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Caribbean Travel RoundupNewsletter - Paul Graveline, Editor |
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Trip 9/01 DAY 1 ARRIVAL Our flight to Mobay was a smooth ride aboard Air Jamaica from Houston. This was our fist time in first class and on Air Jamaica and I must say we enjoyed both (smile) Stepped off the plane into the warm Jamaica air and I knew I had arrived back to paradise. While in the immigration line my husband realized he forgot his CD player on the plane, so he runs back to retrieve it and GUESS WHAT.... the security person had it...just waiting on my husband to return...so much for all the crime in Jamaica. We followed the Air Jamaica vacation signs and after checking in with the coordinator, we were on our way. Loved the view from the van and was so excited to be visiting my beloved Jamaica again. We arrived at beaches (which is where everyone on the van was going all 22 of them BUT us) and we realized the bus driver forgot to drop us off at our hotel Negril Gardens....we knew he was on a time schedule because there were tons of people waiting at beaches for a return ride to Mobay with a little attitude to boot...one lady was down right rude...I started thinking if Jamaica can't calm you down lady there is no hope for you...anyway the driver said no problem and back to Negril gardens we went. We drive up and think this is nice.....all of the builders are brightly painted and have a very inviting appearance. we are told by the front desk clerk to go ahead and have lunch because we only had 30min remaining in the lunch hour and when we returned our room would be ready. That was music to my husband's ears. The food as in every meal here was quite good, sure enough when we returned our room was ready, and we were upgraded (at no additional charge) to the beach side. Negril Gardens has two sides to the property beach front and garden side. Garden side has the tennis court and pool. Beach side has the check in desk, gift shop, restaurant, beach grill, bar, massage shop and water sport stand. We were shown to our room amidst nice grounds, the room is a little small but comfortable with all the necessities so everything is IRIE. We take a nap then walk the beach for a bit. We stumble upon Nirvana's and decided to take a look. Stanley the owner was there (such a gracious man) and he gives us a brochure and a tour of the grounds. Lovely hardly describes this place. Very unique. The cabins and cottages are a nice size with a screened in family area overlooking VERY beautiful grounds and they have a full kitchen. In the middle of the grounds is a covered sitting area with hammocks and other chairs where we sat and talked with Stanley after touring a few of the cabins/cottages it was so peaceful sitting there talking and listening to the birds and tree frogs. We thanked Stanley for his time and on our way we went. Made our way back to Negril Gardens to rest a bit before dinner, which was another good meal. After dinner to the bar for a little unwinding. There was a show at MXIII but we didn't make it we talked with Nicholas the bartender until late and turned in. DAY2 EXPLORE AND REST DAY Started our day with breakfast at the hotel and a walk on the beach. Stopped by Risky Business and met Alberto (queen B's man) very nice guy and got a few flyers to pass out here and there for him....hope he received some extra business from the flyers...people seemed interested. Also stopped by Yellowbird to take a peek. Napped and laid on the beach must of the day. Later in the evening walked up to Debuss for some jerk...yummy. Decided to also check out Rondel Village we were looking for a place for next time and think we founded it in Rondel Village. Liked the grounds it's also fenced in (which I like since we plan to bring our daughter next time) looked at a one bedroom which was very nice and spacious also has a pull out bed in the living area, a Jacuzzi, A/C in the bedroom and a full kitchen. Spoke with Sienna to finalize our plans for later in the week and checked in with Isabelle to finalize our plans for the next day. Alfreds had the beach party so we stayed there and listened to the band and danced ....nothing like dancing in the sand to live reggae. DAY3 RENEW VOWS Up early which didn't go with the late night before...had breakfast and headed for bloody bay. Today we renewed our wedding vows and everything was absolutely beautiful. Isabelle Stewart (weddings@mail.n5.com.jm) helped us to coordinate everything. After talking with her via email for months, I was excited to finally meet her. A little petite lady with a mountain size amount of energy great personality and she was a joy to meet . She had her helper already clearing off a portion of the beach and he even picked a flower for my hair. The Reverend from Savanna-la- mar did a wonderful job and we felt so renewed and recommitted. We were on our honeymoon so