Grand Lido Braco Runaway Bay

I was there for my Honeymoon on July, 7 2003. And I was so looking forward about this 6 star rating hotal at Grand Lido Braco. The resort is big and the ocean view is nice. but over all the hotel is not worthy of 6 star. But the food is okay, and I'd better. I didn't like the night time entertainments and there's not much of daily activities going on during the day. Also, there's not one day there that I don't get bitten by mosquitos and cause me swollen legs, which that's the most unplesant part of this trip. this all-inclusive trip is just not worth the money and the time.

My husband and I are now looking for a place to go to go for our one year anniv. We stayed at Grand Lido Braco for our honeymoon and now find our selves comparing other resorts to it. I personally do not understand the negative reviews. From beginning to end we were pampered. My husband is a very picky eater and we were both always satisfied and did not encounter any problems when making resv. for the specialty restaurants. The staff was great during our stay- prompt and attentive. The resort appeared to be full during our stay and our needs never went unmet. Our room was nice (ocv suite) and well kept. Turn down service added a nice touch. As for the beach, it has a small but long rock cliff that looked beautiful in our pictures and video. I am a beach person and I don't remember anything about the beach being rocky or dirty. The pool is a nice size and the swim up bar was open when we were there. The place looks just like the pictures on the internet and in the travel books no surprises. It was the perfect place for us- casual style with impeccable service. We loved it.

Just returned from a week at GLB for my honeymoon. It was wonderful. The all-inclusive deal is really worth it.We are in our early 20s, so we were the youngest ones at the resort. You will find several couples in mid to late 20s, but most are 30s or more.Staff is very very friendly and room service is very fast. We stayed on the A/N side, and the room was immaculate. 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, stocked fridge, evrything!Beaches are nice but pools are more fun and relaxing. Try the snorkeling or SCUBA, they are great. We went to Dunn's River Falls and had a blast.The resturants are pretty good. The breakfast is the best. Japanese resturant is very fun, and the Italian is pretty good. The French is alright, but nothing special. Nanny's Jerk Pit is really good for lunch!Drinks are pretty good, not too strong. A/N side has really good lunches and bar service. The bars are really fast and will fix you anything you ask for. Say hello to Oral, new guy at pool bar.Watch out for the transfers to and from the airport. The drivers expect tips (I gave $20-25 because it is an hour drive) even though they are already paid to do this service. The excursion people also expect tips. No tips at the resort, though.Great place to go once, prob will not go again. Its a little far from the airport which is an inconvieniance on departure days, and for excursions.Overall A+ for the trip!

Braco is absolutely wonderful if you are looking for an au natureal

resort. The staff was friendly, the food great and the facilities

lovely. Our room was well appointed with a breath taking view of the

ocean and beach below us (we stayed on the 3rd floor in a suite which

had 2 bathrooms! WHAT A PLUS!) BEFORE I GO ON ABOUT HOW YOU SHOULD GO

HERE, TAKE NOTE:The Textile (clothed side) sucks! The rooms are about

Motel 6 quality, have WAY too few staff for the # of rooms (there are

250 + rooms, we heard stories about 2 hour plus waits for room service)

