TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums Nude Resorts, Beaches and Cruises N-Resort Trip Report

I just returned home from a week at N-resort and thought I would post my impressions.

First off, the resort buildings remind me of many Up North Wisconsin resorts. The rooms are all finished in knotty pine and have massive beams. Like most resorts we see in Up North Wisconsin, the resort is showing some age (I do not think this is necessarily bad). I spoke to other guests from Michigan and Canada, and we all had the same impression. The guests from Michigan thought it looked like Up North Michigan, the guests from Canada thought it looked like every fishing resort in Canada.

Being this is an older resort, the plantings around the resort have had a chance to mature. This means the grounds are lush. They have many types of tropical plants around the resort. The gardener is very proud of his work (and should be), and will be happy to show you around and talk about it. I won't go into detail, but if you go, be sure to look around and talk to the gardener.

They have a nice beach. You would never confuse it with Orient Beach, but it is head and shoulders above the beach at Hidden Beach. It was a white sand beach, with a gentle slope into the water. There are a few rocks, but nothing that can't be avoided. Nobody needed water shoes to go into the ocean. The water was calm in the morning, and I was able to use one of the available kayaks then, but by early afternoon, the water was too rough for that. There was never a problem swimming in the surf. The resort had workers on the beach all day, raking up the seaweed.

The pool is large enough that early in the day, people could swim laps (not me, that's too much like work). They have a large slide, which is a blast. A common activity is a slide compition to see who can slide down the fastest. The fastest time I saw was 5.5 seconds, my best was 6.02 seconds. There was daily volley ball played in the pool.

I think the food was great. I tried to stick to local foods, so I ate a lot of seafood, jerked meats, and fresh fruits and vegetables. I ate in the Italian resturant one evening and had a seafood pasta, which was very good. Most evenings I ate in the main dining room. On Jamaica night we ate Curried Goat, Braised Oxtail and breaded Conch, it was delightful. They have a different menu for each night in the main dining room. If you go, be sure to try the Blackened Snapper the night it is offered, it was superb. The liquor was good and plentiful.

The people working at the resort are all friendly and helpful. They want their guests to be treated just as good as anyone staying at the large resorts. We rode a large bus from the airport. N-Resort is the first stop the bus makes. Because they have a small driveway, the bus driver wanted to drop us off on the street outside of the resort. The gate keeper told the bus driver in no uncertain terms that he had to drive in, we were not to be treated as second class just because this is a small older place. We were properly delivered to the front door and greeted with beer and rum punch, the same as other all inclusive naturist resorts we have been to. We got our keys, and then had to wait for someone to take our bags, they would not allow us to carry them because we the guests.

I am sure that I have missed something, but that is all I can think of now.

All told, it was a delightful time, and we will go back.

Nice review. We also spent a week there, 14-21, and our review is posted under N-Holidays Resort. You certainly captured a lot of the positive features of the resort. We also will go back.

Good review.

N resort is priced right, is ultra convenient, and the only other place besides St Martin where you can take leisurely au naturel walks.

Glad you enjoyed!!

Where is N Resort?

It's in Falmouth, Jamaica, about 45 mins from Sangster airport, Montego Bay. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Resort web site: http://www.n-holidays.com/

We have been looking for this resort for a while now.
What tour companies offer it ?
Where do they fly out of ?
What cost benefit is it for booking thru a tour operator?
What is the beach like for walking nude ?
What snorkelling is there ?

"What tour companies offer it ?"
Google N Resort Jamaica.

"Where do they fly out of ?"
Any airport that has flights to Jamaica. I don't believe the charter co's that offer N have direct flights to Montego Bay. We used ATA thru Atlanta.

"What cost benefit is it for booking thru a tour operator?"
You'll have to compare prices yourself.

"What is the beach like for walking nude ?"
Facing the ocean, you can walk for 2 miles as nature intended without seeing another person or civilization.