I'll leave day three at that. DAY4 TOUR DAY WITH SOLOMAN Woke early and had breakfast (another great meal at Negril Gardens) then packed up and got ready for our day trip. Soloman (sala@jamaicans.com 1-826-8085 cell or 876-955- 7906 home)was taking us on a whirl wind tour of Black River, Y/S falls and Appleton Rum Factory. Sienna and Soloman were right on time. After talking with Soloman via email for so long I felt as if I already knew him and Sienna has such a warm personality I couldn't imagine anyway being a stranger to her. Marilyn was correct with her description "Jackie Kennedy of Jamaica" (I incidentally told her of this description before meeting her and she said "who me.....imagine the opposite") Sienna decided to join us for our tour and we felt special to have both her and soloman spend their day with us. After our initial pleasantries, we were on our way. Stopped in little London so sienna could p/u a few things and were off again. Peter Tosh memorial was our first stop....we paid our respects and away we went to black river. Sienna joined us in our fisherman boat and up the river we went. Our guide was an older gentleman (maybe around 60) but the body of a 30 or 40 year old great arms and muscle tone....he said it was from hard work and eating right. We saw a few crocs, but they wouldn't come up to our boat which was fine with me. We stopped and saw small Christmas tree looking plants and I was the only one in the boat who didn't know what I was looking at (smile)We went far up the river and felt special in our private boat which could maneuver the river well. On the way to Y/S we stopped for peppered shrimp which are really crawfish then away to the falls. What can I say absolutely beautiful. The grounds are so well maintained and beautiful. The falls were a little rough and a chocolate milk color but still very pretty. My husband did the rope swing as well as a few others....got a little wet then back in the car and headed to Appleton rum factory....we needed to get there before closing time. We were enjoying Solomon and sienna's company immensely. At some point during our drives, we drove through bamboo alley, which is oh so beautiful and stopped for coconut jelly. First you drink the juice from a straw which is stuck in the top of the coconut then he cuts it open so you can scoop the insides out...which is the jelly...very refreshing. Arrive at Appleton and enjoyed learning all about how the rum is made and tried sugar cane juice. Then the finale is tasting all the different rums.....Jeff really enjoyed this part...stopped by the bar for a bit then loaded up the car for home. On the way back we stopped for fish and bamma bread. Everyone is sticking fish (that's already prepared) into the car.....asking you to buy this...buy this.....I wouldn't know fresh fish from anything else so Soloman handled all of this for us. We were hungry by this point ate as if we it was our first meal in days. The fish was seasoned so well and really good. Stopped in little London for a leg stretch and took a walk with sienna up to the little store then back in the car and headed for Negril gardens. back at the hotel we gave sienna a little tour of Negril gardens and continued to talk a little...we were so enjoying their company...but knew we had to end our day. talked of maybe checking out close encounters (go go club in negril) because Talk of the Town (Solomon and sienna's go go club in little London) wasn't opened during the week we were there. Had the guard take pictures for us and then said our good byes. Our friends from Dallas had arrived today so we spoke a little on the telephone with them then decided to turn in for the night. Not sure what time but music woke us up so we decided to investigate and discovered Alfred's had the party again tonight so we of course had to join in on the fun. DAY 5 CHANGE HOTELS DAY This was our day to change hotels from Negril Gardens (beach) to Rockhouse (cliffs). We were feeling like we didn't want to leave our little home on the beach. Negril Gardens has a nice beach with trees for shade and we enjoyed the staff so much. The food was good and the grounds well maintained we knew where good jerk was, the cyber cafe, nightly entertainment but the plan was to move up to the cliffs and we had already paid for the hotel. We called home to check on our daughter again then walked up to the cyber cafe then back to check out and away to the Rockhouse. Met Alphanso at the front desk (we spoke a little on the net) and was told our room would be ready in a bit, so we walked the grounds and I must say they are beautiful, the pool really does look as if it backs into the ocean. Very green and lush grounds not to mention the beauty of the cliffs and water below. By the time we made it back to the front office our room was ready villa#7. What can I say it's NICE. Mosquito netting on the four poster bed out door shower, CD player, floor and ceiling fan...no