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Caribbean Travel RoundupNewsletter - Paul Graveline, Editor |
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Trip 5/98 Just returned from Jamaica May 16th. did not want to come back to the states. 3 couples from Arkansas and Tennessee. Had been planning a trip for a few years when we decided to go to an all-inclusive. Thought about a cruise but my travel agent, also a good friend, said we'd go broke buying alcohol on a cruise suggested the all-inclusive. Glad we did! From the plane ride on Air Jamaica to the resort everything was great. Met a lot of great people from all over. My husband and two cousins went to 3 weddings! Had the honeymooners hanging out with us for the rest of the week. Breezes has a lot to offer. The entertainment crew was excellent. Made a lot of friends with the kids that worked there. Enjoyed all of the activities (even won a few of the beach games and the pj party!!!) as 40 year old kids ourselves could not have had a better crew to entertain us! Plan to go back next year but may try Negril as we are all beach bums at heart. If you are planning a trip anytime soon we highly recommend breezes!!!! Tell them Terry and Rocky sent you!!!
Trip (5/98) Making Vacation Arrangements We first heard of the fabulous vacation opportunities in Jamaica through a business associate. Since we have only taken vacations centered around visits to family members over the years - with one exception to the East Coast - we thought it would be wonderful to take a real nice vacation to an all-inclusive setting. Having been surfing the net for about a year, this vacation idea offered a chance to explore the possibilities offered on the net. We found quite a bit of information. Especially valuable were the vacation reviews. Since they helped us so much, we want to be of assistance to others who may find some of this information of value. SuperClubs' Grand Lido properties looked to fit our vacation desires best. Since they recently upgraded San Souci Lido to be a Grand Lido, and with the acquisition of the Braco property and its upgrade to a Grand Lido, we thought that it would be very interesting to pay a quick visit to all three. We could thereby get a feel for the unique qualities of each, and be able to make a decision about future visits - with the assumption that we would stay longer at only one of them on our next trip(s). (It seems like an awful lot of people can't stay away from Jamaica for too long). Therefore, we decided to take advantage of SuperClubs' "Lido Sampler" (where they provide free air travel between Grand Lido San Souci and Grand Lido Negril) and extend the package to include Grand Lido Braco. Hence, we called it the "Lido Super Sampler". Maybe SuperClubs will create a special package along these lines. There are quite a few travel agencies that specialize in Caribbean locations. We contacted about 10 on them to get some general information and to get a feel for what they had to offer and what kind of people they seemed to be if we were to do business with them. The Jamaican experience is such that one would like to have a real good, long term relationship with an agency with whom one feels very comfortable. If you spend some time on the net, you will see a couple of agencies mentioned quite often. We talked with them, too. They were pleasant and informative, but either had significantly higher prices than the average or only offered room selections that we did not particularly want. We would suggest shopping around to find an agency that most closely matches your desires. Be careful of those who offer more than can be delivered. If in January they promise you the sun and the moon during a Valentine's Day visit, it is probably too good to be true - try somewhere else; use common sense in evaluating what to expect (e.g., Hedo significantly overbooks on peak weeks, meaning . . .). We finally chose Tom Bukaty to handle our vacation arrangements. We like his business philosophy and his price was 7-12% less than all other agencies contacted with one exception. He gave us what we wanted at a good price. Give his a shot at 1-800- 536-3866. The Trip We find the lengthy exposes about getting to the destination extraordinarily boring, so we will only say that we skipped the bus rides (except where necessary back and forth to Braco from MoBay) and took the charter flights. Since we took the sound advise to pack light, we only had carry-on luggage. After clearing Customs we met with the Air Negril steward. Despite their claims to have you airborne within 30 minutes, we were told that a flight could not be scheduled for 4 hours. We took Tim Air (who had a plane immediately available), but it cost 50% more than Air Negril would have cost. (We found out later from a SuperClubs executive that Air Negril is having "domestic problems". We only saw one Air Negril plane in all of our travels). We figure the flight from MoBay to Ocho Rios (actually Boscobel) saved us at least 2 hours over ground transportation. Hence, we enjoyed the buffet lunch (which we would have otherwise missed), made various arrangements at check-in, got situated in our room and hit the beach for a while before the bus arrived from MoBay with our fellow incoming flight members. For the last leg of the trip, since Braco does not have an airstrip in the vicinity, we flew from Negril to MoBay, then took the bus from Sangster Airport to Braco. Again, this would have saved us about an hour and a half, and made it possible to stay a little longer at Negril and arrive a little earlier at Braco. If for no other reason than the view, you should take at least one flight. If you don't mind the small planes (like a Cessna), the trip is beautiful. SuperClubs booked us with Aero Express for this flight, but Aero Express had a scheduling mixup and was 45 minutes late to pick us up, so we didn't save as much time as we had hoped. Because of the delay we had a chance to speak with a mature couple that visited Hedo. Their report piqued our interest in a visit there. Vacation Philosophy A 3 or 4 day visit to a resort does not do justice to the experience, and is entirely contrary to the pace of life in Jamaica. It was our primary desire, though, to sample the Lido properties, and a 10 day visit was pushing our capabilities for vacation time. With these drawbacks in mind, we decided to start the vacation at San Souci. Because it has the spa treatments (included in the price) we thought it would get us in the vacation mode the fastest of the 3 locations. This was the perfect way to transition from the hectic pace to which we are accustomed to a world of having no cares except to show up on time for the spa treatments. We gave ourselves 4 days here to take advantage of these special features. We spent only 3 days at each of the other 2 locations. To take advantage of the "Lido Sampler" flight, the next destination was Negril. There are significantly more people at Negril, but also more activities, facilities and food options. They were just completing the installation of their sauna and steamroom. One of its unique features is the MY Zein. If for no other reason than to take the yacht excursion, this is something that one should do at least once. The last leg of the vacation was to Braco. It is new and built around a village concept. The property is quite large, but the number of guests is less than Negril so it does not seem as crowded. Overall, there are about as many activities at Braco as Negril, but it is a different mix. The atmosphere seems to be a little more "Jamaican" than the other 2 locations. Here are some specifics about each location (minus lengthy explanations of the bedspread designs - since we did not go to Jamaica for the room decor): San Souci This location attracts a greater mix of people from all over the world. It is very pleasurable to meet and talk with people from many countries. Language does not seem to be too much of a problem. Most people are willing to engage in conversation, but this is the most conservative of the 3 locations. The staff is the most attentive, friendly and outgoing here. There are quite a few honeymoon couples and their families. This is the smallest of the 3 Lidos. The grounds are beautiful and romantic with lush vegetation. The older sections are built on a cliff. There are a lot of stairs - lower legs beware! The food is outstanding and every facet of service is impeccable. As other reviews warned, you need to get your spa treatment reservations made as soon as you arrive. Extra treatments are possible because of an occasional cancellation, but the staff has recently begun scheduling extra treatments after normal business hours (for an extra cost). One can, therefore, schedule a series of progressive, therapeutic massages, for example, to extend through the entire stay. You must also make your reservation(s) to the formal dining room when you arrive. The formal dining room (Casanova) is sometimes fully booked 2 days in advance. The beaches are adequate, but not as expansive as the other locations. We like to have a tentative schedule for activities before going to a location. I got some information about the excursions and daily activities ahead of time so that we could definitely schedule activities that had a high priority. There were some minor changes from the information we had in hand before we left, but we feel we got to do pretty much what we wanted while there. Some excursions/activities are only done once or twice a week or take most of one day, so you might try to get this information ahead of time so you don't miss out on something you really want to do but cannot do because of lack of information. (Hint: Your travel agent should be able to offer some assistance if they are earning their money). We went to Dunn's River Falls. It was great fun. Bring your own water shoes (NOT sandals). One of the guides takes everyone's camera to take pictures along the 1 hour hike up the falls. A tour escort takes video. The next morning you can buy a copy of the video. The guide said it is less crowded at the beginning of the week. Friday is the Gala Night. It is held on the huge lawn near the beach. It is a wonderful setting and the entertainment is outstanding. We were party to some special entertainment because SuperClubs was hosting their annual JAPEX gathering of travel agents that night. The Gala hosted 650 people as opposed to the usual 220 guests. Most of the weekend was spent by exploring the grounds, relaxing on the beach, in the hot tubs, mineral pool and sauna. Special mention must be made about the spa treatments. Included in the price are the mani-/pedicure, massage, facial, body scrub and reflexology. They will try to schedule all treatments, but the more days you allow them, the easier it will be to accommodate your schedule. Some of the treatments are done in the huts near the water. You must specially request these locations, otherwise, they will schedule you for a "regular" treatment room. The huts are especially enjoyable. Even for a man, the manicure and pedicure are rewarding. The massage is of the limbs and back. They should provide a wheelbarrow to cart you back to your