"What snorkelling is there ?"
There is a reef of shore that is ok. (Provided the water is calm enough}

We booked through Expedia and flew Westjet from Toronto. There are recent reviews on N- Holidays Resorts as well as a comprehensive thread on the Falmouth forum on Tripadvisor. Ask on.

We booked in December via Expedia and have booked a trip in May via Travelocity. In both cases we booked a vacation package including airfare and it was considerably cheaper than any other option. The package discount was over $400 in both cases.

In Expedia, you can search on the home page for N Resort Falmouth and you can find the hotel page. If you are booking a vacation package, tell it you want to travel to Falmouth, Jamaica and it will take you right to N Resort.

On Travelocity, for any search of Jamaica hotels, enter "natural" for "Hotel name contains" and it will take you right to it. Lately, Travelocity has taken to giving me an initial page of "choice" Jamaica hotels first and I have to hit View More Hotels to see more than that first 10.

I very much hope others will find this resort and book it. We loved our trip and are heading back for a longer one. But, with occupancy so low, I don't see how then can be that long for the world and their marketing is PATHETIC, so not many people know about this resort. When we went, the first thing people would always ask when you met was "how did you find out about this place?"

"But, with occupancy so low, I don't see how then can be that long for the world and their marketing is PATHETIC, so not many people know about this resort"

The newest review on Trip Advisor Falmouth states that there were 60 people staying there the week it was reviewed. That's a lot more than when we stayed there.

We visited in February. The beach walk is fine, but it's not a gorgeous, idyllic romp on a secluded, amazing beach. You've read that there are boys raking the beach at the resort all day long to clear the seaweed, right? There isn't anybody doing that on this 2 mile beach walk.... We made a point of checking the tide tables and taking our walks at low tide, at least then you can walk on clean, wet sand rather than seaweed and trash. Inland of most of the beach walk is dilapidated buildings, chain link fencing, or thick overgrowth. I would say at it's widest point at low tide, the sand is probably 20' between the water and the bushes, fences, trash and seaweed. We enjoyed it enough to do it twice, but it wasn't because of the scenery, we did it because we could walk nude on the beach for 2 miles.

Oh, and by the reports we heard, the snorkeling is pathetic. Don't plan on much. We're SCUBA divers, so we don't get too spun up about snorkeling, but even the people that made the effort came back sorely disappointed. We were on the 2nd floor of block 10, which gave us a nice view into the calm waters, and as far as I'd be comfortable swimming out to sea it was nothing more than sand and sea grass. There may be an opportunity to go out on a snorkel boat to a better area, but what was just off the resort beach didn't look good for snorkeling.

Snorkeling is great in a pool. As a Scuba Diver, I get all worked up about snorkeling because there is great freedom in no tanks, weights, BC, etc not to mention the safety risk that we all train for with diving. I only love Scuba when there is something to see that I can not surface dive to. I've never scuba dove naked, but I have snorkeled.

I have read about theme night a couple of times

What are they and how many are there ?
This resort is looking very good to us

Theme nights are listed on the website, there's a theme for every night. During our stay, I'd estimate that 20% of the guests dressed according to the theme.

That's 10 times as many as when we were there. But, it's also less than 30% occupancy during high season, which is bad. Meanwhile, Hidden Beach is sold out (and is much more expensive) and Club Orient is sold out in all but two room categories. They really need to learn how to market this place properly.

If I'm not mistaken, N is still run by the Jamaican government. Name a government that knows anything about business. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

That's because the others were there NOT to dress. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Actually, probably another 70% wore clothing that you might see at any Caribbean textile resort, and the last 10% wore nothing or just a towel.

Unless it has been sold (there are rumors), the property is owned by the Development Bank of Jamaica. It is in receivership. They have been trying to sell it for several years now (anyone got $10M to spend?) They are leasing it to Franklin D. Rance, who is running it. He originally built it as FDR Pebbles resort and owned it before it was taking into receivership and I assume they figure they are better off letting him continue to run the resort rather than letting it go empty (and return to nature pretty quickly). Rance is the same guy as FDR Resort and if you book N, you will do so through the FDR Resort people.

