Todd and Debbie Royal Plantation 4/2 – 4/8/2005

 

 

April 2, 2005 (Saturday)

 

Trip to Royal Plantation

 

We were supposed to be on a non-stop flight booked with Delta but on the Air Jamaica code share.  We happened to find out on March 6 that Air Jamaica would no longer fly from Houston AS OF MARCH 6!!  So, we called on our own to get on the Delta through Atlanta flight, and it took some doing to even convince Delta that the flight was cancelled.

 

The flight we were on was to leave at 5:30 a.m., and they said we should go out the day before and check in since we had paperwork on a vaporware flight.  Todd went out to the airport with our paper tickets and traded them for etickets.

 

We got up at 2:30, but it took us a while to get around since we were so exhausted.  We went through a McDonald’s drive through at a convenience store. It was pricey and slow, but we did get a breakfast.

 

Delta in Houston opens at 4:30.  We knew we had to get ourselves up to the  gate, so we did not chance the City Economy ($6 a day) lot but got in the daily parking at the terminal.

 

On the first flight, we were given little crackers (which I didn’t bother to eat) and a beverage, flight was about an hour and 40 minutes, We each had our own exit row and were able to lay down across the seats..  We had to trek across all of the terminals via the tram.  This was much more pleasant that the hike through Miami.  Our flight to Jamaica did not allow us to sit together.  I was in an exit row with a couple that were Hedo returnees, and Todd was in the front row with a  large woman and a lap baby.  He did go to sleep.  We were fed a salad with chicken chunks on that flight, no complimentary drinks like AJ to Jamaica, even though it was a code share.

 

We landed at about 1:10 p.m., flight was due in at 1:27.  They didn’t give us one of the customs forms, so the whole flight of people was struggling to fill it out and get through at the arrival area.  It wasn’t bad, and we got our bags quickly and went off to tour desk 13, Jamaica Tours.   Nobody advised us at all, but we knew where to go.

 

We were taken to the Sandals lounge.  It was mobbed.  We were able to use the restroom and stand in line for drinks for the trip up .

 

We had been given the Lincoln Town car upgrade, and we were told this at desk 13, but they tried to shove us in a van going to multiple resorts.  We told them we had a private car.  After some doing, we were finally allowed to get to the car.

 

The driver was Raymore.  We had a nice chat with him, and we stopped along the way for restrooms.  We made it to RP in exactly 2 hours.  There are a few more sections of the road done since September, and they now bypass Duncans.

 

We got to RP at 3:50 p.m.  We saw both Peter and Andre within 5 minutes.  We didn’t get in-room check-in, but it went quickly.  We were given cool drinks and scented face cloths.

 

April 2 Early Evening

 

We were placed in room 202, a premium room in the east wing and were told we could get a complimentary upgrade on Tuesday.  We were taken by Lenworth, a new concierge.

This was our 5th stay and 6th visit to Royal Plantation since the resort opened at Royal Plantation in March, 2001.

 

This was our 7th stay and 8th visit.  We’ve been in more rooms than that, as we have changed rooms in mid-stay a few times.  We are quite familiar with the choices.  This time was not nearly our first time in the east wing, but it was our first time in the side of the “L” that is not closest to the spa.  We had a better view of the sand on the beach, and they had the trees trimmed enough to where we could see the water hit the sand.  Thanks so much RP staff! For cutting those limbs!!!

 

I had faxed in the Royal Club application to Lisa Nicolson in loyalty programs and indicated that we had a 4/2 stay.  I had listed our pillow choices, along with snack and mini-bar choices.  We had fruit, cheese and wine waiting there.  Wine was red, and I had marked white, oh well, we had some white in the fridge.  For snacks, there were mixed nuts and pretzels, we had the mixers and other things like Heineken that we had requested and also Perrier, etc. all from the form.  This was stuff I figured would never get replenished, but it was taken care of the entire stay.  Impressive!

 

Lenworth brought our bags right up.  We nibbled fruit and cheese and had wine since we had missed Royal Café.  I went down and walked around to see what had changed.

 

We liked the new lighter draperies and the light bedding, and we were surprised how we didn’t mess it up all week.  We’d requested blankets and extra pillows (foam mesh or something).  We slept like babies all week, and Todd’s snoring didn’t keep me awake like here and other places.  Hallalujah!

