Arrival & Check-in
We arrived at the Couples lounge at the airport and only had to wait about 10 minutes until our bus was ready to whisk us to CTI. We were on a bus with three or four other couples and we were all going to CTI so we didn't have to stop. Not long into our trip it started raining really hard and roads flooded. It was a longer ride than normal but we had a great driver who got us to the resort safely. Check-in was smooth and fast and we were in our room before we knew it.
Room
We were in a Superior Ocean room. It is at the farthest end of the resort and has a nice view of the sea to the side of the resort as well as a view of the road and some houses around the resort. We really like the room location since it is nice and quiet but still with a great view and sounds of the waves and tree frogs. The room is very nice and clean and spacious. There is plenty of room to spread out and lots of storage for clothes.
The bathroom is also large and looks very nice but the shallow square sink isn't really very functional and water pressure in the shower is not very good so if you have long or thick hair, washing and rinsing will take a while. Conditioning shampoo and body wash are in ample supply but I bring additional conditioner since the conditioning shampoo isn't enough.
Food
The food is really good and always plentiful. There is lots of choice at breakfast from pastries, eggs and omelettes to fresh fruit and smoothies and typical Jamaican breakfast food. If you like coffee, bring an insulated mug, the cups at breakfast are quite small. Breakfast is served in the Patio restaurant and you can also have lunch and dinner there. It is a lovely open air restaurant. Breakfast is a full buffet and lunch and dinner are a combo of buffet, for salads and desserts, and menu, for mains. The service, especially at lunch, tended to leave something to be desired. It seemed to take a while to get a menu to us and then another wait until they took our order. But if you're really hungry, you can always get some of the yummy salads, soup or pizza while you wait. If you're not interested in lunch at the Patio, you can visit the Pool Grill or the Veggie bar. Both have good food. There's also soft-serve ice cream and nacho chips available at the Pool Grill.
For dinner, there's a choice of several restaurants. You need to make a reservation for Bayside (Thai) and Eight Rivers but not for Veranda. These three have menus posted in the hall between the main lobby and the Patio so you can check those out to help you make your choice. The food is always good so you can't really go wrong but we really enjoy Bayside. The Patio is also open most nights for dinner and you should go at least once, if only for the fantastic desserts.
Things to do
Having been to the resort before, we didn't do much this trip. We did a tour of the kitchen, which was quite impressive. We asked at the guest services desk and Kalu, the sous chef, showed us around. There was one red flag day when there were no water activities and several yellow flag days but we did get to do some snorkeling but mostly we sat by the pool or on the beach and relaxed. The beach at CTI is not big and there has been some significant erosion after Sandy and the subsequent storms but it is a private beach so no one bothers you while you lie and enjoy the sun. The resort provides nice big beach towels which can be picked up and returned by the main pool or the watersports area. There was never any problem finding a chair.
Other stuff
Bring lots of sunscreen and bug spray. For the most part, the staff are wonderful. There were one or two exceptions but generally they are warm and friendly and welcoming. Room service is a nice last resort but it doesn't do the food justice. I would skip it and eat in one of the restaurants. WiFi is available throughout the resort but can be spotty in the room. If you really want to be connected in your room you can ask for a cable and go wired.
This is a great all-inclusive with great staff, good food and a comfortable environment. Go, relax, enjoy!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.