Grand Pineapple closing August 11th...

The Grand Pineapple Negril will be closing permanently on August 11th, 2012. For those with reservations after this date, your bookings will be handled by one of the other Sandals properties in Jamaica. For more details or to change your bookings, please contact your travel agent, or Sandals Worldwide Representatives - Unique Vacations at 1-888-SANDALS. They will be able to let you know which property will be handling your reservation.

Sandals will be placing the Grand Pineapple property up for sale, and are making arrangements for their staff Team Members to be transferred to one of their other properties. Those that cannot find alternative employment will receive their redundancy payments as required under Jamaican law.

Holy crap

Holy crap is right. We have 5 couples booked in for Oct. 7-14. We will wait and see what happens.

Another chapter comes to a close. I've enjoyed a couple of holidays there. Hopefully it does not stay closed for long.

well crap!!!!! I need to tell my friend Lori, we had reservations for the 10th to the 18th!!!!!!!

wow I didn't see that one coming. That was the only AI I have ever considering staying at in Negril due to location and vibe. I hope it gets purchased by good owners who make a success of it. I wonder if they are considering refunding guests who don't want to be stuck in another Sandals not on seven mile.

Just got off the phone with them, and they said they couldn't confirm anything becaus their operations dept is currently closed for the day.... I do NOT want to be at any other Sandals property, I wanted to be in a small AI and on Long Bay, not some big AI off by itself somewhere!!!!!! What pisses me off more than anything is they are probably not going to be issuing refunds, and I put a thousand bucks of my money into a eight night stay THERE not somewhere else in Negril, or even God alone knows where in Jamaica..plus, I knew that at Grand Pineapple, it wouldn't be a huge hassle to tip now and then if I wanted to, unlike other larger Sandals properties that do those damn kgb spy tactics to fire people in sting operations they catch accpting tips, I am beyond pissed off right now!!!!

Negrilaholic wait till you talk to them and see if they will give you a refund. Since your whole reason for travel to Negril is to be on long bay--all your friends are in that area and it is where you always travel to and what you are comfortable with, maybe they will refund. If they can't put you in a property in that area, they should refund. Maybe they have exchange privileges with another Negril/long bay resort. That sucks though, I know how it was difficult for you to even decide to stay there and it was mainly for your friend's sake.

WHEW, what a relief, just got off the phone with my friend and her husband, and they transferred us to Sunset At The Palms! I always thought that place looked really nice, and am excited to be going there..I don't care it's not right on the beach and we have to share a king bed, lol, as long as we are someplace nice and it's not a Sandals property, because I am beyond disgusted with their shadiness right now!!!

I just told them it had to be Negril, and that it didn't need to be an AI, just not any other city, and was naming out places like Treehouse and Charela (they checked Seastar first, but was booked up!), but when he said Sunset AT the Palms, I was like, hell yah, that would be great!
:D

I also want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to Rob for being on the ball and getting the word out so I could get something done about this! You rock!

Sunset at the Palms should be good. Maybe they could even put another bed in the room if sharing doesn't work out. It looks like a great property from photos and reports the grounds are beautiful and the food and bar seem great While not on seven mile--the beach there looks nice and you know enough about taxis to get into town if you want. Enjoy! Looking forward to a report-- there hasn't been much mention of SATP on this board. Nice that you weren't stuck at some random Sandals.

Below is a link to a really good trip report about SATP...very detailed!

http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...ort-ULTRA-BUMP

I am really stoked about this, because it looks really nice, and if the king bed doesn't work out, they have the daybeds on the patios, and I will sleep out in the open, lol! And normally they have been priced out of my range of even considering, but since my friend's husband came up with a deal where it would actually be a few dollars cheaper from what I understand, I can afford it! I'm just glad I got the info when I did, because when he called, he said he got the last room! :cool:

I'm curious as to what's up with Sandals. First not renewing their lease of Beaches and now closing Grand Pineapple. Things that make you go hmmm...