room when finished because you will be so relaxed. Francis fell asleep during all of the treatments. What can you say about a facial. We felt 20 years younger. If you are offended by exposing your buttocks, you may not be too keen on the body scrub. (I guess you can request it be modified, and they will comply, but . . .). It is ordinarily done all over the body (sans clothing) except for a discreetly placed towel when on your back. The body scrub is with oil and cornmeal, followed by aloe vera with a shower after each procedure. It was an invigorating, yet soothing treatment. If your prude side dominates, you will be missing out on a fine experience. The reflexology treatment was intensely soothing. It involves the feet and lower legs. If you want to be pampered and routinely melted into oblivion, spend a week here and get at least 2 rounds of treatments. The manicures and pedicures were the best at San Souci compared with the other locations. Negril The beaches are wonderful. It was quite windy while we were there, but being warmer than normal, the wind was welcomed. We hit the beach right after the lunch buffet. The food selection is the largest of the 3 locations, but this is likely due to the greater number of guests. They must have recently changed the dress code for the buffet because there was no mention of coverups in the room information packets and bikinis were routine attire. Wednesday night is Carnival Night. They have a greater variety of Jamaican and Caribbean food than usual. The entertainment came in from Montego Bay and was a troupe performing customary Jamaican dances. They involved the audience, too. Just before dinner we took the MY Zein cruise. It was very pleasurable, relaxing and interesting. Be sure to sign up for the MY Zein as soon as you get in. Thursday night we ate at the formal dining room (Piacere). All of the reviews praising the eatery are true, but their sorbet maker was broken. SuperClubs was filming for a new promotional video. We were often in "competition" with the film crew, meaning that we sometimes had to wait for their staged shoots before we could use an area or engage in an activity. We took a trip to the local 'flea market' and a mini-mall of small, air-conditioned shops. It is enjoyable and interesting. Apparently, most of the items available at the flea markets and roadside huts come from several 'wholesalers' (you do see the same things over and over again), so it comes down to dickering with a merchant that appeals to you. You may find some slight variations in articles from shop to shop, but you need to look carefully. The flea market has a lot of wooden articles. The shops at the mini-mall have some good prices for T-shirts and some shops have a good selection of Raggae music. There are many more activities available than time to fit them in. A lot of relaxation was high on our priority list, though. Because we took the flight to MoBay on our way to Braco, we were able to spend most of the morning on our departure day taking in some sun before preparing to leave. Bags are placed outside the door to be picked up 1 hour before scheduled departure. Braco The bus ride from Sangster to Braco is pretty tame, but cruising through several villages is interesting. Because of our flight delay, we missed the lunch buffet, but the small Italian eatery just opened, and they have very good pizzas. We thought we might have missed the daily, pool volleyball game, but they were still going after we ate, so our late arrival did not spoil the afternoon. Everything is much more spread out at Braco than at the other locations. Despite the newness of the resort, the vegetation is extensive (the botanical tour is very informative) and quite well established. In certain respects, it is better foliated than Negril. The pools are huge (largest in Jamaica) and attractively designed. The beaches are so large that you can be isolated if you want to be. The site also has a 9-hole "executive" golf course that is free of charge (unless you need clubs). The buildings for the rooms are brightly colored and very pleasing. Also, because of the manner of the staff, this location has the most 'Jamaican' feel of the 3 locations. Small pizzas, ice cream and pastries are available all afternoon and evening in the 'village' (center of the complex). We saw the peanut cart only once when going to the formal restaurant (Piacere), but we must have been doing other things when it was out at other times. There are several merchandise shops and some street vendors in the village area. The initial asking price for items at Braco was more than the vendors at San Souci or in Negril shops, but they met our prices when we told them about the other vendors. Friday is their Gala Street Party. A great variety of food is served at the village square, including, among other things, octopus. After dinner, the activities director solicits guest participation in several Jamaican dances (some of which are risque) and offer T-shirts and other trinkets as prizes. About 30% of the guests participate. Comparisons We were a little surprised of the average age at San Souci. We expected about an equal mix of 20's - 35, 35-50 and over 50. It appeared that the lack of over 45's was made up for by the less than 30ish. It may be a seasonal thing because the ambiance of San Souci is toward the older set (except for the stairs) and newlyweds. There were also fewer Orientals and Europeans than expected (say 20% vs. 50% - expected). Overall the clientele was very friendly, but the most reserved. Negril had many Europeans and South Americans. The people seemed much more cosmopolitan and there was more of an air of artificiality. One had to work harder at striking up a conversation than elsewhere. Small groups tended to be clique-ish. Two-thirds of the guests were in the 30's with the remainder being split between younger and older. Braco had some Europeans and South Americans, but was mainly North American. Surprisingly, the largest age group was 30- 45, slightly older than Negril. The guests were the most friendly of the 3 locations. All of the rooms we stayed in were very nice and comfortable. We figured that since we would not be spending much non-sleeping time in the rooms, why get something fancy (or with a Jacuzzi since hot tubs are in abundance). San Souci has an old section (Blocks C-G) and a new section (Blocks A-B). Blocks A and B are on the beach. We initially requested a Verandah Suite, but received an upgrade from our travel agent. The upgrade was not available for the first night, so we were able to compare the rooms. The Verandah in E Block (older) has a large patio with a lounge chair, plus a table with 2 chairs. The room is quite large and nicely situated. The bathroom, though, has no electrical outlets. The upgrade room in B Block has a Jacuzzi tub with separate shower stall, and a small sitting room off of the bedroom. The patio is just big enough for a small table and 2 chairs. We did not like the arrangement, but did use the Jacuzzi once. It is too shallow to be real effective (compared with other Jacuzzi tubs used). The shower stall is nicely sized, but the controls are Neanderthal - changes took 30 seconds to become effective, then, every 2 minutes, it would randomly and suddenly change to hot, cold or as set. We prefer the Verandah except that you must do stairs to go anywhere. A and B Blocks are on the beach and next to the buffet restaurant. (Also, the "au natural" area is nearest to the A Block). We got a Beachfront Jr. room at Negril. The room is compact, but adequate, and has virtually no patio. No problems (mon) except that the couch is terribly uncomfortable and the louvered slats leak hot air like a sieve, so the a/c has a hard time keeping up. This room, apparently, does not have a mini-bar (small refrigerator), like the rooms have at the other locations. We asked for a Beachfront Jr. room at Braco. We were placed in a One Bedroom Suite. It was a very nice room with a kitchenette and sitting room on the entrance side and the bedroom on the beach side. It has 2 CD's, 2 TV's, 2 a/c's , 2 closets and 1 1/2 baths. The patio has more than enough space for the small table and 2 large chairs. Low water pressure was the only fault we found. The only insect problem encountered was a Braco. Mosquitoes must enter the new rooms through the wooden slats that cannot fully sealed when closed. The maid gave us a can of Raid and that solved the problems. The mosquitoes do not bite, though. All 3 locations have real fine resident bands and pianists (no piano at Braco Piacere, though). San Souci also has a guitarist and flutist that play for the weddings and, at times, with the resident band. The food is very similar at all 3 locations. Some variations exist in the buffets, like waffles only at Braco and Negril has slightly more offerings. The formal French restaurants have quite similar menus, but the menus must change occasionally, because some of the offerings mentioned in other reviews are not on the menus we saw. Service was very attentive at San Souci, nearly as good at Braco, with a significant decline at Negril. For example, one could never empty their glass of orange juice (at breakfast) without being offered a refill at San Souci; Braco would offer more juice shortly after you emptied the glass; one has to request more juice at Negril. This level of service seems to be reflected in most areas of service. Another example would be laundry: San Souci picked up on request (in the morning) and delivered it on request several hours later; didn't try Braco; Negril would only commit to 48 hour return and came by 4 hours after the published time to pick it up(we ended up washing the clothes ourselves). The 24 hour room service was prompt at San Souci (we love their calamari - only available here), OK at Negril (only tried once), and spotty at Braco. Hot tubs appear to be a lingering problem. One hot tub at San Souci and Braco were being repaired. One other at San Souci was way too hot some of the time. The only one we tried at Negril was OK, but we never saw anyone in the one near the main pool. One at Braco was either almost uncomfortably hot or just plain uncomfortably hot. We heard that the other one (we don't know if there are 3 or 4 hot tubs at Braco) was way too cold. As an owner of a large hot tub, it is not that difficult to establish a stable, comfortable temperature. The attitude of the staff at each location is interesting. The entire San Souci staff seems genuinely interested in pleasing each guest. A higher percentage of them speak a very clear King's English than elsewhere while being predominantly Jamaican. At all organizational levels, they will engage you in some conversation or go out of their way to greet you. The words, "no problem" and "my lady" are constantly heard. The Negril staff appears to be less predominantly Jamaican and somewhat younger. Very few would initiate a greeting, let alone conversation. We got the feeling that they were merely 'doing a job'. We don't recall ever hearing "no problem" when a service could not be immediately rendered. The Braco staff lay between San Souci and Negril, leaning a little more toward San