 

Near our room, they were painting a beautiful yellow room to a lighter color that will be the new color for all of the rooms.  They are also lightening the mahogany a little bit.

 

Todd checked out the Final Four basketball updates while I looked around.

 

We first visited with Sophie. She introduced me to two new guys, a bartender and a waiter. They were very nice. I saw all of them on the stairs as they were coming up from the beach bar. Down at the beach, they were building the covered section. The tables were out in the sand instead of on the patio while this was going on.

The new tables are dark green marble, and they have rattan chairs that are like the pool chairs in material. The new beach loungers are wooden with blue cushions over them. There is one table also that is large and round with a glass top.

Sophie said that Audrey is still having a lot of back pain.

I saw Siboney. We talked about a lot of the former staff and where they are now. I told him about Sandals Whitehouse and explained where it is.

The bar has mixed nuts (yeah, finally!) and glass serving bowls and spoons to help yourself. Some martini bar menu selections are posted as two big posters They are still asking room numbers in there to register the bar tabs and usually have guests sign.

When I came back to the room, Todd and I changed to swimsuits and went down to the hot tub and pool. Both temperatures were appropriately pleasant. We had a good time there. I love the way it is all lit up at night.

When we came back to the room, the maid was here for turndown service. She asked if she could leave on the CD player. She played spa music and put towels ad slippers by our bed, took away dishes and checked towels, etc. She straightened up the room, too, and we had only been there 3 hours.

 

April 2 Evening At Bayside


We got ready quickly for dinner. I threw on a skirt and blouse, and Todd put on Dockers and a shirt and deck shoes. We went to Bayside. They'd offered us reservations at Le Papillon or Flambe when we arrived, but we weren't even sure how we'd make it up for dinner at all, we were so tired, so we definitely were not up for structured plans.

 

We went down for dinner at 7:15 p.m. to Bayside.  Peter came and told the host we were repeat guests and introduced us. From then on, all staff called us by name. Our waiter was Kurt Hardware, and he was so pleasant and worked very hard. I had the new menu for Le Papillon before we left but didn't have a new menu for Bayside or know there was one. To tell you the truth, I looked at that menu and told Todd, "What on earth am I going to order".   Lobster went off the dinner menu on April 1.  There was no veal except in some stuffed pasta tubes.  We decided to order all the courses and try things out.

The waiter asked if we wanted a glass of wine, a bottle of wine or a cocktail. We told him we wanted a bottle of French white. They brought the bread basket and explained each one and brought the wine, and we were still figuring out what to order.

So, for the first course, Todd ordered a platter with 2 chicken satay skewers, 2 jerk pork skewers and a huge grilled prawn. It came w/ 3 sauces-a peanut, a jerk and a timarand? It looked great and was far better than he hoped for. He ate it all, including all the sauces.  There was a couple from New York that had arrived early that evening.  They were being quite chatty (LOUD) and annoying.  She also got this dish, and they had fun enjoying it!

I ordered a seafood cocktail in a jelly coconut, not knowing what to expect. The waiter said it was to be served in the coconut shell, but tonight, there was no coconut, and I asked to have it in regular cocktail sauce. He said he'd do his very best to accomodate my wishes.  It took 20 or 30 minutes, but it was produced, and it was wonderful.  This seafood cocktail was well worth the wait. It was sooooooo fresh. The scallops were large, and the prawns were huge, and the sauce was outstanding. The waiter offered to put the sauce on and did so. It was served in a glass on greens with lemon. I savored every bite.

 

By now, we were excited about the rest of the meal and thinking, OK, we're giving this new chef a chance!!!!!!!!

For course 2, we'd ordered pumpkin soup with goat cheese and cream. We almost didn't because of the goat cheese, but the waiter convinced us it was not an issue. It was excellent. Each course, we were offered cracked pepper, and it was large kernels the way I like it. We could have licked the bowl.

During this course, another couple we know from another trip (John and Donna) spotted us and came over for a nice chat. They also had wondered what on earth to order and didn't like the looks of the menu but also were thrilled like we were.

 

The 3rd course ended up being one of my traditional favorites, a market salad w/ mango vinaigrette. They called it a St. Anne green salad, but it is the one they have always had. Todd is more of a Caesar person, so we will see in the future if they can come up with that for him or he will try another. He isn't too into peppers is the reason the market doesn't work for him. He ate every single bite, though and didn't complain.

