Fabulous, all-inclusive resort. Great golf, delicious food with choices of restaurants or buffet, good wine, beer and mixed drinks. Many activities arranged by friendly staff; plenty of things to do or just relax on beach or by he pool. Beautiful grounds, clean rooms, restrooms and restaurants. The staff are all terrific and eager to please. Eleven of us, 2 families with a couple of friends and all had a wonderful time. Our second visit and we will return.

We were at BRB from January 12th-26th, 2007 and used this as our escape from cold weather in Canada to get married.

First off, we have travelled to numerous places in Mexico and this is our first experience with Jamaica. We both have travelled enough to recognize 'good' versus 'great' service, and we know that part of how you value the trip is in the cost you paid. In comparison, I know we managed to find a 'sweetheart' deal for being there for two weeks. To compare dollar value to service is not really fair and I think most travellers end up doing that sub-consciously. Our review will be focussed on the service and things we saw at the resort and learned from other travellers or the locals.

We both have to say this was the best holiday we have been on, and I am quick to point out, not because we got married! :-) If anything this added to the holiday, and may have impacted the service we received, but in all, I saw too many examples of great service to all guests. I really think BRB sometimes gets an unfair rap. I have found if you use 'honey' with staff at resorts, it is much better than throwing fits. I am amazed how many people I see like that travelling who are throwing fits and getting no where.

So, where do we start with a review. Let's start first with transfers to and from the resort. This was smooth and seemless on both sides. A few things to note with this is that Breezes does have its own waiting area when you arrive. The water there is nice to receive, and the bus ride to the resort is quite painless. Two things to note in the ride to the resort, they do have a 'beer' stop, and you will get asked to purchase local flora. This does happen in Jamaica, but if you laugh, say 'no mon', our experience is you don't get asked more than once. Also be aware the Jamaican drivers are a bit nutty, so just don't look at the road and trust your driver. It just is easier. The only other thing to note is we found purchasing alcohol to come bring back to Canada is cheapest at the airport.

So next up would be arrival and the front desk staff. Let me just say they were amazing in trying to make sure our stay was top notch. We checked in later in the day with a small group, and were up in our rooms in no time. We travelled with one other couple and they were in the 3000 block, and we were upgraded to a plunge pool room in the 1000 block. They also upgraded the other couple out of the 3000 block when we did some 'negotiating' on getting us closer together. They were more than happy to do this. Thanks to Stacy, Julian, and especially Celine.

I will say one thing about the condition of BRB. If possible I would recommend people not stay in the 3000 section. Even the staff joke about its condition and how it is in need of upgrade. We were in the 1000 section and it has had the showers upgraded and the rooms were in decent shape. The other nice point is that since its on the 'side' of the resort, it is much quieter as well. Other than that comment, I think the entire resort was well kept. You have to remember that it is 'older' and will not compare to newly developed resorts. We stayed at a resort probably developed around the same time as BRB in Mexico and I can quite honestly say it wasn't in the shape BRB was in (and had more than the $20M renovations already put in at it).

Next up, here is my summation of what there was to do on the resort (and a bit off). I really think if you didn't find something to do, or like to do at BRB, you really shouldn't be holidaying this way. Between the beach, the snorkelling you could do on the reef just in front of the resort, scuba, golf, entertainment staff, etc. you really shouldn't be here if you can't enjoy yourself.

The entertainment, watersport and circus staff ensured something was always going on. This is Jamaica, so yes, its not a military precision of things going on at certain times, but things were happening and enjoyable to partake in or just watch. The goat races were especially fun to watch as were the drinking games. No one 'forced' you to participate.

I did want to note the watersport staff took their jobs seriously and did a good job of ensuring safety of people. If you went on a hobie cat you were wearing a life jacket. I was impressed with the professionalism everyone showed.

The biggest thing I think if your travelling on a 'beer' budget, is that everything was 'free' except for some additional fees for golf, or some times an extra cost for a shopping excursion. A person who I met figures compared to Mexico and what he would save almost $1000 over two weeks on what he would spend on diving and with alot less confidence in the dive master.

We did take a trip to Ocho Rios and Dunn's River and went for supper at Flavours (a resturaunt just a bit east of the resort). Well worth the trip (we chartered Jason to take us for the day) to do all of this. He made it interesting and was quite nice and talked about the local culture. A few things to note on this trip was you should barter if you are in Ocho, and for goodness sakes, if you go to Dunn's River Falls late in the day, when you leave WATCH OUT FOR THE VENDORS AS YOUR LEAVING THE FALLS. I can't stress this enough. They worked to totally separate myself and my wife and I felt I had to pay just to get out of the place. It was horrible! As your leaving, make sure you take the 'low' side as your leaving. I saw another post stating this, and I can't begin to describe how difficult they were. The Falls themselves were amazing but our encounter with the vendors ruined our entire day.

