Azul Beach Resort Negril by Karisma

Beautiful Resort, Stunning Views, But Extremely Disappointing Food and Service

We arrived at Azul with high expectations. We chose an all-inclusive resort because we wanted the full experience: a beautiful beach, good food, drinks, and the convenience of having everything taken care of. This is not an inexpensive resort, so we expected a certain level of quality and service.

We have now been home for a week, and after having had time to reflect on our five-day stay, I can say with complete honesty that our disappointment was not simply first-day frustration. In fact, many of the problems we experienced on that first day continued throughout our stay.

Let me start with the biggest positive: the resort itself is absolutely beautiful.

The views are breathtaking. The ocean is stunning, the beach is beautiful, and the entire setting is spectacular. Our room was beautiful, the drinks were good, and the fresh fruit was delicious. There is no question that the property itself has the “wow” factor. You can look out at that incredible Jamaican coastline and wonder how a resort in such a beautiful location could possibly get the rest of the experience so wrong.

And that is exactly what makes the disappointment with the food and service so much greater.

The resort has everything it needs to be exceptional. The location is gorgeous. The views are incredible. The beach is lovely. The rooms are beautiful. But unfortunately, the food—one of the most important parts of an all-inclusive vacation—was extremely poor.

We completed online check-in before arriving, but still had to repeat the entire check-in process when we got there. A concierge representative then took us to our room. Along the way, she asked my husband several questions, including whether I speak English—which was rather strange considering I was the person she had just been dealing with during check-in.

What was even more disappointing was that this interaction seemed to set the tone for the rest of our stay. The concierge lady continued to ignore me for the remainder of our vacation, while repeatedly directing her attention toward my husband in a way that went well beyond normal guest service. I want to be clear: I was not looking for her attention, nor did I expect her to engage with me simply because I was there. That was not the issue. The issue was that we were a family of three traveling together, and she consistently focused her attention almost exclusively on my husband in a manner that felt flirtatious and inappropriate.

My husband actually tried to make it clear that he was not interested in the conversation and attempted to redirect her. At one point, when she was discussing massages, he specifically pointed out that if anyone was interested in a massage, it would be me. She still continued trying to engage with him instead. She even went as far as asking him whether he had a brother. At that point, the nature of the interaction became difficult to interpret as simply friendly customer service.

I cannot say what her intentions were, and I don’t want to speculate beyond what we personally experienced. However, the repeated behavior was uncomfortable, unnecessary, and inappropriate in a professional hospitality setting. It was especially strange because she had initially been dealing with me directly, yet afterward seemed to have no interest in acknowledging me at all. Whatever she was trying to sell, promote, or accomplish, the way she went about it left us with a very uncomfortable impression.

Hospitality should be about making every guest feel welcome and respected. Selectively focusing on one person in a family while essentially ignoring the other—particularly when the attention becomes this personal—is not the kind of service we expected from a resort of this level.

When we entered our room, the floor was still wet, which was understandable and clearly meant it had just been cleaned. However, when I pulled back the bed sheet, there was a large wet/dirty spot underneath. It was obvious that an attempt had been made to clean it, but it had not been done properly.

We contacted the concierge, and they did respond. A supervisor and a housekeeper came to the room to change the sheet. The housekeeper actually had to try two or three different sheets before finding one that was clean.

We also requested an additional towel because there were only two in the room and we were traveling with our toddler. The towel eventually arrived about an hour later. It was clean, but still noticeably damp.

The same thing happened with the beach towels. They were clean, but not properly dry. It made us wonder whether there are enough towels and linens available or whether they simply aren’t being dried thoroughly.

The Food: By Far the Biggest Disappointment

After five days, there is really no way to soften this: the food was horrible.

This was not one bad meal. It was not one restaurant that happened to miss the mark. It was not simply a matter of personal taste. The food was consistently disappointing throughout our stay, and for us, it became the single biggest failure of the resort.

We chose an all-inclusive resort specifically so that we would not have to worry about where to eat. We wanted to relax, enjoy the property, and have good meals without getting into a car and leaving. Instead, we found ourselves leaving the resort whenever we wanted a genuinely decent meal.

Think about that for a moment: we paid for an all-inclusive vacation, yet we had to leave the all-inclusive resort to find food we actually wanted to eat.

