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RESORT REPORT – GRAND LIDO BRACO - FEBRUARY 1999 The following is our report on the Grand Lido Braco resort, which we visited from February 4 through 9, 1999. This was our second trip to GL Braco, having visited previously in May 1998. In general, the resort has improved dramatically since our last visit, particularly with respect to the quality of the staff, which was outstanding and rivaling that of GL Negril in terms of attitude and service. Getting there We took Delta to Atlanta and connected with Air Jamaica, arriving in Montego Bay about 11:30 a.m. Immigration and customs were a breeze, since ours was the only flight arriving at the time. (It’s not always so; if multiple flights arrive at about the same time, prepare to wait in line since immigration never seems to change staffing levels depending on the volume of people to process.) After clearing customs, Superclubs was on the ball and had us in a bus and on our way quickly. The bus trip to Braco isn’t bad – about an hour, including a brief beer stop along the way. On the return, we made it from Braco to the airport in under an hour. For those of you who are used to TimAir or Air Negril going from MoBay to Negril, there’s no corresponding service to the Braco area, unless you plan on using a parachute. With the bus ride time, you don’t need it anyway. Air Jamaica was fine, arriving and departing on time in all material respects on both ends of the trip. The aircraft were relatively new Airbus A310s. Service and cleanliness of the aircraft were as good as most of the domestic U.S. airlines. Check-in We arrived well before the 3:00 check-in time, but our room was available anyway. Take along a duffel bag with any essentials and you’ll be able to deal with a 3:00 check-in without any inconvenience: just head for the pool or beach. Resort overview The main Braco complex is a replica of an island village, with a number of one and two story buildings fronting on a main street running perpendicular to the ocean, which is bisected by two shorter streets, all of which are of pressed concrete resembling brick pavers. The various buildings house shops, the main lobby, disco, piano bar and most of the restaurants. At the intersection of the streets is a fountain, and at the far end of main street is the main "textile side" pool. Facing the ocean from the textile side pool, to the right are first the building housing the piano bar and Nanny’s Jerk Pit and then a number of buildings housing the textile side rooms (some ocean front, some not). To the left are the Victoria Market and Stir Crazy restaurants, the workout facilities and the au natural section of the resort. The au natural section of the resort is separated from the rest of the property by a kind of "no man’s land;" once past this Maginot Line, nude is the rule in all areas of the au natural side. On the textile side, only about a third of the rooms (at a guess) front the ocean; the rest are what would probably be called garden view. On the au natural side, the buildings housing the rooms are between the ocean and the au natural pool, and all rooms are oceanfront. Unlike Grand Lido Negril, where "au natural" begins at the buildings facing the ocean, at Braco the whole west side of the resort is au natural, and one does not have to suit up when leaving the beach area. The landscaping throughout the resort is really outstanding, though on the au natural side a good bit of the plantings are rather young, particularly the palms between the buildings and the beach. We noticed some maturation of the landscaping since May of 1998, and before too long things should look even more mature. Like GL Negril, there’s a small army of landscaping folks working on things just about all the time. There are a number of hammocks strung up between trees in the shade throughout the resort for those late afternoon naps. We’d guess the average age of guests at Braco is somewhat younger than at GL Negril. Not too many in their twenties, but lots and lots of thirty- and forty-somethings. And not an insignificant number of fifties and sixties. Like GL Negril, we found that the au natural side tended to attract the more outgoing, gregarious crowd. There was just a lot more interaction among guests who didn’t know each other on the au natural side than on the textile side, where it seemed people kept more to themselves. Brief words about the au natural side for those who’ve never been to a nude beach: try it, you’ll like it. No one will stare or gawk at you; more than likely, someone will offer to bring you a drink from the bar. Ladies, if you want to keep your bathing suit bottom on, that’s fine. No one cares. Expecting a crowd of hardbodies? You’ll maybe find a few, but most folks look just like the rest of us. Again, nobody cares. One difference between GL Negril and Braco is that the "nude" beach at Negril is a clothing optional beach. At Braco, the au natural side is just that: nude. Women in bottoms are accepted, but that’s about as far as it goes. If you’re not sure about trying a nude beach, we’d recommend staying on the textile side. That way, you can visit the au natural side and enjoy it if you like it (we bet you will) but retreat to the textile side if that’s not your thing. You’ll be uncomfortable in a bathing suit on the au natural side of the