The entertainment had started by now, a guy that has been there before-plays instrumentals from our day, and we love to listen to it. Very romantic. Suitable for dancing, and I wish more people did because Todd is too self-conscious to go out there by ourselves or with just one or two other couples.

 

The 4th course, Todd had surf and turf, shrimp because of the season and a well-prepared tenderloin. His was served with vegetables and potatoes.

I ordered pan-seared snapper, it came with veggies and seasoned rice and was served in a lemon wine sauce. The last few years, a lot of fish has bothered me and literally made me gag. This had no fishy taste, and was delightful. I did get a surprise when I bit into a section that I thought was fish, and it was a lemony banana. The waiter came up then, and I was quick puckered!  He was afraid something was wrong with the food, but I assured him there wasn’t.

 

Todd ordered a pumpkin cheesecake, and I ordered a creme brulee that was some mandarin citrus or something. It was quite tart and not my favorite.

During dinner, Peter brought over another repeat guest couple that we met in September.  This was Mike and Stephanie.  They were at the resort during Ivan, and we met them on the tail end of their stay.

Our dinner took about 2 1/2 hours. I like that because it makes a nice evening. Todd and I are both so busy that we don't take enough time to sit and visit. I like to hear his thoughts and watch his reactions to his surroundings and to chat about the entertainment and the ambiance.

 

 

April 3, 2005 (Sunday)

 

I slept like a baby.  Todd did not want to get up for breakfast.  I was still full, too, but I went down for breakfast anyway.  I ordered mimosa, tea, eggs, toast, bacon and potatoes. That came to $23.50. I had half wrapped and brought it back, and Todd was awake and ate it.

 

We spent a couple of hours at the pool and hot tub.  Todd began to worry about getting burnt, so he went back to the room.  I went to the spa and booked an appointment and then came back to the pool.  I chatted a couple of hours with John and Donna.  Bartender Gary made Donna a photo-worthy “Gary Special” drink.  John and Donna went to Bayside right before they closed.  

 

I went and got Todd.  We had a late lunch at the Royal Cafe. Tables were in the sand while they were working on the cover for part of the deck.

We had pepperpot soup and lobster blts. The soup was thick like we like it. They said that was the last two lobster blts. I asked for mine w/ no mayo, but she brought it with mayo. I asked for new toast. I couldn't salvage the tomatoes, unfortunately, but I ate the lobster and bacon.  Aaah!

We sat in loungers on the beach and watched the crabs by the rocks. We got in the ocean a little. I swam out to the new platform they have out there. It has a bench facing each way like the one at Whitehouse.

 

Next we went back to the hot tub. We hung out at the one on the top. It was getting noisy at the bottom, so we got some drinks and went down to the east beach by watersports and laid around by ourselves until 6 or so.

 

Todd got very burnt while we stood in the water and talked to Lynn and Warren.  He had caught a 24 lb. mahi mahi the day before, and they had a wonderful time deep sea fishing.  They were to leave the next day and were contemplating a return trip.

 

Dinner at La Flambé

 

We had dinner reservations at flambé for 7:30. We have never done it at RP due to the limited menu and the need to pick what you will order in advance. You sign up in advance and pick what you want to have beforehand. It is currently inside of Bayside, and the flambé is done at the back by the kitchen entrance, so you watch from afar.

There were two appetizer choices-beef carpaccio (sp) and crab salad. We had the crab. Todd's had shell in it. On our 3rd course, Donna and John arrived at the next table. He had shell also. This tasted something like tuna salad. Since I don't eat mayo, I didn't like this.   It did seem to be a light mayo, though.

For our 2nd course, we had crayfish bisque (the only choice). It was very good.

The 3rd course was Caesar salad. I normally don't like Caesar much, but this was excellent because the dressing was very light. It tastes like the low fat one the chef at Boscobel makes.

The fourth course was the entree. For this, the choices are beef mignions, shrimp, or lamb. We ordered a beef and a shrimp and meant to have them halved on each plate, but never did get around to asking the waiter. We shared on our own.

The sauce on the beef was delicious. It was one we've had a lot. It had cracked pepper in it. I can't describe it, but it didn't cover up the meat taste. The tenderloin was melt in your mouth quality. It was absolutely spectacular.

