Royal Decameron Cornwall Beach

We have just returned from a 2 week stay at this hotel and we absolutely loved it. The rooms were clean and spacious with really good air conditioning. We had a couple of minor issues with our key not working in the lock one night and the safe showing an error message- but each time a maintenance guy turned up within a matter of minutes and rectified, great service! The pool was cleaned everyday and was never overcrowded. The beach is amazing, crystal clear water, cleaned frequently and lots of loungers available The Jamrock buffet restaurant was brilliant, the food was always fresh, good choice of meals, never repetitive or boring and the staff were great. Good resort, great facilities and a good vibe- highly recommend it if your planning a trip to Jamaica.

We have just returned after staying two weeks at Cornwall Beach, and after reading all the reviews on here before going we were a bit disappointed. Check in was fine with no problems. The rooms are a good size and have everything you need, but this is also where our first problems arrived. I cant fault they way the room was cleaned but for some reason our cleaner could never get the towels right. We only had one set of towels on arrival, a quick call to reception and this was put right. The next day on arriving back at our room we had no towels or face-clothes! Another call to reception, but no towels arrived. An hour later I went to reception and asked again, this time Lewis on reception bought them up himself. Now maybe we were unlucky, but from that day on, only three times in the two weeks did they get it right (2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 2 face-clothes) We gave up complaining as it made no difference, so just accepted it and would try to guess which combination would be left each day. They also have a sign about saving the planet by only washing towels if absolutely necessary by leaving them on the floor. Well it doesn’t matter if you leave them on the floor or hanging up because they will still take them anyway! We mainly used the lobby bar, as the pool bar plays some dreadful music so loud that the barman/ lady cant even hear to take you order. Normal drinks are fine but cocktails are not great. A lot of premixed stuff, pina coladas and daiquiris come out of a slushie machine and most of the cocktails just taste of neat spirit. All cocktails also come in the same style plastic beaker, now this makes sense as people are taking them to the pool and beach during the day, but in the evening it would be good to have some proper glasses. They also ran out of tonic for five days. The first week the food in the restaurant was ok, but by the second week we realised how little it varied. There was supposed to be a choice of two meats every night, but by the second week it became pork loin and one other. They were also not very quick at replenishing anything that had run out. We thought lunch had a better variety than dinner. Some of the waiting staff were not always that attentive and would prefer to talk amongst themselves. One day we had a lot of rain and half the restaurant was out of use due to flooding, the staff struggled to cope. I’m not too sure how they cope in peak holiday season. They also ran out of butter for two days. The entertainment in the evening was not great, all very similar. The resident band were ok, but the poor sound system meant a lot of the time you couldn’t hear what they were singing. ( you also couldn’t hear what the entertainment team where saying). The female singers were a lot better than the male singers. The steel band are definitely worth seeing, not so much for the music but for their brilliant dancing. The Michael Jackson show was good ( buy again let down by a dreadful sound) I cant understand why there isn’t a Bob Marley show though. There is also a saxophonist who plays by the pool bar once a week between 5 & 6pm, this is about 55 minutes too long! (Not to be confused with the one who played in the lobby bar who was excellent) We did go and watch a couple shows at the sister hotel next door, although they have a proper stage its not that nice, and the bar staff aren’t that friendly. The beach is probably the hotels biggest asset, with lovely sand and calm waters and no trouble ever getting a bed whatever time of day. You wont get any trouble from the sellers that walk along the beach, as they are only allowed on the shoreline and not the beach itself. We didn’t use the pool as it it is too close to the noisy pool bar. Overall we had a good holiday, but with a few changes it could be a lot better. I would say 95% of the staff are really friendly, but could be better managed. I presume someones in charge, but we never saw any sign of any management.

First off, the Jamaican people, as always, were great. The hotel in general was well maintained and in good condition. The room, from which the view was impressive, was also nice and the only minus was the lack of drawer and hanging space for clothes. The beach was fairly coarse sand which your feet readily sunk into when going in or out of the sea. This could prove troublesome for anyone with mobility problems. But it was a nice beach, with no trouble getting a lounger and a sun shade. The sea was fantastic. I've never been in better. It was warm, calm, and crystal clear right to the bottom, even when in up to your shoulders. And the very nice pool was always an alternative option. The food was good, with the odd exception, and the buffet had an excellent selection. Olivia's restaurant was an enjoyable place to eat at night. A few lights in the dark seemed to transform it. They did run out of butter and tonic water on a few days towards the end of our stay, which wasn't a plus, just a bit like being back in Cuba. But the one thing that did affect the holiday was the music in the evenings. So much of it was very loud, monotonous, and boring. Though I'm a blues, r & b, and rock 'n' roll lover, I like a little reggae. But Stir it up, No woman no cry, and Three little birds, and all that other good stuff, seemed a distant memory from that being played here. And unfortunately, like so many live bands, they played too loud for the singer. But though the music did make us think about whether to come back, all the pluses outweighed the minuses and we will be returning soon.