resort. Rooms There are 174 rooms and 6 one-bedroom suites on the textile side and 52 junior suites, one-bedroom suites and luxury one-bedroom suites on the au natural side. On the au natural side, the junior suites have a large sitting area with sofa nearest the doors facing the beach, with the sleeping area and bathroom at the rear of the room. It appeared as though all the junior suites had two double beds. The one-bedroom suites have the bedroom (with king bed) situated on the ocean side of the suite, together with a full bath. On the land side of the suite is a living room with sofa and chairs, together with a half bath. The luxury one-bedroom suites have two full baths, with the bedroom on the land side of the suite and a very large living room on the ocean side. All rooms have off-white tile covering the floor, which is much better than carpet in this environment. The rooms are similar in many respects to Grand Lido Negril, in that they feature twin double beds or king beds, tile floors, reasonably large baths, and sofas. CD players, satellite TV, ironing boards, irons, refrigerator (stocked with Red Stripe and soft drinks, but bring your own opener) and small wall safe (good for travel documents, wallets, jewelry, a small camera and such, but not much more) are standard. The rooms, at least on the au natural side, were in good repair and comfortable. On the au natural side, the downstairs rooms have French doors which open onto the beach, much like Grand Lido Negril. Unlike GL Negril, the upstairs rooms have balconies large enough that one can open the French doors without bumping into the balcony furniture. It’s a toss-up as to whether the second and third floor rooms at Braco are better than ground floor rooms: it’s a trade off between the view upstairs and the easy beach access of the ground floor. Restaurants Piacere is the French restaurant and is elegant. Long pants and jacket are required (if you don’t want to bring your sportcoat along, the restaurant will lend you one). Very nicely done, and should be taken in while at Braco. The service is really outstanding. For example, my wife Sidney asked about a birthday cake for me when we arrived for dinner (figuring they could put a candle in a cupcake or something). No problem: desert was a first-rate cake, decorated with my name and "Happy Birthday." The string quartet even walked over to the table and played Happy Birthday. Make reservations at the beginning of your stay. Dinner only, 6:30 until 9:30. Victoria Market is the main dining room, and is open air overlooking the main pool. The arrangement is much better than GL Negril, where the comparable area is sort of down in a hole and further from the beach. Breakfast and lunch are served buffet style, and dinner is a la carte from the menu, which we thought had more than adequate variety. Victoria Market is closed some evenings when there is an "event" dinner being held, notably the Friday night street party. Dress is casual, meaning a minimum of bathing suit with cover up or t-shirt at breakfast and lunch, and shorts and polo shirt at night. Breakfast is 8:00 until 10:30; lunch from 12:30 until 3:00; and dinner from 7:00 until 10:00. Stir Crazy, the Japanese restaurant (with tables for eight, each attended by a chef cooking on hot grill built into the table, just like Stateside), was much improved from our last visit. Food was excellent, as was the service. Dinner only, served 6:30 to 9:00. Long pants are required. There is also a separate sushi dining facility within Stir Crazy; we didn’t try it, but we heard good reports. Specify sushi or traditional Japanese dining when making your reservation. Nanny’s Jerk Pit is open from about 11:00 to about 6:00, and offers jerk chicken, pork and beef. It’s very good. The Jerk Pit is near the main textile pool, and offers tables outdoors. La Pasta Sidewalk Cafe is open from midday to about 2:00 a.m. (open 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for breakfast croissants, etc.) Offers mix and match pasta and sauce dishes (including chicken and escargot) as well as some really great pizza, made to order with your choice of toppings and cheese. Also features an antipasto bar, and a visit to the bakery next door will fix you up for dessert. Food quality was generally very good. If the lunch buffet on a particular day doesn’t appeal to you, just hop down to La Pasta for a pizza or pasta. On balance, we thought the food at Braco was better than at GL Negril, and that’s saying something in light of the generally legendary reputation of GL Negril. Liquor is … read more »
Response:
Sounds like they have improved at Braco. We were there a year ago and, except for the excellent food, we were not impressed. We wanted to see some of the sites in Jamaica, but Braco’s tour desk couldn’t arrange anything. I then hired the driver who brought us from the airport (the same one Braco hired). Braco was not going to let us leave the resort because they weren’t sure it would be safe with this driver. After arguing for quite a while with management, they let us leave. I wrote several letters to Superclubs and never got a real answer (in fact, only rude answers from the general manager). Obviously, they wanted us to use their tour desk. We tried. Needless to say, this impacted our feeling towards Braco.
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