The shrimp was cooked in garlic with a tomato-based sauce. The sauce was mostly to the side, though. The shrimp were large and firm. Todd liked this more than I did. I only ate one shrimp. The steak came with baked potato. The shrimp came with rice. I enjoyed the rice, and Todd enjoyed the baked potato.

Suzanne Millwood came in, and we chatted a while, and we all had fun watching the flame. We had trouble getting pics even though the chef was telling us when to get ready!

For dessert, we had the bananas foster with coconut ice cream. This was really good. We ate all of it. They had 2 other choices-one was a crepe Grande Marnier.

Donna had ordered her sauce on the side on her steak. Also, they did not order a salad, but they seemed to wait the amount of time it would have taken to eat it!!

Flambé has a wine list. The first two pages are the house wines, included on the Royal Plan.  The also make some fancy coffees with liquer.  The chef, Paul, came around to every table explaining what they do and asking if food was to everyone’s liking.

We went into Appleton to sit for a while, hoping the band would start back up since we didn’t get to hear anything from inside Bayside. They were in there chatting w/ people. We went on back to the room where Todd caught some basketball and I read some of my book.

 

April 4, 2005 (Monday)

 

This day was our 12th anniversary.  I sent Todd off for golf on the 8 a.m. bus.  It was overcast when he left.  Suzanne had commented the night before that it hadn’t rained for a month.  Well, it just poured on this day.  Todd got very wet.  He got on the shuttle that came between 10 a.m. and 10:30.  It quit raining while he was on the shuttle, but he was soaked and cold anyway.  He’d played 8 holes but had to pay the caddie for 18.  They do get all but one dollar of the fee, and he did not even play 9, so he tipped $10 on top of the fee.  He got a rain check on the $40 cart but not on the caddie fee.

 

While Todd was gone, I ate papaya from a fruit basket we had received (whole fruits). 

 

I went over to the spa in between pourings but did need the welcome umbrella from our room.  Tanya, the spa manager was walking in as I was, and I got to have a hug and a nice chat with her.

 

My treatment was with Claudette. She remembered me from before. I had a steam before the facial, and she helped me on and off with the robe like Genni used to. The steam had strong eucalyptus, and I was getting way too relaxed, so I decided it was time to get out. She was right there with water and a cold towel.

I had a power repair with eye treatment. They do a skin analysis, and she put all sorts of stuff on my skin, used the steam, etc. She put scrub and something else on my hands and put them in hot mittens and also rubbed my neck and shoulders.

She had recommended some DNA moisturizer for my skin. I never did get it since it was about $80.


A gentleman loved his facial so much that he literally ran and got his wife to sign up, and she did.

By 12:30, I was ready for lunch! We went up to Bayside. The menu had changed there too. No wienersnitzel no seafood crepe. The fish n chips that used to be a special is a daily item. They've added a lobster Greek salad. I imagine there were more changes. No more seafood in papaya (I don’t think). They'd added jerk chicken quesadillas. Those have been a special before.  They have also added fish and chips that have been a special before.

So, I had the soup of the day, minestrone, while Todd had chilled melon in port. He also had the jerk quesadillas. I had part of one of those. It was really good.

Cordice is still here, and she was our waitress.

I had asked one of the waiters if they were still having Greek salad even though there was no lobster. He asked me if I'd like lobster. So, I had the lobster Greek salad while Todd had the chicken Caesar. Both were large and took us a long time to eat. Mine had 5 chunks of lobster, and his had a whole chicken breast in it.

 

Then Todd had fish n chips, and I had the fried snapper special. We couldn't eat it all. We had wine with lunch.

We were stuffed and headed to the hot tub for a little bit. Todd went to the room for an attempted nap. I went down to the east beach and fell asleep down there. I did get to chat with Wesley.   Next, I went and sat up on the deck by the hot tub next and read some on my book.

I went back to the room to see if Todd was done napping. He wasn't napping. They'd come with an anniversary cake right when he was about asleep. She had cut open our pineapple from our fruit basket and set out a bottle of wine and the cake. It was a rum cake. We had small pieces of that and some fruit and wine and watched the waves and reminisced about our wedding at Sandals Montego Bay and our anniversary trips to RP and other resorts.

I brought the cake down to the bar to share. It was delicious and certainly full of rum, but it was big enough for 30 people to at least have a small piece!