Souci. There were more that spoke with some dialect so as not to be immediately understandable. Many would greet you or initiate conversation. We didn't really hear "no problem", but they indicated that they would attempt to meet a request. An example: We like Ting, the Jamaican carbonated grapefruit juice. Often, it was hard to get because they didn't have enough on hand. After trying a couple of bars at San Souci, we asked the mini-bar restocker about it. He said, "No problem, mon." 15 minutes later we had 4 bottles of Ting. At Negril, the reply was either, "We have no Ting" (period) or "I will make something close to it for you." (Since we didn't have a mini- bar, we didn't need to obtain a supply of it). At Braco, we asked for some extra bottles at the 24 hour room service location and they had it delivered about 30 minutes later. A Word About "Au Natural" San Souci and Braco have designated "au natural" areas (nudity expected). Negril has a "clothing optional" area (nudity allowed). This aspect has just been added to San Souci and takes the form of a small beach, pool with grotto, hot tub, bar and grill on the back side of the property facing a different bay (at the mouth of the White River) than the main facilities. There were not a lot of people in that area, but there were fewer non-North Americans at San Souci than we expected. In stark contrast to this, Braco is specifically designed to cater to the au natural (AN) crowd. About a third of the property is devoted to those desiring to shed their clothes. It is possible to spend your entire visit at Braco, and not wear a stitch of clothing except at check-in and -out. One would miss out on all of the restaurants, the gala nights, disco, etc., but the resort was designed with the AN clients in mind. 40 of the 180 rooms are in the AN section. The only eating facilities there are the pool bar and grill, and the 24 hour room service kitchen and bar. Negril has a "clothing optional" area including a beach, hot tub, small pool, bar and grill. One complaint is that a lot of "textiles" wander through to have a look (who are the real "perverted" ones?), and, because the wedding gazebo is at the far end of this area, the wedding parties are sometimes paraded through this area with naked people on lounge chairs by their rooms on one side and the beach with many naked people on the other. Just because these facilities exist at the Lido locations, it does not mean that the vacationers will be bothered (or embarrassed) by the AN group. If you don't want to see it, it is not forced on you (with a couple of exceptions mentioned here). By the same token, the AN people take offense to the "prudes" wandering over to the AN areas to gawk. We think that the staff at Negril are callous to the feeling of all involved by taking wedding parties through the "clothing optional" area. Also, there appears to be a problem at Braco in that either the AN section is consistently underbooked, or that they consistently overbook textiles, forcing them to stay in the AN area. We are aware, too, that some travel agents book people into AN rooms without explaining the implications. We noticed some people in newly-arriving groups that looked uncomfortable about having to go through an AN area to get to their rooms. Likewise, we were aware of a couple that could not get an AN room even though they spent most of their time in the AN area. We were considered first-timers to AN. We universally found the people in the AN areas to be very accepting of us and allowed us to mix in at our own pace, as long as it was evident that we wanted to mix and not gawk. Everyone seems to be accepted as a person and not by their physical characteristics. Guys do not flock around a shapely 'babe', nor are flabby people shunned. Any initial, awkward feelings are quickly replaced by "this seems natural" (pun intended). We found the people in the AN areas to be much more conversational and genuine. We met some incredibly interesting people. If you are nervous about being "out of shape", you can just about be guaranteed of finding others that are further along the road to "blimpdom" than you. We are in the 90th percentile as far as being overweight goes, so we just had to overcome our OWN self-image problems. We never had a hint from anyone that we were not accepted because of an extra 'love handle' here and there. Unless you've got some real serious hangups, "Try it; you'll like it!" Remember, though, sunscreen is your FRIEND! Conclusion Very different characteristics at each location. It really depends upon what you are individually looking for as to which location will please you most. We talked with people who had been to 2 of the 3 locations and they liked different ones for different reasons. We didn't come across anyone who had been to all three, especially in a single, "first time" trip like ours. We have tried to be somewhat objective in our observations. There are good points and bad points associated with each location. Hopefully our comments will give some insights if you are considering going to one (or more) of these locations, particularly if you are undecided. Good luck; have fun!
My husband Dale and I traveled to Couples Resort in Ocho Rios; Jamaica from May 14 - 22 1998. We had gone to Couples in October of 1993 for 4 days and talked about returning to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this May. After extensive research on the Internet, looking to see if we could find someplace better, we decided to return there and we are very happy we did. We really enjoyed our first trip and were afraid that any other place would not have been as good as Couples. We also received some "perks" because we were a returning couple. We left at 6:10 AM out of Green Bay on Northwest Airlines. We needed to transfer in Detroit and Tampa, and were kind of nervous about making both connections, but everything worked out fine. We were a little late getting into Tampa but had no problem because the Northwest gates are close together; we basically walked off one airplane and onto the other. By 1:30 PM we were in Montego Bay. Jamaica does not have daylight savings time, so they were on the same time as we were. The airport has tamed down quite a bit from five years ago. Either that or we hit it on a slow day. Immigration and customs went fairly good and by 2 PM we were done. Then the part I had been dreading, everyone in your face as you tried to figure out where to go next. Actually we found a Northwest Worldperks tour representative right away. She directed us to the correct desk. The woman at the desk had someone bring us to the bus, he of course required a tip, but it was relatively easy. We were to ride to Couples with two other couples who were already waiting in the van. The drive to the resort did not really bother us last time. They had provided us with beer and soda and jokingly said we had to finish it before we got to the resort. This time there was no beer or soda. We visited with the other couples and enjoyed looking out the windows. We decided we didn't need to stop, and arrived at the resort about 4 PM. Check in went fine. They gave us a glass of champagne and we completed some paperwork. We were given a safe key and room key and someone brought us to the room. Our bags arrived shortly afterwards. We were assigned room 250, in the west wing. It was an ocean view, which we had requested, down towards the end of the resort. The view was great, and the room seemed fine. There was a large closet, a wall safe, two-door chest and king size bed. They had added TV's and CD players since our last visit. Our room had a small patio and two chairs, which we enjoy. There was also a desk and small couch. Apparently some of the older rooms are not quite as big. The room had a slight musty odor. I attributed this to a large, wooden building with years of high humidity. After a day or so, I got used to it. Orientation was at 6 PM. We changed clothes and checked out the resort. Not too much had changed in the last 5 years. They had built a new wing of rooms, which they called South Wing. The jungle, pool, beach, and restaurants looked pretty much the same. Orientation lasted about 1/2 hour. Even though we we'd been there before we felt that the orientation was worth while. They reminded us that channel 6 on the TV also had a list of events for each day, or we could check with the desk if we forgot something. I noticed that they had a small area by the game room that had about eight slot machines. I didn't remember them from last time. Many of the tours were done the same days as they were last time. Food: We thought the food was exceptional. There were four restaurants, Bayside, was Italian and open air, Le Gourmet, was the French restaurant. This was the only one that required a reservation and had a strict dress code. They expected men to be in long pants, shirt with a collar and shoes and socks. No jeans and no tennis shoes. A jacket and tie were optional; I didn't see anyone wearing either. The Verandah restaurant was International. Breakfast and lunch were served buffet style on the open-air patio, in the evening this was the Jamaican restaurant. The only room service that was available was a continental breakfast. The buffet has several tables of food at all meals, one with fruit/salads, the main entrees, and desserts. I never saw a shortage of food, although the earlier you ate, the better selection there was. In addition they had a beach grill that served hamburgers, fries, pizza, hot dogs, etc. most of the day. On Wednesday they closed the restaurants and had a buffet on the beach and a steel drum band. On Saturday only the gourmet restaurant was open, they had another buffet at the poolside. I did not notice any shortage of food, but if you waited to eat, there was a shortage of tables, especially if you wanted to sit right by the beach or pool. In addition to all of this on Mondays, they have a Manager's Party with a band. We went down and expected that there would be drinks, but they also had huge tables of appetizers. I had some jackfruit, which I didn't see any other time. It was quite good. We especially enjoyed the fresh fruit at breakfast, mangos, papayas, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc. The banana bread was also very good. They always had eggs any style, waffles, French toast, and made to order omelets along with some Jamaican specialties every morning for breakfast. Of course everyone will like different things, but we can't imagine anyone not getting enough to eat. Bar: As far as we could tell all drinks were made with name brand liquor. For example the Margarita's were made with Jose Cuervo tequila and cointreau. They had Pina Colada's and strawberry Daiquiri's already mixed in large blenders. There were several rum drinks that were popular. The bartenders would mix up anything you wanted. This time they had Heineken and Coors light as well as the Jamaican Red Stripe beer. There was either red or white wine available with dinner. Water Sports: We got to know several of the guys who worked in water sports and they seemed anxious to make sure we had a good time. Dale took the resort scuba course on the first day