I would assume that, since it could be sold at any time, that they don't want to invest in marketing. I think that's an unwise choice, since they could likely be filling the resort more in the short term and maybe buy it back (they owed $4.5M, BTW).

Interestingly enough, the resort had been for sale at http://www.liquidateitja.com/properties.php for a couple years, but is not listed now. That may be a sign it has been sold.

Gleaner article about the property (early 2012)

My wife and I are going to the N resort in April. What to people wear for dinner and the entertainment at nite

I had these same questions before we visited in February. What we found was that there was a pretty wide range of attire for dinner, but the vast majority of couples were wearing shorts and shirt on the men and a dress, shorts or coverups on the ladies. There were very few that were nude at dinner, or even topless. Most wore clothing that could pass at any tropical resort. My wife wore sheer coverups with some structure and fit right in, I wore shorts and a light resort style shirt.

There is a list of the theme nights on the N website, but we found very few that dressed in accordance with the themes. For breakfast and lunch, towels, wraps, bathrobes or nude was the norm.

but now I'm logged in.

Thanks for the information concerning the dress code. I prefer to be nude all the time but I guess I will have to go with the flow. We went to Sorobon years ago and nude was the norm.

I would not worry about having to dress for meals if you don't want to. Most of time I ate nude, and there were several of us who were doing that. While we were in the minority, nobody cared if we were dressed or not.

If being nude is your preference, since it is a " nude resort", it is important to the integrity of the resort and it's future to uphold that standard. We are of your mind, and do wonder how younger people, perhaps less confident, are encouraged to feel comfortable in their skin when others are textiled. The flow may be negative. Hope you have a lovely time.

Wear whatever you'd like, or nothing at all. I was just passing on what we witnessed during our visit. Nobody will care if you're completely nude at any meal. There was certainly no "dress code". The main reason my wife and wore clothing is that I spent the months leading up to the our visit to N shopping online for sexy sheer coverups that I was going to very much enjoy watching her wear to dinner. They were not "slutwear" by any stretch, just nicely constructed sheer dresses and clothing that we both enjoy. The shopping beforehand increased our anticipation for our visit and also afforded us a lot of fun ordering, receiving and modeling each purchase. Two different female members of the staff complimented my wife on a couple of her outfits, and we both felt that the compliments were genuine and not just to be nice. One asked where we purchased the dress she was wearing.

If you want to be nude, be nude. If you want to dress up, dress up. It's your own vacation.

The first time we went to Hedo I remember laughing about the idea of a wet t-shirt contest on the nude side. Think about it: they had to put the t-shirt on so they could get it wet so it would become see-through so everyone could see what was on display earlier, already. Seems quite analogous to the idea of going to a nudist resort to wear your sexiest outfits.

I completely understand what you are talking about, though. We did sarong shopping before our trip to N and wore them to dinner. They didn't leave much of anything to the imagination, but they were comfortable. Everyone else wore clothes to dinner, but I'm pretty secure about being naked around others, so I didn't really care. The sarong make my wife more comfortable, though. Of course, there is an entire category of clothing called "nudist wear". And, sexy is always good and you can wear a lot sexier at N than just about any place short of Hedo.

Ah, Sorobon was the most relaxed naturist resort! We still can't understand why it changed to textile; what a shame. Just thankful for the many happy stays there when it was naturist.

Where on the web can I find the {Nudist wear}. Going to the N resort and want to buy something sexy for my wife

Another vote for Sorobon, where textiles were not considered. Naturism is so much easier.

Where did you purchase it?

