up/down to/from beach. The pool was quite adequate for hotel of its size and the activity director had ongoing games etc. in pool for all ages (shallow end). Bar service was great, with an extremely friendly staff. The evening entertainment was local but okay. There was a twice-daily shuttle to MoBay. Kids� outdoor play area (swings etc.) was small, but the indoor play area was a good size. Gift shop and essentials store on site. Laundry on site-$3US per wash/$3US per dry. Kitchens in each unit had no utensils, dishes etc. If need to heat baby bottle etc., I suggest bringing small cheap pot to use then leave there. The hotel will not supply any kitchen items. You can get cups, cutlery from the buffet. The kitchen included a stove, oven, refrigerator, sink and cupboards. In general, this is a nice family oriented hotel, basic but nice, with relatively good food, clean rooms, great staff and moderate activities. The grounds could be perked up a bit but in general it's a nice relaxed hotel. No real dress code except for at the la carte restaurant We would recommend as a moderate hotel. It�s a good value for money paid as long as you're not expecting anything more.
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*Great value for your money!* Visited: July 2001
Posted by neosonic
	My husband and I visited SeaCastles as a last minute getaway, and were pleasantly surprised. We were concerned that we had made the wrong choice in a hotel, but as soon as we arrived we had a change of heart. The front desk was pleasant and speedy with check-in, and the room (C-29) had a great view of the grounds and the ocean. The entire staff was great! Everyone was pleasant and ready to have a nice conversation. Special thank you to Lily, Garfield, Hubert, Lincoln, Mr. Hines (Chubby), Janice, and Brooks. A great vacation, and we hope to be back again next year!
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*You pay for what you get* Visited: July 2001
Posted by kerry_h4
	I travelled to Montego Bay with my boyfriend on July 22, 2001. When we arrived at Seacastles we were greeted with a welcome drink and a friendly staff. Our first room we stayed in was clean, but our first morning waking up we came to realize we had no cold water in our room. We reported our problem and about 3 hours later we were given a new and even nicer room. The staff were very friendly, and the food was always excellent with lots of variety. Only one restaurant was open, which we had the chance to eat in once, however it's only open twice a week. Other then that, the buffet by the pool was the only choice. The beach is average, grounds keepers keep it up as much as possible, however there was a little too much seaweed for our liking. There were two nightly entertainment shows, and a disco, but nothing too special. Seacastles has a Margaritaville Night, which was great, but only on Fridays. It consists of a free shuttle to Mo Bay, free admission, ($10 US otherwise) and free Tequila shots, which we never even saw. The club itself was fun; I would like to go back when I return to Jamaica. Overall, I feel I got my money's worth for my vacation. I will definitely be returning to Jamaica in the future, however, I will try a different hotel. If your on a budget, this is the place for you, otherwise you will be disappointed.
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*Honeymoon Disaster* Visited: June 2001
Posted by babyjahmal
	I went to this resort for my Wedding/honeymoon and everything that could go wrong did from plumbing not working (our water being turned off 7 times in 1 week) to needing a new room or repairs to the the room we were in that never got done to things being promised for prizes and never given because management was never there to authorize them. I give the food, beach & Management a -10 and I give the staff that work there like Tammy, Fabian, Sheldon, Ian, Garfield and Beverly a +10. I feel sorry for the staff that have to work in a place were when anything goes wrong they are the ones blamed. I cannot stress enough that the only thing that makes that place a 3* is the staff not the management. As well, they threw out my wedding cake saying that it spoiled but I would like to know how a rum cake spoils in three days.
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*Great hotel!* Visited: May 2001
Posted by Curly4jc
	This is an awesome resort. There are only 5 television channels, but they had so much to do you won't want to watch television. When we got to the resort our room was ready. We had hot water, ice cold air conditioning, a kitchen (that we never used), one queen bed, and two sofas that converted into beds. It was the nicest staff, from food servers, bartenders, beach staff, and front desk. The time to go is late May, June and July. In August there are supposedly a million people staying there. But in late May there was no one! We told the chef what we wanted and within 10 minutes it was ready. If the hot dogs or sausage look weird it�s because they are made of chicken and pork. Have a great time!
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*The Best Hotel in Montego Bay!* Visited: May 2001
Posted by Curly4jc
	I would just like to say that Sea Castles is a great resort! We stayed when hardly anyone was there. The food included goat, lamb, pineapple (the best), watermelon, beef, fish�the whole works. The restaurant is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are seafood nights. The grill is open from 7:00am-4:30pm. They have the nicest staff! Hubert Grant, the Entertainment Cordinator, workd very well with the youth. Our rooms were very nice. We had a great ocean view, two air conditioners (w/ remote controls) kitchen, shower, and dinette. They said they were renovating the beach, but it was still open and would also be happy to take us to Rose Hall Beach for no additional cost. They had Showtime every night at 9:00pm, except on Friday when they take you to Margaritaville. The beach was beautiful, with ocean kayaks, catamarans, windsurfing, snorkeling, hydro-bikes and more! I highly recommend this resort! We got treated like gold with hardly anyone there. Have fun!
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*I will be back.* Visited: April 2001
Posted by babycake40w
	This was a great place with a seafront room. The service was clean and prompt. There�s great food and drinks and good local entertainment. It�s close to town but far enough away for peace and quiet. We loved the entire seven days!
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*Sea Castles was amazing!* Visited: March 2001
Posted by magz_mm1
	M family and I had a great trip to sea castles, I had never been out of Canada before this trip and I must say, going to Jamaica is something I will never forget! The food there was different; not saying it was bad, I liked it. The best part about staying there was the staff, they really made me feel at home special thanks goes out to �Garfield�, Keshia, Tamishia, Christy, Chardo, Damion, Andrew and Sheldon. These 8 people made me have a life changing experience! In the near future I hope to go back! There was one downfall to staying here and it was the beach, it wasn�t very clean it was very sea weedy and rocky, not what I expected. On an overall basis, I will be returning to this resort and I would definitely recommend staying here to anybody who is looking to have a good vacation!
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*The best time of my life.* Visited: March 2001
Posted by btrox
	I had the best time of my life. The staff was the best and the hotel was beautiful. All the restaurants were open and the food was excellent. I will always book all-inclusive from now on. When we arrived at the hotel our room was not ready, but while we were waiting the staff made sure we were happy. They served us food and drinks while we were waiting. The room was great with an ocean view. We had a room that sleeps three people with a private balcony and kitchenette. The room was spacious and extremely clean. The days following we had a great time. We played games in the pool, the food was great and even the natives were polite and sweet. We went on tours and we went to Margaritaville, where the drinks were cold and the Jacuzzi was hot; it was awesome. Shopping got a little rough because the merchants were extremely aggressive and wanted us to buy from them and only them but the prices were reasonable. Overall, the trip was the best and I will be going back next March/April.
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