we were there. It started at 9 AM and was done about 11:30 AM. They made him take a test; he had to swim the length of the pool 4 times wearing a 6-pound weight belt. He was able to go on 3 dives while we were there. Apparently, he found out later that you could get PADI certification if you went on 4 dives and took the written test. The cost of certification would be cheaper than in the US. In the beginning of the vacation he didn't think he would have the time to fit in that many dives, something that he might consider at a later date. You needed to sign up for the dives on the previous day and they lasted about 1 hour. Each one was different. They also had snorkeling trips, which lasted about 40 minutes. We went on 2, the first one was a much better spot, there were more fish and coral, the water was much rougher for the second one and we didn't see as many fish. It only takes a few minutes to get to the reef and back; all you really need to bring with is a towel. Snorkeling classes are also available if you have never snorkeled before and would like to practice wearing the mask and snorkel. We went on 2 Hobie Cat rides. They were a lot of fun, you got very wet, but the guys were really good at steering. They would also teach people how to sail small sailboats or the Hobie Cats, or wind surf. They also had glass bottom boat rides, kayaks, and water skiing. We also went on the sunset cruise, which is offered 3 afternoons/week. You need to sign up the day before. We came over dressed for this thinking of the last sunset cruise we went on, but we quickly returned to our room and changed into swimsuits. They leave around 4 PM and return about 6 PM. They offer you rum punch, soda or water and stop for awhile for those who wish to go swimming. The sun set much earlier there, I guess because of the time difference. Staff: We actually got to know a few of the staff, they seemed to encourage them to mingle will the guests. They would occasionally sit down and eat with you or just visit. I noticed the entertainment staff would join right in dancing, etc. Actually, we found this to be enjoyable; it was a good opportunity to learn about their country. The General manager introduced himself at the manager's party and talked to us a little bit about the history of the resort. Most of the staff seemed to be genuinely friendly. Of course there were a few exceptions, the arts and crafts person made us wait for a half-hour before he had the palm ready for us to weave. He didn't even acknowledge a group of about 8 of us. Another staff person who knew me actually brought me a chair. But this indifference was the exception, not the rule. The one difference we did notice is that the last time we were at Couples, in 1993 there seemed to be more of an emphasis on no tipping. I did see it in one of the brochures, but it was not mentioned during our orientation and in fact when we were on the sunset cruise there was a sign posted "tips appreciated". Every time we left the resort the drivers seemed to expect a tip. We did tip in a couple cases and it was never refused. I feel that in some cases if the service were exceptional it would be o.k. to tip, but one of the nice things about Couples was that you could just put your money away and not have to worry about it, that seemed to be not as much the case this time. Service: I have read good and bad about the service, actually we had exceptional service from everyone. The wait staff was always there refilling our glasses, asking if we wanted a drink from the bar, or taking empty plates away. While sitting on the beach, many times I was approached by someone asking if they could get me anything from the bar. When the light burned out in our bathroom I reported it to the front desk and the next time we returned to our room, it was fixed. Pool & Hot Tubs: They have one large fresh water pool with a diving board. We didn't even go in it, except Dale had to take a swim test for the scuba class. We did use the hot tubs a few times. They have two 2 seaters and 3 large ones. Every time we used them we were the only ones in them. The temperature varied, one time it was too hot. The beach was small, but adequate, not crowded at all. Renewing Vows: We renewed our vows on our Anniversary. We had arranged for this ahead of time. We e-mailed Couples and they told us we would have to call and reserve the time and day. When we arrived we asked about what we had to do to make the arrangements for renewing our vows and they said they would let us know. After a couple days we asked again and they said they would talk to us the day before. We were not real concerned because we knew it wouldn't take a great deal of time to set things up. On Monday, we received a note under our door at 9:30 AM to meet with the sales office at 10:20 AM. Dale was out on a scuba dive at the time. I met him at the boat and we were about 10 minutes late for the meeting. There was another couple talking to them anyway. It did only take us about 10 minutes to complete our arrangements, but they seemed to be very unorganized in that office. Our actual renewal went great. We weren't nervous like most people getting married, so of course that helps, but it was a very nice, religious, and meaningful ceremony. They supplied everything. The gazebo was decorated beautifully, with fresh tropical flowers. I received a bouquet of flowers and Dale got a boutonniere to match. After the ceremony we had cake and champagne. We opted to have them take some pictures. They would also have done a video if we had wanted it. The pictures were $150 for 24 5X7's with an album included. They were very well done. We noticed that they had a wedding just about every hour from 9 AM until 4 PM every day except Sunday. Returning Couples: After we renewed our vows we asked about getting free tee shirts and a free massage as they have advertised. They gave us the massage coupon, but at first did not want to give us the tee shirts. When we mentioned we had been there before then we were given tee shirts right away. That same day we found another set of tee shirts and a luncheon invitation on our door. Again, I think the sales office is not real organized. Because we were a returning couple they invited us out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Ocho Rios. We met in the lobby and 2 staff went with, there were 4 other returning couples who chose to go. They told us to order anything on the menu. The food was very good, I noticed the service wasn't as good as at Couples. We met some other very nice couples, and enjoyed the experience. It was interesting to hear everyone's story. Massage/Beauty Shop On the day we renewed our vows I also had my hair done. She opened at 8:30 AM for me and did a really good job. The charge for having your hair done was between $35-$45. While I was there someone inquired about having her hair braided. She said it cost $45 and took about 1 1/2 hours, or if you only wanted a few braids, it was $3/braid. The beautician was not connected to the resort; you could not charge this to your room. She, or course, expected a tip. We also received a free 1/2 hour massage. I thought it really felt good, and was quite professionally done. They did both of us at the same time, in the same room, but a curtain separated it. A man did mine and a woman did Dale's. They made us sign a release and would not give you a massage if you were sunburned. Entertainment: We weren't able to stay up for the entertainment every night, but we did manage to see some of them. The talent show on Friday night and the Reggae band on Sunday night were especially good. They had singers on 2 other nights; Wednesday night after the beach party they had a fire-eater, etc. We couldn't manage to stay up that night. The entertainment usually started at 9:15 with the house band, and from 10:00 to 11:30 the featured act would come out. After 11:30 they would have a sing-a-long or karaoke in the piano bar. They also had a saxophone player one evening, and a band playing during the manager's party. They had roving violin, or guitar players in the restaurants. Someone played the grand piano in the French restaurant. Tours: Again we didn't do all the included tours. Last time we went on the Dunn's River Falls trip, which everyone should see at least once. We had also gone on the plantation tour last time. We did go on the shopping tour and we went horseback riding. We rode through the woods and I enjoyed hearing about the flowers and trees so that was enjoyable for me. Church: Since we were there over Sunday, I inquired at the desk if it would be possible for us to go to church. I wasn't even sure if there was a Roman Catholic Church in the area. They knew what time the service was and arranged for someone to bring us to Ocho Rios and pick us up after the service. This was not included the driver collected the money when we got back, and of course expected a tip. Weather: The weather could not have been better. During the whole time we were there it only rained once, and that was during the night. The temperatures were in the 80's during the day and 70's at night. We used the air conditioner all the time and had no problems with it. Other: There were many other activities available: racquetball, volleyball, arts and crafts, board games, beach Olympics, bingo, shuffleboard, big screen TV room, video games, trivia contests, etc. There was a gift shop with many souvenirs although the prices were more expensive than in Ocho Rios. You could also sample several different rums and liquors for sale that we sampled. I could go on and on. They had a board with the daily activities listed. We spent some time just sitting on the beach relaxing or talking to other people. There were plenty of lounge chairs to go around, and several 2-person hammocks. Trip Home: We were told to have our suitcases outside our door 1-hour before the van left. That morning we were asked to complete a survey, and someone also called to ask us how our vacation went, if we had any problems, etc. We had time to eat breakfast and have 1 last pina colada. The van left at 10:15, we were the only couple going back that morning, so we had the whole bus to ourselves. They stopped about half way to the airport. We bought a few thing, the rum was cheaper here than at the resort. They also sold it at the airport and had special boxes there. We got to the airport about 12:15 and our flight didn't leave until 2:15 so we had plenty of time. We had connections at Tampa and Minneapolis on the way back, which made for a long day. We got into Green Bay at 11:30 PM. Returning: We really enjoyed this vacation, probably more than any other. Couples has just the right atmosphere for us. One of the highlights of our vacation was something you couldn't plan. We were asked to witness a wedding, something that took us totally by surprise. It also helped to make it a very special vacation and we made some new friends. We are talking about returning sometime. We heard that when the new Couples opens in Negril, they will be offering to fly guests between the two resorts. You could spend part of your vacation at each place. Something we will check into in the next few years.