Even breakfast was extremely disappointing. We encountered burnt bacon and food that was tasteless, oily, and generally lacking in quality. Breakfast should be one of the easiest meals for a resort to get right, yet even that was a struggle.

For an all-inclusive resort of this category and price, we simply cannot understand how such basic food could be served to paying guests.

We arrived hungry on our first day and went looking for something to eat around 5 p.m., only to find that dinner service didn’t begin until 6 p.m. We were told room service was available, but that it would take at least 45 minutes. At an all-inclusive resort, especially one at this price point, we found this surprising. These meal-service hours and limitations were not explained to us when we arrived.

We were particularly excited about the Asian restaurant because the menu online looked fantastic. Unfortunately, the actual food was extremely disappointing. The appetizers tasted as though they had been fried long before the restaurant opened. There was very little flavor, and the sushi rice was severely overcooked. The cocktail was good, though.

I do want to specifically mention our server, Damian, who was excellent—pleasant, professional, attentive, and genuinely helpful. Unfortunately, his service was not representative of our experience elsewhere.

We are foodies, so perhaps our expectations are higher than average, but this isn’t simply a matter of personal taste. The food was genuinely poor—not even average—and certainly not what we expected from a resort of this category and price.

And I have to say, as someone who appreciates and respects the culinary profession, I would be extremely embarrassed to tell anyone that I am a chef, cook, or assistant cook responsible for the food being served at this resort. The quality simply does not reflect the standards one would expect from people working in a professional kitchen, particularly at a resort charging what this property charges.

Jamaica has incredible food. One of the most frustrating parts of this experience was knowing how much wonderful food exists just beyond the resort while we were being served meals that were, in our experience, tasteless, oily, overcooked, or simply poorly prepared. The contrast was impossible to ignore.

Service Was Just as Inconsistent

The service was also inconsistent. With a few exceptions, we found many staff members to be rather unfriendly. Simple things like a smile, a “hello,” or “how are you?” seemed to be missing. At times, it felt as though guests were bothering them rather than being welcomed.

There were exceptions. Damian at the Asian restaurant and the gentleman working at the lobby coffee bar were both friendly and professional. The reception team also followed up with us regarding the bedding and towels, and that interaction was polite and handled professionally. Unfortunately, these positive experiences were the exception rather than the rule.

And that’s what makes this so frustrating: the resort itself is beautiful.

The views are truly incredible. Waking up and looking out at that ocean is something we will remember. The beach and surroundings are gorgeous, and the property has tremendous potential.

But beautiful views cannot make up for terrible food.

When you are paying a premium for an all-inclusive vacation, the expectation is that you should be able to enjoy the entire experience—not simply the scenery. We should not have had to leave a beautiful resort in Jamaica because we wanted a decent meal.

They could do so much better.

With a property this stunning and guests paying this much for an all-inclusive experience, better food and warmer, more welcoming service would make an enormous difference. And honestly, it would benefit the staff as well. Happy guests who feel welcomed, appreciated, and well taken care of are much more likely to leave generous tips.

We came here expecting to spend our vacation enjoying the resort and everything it had to offer. Instead, after five days, we found ourselves planning meals around leaving the property because we simply could not rely on the resort for a decent meal.

Now that we have been home for a week, I can honestly say that the frustration has not changed with some distance from the experience. If anything, having had time to reflect on the entire five days has made it clearer that the food and service issues were consistent enough to affect our overall vacation.

If your priorities are the beach, the views, the room, and drinks, you may be very happy here. The scenery really is spectacular. But if good food and genuinely warm service are an important part of your all-inclusive experience, I would think twice before booking.

This is the first time I have ever felt compelled to write a review like this. I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews, but given the price we paid and the expectations that come with a resort of this level, I feel the experience deserves to be shared honestly.

We tried to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and focus on the positives, but after five days, the food and service issues were simply too consistent to overlook.

A breathtaking location and beautiful resort deserve a dining experience to match. Unfortunately, that was not what we experienced.

Beautiful place. Incredible ocean views. Beautiful beach. Great potential. But the food was extremely disappointing, and the service needs significant improvement.

We stayed here for our honeymoon in August in room 20012, a swim up adult only room.

It’s 2.5 hours from the airport, the roads and drivers aren’t for the faint hearted!