and the pool was FILTHY! (I took the resort scuba course in it and

couldn't see my hand in front of my face! Also, it had debris and trash

which was either constantly replenished from some unseen source or just

plain ignored by the pool staff. The pool area is small and we heard

that people need to get down there w/ a towel BEFORE dawn to get a

chaise lounger! The only thing the textile side had going for it were

the resturants (which are all, unfortunately located on the textile

side except for the room service menu and lunch served at the au

natureal pool bar) Had I stayed on the textile side I would have

demanded a refund and a plane ticket home on the spot after seeing the

pathetic facilities serving more that 250 rooms!BACK TO THE NUDE

SIDE:OUR pool was fantastic and immaculately maintained. Also a 50

person hot tub (compared to a 10 person on the textile side) + a small

6 person tub for more intimate gatherings. In fact, our pool is said to

be the largest on Jamaica (I believe it, it was HUGE) The hot tub was

almost as big as my pool at home (I have a 1/2 olympic size in ground

pool, so almost as big for a hot tub is REALLY big)The rooms are

outstanding and room service comes right on time, still hot! Every

night they came and turned the bed down and maid service daily was

flawless. Should you come back to the room while it's being cleaned, no

problem mon, they'll come back later to finish up! (Not so on the

textile side, heard one couple at dinner bitching about how the maid

left when they came back to change their clothes and just never came

back that day!)Activities are fun and varied. I got to try scuba diving

for the 1st time. AWESOME. Pool aerobics daily (fun to watch or

participate) and drinking and trivia games at the pool bar. Also, many

excursions available for a fee at concierge desk.Beach on nude side is

immaculate and dotted with straw gazebo like structures to get out of

the rays for a few. A fellow with rose water in a sprayer patrols the

beach spraying any who ask with the cooling, soothing mist (I HIGHLY

recommend) (Textile beach was not as well cared for or appointed, I

don't know about the rose water guy, we only went there for breakfast

every day and pretty much left quickly, didn't spend any time on the

textile beach, just looked one day when I walked the entire resort just

to check it out.)The best part, only 50 rooms on the au natureal side!

No crowds, plenty of room for beach or pool (we usually hit the beach

after breakfast and then the pool after having as much sun as we could

take where we would pretty much live for most of the day and night)WHAT

TO KNOW ABOUT NUDE RESORTS:There are several types of nude resorts:1.

Clothing optional section of beach is provided (usually small and you

will at a minimum need a wrap to leave that area)2. Au Natureal

Facilities (this is what Braco has) where within the au natureal area

you go anywhere you want totally nude (ever play ping pong in the nude?

you can here!) 3. Swingers Resorts (ie HEDO II & III) where you go if

you want to swing. You WILL see people having *** in broad daylight

everywhere. You and / or your spouse will also be propositioned (and

likely groped if not worse) before you get done with your vacation.4.

Prostitues provided resorts. (Yes, the do exist, all in 3rd world

countries with VERY HIGH HIV rates)DO YOUR RESEARCH! Figure out what

you are looking for and make sure the resort you pick provides what you

want! Imagine your shock if you are just looking for the thrill of a

little nude sunbathing and you walk into HEDO III & see *** on the

beach, literally!IF YOU THINK YOU"D NEVER GO NUDE IN PUBLIC, YOU'RE

WRONG! Virtually everyone who tries it is hooked. The tan is awsome and

it is GREAT to run around sans clothes in hot weather. Au natureal

resorts are NOT about swingers and ***! (other than you and your

signifigant other, obviously) It is simply adults (mainly 30+ who have

discovered the fun of nudity in the sun) who want to hang out w/ like

minded people. Nearly ALL are couples in long term relationships who

have gotten way past "that guy is staring at my wife's ****" Don't get

me wrong, girl watching is LOTS more fun at a naked resort but is is

strictly look, don't touch unless otherwise invited. Cameras are

"prohibited" in that you cannot take photos w/ nude folks in them w/o

permission. 24/7 security is VERY vigilant in protecting your privacy.

(Not so at swinger's resorts. Go there, expect to end up on a web site

somewhere...)We ran into lots of folks who were trying au natureal for

the 1st time and the unanimous opinion was "WE"LL BE BACK!" Try it and

you are hooked! My wife had never been to one prior to this vacation.

She made it very clear she wasn't going even topless, that she was only

staying on the nude side for me and went on about the $300 she spent on

bathing suits and how could I not care other men were looking at her,

etc. THAT lasted until approximately 2 minutes after we hit the beach

(15 minutes after arrival) She was immeadiately topless and within 5

more minutes, bottoms were gone as well... That $300 worth of swim

suits never even got wet! By the end of the vacation she was walking

right out of the room nude and hanging in the club house meeting total

strangers and talking with them like she'd been a nudist all her life.