Naturally, I ran into the girl that brought it that seemed sad we weren't saving it for ourselves, but it was something I thought needed to be eaten that night because it was so fresh. She also remarked that we weren't eating our pretzels! We did get to those and more nuts during our stay!

 

Manager’s Cocktail Party and “Beach BBQ”


At 7 p.m. we went down to the manager's cocktail party after setting up Todd's basketball game (last in final four) with a videotape we brought from home. Todd took pictures. Hensley and Annasette were serving wine, rum punch and cocktails there. There were some large shrimp there with some sort of Italian crumb batter.

We chatted with Vincenzo for a long time after briefly talking to Suzanne and John and Donna. I had to find out about the veal! Evidently, the whole island can't get it right now, but they will get some in a couple of weeks from Canada. They've had trouble getting beef at all, so they are getting some from Panama. He said they were having trouble getting caviar, also.  With various laws and import issues, there can be challenges in the hospitality industry, I am sure!!!

 

Vincenzo introduced us to Dennis, the new chef.  He came from Ritz Carlton and is in his early 50s.  He knows both Aram and Hugo.  He offered us a kitchen tour the next day.  We also found out he golfs every Sunday and wish we had known before.

 

We sat and chatted with some other guests on the terrace for a long time discussing how long everyone had been married (one couple was 44 years. The other said they had now been married longer than they had been not married) and discussed Air Jamaica. One couple from Chicago said that Ryan Air was substituted on their flight but that it was non-stop.

The other couple are from Atlanta and agreed that the airport was a mess on Saturday. They were on the delayed Delta/AJ code share that ended up leaving right before our flight but was to leave about an hour and a half before.

 

Lots of people seemed to go to the cocktail party and then go to the room for room service to watch that ballgame.  The Chicago couple had a dance and left.  Every table was still full, though.

During the cocktail party, the mento band played. They played at lunch, and Todd enjoyed requesting songs. They enjoyed it, too.  The mento band played at the beginning of dinner. After that, a steel band played. They were great. We had an awesome table upfront.

The beach bbq was on the terrace at Bayside. It had been planned to be there even before rain came, and the rain was over at 10 a.m. Kurt Hardware was there on this night.  He brought around Jamaican chicken soup and set up our wine.


The spread was very nice, and it was set up appropriately for the number of guests, they had about 5 portions of many things out at a time and some full dishes, too. This made things fresh for guests. They had a green salad with various dressings - mango vinaigrette, balsamic and some others. They had a tray of fruit and a tray of smoked salmon with capers. They had some other salads, too. One was seafood with shrimp and scallops. They had a variety of vegetables and rice and pasta. They had stir fry to order. They had carved lamb roast. They had grilled mahi mahi and grilled Caribbean lobster tails. I liked that the butter was on the side since I don't like it. The lobster was not grilled in garlic either. Another plus. They also had beef stroganoff.

They had a nice dessert display. Some items were strawberry mousse with white chocolate, chocolate éclairs, crème Brule (the traditional way), bananas foster, chocolate fudge cake, fruit tarts made on lady fingers, some sort of pineapple dessert, and a number of other cakes.

I had 2 lobster tails and salad after having the soup. Todd had mahi mahi, beef stroganoff with rice instead of noodles and lamb. He ate part of a lobster tail. He got 2. He took the rest of the other one and his second one, along with my crème Brule to the room because he wanted to see the other half of that game! Kurt thought something was wrong, but I informed him of the basketball and what was I to do?? Don't marry a basketball fan on the final four week if you are not a fan!

We are not buffet fans, so we never know how we will feel, but this one was really, really nice. Service was impeccable again.

 

April 5, 2005 (Tuesday)

 

Todd didn’t wake up for golf.  We’d both been sleeping well on the firm bed and nice pillows.  It poured all morning, so it is good that Todd didn’t wake up.

 

I, again, enjoyed having the French balcony doors open.  I love to hear the waves, and having this open really enhances the tropical feel.

