Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Jamaica, Mon!

It is hard to believe this will be my last post in 2014. Wow! I will end it on a warm note. Jim and I went to Couples Negril in Jamaica a couple of weeks ago as a belated anniversary celebration. You certainly do not want to be there in August anyway. We last visited this all-inclusive resort 11 years ago for our 25th anniversary. As a surprise to Jim, I had arranged a ceremony to renew our vows. It is still one of the highlights of our marriage. This resort consistently gets 4-5 star reviews on Tripadvisor, my go-to site for checking hotels, things to do and see, and restaurants when I am traveling.

Our first visit got high praise from us. The staff was warm and welcoming, always greeting us and making sure there was nothing that we needed. The food was very good, and the included activities were exceptional. In fact, this is the only resort we have every stayed at where you can scuba dive, snorkel, go out on glass bottom boat rides and sunset catamaran cruises, water ski, play tennis and golf as much as you like at no additional charge. And that doesn't even take into account things like kayaking, small catamaran sailing, volleyball, horseshoes, pool, ping pong, etc. Upon our return the first time, I gave the resort a 5 star rating. Since that visit they have done a little upgrading of the rooms, free wifi is everywhere on the grounds, all the activities are still offered and the beach still cannot be beat. But we found a big difference in the attitude of the staff. Service was poor in some cases, and several staff members seemed to wish they were elsewhere. There was a problem with our initial room, and the front desk gal was not sympathetic nor did she seem inclined to let us change rooms. For that reason, they have slipped to a 4 star resort in my book.

Having said that, we had a wonderful time, met some fun people from Holland, the United States and Canada, and spent a restful week on the beach. Taking a week off that close to Christmas might not have been the best idea we ever had, but everything got done in the end. No problem, mon.






1 comment:

Mrs. Wryly said...

Any cakes in Jamaica, mon? Your pictures are so awesome, as usual, but what is that thing on the bed? Not a cake, for sure. Congrats on the renewal and happy 2015.