You will actually feel odd with clothes on. It's out of place. Everyone

else is naked, you REALLY draw some looks with clothes on. Just talk

the reluctant spouse into GOING. Make sure he or she understands there

is no pressure to get nude. Within no time, you'll be shocked at how

easily he or she takes to nudity. NOW my wife is already planning our

next vacation with the #1 priority being au natureal facilities. (Nude

beach only doesn't cut it, she has to be able to be bare the whole

time, room to pool to beach to breakfast. In fact, after 2 days at the

au natureal side of Braco she was bitching about needing clothes to get

to the resturants!All I can say at this point is GO! Braco is the

ultimate place to try the nude vacation! No one will pressure you or

make unwanted advances. My wife would often be off on her own and I was

never concerned about her safety. You will meet the most unpretentious,

friendly folks you have ever met in your life. GO! It will change your

whole out look on life. (Not to mention that all that naked boy / girl

watching is GREAT for your *** life, the wife has never been so frisky,

not that I was complaining before but WOW)Barry & Gloria

The purpose of our trip was to get married. The overall trip though was just so much more!!! This was our first "real" vacation as a couple & the whole experience was just overwhelming. From the moment that we stepped foot at the resort until we left we were just still in awe. The staff was excellent & I must our wedding coordinator Gwinette was the best!!! The food was spectactular & the entire staff just made us feel so special. I wish that I had gotten everyone's name because I couldn't have met nicer people anywhere else in the world! The wedding was handled so elegantly & smoothly & the photographer did a great job as well!! I would recommend Braco to anyone & hopefully we'll get a chance to return.

Despite a long journey, we felt relaxed from the moment we arrived. Normally it takes us a few days to chill on holiday and wind down from work stress, but at Grand Lido Braco everything is geared for relaxation. The staff were really friendly, chatty and helpful, and there was no pressure to join in any of the activities, although to our surprise, we enjoyed them anyway. If you're looking to relax - breakfast delivered to your room to enjoy in your robes, floating round the pool, swimming in the sea and as much Red Stripe as you can drink, Grand Lido is a great destination. The setting's a dream, all white sand and palm trees, with big hammocks to lie back in. Just don't be too uptight - because of the Jamaican way of life, service can be leisurely, but you're on holiday so who cares?