The interesting part is those with GP reservations who hang in there could find themselves in MUCH MORE expensive property without having to fork over more money ....

They could also end up anywhere else on the island however

Sunset at the Palms looks beautiful! Just checked out their website. Looks like a blessing in disguise that your other hotel plans fell thru. I think you will have a wonderful time at SATP. :-)

Surprising news, for sure. It's one property on the beach where they seem to have a decent occupancy this summer, at least from what I observe on frequent beach walks. Treehouse is the other.

Wow it's so sad. This is the place I've stayed at on my first trip to Jamaica in 2004. When I started my career as a travel agent it was my first pick to offer to my clients if they wanted to be in a desent AI but still in the center of action. Last year by this time is was alredy on STOP SALE for winter holidays. I hope all the staff gets better offers they deserve. I hope the place comes back soon with the same concept and price range just freshly remodeled.

"every ting gots its price, and then sometimes sellin is the smarter choice....these owners didnt get to where there are by being stupid, just it would be nice that no body gets hurt by it.....

SATP is a really nice place. You will not be disappointed. WE have stayed there two different times. Enjoy.

i hope the new owners repaint the place...i get dizzy looking at all these incompatical colours...lol

I’m so sad about this.

We stayed at the Grand Pineapple twice. GP was my first hotel experience in Negril. The staff went above and beyond to make our first stay in Jamaica amazing. Ralston, Patrick, Andrew, Tayshain, Kenneil, Alex and the entire crew. They truly took care of us...

It’s really the people working there that made this hotel so unique and special. I hope they are all offered positions at other properties.

I was really upset when I heard about this yesterday. I still can't believe the Grand Pineapple is closing!:(

I hear ya about the colors, lanetop, lol!

And I feel really bad about the workers at Grand Pineapple and can't help but wonder how little notice they got and what are they going to do now?

I'm just relieved I don't have to be worried about being shipped off to somewhere else in Jamaica, and plan on steering everyone I come into contact with away from Sandals resorts, because as far as I'm concerned, they have some pretty bad business practices.

Well Amy and so glad it all worked out-and if i say ,to your advantage..SATP ia awesome (i;ve never stayed-just checked it out)...

Where will Courtney the Carver go? Oh my.....someone please keep an eye out and let me know where he ends up - he is awesome and has been exclusive there for a long time! So it goes.....one thing we can count on is CHANGE. Bless all

I am really upset about this. I just booked a couple of weeks ago to take our adult children and their spouses to GP next March for our 30th anniversary. I guess I need to contact my travel agent ASAP about our deposits!

I am so sad to hear this. GP was one of my favorite AI places. Great staff, Great General Manager and wonderful Courtney! So, property up for sale? How much and where can one find out about this? So sad to see such changes.

Their website does not mention this! Why not? When were they going to tell people this? I have a room booked Thanksgiving week. Does this mean that if they send me to another property that I will have to pay the difference between GP's room and Sandal's room? I booked GP 3 years ago during Thanksgiving week and was sent to Beaches Sandy Bay for 2 days then back to GP. Are Beaches and Sandals the same? Beaches has 3 resorts in Jamaica and Sandals has 7 resorts. I only want to stay in Negril.

NegrilIrene & GregandKelly - Negrilaholic had reservations at GP and she was transferred to Sunset at the Palms which looks like a beautiful AI. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about SATP. this resort is in Negril as well. I doubt they would make you pay more to stay at their other Sandals resort in Negril. They have inconvenienced you and You may end up with quite an upgrade. Yes Beaches and Sandals are the same. (From what I have read, Beaches Sandy Bay is also closing.) I hope everything works out for both of you.

Negrilaholic - I'm happy to hear that they transferred you to such a nice hotel and that it worked out in the end. I was worried for you too when I first heard of the closure. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time there.