A/C or TV....I wondered if Jeff would survive. Nice wrap around porch and a private sundeck and stairwell with a ladder to the water/caves below. Beautiful and so romantic....it does live up to the hype. Rested a bit then we walked up to 3 dives and met Paula and Lloydie such a nice couple (Liz I told Paula you said hello) Had jerk chicken and sat and talked with them for a while (very good and inexpensive meal) then on to sunshine plaza for a little shopping. Our friends from Dallas were taking a tour with Errol Cox from Errol Flynn tours so we knew we wouldn't see them until later in the evening. Bought some ting, rum and other items from Hi/Lo then stooped by countryside for CD's and other items....even received a discount from Adrian. then back to the hotel. Watched all the sunset boats come to pickled parrot and sat out on our sundeck until the storm drove us inside. Later in the evening met our friends up at Cosmos for dinner and enjoyed hearing about their day and another good meal. We then decided to see if we could get into RIU with our friends who were guest there. No problem just walked right in as if we were guests also. This hotel is simply gorgeous...I couldn't believe it was in Negril.... isn't there some sort of building code on how high a hotel can be? this place has a three-story block of rooms looks like an apartment complex in the states. I started thinking the small time charm of Negril was lost with this hotel but I must say at the same time I was in awe at how nice it was. Everything seemed so grand and elegant. If you can afford it and want to indulge, this is the place. We went to their rooms after walking around a little and were equally impressed with the size and decor of the room. Their room had not only a mini bar but also a dispenser with all premium liquor. I just couldn't believe it. Am I in Las Vegas?? We of course decided to indulge ourselves and stayed there for a few hours talking, playing cards and enjoying their dispensers. I've finally founded a mix drink I like (Coruba rum and ting....I know a strange combination...but it works for me) we floated the night away. Found a taxi and back to our little cozy cottage on the sea at Rockhouse. Day6 ROARING RIVER Woke surprisingly early (without a hang over) and sat out on the sundeck and enjoyed the solitude. Today we were joining our friends for a trip to roaring river with Errol Cox (876- 772-1274 errolflynntours@hotmail.com). We had a late breakfast at Just Natural...such large portions and reasonably priced. Errol picked us up promptly at 11 and away we went. Drove out past the lighthouse and Errol explained things as we went along. Arrived at roaring river and we realized this was the place we visited on our very first trip to the Negril...we rode out by scooter following someone else and honestly had no idea where we were just that we enjoyed our hike and swimming very much. They have done a lot to improve this place...not nearly as many hustlers (which is a huge improvement) and new looking refreshment bar and changing area...really nice changes since our last visit. Paid our 10us admission fee and met up with lightening (our guide) and on to the cave first. Lightening was a very knowledgeable guide and told us about everything we saw.....he also pointed out some natural formations in the rocks. We had a dip in the mineral pool...very refreshing and cold and lightening explained that many visitors come to rock climb. We then stopped at the blue hole it's suppose to be bottomless and some of the locals were jumping and swimming but we didn't try any of that and took their word that it was indeed bottomless. It started to pour so we opted not to take the hike this time and back to the snack center for a drink and talk a bit....met some really nice people and it was interesting to hear their stories. Then back in the van for Savanna-la-Mar. Errol stopped at a place for lunch and got our orders even brought everything to the table. Errol is a very good and personable guide...we really enjoyed his company and infectious smile and quickly became friends. Did a little shopping and he drove around and told us about different things then stopped for ice cream and back to Negril we went. We dropped our friends off at RIU and Errol told us where to get good lobster he recommended Erica's on the west end right past the Rockhouse. He drove us by and we told the guy we would be back around 8:30 for dinner. Errol dropped us off. Did a little resting then went back to Erica's for dinner. The BEST lobster I've ever had simply delicious and for two of us around $22us. Stayed and talked with Vicky and then back to the Rockhouse to get ready to explore the "Jungle". This club is funky-- looks like a club in New York very high tech sound system and lighting and by 12:30 it was hopping. I didn't know if it was the fact that I haven't been to a club in a while or what but I had a blast. People stayed on the