DennyP & Friends - January, 2010

Breezes Trelawny: January 3-9, 2010

This was my first trip to one of the SuperClubs’ family resorts. Participating with me were two friends (moms) and their 3 daughters; ages 7, 8, & 9. One mom had been to Jamaica once before and the rest were on their first trip to the island. My philosophy on a family-type trip is that the kids need to be kept happy in order for everyone to be happy. It pleases me to report that this resort accomplished that goal.

The trip started out with a small glitch. On the day prior to our scheduled departure of 1/2 I received a call from US Airways regarding our non-stop flight from Phoenix to Montego Bay. Bad weather out East can indeed affect flights in sunny and warm Phoenix. The crew for our scheduled flight wasn’t going to make it to Phoenix in time for our flight. US Airways had us on another flight the same date routed through Philadelphia and would get into Montego Bay that evening. The bad news was that there was a 5 hour layover in Philadelphia. That wasn’t going to work with the kids along. So we opted to lose a night and take the non-stop flight the next day. I’m happy to say that that flight went smoothly and we even arrived early in Jamaica. There was no line at Immigration and only a short wait at Customs. We waited for about 20 minutes for our van to the resort. We were the only passengers. It was dark during the ride so we didn’t get to see the countryside. It only took about 45 minutes before we pulled up at the resort.

Check-in was quick. We all received wrist bands; one color for the adults and another for the children. The lobby is very large and also serves as an entertainment for some nightly shows. There is a bar in the lobby. This bar has self-serve non-alcoholic pina coladas and daiquiris. The bar will happily add liquor for the adults.

Also off the lobby is the game room (no cost for video games), the spa, gym and the gift shop, guest services, casino (slots only), tour desk, pool tables and duty free shop. The main dining room (buffet) is located one floor down from the lobby. The two specialty restaurants Munasan (oriental cooking at your table) and Casablanca (higher end menu) are nearby. You make reservations at the guest services desk and get an assigned time. The disco and disco bar is in this area on the lower level. The piano bar is in an open-air area off the main lobby.

Breakfast is in the main dining room. Lunch is also there or at the beach grill. Dinner is in the main dining room or in the two specialty restaurants. There is a night buffet available around 11 pm and I was told the front desk always had something available after that.

We were assigned to two cottage rooms with a connecting passage between them. One room had a king and a double bed. The other room had two double beds. (Other cottage rooms had other bed arrangements.) Each had a tub/shower combination with an outside sitting area. The rooms were comfortable and had refrigerators (not used by us) and safes (electronic).  Housekeeping did a good job of cleaning each day with 3 kids doing their best to undo it all in 10 minutes. J

I did not get to inspect any of the tower rooms due them being all occupied. I was told they are smaller than the cottage rooms. Three elevators served the towers.

We spent most of the daytime hours at the beach. The beach goes on for what looks like miles on either side of the resort property. Once side of the property has a wall with an access door to the area next door. That area has a small craft market and is also used to braid hair since that can’t be done on the property by non-staff. The beach is in good condition with hardly any rocks. It is raked of seaweed periodically. There were plenty of chairs located along the beach. The resort was near 100% occupancy but didn’t feel crowded. There is a small island about 30 yards offshore – “John’s Key”. I don’t know who John is and forgot to ask. There are a few chairs on the island. At low tide you can walk to it and hardly get wet. At high tide you might get wet up to your knees.

The Watersports office takes care of signing out the Watersports equipment like boogie boards, sailboats, etc. It is also where the towel exchange is located. You get one card at check-in that is exchanged for a towel. Then you exchange towels during the day as needed. The only time we ran into any problem with this was if we needed a towel in the evening after a night swim in the pool. With kids you do have to make sure to keep an eye on where they dump their towels. At check-out you either turn in the towels or the cards if you exchanged towels for cards at Watersports.

