Upon arrival I was advised that although I did have confirmed reservations for this resort, they were closing the bar, restaurant, and office at 5pm! Wow! I was told I was being moved to the beach resort and that they had been doing this for about 5 months. It would have been nice if they had conveyed this to our travel agent! Seeing that I was also joining my Canadian friends for our annual reunion and they had not arrived yet, I told the woman at the desk that I would wait at their bar/pool area for my friends and then we would decide what to do. After walking the property and a quick chat, we decided it was in our best interest to agree with the move to the beach resort knowing that we could utilize their available shuttle to get to and from the beach and cliff resorts if we chose.
I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason. We had a marvelous stay. Our rooms were spacious and comfortable. The bar was great. The wait staff was wonderful particularly Davia, Shenice, Rupert, Millicent, and Lloyd. I am sorry if I have forgotten anyone.
Security was ever present and friendly. Any unwanted solicitation on the beach was quickly addressed.
When I had a problem with my door lock, maintenance was prompt in addressing the issue. I always felt safe and secure.
The beach and grounds were meticulous, with both men laboring all day to maintain the beauty of the property.
There were 2 dogs that live on the property, Cocoa and Sandy. They were clean, well fed, and especially efficient in alerting security that venders were soliciting guests.
The menu for the inclusive plan ( minus the lobster and shrimp option) was adequate. Breakfast offerings were good. The lunch menu was some what limited, with little variety. The dinner menu did rotate 3 times a week but when travelers like ourselves are spending 2 weeks at one location we do need some variety. The chef did do a marvelous job with all the items we did consume. The Chicken of the Sea plate was my personal favorite; shrimp and cheese encased in chicken breast...wonderful! But every choice for dinner was enjoyed. The desserts were minimal and being from a family that owned and ran a bakery, I found the selection lacking. Again, 2 weeks of spice, chocolate cake or vanilla cake was boring. One night we were offered cheesecake which was great. The beer battered fish, the chicken a la king and pasta dishes were good as well.
The bar staff was friendly and did a great job despite the several times that they ran out of beer!!! Yes, they ran out of beer at least 3 times.
The resort was attempting to audition nightly music and some of those bands played a couple of times during our stay. Considering that one band was advertising itself as a reggae band, it was almost comical to hear the cover jobs of old classics. LOL...I was expecting to hear "splish splash " like the old Happy Days comedy where they played that tune all night. One band did have some technical issues delaying them but once those were resolved, they were great.
Overall, the trip was a good one but there were some negatives.
Cons: The resort is open to the public for dining and bar service so the restrooms at the beach/ restaurant are shared obviously. The problem is that people from the beach and vendors also use the bathroom and the bathroom are not left clean after some visits...I had to clean the bathroom before I could use it due to the filth found after one vendor's visit. I am on vacation and should NOT be cleaning bathrooms. I did photograph the vendor, who prior to her bathroom debacle, ate her lunch then took a nap at a resort table.
Running out of beer...hello, Red Stripe Beer is Jamaican.
Restaurant Menu: It would be nice to have more variety. Adding a soup for lunch? Offering a salad for lunch? The small chicken salad appetizer was nice so why not bump it up? Also it would be nice to have more foods offered that people who travel regularly to Jamaica enjoy...Chicken foot soup...( auugh, that's for you Sandi and Marv), more callaloo, more jerk items, festival.
Karaoke....what is the problem with that man's machine that he was unable to play though songs without having the sounds of a raceway pounding through the speakers? He must be hearing impaired to have the volume so high...if it was intended to draw potential customers, it would have made more sense to point the speakers more towards the beach.
This was a nice trip. The Italian ladies, Lori and Layla, were a delight despite the fact that they spoke little to no English. We very must enjoyed hearing Lori ( who sings professionally in Italy) sing at night. Both she and her sister added so much enjoyment to our trip.
Thanks to all who contributed to a memory filled vacation. And a special thanks for that special visit from Spiderman one night at the bar!