Trip June 1998 My wife, 13 and 8 year-old sons and I just returned from Boscobel where we had a great vacation. We were scheduled to leave at 8:45 Saturday morning from Atlanta. The plane was about an hour late. The flight itself was pretty nice. The food (a cheese omelet) was better than I expected and the complimentary champagne was appreciated. We arrived around noon and after clearing customs, found the ground transportation to Boscobel. It was a small bus with about 12 of us aboard. Winston, our driver, was very friendly and described points of interests throughout the 2 hour ride. It was kind of like a mini- tour. He showed us the homes of celebrities and pointed out the birthplace of Marcus Garvey. We did stop halfway at a roadside “cafe” for a Red Stripe (not cold enough) and a Ting (which my kids enjoyed). We finally arrived around 3:30 at Boscabel. We were greeted at the front desk by the Boscabel Bear (some poor soul dressed in a bear costume and forced to dance and wave in the 95 degree heat). Check in was quite painless. We proceeded to our room. Now I was a bit apprehensive about this particular part due to some of the other reports and posts I had read. I was quite please with our particular Jr. Suite, however. The main room was spacious se was the bathroom. The smaller “room” had bunk beds, a couch and the television which worked out well, for they were really the only ones to watch any TV at all. The rooms were clean with tile floors. We did not have a balcony, but did have a limited view of the ocean (partially obstructed by the roof of the pavilion restaurant). Now I had heard stories of inadequate air conditioning, and through the week, met other couples that complained of the heat, but in our room, you could have hung meat! It really got too cold a couple of times and we had to turn it down (or up - I never have figured that out). My youngest son and I set off to explore, leaving my wife and older son to wait for the bags to arrive. We easily found our way through neatly kept gardens to the terrace. This is where the main action is. The main meal buffets are held here and it is right next to the large family pool. The main bar is also located here. I quickly snagged an adult beverage of some sort while my son grabbed a coke and we continued our adventure. We found the steps to the beach area and checked out the boardwalk. The steps and elevator are located midway along the boardwalk so we turned left. Well, it took about a minute and a half for my 8 year-old to find the arcade. This quickly became his second home. After letting him play a game, we continued past the beach bazarre (local crafts) and one of the 50 or so people who would tell me that they were “the one” to see if I needed “anything”. Past there we found the beach bar and grill (ah, just in time). That is about as far to the left (west) as you can go, so we retraced our steps and continued east from the stairs. We came upon the watersports area where you can sign up for snorkeling and scuba diving. This is the end of the property to the east and the boatdock serves as a boundary. Right bast the dock locals hang around selling crafts and braiding hair (quite popular - lots of kids with braided hair). After this quick tour, we ventured back to the room to fetch the rest of my clan for an early dinner. Food All in all, the food was very good. I had read several reports which were not very kind about the terrace buffet, but we found it surprisingly good, especially when you discovered the area where they put together custom dishes (usually different seafood pastas or grilled meats depending upon the theme). There is plenty of wine (the quality of which seemed fine for us non-connoisseurs) and plenty of food choices for kids. Very relaxed atmosphere with lots of people still in bathing suits. The pavilion restaurant requires reservations and allows kids. I wish we had done this a couple of extra times as the food was a bit better and it was nice to have waiters. The Allegro is the adults only restaurant and requires long pants for men. Quite a dress code, eh? Anyway, the food was quite good - the anti pasto salad bar had some interesting marinated vegetables and the entrees were truly delicious. My wife and I ate here twice. For lunch, I would recommend the Beach Grill which serves up some pretty tasty jerked pork and chicken as well as hot dogs and cheeseburgers. All in all, the food was tasty and plentiful. I learned quite by accident one night that they even had a midnight buffet of sandwich stuff for those with a late night craving. Activities Plenty of stuff to do here! The kids seemed like they were always gone, although they did not do a whole lot of the structured stuff. The staff is very friendly and laid back. My kids were old enough so the staff would just ask, “Can they leave on their own?” We felt comfortable that the kids couldn’t get in too much trouble - they can’t get off the grounds - so we let them do pretty much whatever they wanted. Usually swimming or arcade action. My wife, my 13 year old, and myself are certified in scuba and went on several dives. The dive masters were friendly and proficient. The diving was fun, a different reef every day, but all very close to the resort. There weren’t a whole lot of different wildlife to see, but enough to make it interesting. Of course the beautiful waters of the Caribbean are so clear and warm, it is hard not to enjoy yourself. We went on a couple of snorkel trips. They were fun and easy. My youngest who does not swim well went near the end of the week, and he had a few problems with his mask and snorkel, so I am afraid he didn’t enjoy that a whole lot. We didn’t ride the hobie cat or the sunfish sailboats, but we did ride the banana boat several times. It was fun and quite a hit with the kids. Our kids spent a lot of time swimming in the pool. The reports of the beach area were pretty accurate. It is pretty small and there was a lot of seaweed. My sons said that the seaweed was so soft, it felt like wool. So we joked all week about the “Sea Sheep” and had “sea sheep wars”, throwing handfuls at one another. Just outside the roped off swimming area, local “craft artisans” paddled out on surfboards selling shells, among other things (let’s see - there was “The Farmer” and “Smokin’ Joe” - hmmmm wonder what else they were peddling....). My wife and I got to put in a fair amount of tan time either at the beach or the adult pool. Now, the adult pool is the place to go to find some real quiet. Never crowded, but I did notice a few faces that were always glued to the same seats at the bar at the adult pool. Actually this proved to be one of the more fun bars - always friendly bartenders that would make sure your drink was filled. We met several different couples here and would usually have a good time. We would usually go here around 5 or so. It was supposed to close at 5:30, but if you had 4 or 5 people talking, the bartender would keep pouring - sometimes until 6:30 or later. After dinner, we would sometimes go to the Piano bar. You never knew what you would find there. Some nights it was very quiet and sedate, other nights it would get raucous. I went a few times to the disco and the same thing here - it could be jamming or dead. The NBA finals were on a few nights and the large Chicago contingent made itself known. There was usually some entertainment in the Terrace area after dinner, but we didn't see much of it. We did catch the welcoming party on Monday at the Beach Grill which featured a steel band and an hors d'oeuvre buffet plus specialty fruit drink bar. I even had a drink with an umbrella in it - I felt like Steve Martin in "The Jerk". That was fun. My wife and I heard a reggae band from afar one evening. It seemed most people were worn out at night and 10 or 11 was about the time I usually ended although I did stay up until about 12:30 one night. I am sure I have left out some pertinent details somewhere, and if you have any specific questions, I will be happy to respond to them. All in all, it was a great time. If you expect the Ritz Carlton, you will be disappointed. If you expect friendly staff and a place to make your own fun, you will have a blast. Take care No Problem Mon
My biggest complaint about most trip reports is that they read like a fifth grader's mandatory 500 word essay, "What I did during my summer vacation". They go like this: Day One: Was hot, met John and Jane Doe, hung out on the beach, drank Purple Rains and Dirty Bananas, rained in the afternoon. Like no kidding Sherlock. To begin with your reader has no idea who John and Jane Doe are, nor do they really care. And guess what else, you're in the tropics and it is usually hot and it does usually rain in that afternoons. Spare us, we just want the facts, what's new, what's changed, what's improved and what was unusually bad or good. We don't want to read five pages about the antics of John and Jane Doe, VUBS (Very Unimportant Beach Slugs). And BTW it's not rain it's liquid sunshine. OK now I got that cleared up, so before the facts, if you want to read about the Reunion skip to almost the end. Now here's the facts. This of course is from our point of view and comparisons are made from yearly May only visits. Other experiences may vary check with the manufacturer, whoops wait that was the vibrator instructions. Seriously though everyone has an opinion and yours may differ, but we do know of many folks we met who did feel the same this trip. Oh yeah our trip ran from May 20th through May 30th and we did have the pleasure of traveling down and back with Jamaica Jim. General: There are drought conditions throughout Jamaica caused by El Nino. The usually lush tropical vegetation including the grass was dry and visually suffering. Someone said it hadn't rained in Negril for 6 weeks before our arrival. The air conditioning at Mo Bay airport seemed to work much better than prior years. They've also finished some of the interior work on the terminal. The walk seemed much shorter and cooler, yeah! We noticed there are a lot more flights going into Negril airport, guess fewer visitors want to do the bus ride from hell. Hedonism II General: Check in is at Mo Bay airport. If you're taking the bus they have you fill in your paperwork there, then board the bus. If your taking TimAir as we did, then they hand you your paperwork to fill in on the plane, so you're out even faster if you fly to Negril. Just make sure you tell the desk people in the airport before they grab your luggage and throw it on the bus. Once you arrive at the front desk they just hand you the keys to the room and away you go. The drought has also affected much of the resort's vegetation, but it is still beautiful. The staff in general during this visit were more friendly and service much improved. Rooms: New CD/radios were added to all rooms. The hair dryer, ironing board, shampoo, shower gel ,etc. are still present. Water pressure and temperature was the same either too low and/or too hot or cold. A promise was made at the returnees' party that it was currently being worked on and was to be corrected by the end of the month. Yeah right! For the last couple of years they've said the same thing, "It'll be fixed by..." What a crock of s..t. Even on Jamaica time it's way past due, stop