After having a long, snowy winter in the Northeast, my girlfriend and I decided to book an all-inclusive tropical vacation. Our travel agent recommended a place called Grand Lido Braco in Jamaica. To be honest, I had never heard of this place before. I was a seasoned cruise-taker and was used to the service and hospitality received on a huge cruise ship. My girlfriend stayed at Sandals Negril before and had a very nice experience so I figured we would give it a shot at GLB. Well, lets just say it did not turn out to be the vacation we expected. In fact, I think well stick to cruising for now on!!!! Heres an account of what happened:Monday, March 31stWe left Philadelphia at 7:20 am and arrived in Montego Bay airport at 10:50 am. We were taken to the Domestic Terminal where we waited for 2.5 hours until our flight to Ochos Rios (side note: very poor facilities that do not compare to the International Terminal at Montego Bay no restaurant, uncomfortable seats, etc). At the time of booking, our travel agent said we had the option of taking a 1.5 hour bus ride to the resort or take a 30 minute flight to a closer airport (Ochos Rios). We chose the later option which proved to be a major mistake on our travel agents part. We boarded the plane at 1:30 pm and left for Ochos Rios at 1:40 pm and arrived at 2:10 pm. My girlfriend immediately became ill from the bumpy and very hot plane ride (which we soon found out was unnecessary). Upon arriving at Ochos Rios airport, passengers were grouped according to their resorts in preparation to board their shuttle buses. I informed the gentleman organizing the groups that we were staying at Grand Lido Braco. He looked at me with a puzzled face. He replied do you mean San Souci? I corrected him and said no, we are staying at Braco. He said to us oh, you took the wrong flight Braco is located much closer to Montego Bays airport and we do not have shuttle buses to that resort from here. Youll need to pay for a taxi. Meanwhile, my girlfriends checked luggage is missing. They informed us that the plane was probably overweight and the bag would arrive sometime this evening at our resort (not a very comforting feeling from this explanation). At this point, we proceeded to take a 1.5 hour taxi ride to the Grand Lido Braco resort. This ride cost us $80 US dollars which I had to pay out of my pocket. It was now 3:30 pm. 8 hours after leaving the airport in Philadelphia we finally arrived at the resort!We entered the reception area and was immediately given a clipboard with documentation that we needed to fill out (name, email addresses, room safe information, etc) and then was asked for a credit card for incidental expenses. From reading previous reviews of this resort, many clients spoke about how we would be greeted with a drink, wet towel, and very courteous service. This was hardly the case. We noticed a sign that displayed the Check-In time of 3:00 pm. Even though it was 30 minutes past this time, we were informed that our room was not ready and we should go find something to eat to pass some time (as a side note, on Tuesday morning we experienced a couple that arrived at 8 am and immediately checked into their room!). We proceeded to find a place to eat (La Pasta café) and then came back in an hour. Our room was finally done (my girlfriends luggage was still MIA). We got to our room and decided that we wanted to make reservations for the Japanese and French restaurants. I proceeded to use the phone and noticed there was no dial-tone. I tried dialing several departments in the resort and still no answer. We went to the front desk to inform them that our phone was not working. The front desk clerk said oh, sounds like your phone needs to be programmed and then walked away. She did not take our name, room number, or any kind of identifying piece of information that would give any hint that this would be fixed anytime during our stay (another side note another guest happened to walk in later and state that his phone hadnt been working ALL week during his stay obviously Grand Lido Braco doesnt consider having phone service as a top priority.) We then proceeded over to the concierge to book our restaurant reservations. We barely got into the French restaurant (last night of our stay). Please note that the couple that we observed checking in at 8 AM said they had already booked their restaurant reservations with their travel agent beforehand. Why was this not an option given to us bel agent)?After making our reservations, we decided it was time for a drink!!! We went to the Main Bar where there was one bartender and 10 guests waiting in line for drinks. Needless to say, it took us 15 minutes just to receive our drinks. Meanwhile, as I was sitting there, I glanced out to the pool bar to discover that it was CLOSED!!! (and looked like it hadnt been open in months or even years!!!) So much for swimming out there to get a drink!!! (side note many reviews we read said that due to staffing cuts, many times the pool bar was NEVER staffed)We then proceeded back to our room to order room service. After 30 minutes, the tasteless food arrived. As we were eating our food, the power went out in the resort for a few minutes. We couldnt see a thing. Finally when the power went on, we decided we were done with our room service and proceeded to put the tray of refuse outside our door (as instructed by the room service staff). This was at approximately 7 pm. Please note that at 7 am when we went to get breakfast, this refuse was still outside our door, invaded by thousands of ants and a few cats. Not a pleasant sight you wish to see early in the morning.My girlfriends luggage finally arrived!! This brings us to Day # 2.Tuesday, April 1stBefore leaving for our trip, we were excited at the thought of eating breakfast in bed numerous times. After looking at the breakfast order slip, we discovered that the only selections you could get delivered to your room were cereal and/or muffins/bagels. We decided that we should just go down to the breakfast buffet. We left our room at 7 am and quickly were informed that the buffet did not open until 7:30 am. Remembering that this is an All-inclusive resort and had advertised food 24 hours a day we figured that perhaps the little café we had lunch in yesterday was open for breakfast. Wrong. Closed until lunch. We then discovered what was the resorts idea of 24 hour food in the reception area was a platter of bagels and 2 pitchers of orange juice for the ENTIRE resort!!! We then proceeded back to the buffet and waited until 7:30 am. At this time, all they had out were muffins, bagels, and some fruit (perhaps the same food that is delivered from the room service). Around 7:45 am, we finally saw the chef appear as he slowly came out with each piece of food (bacon, eggs, sausage, etc). By 8:15 am, the entire buffet was finally available. We sampled some of the food and it turned out to be even worse than the room service. How can you mess up breakfast???? After waiting some time, we decided to go back to the café where we had lunch the day before. We both ordered 2 individual size pizzas. It took an hour and 10 minutes to get our food, while watching other guests wait just as long. It would have been quicker to order room service (which we did again and it took 45 minutes this time to receive it).Needless to say that at this point, we contacted our travel agent and were booked on a return trip home on a 6 pm flight that evening. This was by far the WORST travel experience ever. Aside from the mix-up from the travel agent regarding the island hopper plane that we took, the resort was not what we expected nor worth the money we had paid. It was obvious that the service and quality just wasnt there.So.to sum it up, here are a few major points when considering Grand Lido Braco:1. DO NOT take the island hopper from Montego Bay to any other airport on the island. GLB is a 30-40 minute drive from Montego Bay airport and a bus ride is the quickest way to get there.2. Try to book your reservations at the Japanese and French restaurant with your travel agent (again, Im not sure if this is something that Liberty Travel does not offer or what).3. And most important.GO TO SANDALS or BOOK A CRUISE!!!!!!!!! As my girlfriend and I agreed, perhaps if you have NEVER been on a cruise or at an all-inclusive resort then GLB might be this fabulous get-a-way from home (work, kids, other stress). But if youve had the pleasure of experiencing Sandals or a cruise (specifically Royal Caribbean cruise line), then youll be HIGHLY disappointed as we were.And in case you are wondering, we DID get a refund for the resort portion of our stay but were still currently fighting to get a refund of our airfare. Good luck and book wisely!!!