dance floor the entire time. With the action and sights in the Jungle Jeff and my friends husband wouldn't need to go to a go go club after all. Day7 LAST FULL DAY Met our friends at Sunshine Plaza so they could do a little shopping stopped again at Adrian's shop (countryside) he has the best prices from what we saw. Quick stop at the bank and then stopped at Debuss to pick up some food and on to RIU (yes we were able to walk right in again) enjoyed our food and walked the beach for a bit. Errol said he would drop by and pick us up on his way to Rick's so we cleaned up and off to watch the sunset. Nice atmosphere good for sunset and people watching. The guys jumping from the cliff side and the trees for that matter is something to see. There was a live band playing and we enjoyed dancing and talking with Errol and others there. Errol dropped us all off at the Rockhouse for our own private happy our (thanks to RIU). Since it was our last night we decided to splurge and had dinner at the Rockhouse restaurant...yes, lobster again...two nights in a row...am I in paradise or what. It was 19us for one and although it was good Erica's was better and for half the price but we could use our credit card and enjoyed the cliff side view so No Problem. Errol came back and picked up our friends and we all became sad in saying our last good byes. We so enjoyed this trip....this was the first visit to Negril for our friends, so we enjoyed showing them how to enjoy a little of Jamaica from behind the confines of an AI and we enjoyed our new friends including Errol. Took final pictures and away they went. Day8 DEPARTURE DAY Enjoyed the view from our porch and sun deck for the last time then walked up to the Carrot for lunch. I tried calling Sienna and Soloman that morning but didn't get an answer. On our way up to the carrot a taxi pulled up in front of us we thought to let a passenger off and guess who pops his head out....Soloman. Cheery as ever. It was good to see him and we talked with him a bit then said our good byes in person. Got our food to go and back to the hotel to check out. Our tour bus arrived and away to Mobay we went. Enjoyed my final views of Jamaica. Arrived at the airport checked in and went to the lounge and waited...our flight was delayed a little....so just relax. They call for our flight in no time and we enjoyed another great flight on AirJamaica. Arrived back to Houston in one peace and wondered when I would see my beloved Jamaica again.
My husband and I went to Adventura Palace in the Riveria Maya, Mexico for out honeymoon and it was nothing short of HORRIBLE! The first thing we noticed was that the hotel lobby and dining areas (except for one) were not air conditioned. This normally would not be a problem except for it was almost 100 degrees every day we were there. It is hard to enjoy your meals when you are soaked with sweat. We received 1/2 used bottles of shampoo one more than one occasion. One of the bottles actually had a hair 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the bottle! This was an all inclusive hotel so liqueur was included. When we got a drink it tasted like kerosene. They must be cutting edges by using the cheapest available liqueur available. My husband and I both got sick (and it was not from drinking to much since we both probably only had 6 drinks combined the entire trip). We are assuming it is from the food but of course cannot prove that. We had a mini-bar with bottled water and beer in our room. Since we were both sick we were drinking a lot of water. We used up our supply and called the front desk to ask for our mini bar to be refilled (water only) and they refused saying that they will only refill it every 48 hours. I explained the situation and they still refused. So if we wanted to drink water we would have to use the tap water! We eventually made our way out of the room to try and find some medicine. We went to the hotel store only to find out that all of the medicine is in Spanish and the clerk does not know enough English to help us choose what medicine would best suit our condition. Only after arriving back home did I get a letter from the manager of the hotel stating that they had a hotel doctor we could have used. Of course, it was no good to me then and no one mentioned it while we were there. As soon as my husband and I felt well enough to go out again we would go to the small town a few block away or take a bus to Cancun to eat. So we were paying for an all inclusive feature we were afraid to use! Adventura Palace has awful costumer service! In the letter that I mentioned above that they sent to me, they basically blamed the whole situation on me! No sincere apology, no whole or partial refund, no credit due. NOTHING but putting the blame on me! I would advise everyone to choose another hotel! Especially stay away from Adventura Palace and all other Place Resorts!
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