jerking our chain, we can live with the water situation much better than the BS they give us about when it will be corrected. Oh yeah they did not specify which month, or year. Beach Area: We don't usually go over to the prude side so these comments are only about the nude side (actually didn't even touch the prude sand this trip). The beach was constantly being serviced. Used cups collected often and leaves, seaweed and general debris in the sand were always raked up. Unfortunately, it appears more sand has eroded away. Ice and cups were always available in the coolers at the soda machines on the nude beach (by the old beach bar and hot tub). This is a vast and much needed and appreciated improvement. In years past the coolers were often empty or the ice was melted and there were no cups. Water: The little mini-bay area by the jetty did not seem to be filled with as much seaweed and yuck as last May. Unfortunately, we don't know the staff member's name who was cleaning seaweed, sea urchins, etc. out of the water, but he did a great job. We asked one staff member for his name and they couldn't remember past, "the tall guy", oh yeah that's helpful. He deserves applause though so if anyone goes down pass along the kind words to him and management. It was cleaner than we ever remembered. I was not as worried about stepping on something. Did not see many cups in the water either. Sea Urchin population is definitely down, don't know why. Did see a lot more little jelly fish (scooped out 18 of 'em in an hour one morning) than in past visits, know of at least one guest that got a pretty nasty sting from one. Field treatment for a sting is Vodka, you dab it on the sting, though I suppose drinking it wouldn't hurt, but you'll have to drink lots of it <G>. When in doubt just ask Delroy he'll set you right up. Also noted a pleasant increase in the variety, quantity and size of the fish life, this has to be a good sign. Some years gone by there was almost no life it's good to see it coming back. Pete the Pelican, err Penguin was up to his usual dive bombing tactics. Television Room: One of the shops was converted to a television viewing room. Sofas and a large screen TV were installed. I usually feel news deprived and enjoyed going in to get a quick CNN update. The room was keep nice and cool. Nude Pool/Hot Tub Area: A new soda dispenser was added by the hot tub it serves Red Stripe as well as sodas and was kept stocked. The pools and jacuzzis were cleaner than previously remembered. Unfortunately, the hot tub was kept way too hot. This was probably due in part to the servicing and cleanliness, but it could have and should have been cooler. Service at the nude beach bar and grill were great. The grill serves jerked chicken at around 6 p.m. Food: Food with the exception of Robert's beach grill, was a real big disappointment this trip. No let's be specific the food sucked this trip, we've never seen it so bad. I felt that the selections and quality/style were made to please the preferences of the staff and not the guests. Island fare/cooking style is nice to try occasionally, but not consistently as the daily main entries. Everyone agreed that the steak served was terrible, chewy, tasteless and impossible to cut with a knife. Deserts every night consisted of little cakes (tortes) most were very good, but the lack of desert variety as in the past got real boring. I missed the little chocolates filled with cream. A little desert cooler was installed near the soup kettles to hold ice cream. The ice cream was always nice and cold where in prior years would be usually melted. Unfortunately, if you don't like rum raisin or vanilla with grape nuts, as I don't, you were out of luck. Again no variety, past years at least had chocolate or plain vanilla and fudge sauce. Another disappointment that I don't remember from prior visits was the number of leftovers served the next day. My husband was so desperate the night after Chinese food he actually resorted to eating leftover, cold Chinese food. That's bad! There's nothing worse than filling up on bad food for a meal, it's kinda like really bad sex, sure you got something but... Pastafari food was a little disappointing too, not the same quality as in past visits. They offered the same deserts as the dining room. I thought that the menu changed weekly, but did not during this visit. Getting reservations was often difficult, another indication that dining room food was bad. In the past you could get a reservation as late as 2 or 3 p.m., this trip you'd better have one by 10 a.m. or forget it. I know going to Hedo is not like being on a cruise where the food is expected to be outstanding, but more variety and better quality would be appreciated. We've never bragged about the food, but it was generally good and some nights were great, but this stuff was simply awful. We did hear that a new chief was in the process of being hired, so hopefully it will improve. Dinning Room: Service, including Pastafari, was much better than some past visits. Music as in all past visits continues to be played way too loud during dinner time. It is expected to be at that level during show times, but guests would like to talk while dinning. It was difficult to hear the person sitting next to you and impossible to hear someone across the table. A number of return guests said they have commented on this in the past to no avail. We're not at a concert hall we're eating dinner for god's sake give it a rest. I guess the music was too loud for management to hear guest comments and requests. Returnees Party (A.K.A. Repeat Offenders Party): A change has been made to the free week given away to the guest who has returned the most trips. In the past, guests could only win once. Now once you've won you start counting with visit one again and work back up. I heard from some returnees who have never won and complained that it wasn't fair to change the rules. Even though we've never won, we feel that's a nice way to honor those guests who keep coming back 20 and 30 times. Hedonism can afford to give two trips though, one to those who have won before and one to those who haven't. With the new rules it will be difficult for some folks to win, ever. I was disappointed with the cocktail party food. In the past, peeled cold steamed shrimp with cocktail sauce was served. This time they served a lukewarm spiced shrimp with the tails on. Not only was it not that good, but it's difficult to manage pulling off the tails while standing and holding a plate and possibly a drink too. Security Guards/Security Measures: Additional lighting/spotlights were added or at least directed into the hot tub area(1 from the back door of the grill, 1 from the bathrooms and 1 from the end of the last building). It's intrusive and they shine directly in your face. Security can be accomplished without turning a spotlight on the hot tub, shielding or redirecting the light could be done. We heard many guests complaining about the lighting. Not to mention the extra security and lighting give the impression there is a crime problem the resort is trying to address, definitely not the message to be sending to guests. That's one of the messages we felt was being delivered. The other one is as follows. Don't even think about getting a little intimate or passionately kissing your significant other in the hot tub. The night security guards or as I hear they are now referred to as "The Hot Tub Police or Hot Tub SS Guards" will be all over you in a heartbeat to break it up. We were only kissing when I looked up to see the Hot Tub Gestapo standing over us and actually shaking his finger at me. Every one was watching us and him, I felt like I got caught necking in high school. We have heard rumors, but cannot verify, that the general manager doesn't approve of the hot tub activities and security has been instructed to immediately stop it. Time for my "soapbox", Management is wrong if they feel they are protecting those who are offended, or worse, if they are inflicting their own moral standards. For one, those guests who are offended should not have booked a vacation at Hedonism, there are other resorts with better food and showers that don't freeze or scald you. Two, if guests did not like what goes on then they would not return to Hedonism. Since management pats themselves on the back and boasts that Hedonism has the largest number of repeat guests, then it seems obvious guests are not offended and come back for something other than the food (God it's GOTTA be something other than the food). Management should not try to fix what is not broken or have security impart their view of correct behavior. Management should concentrate on fixing what is really broken or substandard. I did not enjoy being treated like a criminal while kissing my husband in the hot tub. Hedonism sells itself on freedom, no rules, "Be Wicked for a Week", "The Pleasure comes in many Forms". Couple Hedonism to those and other sales pitches and what do you think your pushing, Bible school? Hedonism IS the people (guests and staff), the lack of rules, the freedom, the sensuality, the all day cocktail party, the lack of judgmental people. Guests come because they want to get away from the judgmental types elsewhere. They don't want someone telling them oh you can't do that here, that's why they came, so they could do that here! Otherwise why come, they can go elsewhere. If management isn't careful they run the very real risk of destroying Hedonism. After all it's been this way for almost 17 years now, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Enough of my opinion on that. Future Plans: As mentioned above the water temperature/pressure is being worked on. There are plans to start building new suites on the nude side near the aviary. I also believe they said that a new pool complex is planned for the open area on the prude side. Plans also exist to expand the dinning room and disco. Hedonism III Runaway Bay is under construction and an architect's model is on view in the pit area of the lobby. The primary concern we heard uttered by most guests was the loss or fear of loss of the intimacy of the tropical grounds on the nude side. The new lighting shining in your face was bad, the drought hasn't helped and there were concerns expressed about the proposed new rooms near the aviary. The worst possible decision management can make would be to destroy the lushness of the grounds for the sake of "progress". We escape that from the States when we come here. If all there would be is lights, concrete and the Gestapo Security, why bother to come? Jamaica Jim's Vernar Reunion! - Okay that's what it says on the invite to the cocktail party the resort threw for us. I still don't know what a Vernar is. We do want to thank JJ and Hedonism for the party. We would also like to thank Kevin, Hedonism's General Manager, for the lunch at Cosmo's it was terrific as usual. We want to thank Go Classy Tours for sponsoring the Jamaica Jim Vernal Reunion Tour and for the tee shirts and gifts. Thanks to Lance at Go Classy for dealing with us infidels. Finally a special thanks to the one and only Jamaica Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Board and A Legend in His Own Mind, whose wit and friendship have made all six of our trips great.