We had a nice time but it wasn’t the experience that we were hoping for and required a lot more to be 5 star, we wouldn’t give any more than 3 stars. For an honest review see below.

On arrival the hotel looked lovely from reception, the wristbands have your key on for the door which is great as you don’t have to remember a key on leaving the room. However the key for both of us stopped working on multiple occasions and we were up and down to reception trying to get it sorted throughout the visit. They ask you do download the karisma app on arrival, which we did. You should be able to see everything the hotel has to offer on here and make requests, however again we were thrown out of this multiple ocassions and gave up with it. The app wasn’t up to date and gave incorrect info on what was open when.

The decking as you walk through from the lovely reception by the bar is totally ruined and big gaps, needs replacing. The beach is totally gorgeous and people work to take and keep it clean all morning. Never a problem getting a bed at the beach or by the pool.

The room itself was nice, needs some updating. Holes filled in the bathroom, the furniture outside is old and falling apart, tv is wonky on the wall and room service took 3 days nearlly to refill the drinks in the fridge after keep asking. It’s very close to the amber bar so any night there is music on it is absolutely blaring from the room.

The room service for food was okay, but took an hour each time even with a half empty resort so expect longer waits in busier times. The order itself was quite often wrong and we received other rooms food too.

We paid for a candle lit dinner on the beach 200 dollars, which unfortunately led to a complaint. The meal itself was lovely. When we received our desert, it was the same free desert that you get at the coffee bar or room service. I queried twice why we are paying for the same tiny bit of cheesecake everyone else is getting for free and the lady on shift had nothing to say other than that’s what we ordered and totally missed the point, it shouldn’t be on the menu to start with. The lady we booked it with arranged cheese and biscuits and wine to our room which was nice. The experience on the night left a sour taste in our mouth as we had already had the cheesecake in room service for free that afternoon.

The rooms were nice and clean everyday and everything felt completely safe in the resort. The workers all work hard and Romeo, jehnoy and Sheryl were amazing throughout. Neil was brilliant at cleaning the pool and when he was on a day off you could tell! The other pool cleaners don’t do half as much. The 2 older men working in nesta bar were the only ones slightly different as I heard them making comments about how fit a lady was once she left, didn’t get this elsewhere across the resort.

The entertainment left a lot to be desired. There was practically nothing happening throughout the resort in the daytime the whole time we stayed and we were here for 11 nights. The entertainment in the evening was okay some nights but it repeats week after week so if you got for 7 days plus then you get the exact same shows. Could be done on a 2 weekly basis so you get something different.

We paid to have a swim up room with a swim up bar, 2 of the days the bar didn’t open at all. We asked about it and got told someone would come to take our drinks orders but they didn’t, we went and asked Romeo at the other bar and he brought us a drink. The swim up pool is also open to anyone. The speakers around the pool bar were never on with any music either, there was no atmosphere at all, other than chatting to bar staff.

The restaurants were okay. Food the same everyday in mahogany other than dinner. A lot of people complaining to the manager whilst we were there. There other restaurants were good but portions far too small for us. We were ordering 3 meals between the 2 of us to fill them out. If you want to laugh, order the pancetta in the Italian restaurant…… it comes half the size of a tea spoon mouthful!! We were expecting a lot more food wise. The Italian didn’t have much flavour for the pasta dishes either. The Chinese restaurant was barely open when we were there, nice but small portions again. Trying to be something upmarket but missing the bar completely. Waiters always really attentive. Oceans bar and Garfield’s just never open, not sure if empty buildings. Palms barely ever open either

Around the resort expect a lot of asking everyday if you want a massage as you walk through, people selling weed and excursions on the beach

The sea is lovely and saw barracudas, starfish and stingrays on multiple ocassions

From a honeymoon point of view, not a single thing was done special even on request in the booking and at reception. Nothing to make the bed or room look special, just 2 chocolates on a plate with cling film over the top. I asked and got told if we wanted anything then it’d be 55 dollars for it.

The excursions are great, we booked through bistro but are around 2.5 hours away on the worst roads, if we came back to the island we would stay at a different part.

We got far better experience on an ordinary holiday at the Dominican 8 years ago where nothing was too much to ask and you didn’t need to ask, it was just done.

The coffee bar was brilliant and staff always attentive. If you want ice cream it’s after 11am.