The only other point I will make is Flavours was nice (we had supper and few beer) at the end of our shopping day, and it was truly a Jamaican resturaunt but it was EXPENSIVE. Totally cost for 9 beer and a couple of platters of seafood was $90 US. Ouch. I didn't expect it to be that expensive, but after talking to others at the resort, there are no 'cheap' meals when it comes to seafood. Flavours had burgers that would equate to $4.25 US.

The golf at the resort was the equivalent of a city or municipal course up here in Canada, and I golfed some nicer ones here than the one at BRB. If you are just going to hack around, its ok, but if you are a avid golfer, you will be disappointed. I was pretty happy with my rounds and the one caddy (name I can't remember), did a great job of reading the greens.

The food at the resort was good. While it wasn't 5 star, there was plenty to eat, and I did not have a meal I didn't enjoy. The a la carte resturaunts were definitely the place to go. We went to all of them and enjoyed them immensely. I especially liked the Japenese and we had a number of good meals with the chefs doing their best to entertain us. The husband of the couple we were travelling with had a birthday and they even brought out a special desert for him which was delicious.

If you were into drinking, this was definitely the place to be. To this day I still remember Courtney and his green drinks. The bar and service staff were fun, free poured constantly, and made sure you had what you wanted.

All in all, I found this to be a wonderful trip, not only from the point of view that I was married, but just the general atmosphere. I definitely want to go back, but the prices this year to go back for our first anniversary are almost $1000 more than I paid last year. I can't say enough to our wedding coordinator, the staff, and everyone we saw at BRB but thank you for a wonderful time.

I just returned from a week long trip at Breezes Runaway Bay. I got in on a Saturday, married on Monday and left the following Saturday. I have only great things to say about it. From when we stepped foot off of the plane, we already started making friends. We found the Superclubs lounge very easily. It is marked in huge letters..hard to miss! The bus ride to the resort was even fun. Our driver was Peter mon and he was great. Have a couple of dollars to tip if you can..they really appreciate that.
Once we got there we went to our room..what can I say So AWESOme!! We stayed in the newer part of the hotel in a plunge pool oceanfront suite. The view was breathtaking..room 1029! That is one thing I do recommend ,is staying, if you can in the newer section of the hotel...it is a lot nicer.
The first couple of days we just hung around, checked everything out, did all the fun activities and met many people. On monday I spent the day with my sister and best friend laying out and getting ready for the wedding. Planning a wedding here was so easy..I cannot say thank you enough to Sophia..she was awesome! I met with her the first day and everything that I wanted was noted and the time came and everything was done and perfect!! It was so stress-free and easy!! I would definately recommend this type of wedding!! Also, our photographer was the best! Kenroy Pinnoc is his name aka Casper. If you get married here I would try and request Casper. He takes great pictures and gives you so many to choose from. He became one of our best friends on the trip and we hung out with him all week..even though we were on our honeymoon!! :) WE can wait to go back and visit him.
The rest of the week we participated in as much as we could pack into one day. There is so much offered. On new years eve, there was a huge Gala that was so fun. The staff here loves their jobs and you can tell. They go out of their way to make your trip awesome. There is so many great things to say about everyone I can't fit it all in. You just have to experience it for yourself..this resort is great!!!

I recommend this place - perfect for people who want a relaxed family environment without young kids. The staff is friendly - especially the 20-something males. The operations- and management staff go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and happy - they know you by name by the first or second day and do routine courtesy calls to check on your stay. The resort has a strong mission of comfort, fun, and protection (safety). The food is good - not great - but I think it would be hard to eat at the same place, regardless of the food, for 7 days. Seafood was shockingly minimal and the meat was marginal. The best thing about this resort, compared to other "all inclusives" is the activities - everything is included, like water skiing, Hobiecat, snorkeling, kayaking, trapeze, driving range, tennis (and lessons), etc. The offsite activities are fun - like the zipline (highly recommended!!) but a little more expensive than other resorts I have been to. The people attracted to this resort are very nice - not too wild, but definitely there to have a good time. There are lots of people 40-60 years of age, as well as kids in the 16-22 year range. A good mix for families at that stage. It's definitely worth the money.