We stayed 5 nights at BOSCOBEL BEACH from May 21-26,1998 . Since there has been so much conflicting info about Boscobel Beach I decided to write my feelings about the place. Be warned! I do not expect moderately priced all-inclusives in Jamaica to be fancy accommodations or cuisine! I have run across people who hated a resort due to sub-standard brands of French wines being served there! Everyone expects something different, and what might be a minor issue, or no problem to me might be a huge issue with others! I will be as objective as possible. We flew Air Jamaica from Baltimore to MoBay on Thursday morning (5- 21). We have flown Air Jamaica on each of our last three Jamaica vacations and have been perfectly happy with AirJam each time. Others have been less lucky and have been less satisfied, but we will continue to fly with them. All of our flights have been on time, comfortable, with good food and friendly efficient service. The best part is we can fly non-stop without the obligatory stop in Atlanta or Miami that is part of the U.S. carriers flights to MoBay. Air Jam also gets us into MoBay the earliest in the day. Immigration and customs was fairly quick, we had birth certificates for all 4 of us (make sure you have OFFICIAL birth certificates with the raised state seal, not a decorative hospital birth certificate! In addition my wife and I used our drivers licenses for our picture ID’s. We went to the SuperClubs desk and after a 15 minute wait we were on our way to the resort aboard small air-conditioned buses. The baggage handlers at the airport are not SuperClubs employees, and therefore are working for their tips! The bus ride is just under two hours, but takes longer if you stop (and you probably will) for drinks and restrooms for 20 minutes or so. Our kids slept the entire way, including through the rest stop. The bus was mostly families with older kids. The ride was long but not entirely unpleasant CHECK-IN We were met at the entrance to Boscobel Beach by a four piece band playing island music. My wife and I were each handed a glass of champagne and the kids each a glass of juice. The Boscobel Beach mascot, Bosco the Bear (a tall friendly guy in a bear suit) was there to greet the kids. Our kids loved him and always smiled when he appeared throughout the vacation. Luggage was brought from the bus to the check-in desk for us while we checked in. We were on our way to Room 446 with a friendly bellhop bringing our luggage on a cart within 10 minutes. I would be surprised if check-in went this smoothly all the time. We have waited up to 2 hours at Hedonism II before as late check-outs sometimes make it impossible for all the rooms to be clean and ready for the folks arriving. I have had this same thing happen at the Hyatt Regency at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, so don’t assume that this is just some weakness of Caribbean All-Inclusives. It is a fact of hotel life at times. I am sure they all do the best they can. OUR ROOM (446) Our room was a Junior Suite and we were very happy with it! Our room was clean, very large, and the air-conditioner worked very well! I will ask for a room on the 430, 440's again next time (we will go again!). The bathroom was large with a large tiled tub/shower that is sunken into the floor. The tub is quite large and the water pressure and amount of hot water seemed great. There were two sinks on a counter in front of a long mirror. There was a medicine cabinet on the wall that was nice to keep from having rows of little bottles of stuff we travel with (advil, etc...) from just sitting on the counter. There was a hair dryer mounted on the wall. It did not work but before we could complain we found that a working hair dryer was waiting for us in the closet. Just past the bathroom is a LARGE walk-in closet. If there had been a mirror in there it would have been large enough to be a dressing room as well! Plenty of space , a little sparse on the number of hangers though. The closet also had a small safe, large enough to safely house travel documents, wallets, and money. The key to this safe is on the stretchy key ring with one of your room keys. Don’t lose it or leave it laying around! Also in the closet was an iron, ironing board, and a place to hang up wet clothing. After the closet the room widens out into the adult sleeping area. This part of the room alone was about the same size as the room we stayed in at the Holiday Inn on Wednesday night. It has a king bed (firm and nice) with two night tables and a dresser with mirror. A 3- 4 foot high wall divides the adult sleeping area from the kids part. This wall stops at one end to allow a walkway into the kid’s area. The kids area had a set of bunkbeds (my kids loved it had to take turns sleeping on top!) as well as a small sofa that pulls out into an additional twin bed (we did not use it except as a sofa). In this room also was the TV which was set into a cabinet atop a chest of drawers. The TV was a 20" or so and gets a handful of channels including HBO, ESPN, DISNEY, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and TNT. All reception was crystal clear. Also in this area was a small refrigerator which is kept stocked with bottled sodas (called Chubby’s) which my kids enjoyed and drank in the evenings. On top of the frige was a coffee maker with all necessary stuff to make coffee. The kids area is somewhat secluded from the adult area to allow some privacy but the low wall between and a set of nice wooden louvered shutters that open and close. These shutters run all the way to the ceiling and add a great deal of privacy to the adult area. It is like a separate room then but with no door between the two. Not perfect privacy, but better than being in the same room! Every day our room was cleaned very nicely and efficiently and it was always completely done before lunch every day. The check-out questionnaire asked for us to specify one or more staff members who made our stay nice. We wrote down our room attendant (Georgia Grant) and the Scuba Divemaster (Anthony Paul). Though everyone we met there was friendly and helpful these two stood out in their competence and friendliness. I cannot vouch for other rooms (Lanai Rooms and One Bedroom Suites) but our room was the nicest we have stayed in at an all-inclusive, nicer than any room we had at a Club Med and nicer than the rooms at Hedonism II (which I have no problem with either!). I would request (though they make no guarantees!) a room in the main building in the 430's of 440's. I asked a dozen or so people we met about their rooms and all seemed satisfied at least. Remember it is not a luxury resort though. Some rooms are being renovated as they continue to make-over the resort. We heard and saw no construction, but that may not be the case in all rooms. If you are particularly sensitive to that sort of thing you want to call the resort and ask to be house away from construction areas if possible. Again, they make no guarantees about room location but seem willing to do what they can when they can. FACILITIES POOLS: There are three pools. The main pool is the heart of the resort. It is also called the Family Pool. It is large and has a hoop for water basketball games and a net for water volleyball games. This pool is surrounded by lounge chairs and has a full service bar open all day. The Family Pool has a lifeguard on duty all day (from 9 AM) until early evening. There is also a bin of nice lifejackets at the pool that allowed even my non- swimming 4 year old to go all over the pool safely. The Kids pool is really nothing more than a small wading pool near the Family pool. This was a big hit with young toddlers as it is shallow. The Adult Pool is located in an area overlooking the beach and has it’s own full service bar as well. This pool is about the size of a large home pool and is surrounded by lounge chairs as well. All three pools were kept very clean with twice daily treatment and cleaning. Considering the traffic in and out of the Family Pool this was a great accomplishment. BEACH The beach at Boscobel is nice, but small. IF you like to go for long walks on the beach passing from resort t resort along the waterline you will find this impossible at Boscobel. The Beach is enclosed at both ends. To me this was an extra measure of security that made me comfortable with my kids spending time on the beach without us. There is a lifeguard on duty all day, beginning at 9 AM (I think). The beach is divided into a watersports area and a swimming area. Neither is very large, but the beach is wide enough to allow lots of chairs and on the beach. During our stay there was some seaweed in the water at one end of the beach. This was not something that could be controlled by the resort, only the tides. The staff raked the entire beach every