Overall the holiday left a lot to be desired for us unfortunately. Nice relaxing time but wasn’t much going on and the hotel itself looked run down with rattan falling apart, needs a good paint and some attention all round.

🌴☀️ Back from Azul Negril… and already missing Jamaica! 🇯🇲❤️

We absolutely LOVED our vacation at Azul Negril! The beach, the water, the food, the drinks… honestly, Jamaica treated us very well! 😎🌴

💎 The water was absolutely crystal clear! We were lucky because our side of the resort had what we thought was the nicest beach and the most beautiful water. Every morning around 9:30, we would see stingrays, and one morning we even had a really cool close-up encounter with a spotted stingray while swimming. 🐠🩵 Definitely not something you see every day!

🏨 Our room was clean and comfortable, and there was coffee in the room, which is always a big plus! ☕️ There are also two coffee shops and several outdoor bars, so you’re never too far from a drink or a caffeine fix! 😂

🌊 One of the biggest pluses for us is that every room has an ocean view, and the beach is literally just a few steps away. You really feel like you’re on the beach all day long! 🩵🌴

🍽️ The food was excellent! We especially loved the Italian and Jamaican restaurants, and the fish was consistently delicious. One little tip: if you don’t want to wait too long, go before 7 PM, otherwise there can be a bit of a wait. Plenty of variety, and we definitely did not leave Jamaica hungry! 😂

🍷 The drinks were also great, with lots of choices and good-quality alcohol. Even the Chardonnay and sparkling wine were really good! 🥂😋

🧴 Plenty of towels and chairs every morning, super sweet and friendly staff, and surprisingly… we didn’t even use our mosquito repellent! 🙌

✈️ A little airport tip when you arrive: Immigration was surprisingly FAST! We were out of the airport in about 30 minutes. 🇯🇲👏 They have basically the same type of computer/kiosk system as in Canada, which made everything very easy.

BUT… then we waited about 1½ hours for the rest of the people to arrive for the bus. 😂 We honestly have no idea what took everyone so long!

So guys, if you’re taking the transfer bus, please don’t go grab a beer, get a taxi or disappear without telling your representative. They are actually waiting for you! 😂🍺🚌

🐬 We also did the excursion to Rick’s Café, with snorkeling and sunset, and it was a really fun day! We never actually saw our Air Transat representative during the week, so we booked the excursion through Sunwing at the resort.

💰 They initially quoted us $90 US per person, but we managed to negotiate it down to $80 US. So don’t be afraid to ask! 😉😂

If you do this excursion, definitely bring water shoes, because some areas can be rocky. And keep your eyes open… we even saw dolphins! 🐬😍

🤿 Our absolute favorite part was snorkeling inside the cave. That was such a cool experience! If you have your own snorkeling gear, I’d recommend bringing it. Otherwise, they provide a mask, snorkel and life jacket — but no fins, so bring your own if you prefer using them.

🌸 And finally, one of those little moments that makes a vacation special…

On our last morning, our lovely breakfast server surprised us by making a beautiful little “Safe Travel” message with flowers on our table. 🥹🌸❤️ Such a sweet and thoughtful gesture, and definitely something we’ll remember!

😂 Now, the one funny-but-not-so-funny thing to be aware of on the beach…

There is one particular vendor, a small and thin guy, who approaches couples saying:

“One Love, One World, Respect.” 🇯🇲❤️

Well… the “respect” part didn’t last very long! 😂

Before you even have time to process what is happening, he puts a bracelet on your wrist WITHOUT asking.

Then comes the plot twist:

💬 “I have a gift for you.” 📿 Bracelet magically appears on your wrist… 💬 “You owe me $5 US.” 😳😂

And if you refuse… apparently you have just been promoted to “cheap French Canadian” of the day! 🤣

So… One Love, One World, Respect… but apparently only if you pay $5! 😂🇯🇲

Honestly, he was the only person during our entire vacation who made us feel uncomfortable.

The other beach vendors do stop to ask if you want something, and if you say no, they usually move on. They can sometimes be a little annoying because you see them every single day, but nothing like this guy! 😂

So just be aware if you see him coming… maybe admire the bracelet from a safe distance! 📿🤣

Aside from that little beach episode, Azul Negril was fantastic and we had an amazing vacation! 🌴🌊☀️🇯🇲❤️