We stayed at the Grand Lido Braco in November - I will not be going back.

The service is the worst I have ever received in my life. I understand its hot down there, and you tend to move slower than in the States, but come on! I though the service in Mexico was slow, but these guys bring new meaning to the word.

There were 2 good bartenders, the rest would rather chat with coworkers than serve drinks. Premium bottles (Crown Royal, etc..) were kept under the bar for "preferred guests", and denied to anyone else.

Waitstaff at restaurants would take 20 minutes to greet you, another 20 to return with drinks, and you were lucky to have eaten after 2 hrs.

A drink was spilled by the pool - some syrupy fruity concoction, and it sat there, broken platic cup and all for 2 HRS while at least 3 employees stepped over it rather than cleaning it up.

At the Jerk Pit, a waiter shoes birds away rather that cleaning up the dirty dishes they were flocking over.

Food is exptrmely poor and not as advertised - Tuna was not tuna, Mahi was not Mahi, etc... If it werent for the fresh fruit I would have starved. And how long does it really take to cook a chicken breast sandwich??!?!

Grounds are beautiful and well maintained, however rooms were in disrepair - bathroom fixtures and door knobs were all loose. All the drains were clogged to some extent. (this is not just my room - there was a group of 12 of us who all experienced the same problems). A toilet broke, leaking water all over a 2nd floor room, and it took 2 DAYS to get it repaired.

The little Jamaican village theme is cool, until 9pm when it resembles a ghost town. Dont know where everyone went, but it was empty. We checked all over but noone was to be found, even on the au natural side.

Bars advertised to be open 24hrs closed early. Including the disco on toga party night. It didnt start until 10, and the bar closed at 11, so we had to walk clear across to the other end of the resort to find the only open bar.

The beach sucks, the parts not covered in rocks are covered in sea detritus and garbage.

Definitely not the most secure place either, on 2 occasions we heard people walking on the roof of our building at night, and a friend was awoken by someone jiggling the knob on his balcony door - on the 3rd floor!

But, heres the kicker - we discovered a maid sleeping in a guest room. When she awoke, she fluffed up the pillow, pulled the bedspread back up and walked out of the room.

Needless to say I was extremely dissapointed in this "Super"clubs resort

Where to begin… Well, this trip was a 5th year anniversary getaway for the two of us, returning to the tropics where we were married (Tobago). By the time we were done, we had packed in what felt like two weeks of fun and relaxation into our little 4 night quickie. Since this is a review, I will admit that the place was not 100% perfect, but it was sure close. (Not counting the airline travel… which was an unrelated nightmare that I will not go into.)

This was our first trip to one of the SuperClubs and their “All Inclusive” approach to vacationing. I had been researching where to go for more than a month when I finally settled on Grand Lido Braco as a surprise for my wife. The ultimate selection was based on an impression that it held the best balance of things we would be interested in. Lido Braco seemed more “lively” than the Negril sites, for example, yet not quite as wild as the Hedonism locations.

Although the surprise part was short-lived (my wife is too good of an interrogator) she soon agreed that I had picked a winner, and the anticipation countdown began. And once we were there, every single guest we spoke to at the club, including some very well traveled and experienced couples, seems to affirm that Lido Braco was the best resorts in the Caribbean. Looks like we lucked out. (Some did say that the resort was even better two years earlier, but it had slipped somewhat in service and upkeep. However, in comparison with the rest, it was still better than the other resorts.)

My selection criteria included an adults-only facility, not so much for adult activities (though that turned out to be fun too) but just to be away from screaming kids who can too often be an antidote to romance. We were also interested in possibly sampling the Au Naturel side, but being our first foray into social nudity, we booked on the “Textile” side and resolved to wander over to the nude side at some point in the trip, just to test our limits.