Sweetness - I've been thinking about Courtney the Carver too... I visited him at Grand Pineapple last April, It was so great to see him...I wonder where he will go now...:(

I just want to make clear that Sunset At The Palms is not a Sandals resort, and the transfer to SATP was arranged via the booking agency and not Sandals resorts, so the first people you might want to contact if you need to make arrangements to find other resorts, either within, or outside of Sandals, would probably be the booking agency you used. Also, from what I understand, Beaches Sandy Bay is also closing, but I don't know any of the details of that at all, just that I wouldn't think it would be an option if they are closing too. I for one personally would suggest getting out of any obligation with Sandals at all given the way they conduct their business, and while I don't know anything about legalities, to me what is right is that since they broke their word, that should be considered a breach of contract and anyone should be able to get their money back. Now how that works in the real world, instead of how things should be, I honestly have no idea if that is even doable or not, but I wish everyone making arrangements the best of luck in their endeavors and really hope things work out for the best for everyone.

We were going to book GP for our daughter's wedding. At the last minute, she changed her mind to Riu Tropical Bay. I wasn't too happy with the change of venue. However, now...I'm so relieved! Having to worry about 25 people rebooking would have been a nightmare. Thinking of those losing their jobs and hopefully they find something better.

Here's a link on the Beaches Sandy Bay closing. Its been out there for a few months.
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/ne...y-bay-jamaica/

From what I understand Beaches Sandy Bay was leased by Sandals from the man who owns the water park across the street. He opted not to renew their lease and is taking the property back. I believe it is going to close for a while for refurbishing and then reopen with the original owner's family managing it.

I have stayed at GP for the last 6 years every year and am going to miss it terribly!

I wonder what happens to our "loyalty" points that were accumulated. I almost had enough for a free week at GP.

SATP is a nice alternative but you do have to cross that busy street to get to the beach,they have guards.They also have a fairly new oceanfront bar/restaurant. Bloody Bay is nice, Natural bar and others to the left side of the beach. The island you will see to the left,Booby Cay was used as the aerial shots for Gilligans Island.

Clarity, my travel agent said the same thing. He thinks it's a blessing in disguise! He said that no matter where they offer to send us, our rates are locked in at the GP rate. Now it's a matter of waiting until Sandals contacts my travel agent! (I am not a patient person, but I guess I will learn to be!) I will post whatever I eventually find out!

I have a reservation for 2013 and all Sandals will do is relocate me to Boscobel Beach in Ochi. The room would be an upgrade but I have no desire to stay there so I will get my deposit back and have to start looking again in July[ wasting 5 months thinking I had a res for 2013}. At least I didn't get my air ticket yet, so I am flexible on dates. I really liked GP, hope it reopens soon under new mgt.

Guys...you wanna know how ROTTEN sandals is?....Rob started this thread on Sunday...I just discovered it today....but booked directly through Sandals by phone on FRIDAY, Jul 6th....got a discount for being a returning guest, and have the printed invoice, e-mail confirm. and everything for a Mar 2013 GP stay....they HAD to know that the property was closing(ok, maybe the booking clerk on the phone didn't) but still allowed me to book, for 8 MONTHS OUT!!!...I don't have a travel agent to work with, as I went directly through them, and am waiting for them to contact me, to tell me where they will put us, I told them that we wouldn't be "showing up" at the Sandals desk at Sangster since we will already be staying a few days at Seastar Inn(also, already booked)...I need either e refund from them, or guaranteed in writing accommodations at Sandals Negril....Beaches won't cut it....to be continued, I guess :mad::(

Personally, if I were you, I would not wait for Sandals to contact you, but contact them yourself, and do not give up until you talk to someone who knows what they are talking about and is able to make other arrangements to your satisfaction. I do believe in this instance it could very well be a case of the sqeaky wheel getting the grease. I know I for one would have HATED being shipped to Ocho Rios, as I come to Jamaica for the beach at Negril, and to be able to swim around in the water to my hearts content, not be confined to a small beach area...and Beaches is very kid oriented, so be it Beaches Boscobel or Beaches Negril, I know I would be very unhappy. I know I am going to be telling all my friends and family to stay far away from all Sandals resorts!

Boscobel is tired and lame.