I haven't been to N Resort but we were at Grand Lido Braco a few years back.
It was amazing BUT Jamaica is NOT.
Its terrible when you are advised to take a cab because its unsafe to be out of the resort without one so besides the specific tourist sites that you had to be escorted to or the limitation of the resort itself I felt imprisoned in the resort so I would much sooner travel to Club Orient or numerous other nude resorts or locations in Mexico, Europe or the US.
I should also mention that we ignored the advice of the gate guard and walked out of the resort, hitch hiked to a local bus station and took a bus to the local town. They thought we were nuts ( maybe we were? ) but we met the most amazing locals and had a lot of fun. Having said that, to travel outside the resort with that type of overshadowing made the experience less appealing as risk of problems can dampen the experience and it clearly would not be the thing that everyone would do. We have over 20,000 miles on our thumbs but most of that was a FEW years ago. It was fun putting out the thumb one more time - I think it might be the time to retire the thumb for travel - but you never know and it still works!

I bought almost everything on eBay, probably 15 outfts and 4 pairs of shoes. Most things I bought were only around $20 each. The one that she liked the best was a very thin gauze-like above the knee peasant dress with a rope tie around her waist. It flattered her shape very well and was very light and breezy. She liked wearing something to dinner because she didn't need to carry a towel with her and the outfits she wore made the vinyl cushions on the chairs more comfortable.

We used to rent a car and drive all over the Jamaican countryside/plantation areas in the 70's and walk all over Montego Bay. We never felt a hint of threat day or evening. I guess the Brits has things under control. Haven't been back since, heading mostly to the Virgins and St Maarten. I guess greater independence hasn't resulted in greater tourism safety. We do plan to go to Jamaica but expect the dash from the airport to resort confinement.

Haiti is the sameway now. We stopped in Cap Haiten and took the trip up the Citadel and mingled in town. Very impoverished country but did not feel threatened. Now the cruise ships go to a guarded, fenced compound-------no thanks for caged fun.

Caged fun is a very good description of how I felt in Jamaica and thats why I choose not to return.
The fun is very good inside the cage BUT like all animals in our kingdom sometimes you just want to wander outside the confines of the cage.

I asked our driver on the way to the airport to fly home if there was a problem with crime in the area of N. He replied that most of the crime problem was in other parts of the island, mainly Kingston. One thing he told us that I really liked was that relatively recently the police have taken a strong stand against gang leaders. If they can determine who the leader of a criminal gang is, they will just assassinate him and as many lieutenants as they can. He said that gang problems have dropped considerably, as nobody wants to be the leader and be the one hunted. Also, he said that Jamaica has a 10 most wanted list, but usually as soon as a criminal is named to the 10 most wanted he will immediately give himself up to the authorities. Being one of the 10 most wanted most assuredly means you will be hunted and terminated but by police and military.

Now I know all about due process and blah blah blah, but if you're going to run in those circles and they can tie you to crimes against the people, then you get what you pay for.

Geeeeeeez, that makes me feel better.

I know wayback the Brits in Africa used to send in squads from the Motherland to take guys out.

I guess I miss the fairy tale of 40-50 years ago. I didn'trealize howthey kept order I just know there was order. Like I said greater freedom hasn't broughtgreater safety.

Throughout the Caribean, I'd say things not as controlled as in the past. Not only governing freedom but successive generations may have bred some resentment of their economoic condition and the tourism industry (by some) that they don't want to grow up and be our taxi drivers and maids.

I love the Caribbean and I wish all of the peoples the best ---they defintely have a bit of paradise we do not.

Next week will be our 3rd trip to N in 3 years. The first 2 years their website said that that coverups WERE required in the dining rooms. The first year, Freddy the GM told me that you had to wear "something" in the restaurants. Last year, his attitude was "whatever, do as you please!!" Our friends just came back last week and had travelled with just their airplane clothes. They said that each room had a printed sheet on the table saying that coverups were NO LONGER required in the restaurants, and that they had a stack of clean "bum-towels" at the entrance to each dining room and a bin for used ones. Their website now says Coverups were NOT required. I will be going with only my travel clothes!

Just got back from 6 days at the N resort. Great everything. People do dress for dinner. Wish we were still there. We will go back