There are two pools that we spent a little time on a couple of days. Each pool has a waterslide that the kids enjoyed. There is a pool between the 7 story tower buildings. It has a swim up bar. It was not used much because it was on the cool side. I believe that is because with the sun low in the winter sky, the towers shaded the pool for all but a couple of hours during the day. The larger pool is really 2 pools with a bridge walkway between them. One side has two pool tables. There is no swim up bar. But the beach bar is a very short walk from this area. Right next to this pool is a wading pool for toddlers. Adjacent to that is the plunge pool that is at the bottom of the larger water slide. This area also contains the beach grill. Here you can find burgers, chicken burgers, hot dogs, fries, beef and chicken patties, jerk chicken, pizza, popcorn, nachos & cheese and other such foods. There are self-serve soda & water dispensers along with the full bar. This area also has the rock climbing wall, trampoline, kids’ club, local vendors, kids playground and lots of places to sit or lay. The trapeze area is also located here. This pool area is situated very close to the cottage rooms and not too much of a walk from the tower rooms.

Between the main tower area and the cottage rooms & pools are a basketball court, hammock area, mini-golf and a stage for nightly shows. You can sit at the end of the dining room and see the stage. Part of the pool is between the seating area and the stage. There are tennis courts which are well hid and may need a staff person to direct you there. The hot tubs are located in a grove of trees near the cottage rooms. There were three or four backyard type hot tubs. The one night we tried to use them found all but one way too hot for comfort. They were well used later in the week so I assume the temperature issue became a non-issue. That’s pretty much the “nickel tour” of the resort.

The entertainment and other activities were geared toward families. It consisted of some outside performers and some provided by the entertainment and circus staff (who are all very talented). A daily activity sheet was available each night in the lobby for the next day’s activities. The list was divided into sections for kids, teens, and adults. Some activities didn’t happen and most happened on Jamaica time. The entertainment staff did a great job of keeping the kids happy. They included them in many of the nightly activities. There was even a special kids’ time in the disco after dinner.

The circus staff did a wonderful job of teaching kids and adults alike how to swing on the trapeze. Of course you were harnessed with a net below. It was totally safe. After a dozen or so turns over the span of a few days there were several new experts at it.

The circus staff did a show one evening down by the beach. It included juggling balls, pins, and knives. There was also fire involved. Kids were even allowed to participate. Earlier in the day they worked out a trampoline routine that they then performed during the show.

There was a beach party one evening. A bar was available with music and games. It started around 9pm and went to after midnight.

There is a kids’ club available at no additional charge. This covered ages from pretty young through mid-teens. Our kids spent time in there one day while the adults took some spa time and other time away from them. There are movies, video games, board games, craft area and play areas. There were 3 or 4 staffers there. The outside door required use of a buzzer to get in. Kids are signed in and out. The staff takes care of taking them to lunch if the kids are there over lunchtime. There are organized activities, pool time, games and other things to keep them busy.

The kids were busy from morning to bedtime for the most part. Even during the one day where it rained most of the day, they found something to do.

The food was good with the kids always finding something to eat including ice cream for dessert each night. Made to order eggs were available in the morning. Made to order crepes were available some evenings. There were many tables set up for 6 or 8 guests to handle families. There was a dining room hostess who would help set up any other arrangement needed for larger groups.

The dinner at Munasan was not only tasty but was also entertaining. The chefs sang and joked while preparing the meal in front of you. The menu at Casablanca included a kids menu. The food and service was good but allow at least an hour and a half to eat.

Before I forget to mention it, there is a laundry room with free washers and dryers. Soap is available for purchase in the gift shop. With kids, you never know when that might be needed. Also, we used the Wi-Fi internet connection in the room with no problems. There are various pricing options available: weekly, daily, 3-days, 5-days. You have to leave credit card information at the front desk. Once you do that you can also charge gift shop purchases and spa services to your room.

The tour desk offers many off resort activities. We chose to go on a catamaran ride out of Montego Bay. There was an open bar on board including soft drinks for the kids. There was a snorkel stop (equipment provided) along with a stop at Margaritaville where a waterslide and water trampolines are available.

The trip back home was uneventful. We were on a non-stop back to Phoenix which arrived about 30 minutes early.

All in all everyone had an enjoyable week and would come back if the opportunity presented itself.

Please email me if you have any questions.

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