day and moved away the seaweed that accumulated on the beach. The Beach is not the strong point at Boscobel. Compared to Negril’s 7 mile beach this one does not stack up well, but while not spectacular it is nice and my kids loved it. RESTAURANTS The food at Boscobel is good (we thought) but not great. While it is not a gourmet experience the selection of food at each meal was so broad that we were able to find something each of us liked at every meal. TERRACE: The Main Dining area is the open air buffet on the terrace overlooking the family pool. Tables are laid out from tables for 3 to large tables for large groups. Separate areas are set aside for the kids clubs dinner which begins at 6PM (this is if your child is signed into the club during dinner time). The food is buffet style with a wide variety of salads, fresh fruit and several entrees at each meal. This area also has a full service bar that is open from before dinner until the shows end much later in the evening. Breakfast is from 7:30 until 10:00 or 10:30. Made to order omelets were great but the line got kind of long some days. The Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is spectacular and available at all meals. PAVILLION: This is a sit-down restaurant for the whole family. You order from a menu and are served at your table (in case you grow tired of the main buffet). Reservations and long pants are required. We did this one night, but it is not air-conditioned and while the food was good we preferred the Terrace with the kids. My kids were not into a quiet sit-down restaurant while at Boscobel. After this they preferred to eat at the Terrace with their friends in the Kids Club. This freed us up to eat at Allegro. ALLEGRO: This is the adults only restaurant and it was a highlight of the trip for my wife and I! This is an air-conditioned restaurant serving a five course Italian dinner with a nice Antipasto Bar. Drinks and wines are served with dinner. The food and atmosphere was great and made for a nice change from the noise of all the kids (ours and others!). We ate here our last two nights and wish we had begun sooner in the trip! Reservations, long pants, and collar shirts are required. BAR-B-QUE PARK: This is where the kids groups have lunch most days. They serve a variety of burgers, hot-dogs, French fries, fruits, sodas, ice-cream, jerk chicken, etc... Kids can get soft drinks, snacks, and ice-cream all day here. It sits adjacent to a nice playground with a variety of swings, slides, and climbing equipment. There is also a petting zoo, a small barn-like area with goats and things to see and pet. BEACH GRILL: This is where food and drinks are available at one end of the beach all day. There is a soda dispenser for getting all the drinks you want all day. There is also a beer tap (Red Stripe of course, and not self-serve) here. The beach grill was my choice for lunch most days. They serve excellent Jerk Chicken and Pork as well as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot-dogs, chicken burgers, Veggie burgers, Jamaican Meat Patties, French Fries, and Ice-cream. BARS: You can get a drink (soft, mixed, alcohol, blender, beer, etc....) >From about 10:00am until the last guest leaves the Disco. Kids can get juice, sodas, or even non-alcohol daiquiris all day too. Drinks are not watered down and use mostly brand names of alcohol. The Beach grill has only beer, juice and soft drinks (and really good slurpee- like slushy drinks). The Piano Bar serves booze but no blender drinks. The Terrace Bar, Pool Bar, Adult Bar, and the Bar in the “Escape Hatch” (adult entertainment/disco) all are full service, meaning any kind of drinks you want are available there. ACTIVITIES: These the ones we did! TENNIS: Four courts in good shape. Group lesson every morning and the pros (friendly and competent) are available for more private lessons later in the day. SCUBA: One daily dive is included. Divemasters were great. Equipment was safe and up to date. The diving in Jamaica’s good, but not the quality of the Caymans or Turks. Water was warm and visibility was good. Decent amount of sealife and reefs. Resort certification is available for non-certified divers. If you are really interested in diving though I would get certified at home first. BANANA BOAT: Most of the day on the beach a five-seated “Banana Boat” pulled behind a motor boat gives rides to anyone who wants it. Our kids loved this and we rode as a family many times because the kids enjoyed it so much. Life-Jackets are provided in all sizes. It’s a lot of fun! Rides were gentle if small kids were aboard and a bit wilder for groups that were all older kids and adults. A real hit with all ages. ARCADE: Along the beach boardwalk is an air-conditioned games arcade with about 15 or so games that are rigged to play for free. Amazingly only one or two were broken at a time. This is amazing because the kids are really rough on the machines. The game repair folks were in there several times fixing things. We enjoyed this as a family and the kids club spent a half-hour or so in there on two different days. KIDS CLUBS: Our kids were both in the Boscobel Bears Club (ages 4-7) and loved it. The supervisors did a great job of keeping the kids active and my kids enjoyed it a great deal. My daughter wanted to stay from 9 AM until 10 PM (and did twice!). There is a mandatory shower break from 5PM until 5:50PM every day for the kids to clean up before dinner at 6PM. In and around the many outdoor activities (tennis, beach, pool, lawn games, etc...) There are cool-down periods built in. This included arcade time, indoor games, arts & crafts, and tie-dyeing T-shirts (a favorite of my kids! Take a clean white T-shirt for them to dye!) This allows the kids to wind down and cool down a bit in the air- conditioned kids areas. Every night after dinner is a different movie (Disney and Disney-like movies) at 6:45PM each night. After the movie is a different party most nights. My kids’ favorites were the Reggae Dance Party and the Backwards Party (amazing how much my son enjoyed wearing all his clothes backwards!). ENTERTAINMENT: Every day is a variety of participation activities. Bingo, trivia, and so on. Kids and adults alike win tokens called “SuperCents” which can be accumulated and traded for small prizes. Every evening there is an after-dinner show. This is not high level entertainment, but can be amusing. The Resident Band is good and plays every night. Limbo, dance groups, and fire-eaters are particularly interesting to the kids. OTHER STUFF AND RANDOM THOUGHTS I have heard people complain about the steps and elevators at Boscobel and it was not a big deal to us. If you had to use a stroller and the elevator was broken (it never stopped working during our stay) then it could be a problem though. The beach is about three flights of stairs down from the Family pool and Terrace. There is an elevator (small, old, and hot) that goes up and down but it is just as quick to walk. It was not a problem for us. If you hate any and all stairs and this would ruin your vacation then you should choose somewhere else. I would like to see a full service bar down on the beach level. The Beach Grill serves softdrinks and beer but none of the blender drinks I crave on vacation (Dirty Banana, Hummingbird, and Strawberry Daiquiris for my wife). The Bus Ride from Sangster Airport in MoBay is a long one! The trip was no problem either way for us. Our kids both slept all the way both ways, but the potential for motion sickness and misbehavior is there. For those who may have had a bad experience at Boscobel in years gone by I can only say that either things have gotten better or your expectations were different from mine. The best way for me to judge a family vacation is if everyone had a good time. We did and we will go back. The longtime GM at Boscobel Beach (Richard Hall) left SuperClubs back in December. I remember him from his days as GM at Hedonism II and felt he did a good job there. The new GM (Name is Pierre Bagatelle (?)) was very accessible to me and I saw him about the grounds several times. He seemed friendly and competent and devoted to the idea that he would do what he could to keep the guests coming back, for that is how a business thrives and everyone at Boscobel seems to believe that as well. To those who think paying to take a vacation entitles you to order the staff around as if they are inferior to you, that being on vacation means leaving your manners at home ...let me just say this; I have found in many trips to Jamaica that the people are friendly and helpful. The employees at Boscobel, Hedonism, or where ever will give you better service if you are polite and not rude to them. This is true of most people anywhere as well as in Jamaica!
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