Charles & Mary - December, 2012

 

We stayed at N-Resort December 15 to 20. It was our first time there as N, though we had actually been there in 2005 on a family trip when it was FDR Pebbles. It's a nice, comfortable resort and we will likely be back.

 

We flew out of Flint on AirTran. The package deal we had booked had two connections going south and one connection returning. Interestingly enough, according to the AirTran system, we had booked a one way flight to Atlanta non-stop, returning an hour later via Orlando, Montego Bay, a five night layover, back to Atlanta, then on to Flint. We have flown AirTran several times now and it always seems to be very smooth and everything works fine. We did keep it to carry-on. It's not like you need a lot of clothes at N. The flight left Flint at 6:05, so we had to hit the road at 3am. All three legs were on time and we arrived in Jamaica a bit after 1:30pm. Customs went pretty quick; they had a lot of people working. Then we went to the Jamaica Tours desk and they put us on a bus to the resort. We were the first stop and finally arrived. We were exhausted.

 

It was very quiet when we got there. They checked up right in and upgraded us to a beachfront room. I asked and they said there were three other couples there at the time. They took us to the room, then we ran to the gift shop to buy sunscreen and bug spray. Note that Hawaiian Tropic SPF 50 spray is $21. They don't have any bug repellant with DEET in it, either. Most other things in the gift shop are pretty reasonable, though.

 

We headed to the room, undressed, and then headed for the pool. The pool was a bit cooler than I would prefer; they were not running a heater, and it needed to be vacuumed. But, it is large and fun and there are lots of chairs around and a swim-up bar. And, of course, there is the waterslide, which is worth the price of admission by itself. We had lots of fun on that. We tended to swim most days in the afternoon, but usually not in the morning, since the pool tended to be a bit cool. The bar was nice and they were always eager to please. We spent the afternoon relaxing and swimming.

 

Since occupancy was low, they had a small buffet at a scheduled time the first night. I can only say great things about the food. The first night and the last night were the only nights for the buffet. The other nights we ordered from a menu during the day, presumably so they could go shop for what we ordered. Meals were all great. The quantities were maybe smaller than I expected for the ala carte options, but we never went hungry. Breakfast was in the beachside restaurant and you can order a bloody Mary if you like. There is a menu, but usually the specials are better. Lunch was also in the beachside restaurant. Dinner was moved around the resort. A couple of times they had it by the main restaurant, once on the pool deck, and other times in the beachside restaurant.

 

The second day  two of the couples left. That left the entire occupancy of the resort at 4 people! This is during the high season. One other couple did arrive a few days later and there was one couple doing a day visit from a cruise ship, but that was it. They said they are going to be much more full in the following weeks and nearly full during February and March, but I wonder if they are telling the truth. It does seem a marginal operation and their marketing is not very good.

 

The second day we walked to the west on the beach all of the way to where you can see Falmouth, a distance of 2 miles. It's a nice walk, but be sure you have water shoes. You will have to wade some of it. You cross one resort next door, and the Red Stripe Beach a bit further down. Other than security at Red Stripe, we met no one at all and you could walk nude just fine. Two days later we decided to picnic, but it was completely different. A cruise ship was in and there were lots of people up and down the beach flowing out from Red Stripe Beach which the cruise ship carts them over to. But, the walk is wonderful, particularly at low tide. You can see lots of crabs, small fish, and other sea life. We saw one ray swimming in the shallows.

 

There is a theme night every night and the entertainment staff did try to get people interested, but there really was not much interest. They never ran the disco, but did run the piano bar, which was a lot of fun. It's pretty much pure sing-along with a lyric book. The entertainment staff, particularly Shane, try very hard, but sometimes a bit too hard. They ran around with (somewhat dated) trivia sheets during meals. They would tend to sit with you when you were eating. With only two couples, you got one most of the time. Frankly, I would prefer to be left alone most of the time. They should have activities and invite you to join, not invite themselves to join you. But, they did give a try. Water aerobics tended to be the most popular activity. They had one night they tried to do a contest of "two truths and a lie" and "how well do you know your mate". I could have done without these for sure. The second night we were there the resort next door had a huge party for locals that ran until 4am with very, very loud music. Other than that, it was very quiet most of the time.

 

The beach is fun, but very shallow. It's not more than a 3-4 feet deep anywhere. I had more fun swimming down the beach a bit, where there are occasional pools that are deeper. But, the sand is nice at the resort and there are chairs. We had the most fun on rafts in the waves. One day we did take a sea kayak out for a ways and back, which was fun, but tiring.

 

The positives of the resort at the quiet, which is great if you are, like us, looking for a relaxing vacation. You can be nude all of the time if you like, though I found a sarong more appropriate for dinners. But, the other couples all dressed for dinner each evening. The food is very good and they try very hard to be sure you are happy. The staff all learn your names and talk to you. If you want something, it usually happens pretty quickly, though an attempt at onion rings never did work out. The resort is really clothing optional in practice, which I think is better than mandatory au natural. The negatives are the low occupancy. We would prefer to be a bit more lost in the crowd, sometimes. The day guests were taking pictures by the pool, which made my wife very upset. I know there were being careful about only taking pictures of themselves, but I asked Shane to have them stop. After all, in this day and age pictures can end up anywhere and there is a no photography rule.

 

For the return to the airport, they got a very nice car and driver rather than the bus and everything ran very smoothly. The only slow part was US customs in Atlanta. I wonder why US customs must be so much slower than Jamaican customs. In spite of really bad weather, all of our flights were on time and we made it home safe and sound.

Charles & Mary