To make a long story short, we tried the nude-side pool the evening we arrived, loved it, and never even tested the waters on the Textile side. We actually considered moving our room to the Au Naturel side, but those rooms were booked solid. (Good thing it was all inclusive… no place to keep a wallet!) While playing pool volleyball, I soon earned the nickname “Powder” due to my blindingly pale skin… which 45 sunblock helped to keep reasonably safe from burning.

The pool on the nude side is bigger than the Textile side, although both are beautiful and laid out in interesting and pleasing ways. The hot tub on the nude side is also bigger than the one on the Textile side. Several experienced au naturel travelers informed us that this was easily the largest nude-only pool and hot tub on Jamaica. I can believe it.

One down-side was that, due to staffing cutbacks, the pool bar (the one in the water) was not staffed. Although the bartender would occasionally climb down and deliver drinks to guests sitting in the water, it took so long to get his attention that everyone got in the habit of climbing out of the pool and walking to the main poolside bar.

Although we did not take part in all the activities and entertainment options available to us, such as golfing, tennis, horseback riding, snorkeling, etc., the folks we befriended all seemed to think what was provided was excellent. (We intend to try some of those next trip.) We did do some sunfish sailing, and I was a bit annoyed that the watersports staff seemed to be more interested in trying to discourage people from taking out the equipment, claiming “not enough wind, Mon”, despite the obvious ocean breezes. I did see that they had a stack of Sunfishes with gaping holes in their hulls, so I guess more than a few guests manage to get hung up on the reef, and they must not look forward to performing rescues. But I persevered, we got our boat, and our sailing day went just fine. Next trip I’ll try and get the Hobie Cat for a while.

The beaches could be a little better. While the dry sand is fine and pleasant on the feet, a few yards into the water, the bottom gets rough and full of coral debris and rocks. We ended up wearing our sandals in the ocean, and that made “every little ‘ting all right”. There are plenty of beach chairs around the pools and on the beaches, and there are hammocks strung up here and there. (We spent most of the evening in a hammock once.) One interesting side note… mosquitoes were very rare… you could (and we did) lay outside at night without fear of being a feast for bugs. It may have the area or the time of year, but it was great.

The food was excellent, but service varied. We had 5 star service in the French restaurant, and a fabulous meal. Same for the Japanese restaurant. The Italian was a disappointment and the Jerk Pit was not trying very hard either. The Village Market was somewhere in the middle. Room service was often very slow. Keeping in mind that no tips are allowed, this can remove incentive from some staff, it seems. There are organized parties every night, and we attended some. The quality of entertainment varied from excellent to amateur, but it was never bad. Everybody was having fun.

Our room was nothing special. It was ground level and faced the beach, so it was nice to walk out from the patio. But it had no amenities and was starting to show its age a bit. The room safe was broken. The TV didn’t have very good reception (but who goes there to watch TV?!) The plumbing is set up so that if your neighbor flushes while you are in the shower, you better hop out or you will get scalded. We spent less that five hours a night sleeping there, so the room wasn’t really a factor. It was just a place to crash. (The newer nude side rooms are much nicer.)

One other point to mention… the little village motif really helps you forget that you are in a walled resort. As you ride the bus to the resort from the airport, the ubiquitous bars on the windows of local homes and businesses gives you a clue that you do not want to wander off the grounds without an official resort-sanctioned guide. This appears to be an unfortunate fact of life anywhere on Jamaica.

Bottom line… Grand Lido Braco has room for improvement, no doubt. But even with the minor problems mentioned above it is close to perfect, and it has succeeded in winning our hearts and our bodies. We met many excellent people and made some good friends. We are now scheming to see how soon we can get back again. Enjoy!

I LOVE the Grand Lido Braco, and plan on visiting it again, and again. The seaside village theme, really makes you feel like you live in a seaside village, the rooms remind you of an apartment, (pay extra and go beachfront it was the best). The food was UNBELIEVEABLE, especially the Italian food, Japanese was ok. Buffet everyday was good. You can order room service anytime, unlimited. Staff was the friendlist I have ever seen anywhere I've been. Top shelf drinks (crowne royal, wine with dinner, etc.) Activities where alot of fun, (bingo, fashion shows, toga parties, beach parties, BBQ's, street parties, crab races, etc.) Extremely clean, I loved every minute there. The beaches were OK. The pool was nice, the overall theme of the resort was SO different, and it made you feel different (good). I loved it! And want to go back.