 

We hung out in the room most of the morning since it was raining, but we still had our French balcony open.  We were moving to room 206 this day because some people had left, and Peter offered us the room.  This is a honeymoon plantation suite, and this would be our 2nd time in that room and 4th time in that category.  We were to move at 1 p.m.  At around noon, the maid came and asked us for our foam pillows and said she’d probably be ready at 1 p.m.  Nobody ever told us the room was ready, so I eventually went downstairs and asked and had our keys redone for the new room and asked for a concierge to move our bags.  Nobody every showed up, so we moved our own stuff so we could finally leave the room.  Everything was on wheels, and it was only 4 doors down.

 

They set up yet another fruit basket out on the balcony here and redid our mini bar here.

 

we had lunch at Bayside. I had gazpacho and that lobster Greek salad, while Todd had jerk quesadillas and fruits in port. Then he had the jerk platter (spicy for him) and I had fish and chips. He and I shared that.

We spent a lot of time talking to a couple that just arrived that had stayed before at Sandals Grande and Sandals Negril.  They wondered how all the signing and stuff works.  I spoke with them a number of times during the week, and they seemed to be so happy they had discovered the property.

 

I spent time chatting with my friends that do the yoga and sell jewelry.  I’ve known them 10 years since our first Sans Souci visit, and they are so special and always share great energies and perspectives on life.  I’ll be talking more about them on the website soon.

 

I got a ride in the shuttle up to Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Manor. The pool is just beautiful. There are cabanas with nice loungers all around. As others have reported, the pool w/ the slide is still open. Although they closed the swim-up pool bar. I saw 3 people go down it w/ the resort photographer in tow. She missed the shot, and they had to do it again. The snack thing is still over there, and pool tables are where the bar was. The swim-up bar at the new Manor pool is very active, and there is a huge hot tub over there.

Disco looks the same, manor house bar looks the same, better wine over there now. The game room is now the photo shop. Down where it used to be is just empty now. Orchids looked the same, so did Market.  The squash court was in use. The exercise and weight rooms all looked the same, except the smoothie menu had been taken down, and they just had a couple of juice containers thrown in the weigt room.  I forgot to visit the spa. I was set to do so. Then I got sidetracked.  The villa colors are definitely bright.

I walked back down through Sandals Ocho and across to RP.

 

When I got back, we went down to the pool and the hot tub and then the beach to see if there was a sunset.  There was no real sunset to view, though.  Too many clouds.

 

Dinner at Le Papillon

 

We had dinner reservations at Le Papillon at 7 p.m. We skipped dessert but had 4 courses and were at the room by 8:46. We were the first arrivals, and we saw nobody at Bayside and nobody at Le Papillon for 30 minutes. At 7:30, Le Papillon filled up, and 5 couples were at Bayside. A gentleman played the flute from 7-8, so we really enjoyed that. From 8-8:30, there was a break, and then the band played.

For an appetizer, we had the crab cakes. They were very good, sort of shaped like tater tots! We had the crayfish bisque. The guy next to me had the bouillabaisse, which looked quite good, and his wife had the escargot.

We didn't like the sounds of the 3 salads, so I asked for a green salad, and Todd asked for Caesar. They brought me some greens and cucumber and tomato with dressing on the side and brought Todd greens with croutons and dressing on the side. No cheese.

For the entree, I didn't know what to order since thereeno lobster or veal nor the Dover sole I had hoped to try. I'm not big on fish or meat. I didn't want to order snapper yet again, so I ordered sea bass. It came on vegetables in tomato sauce. It was jiggling like it was raw or something, but I think that is the texture. I guess I haven't had sea bass before. I just couldn't eat it. It had a nice crust on it, which I ate and just wanted the rest of it off the table. I told the waiter I didn't feel good. Todd had the beef medallions. They looked really well prepared, and he offered to share, but I didn't want any. His came with some mashed potatoes. Anyway, I am sure those that like sea bass would like it; I think I am not a sea bass person.

They had a variety of bread choices and brought things around and served your choice.  The wine list was similar to Flambé for the house wines. We tried the Italian (something like Oerville). It was quite good.

April 6, 2005 (Wednesday)

 

We went to breakfast on this morning.  I had mimosa, tea, and lobster scrambled eggs special. Todd had juice, a ham and cheese omelet, and home fries.  While we were eating, we saw Suzanne Millwood come by in a maid's getup. She was on her way down to the bathroom to mop! Come to find out, a lot of the staff switch roles for a day twice a year. Peter was the concierge, and Dwight was the GM. Annasette was the manager on Duty, and she looked stunning in her black pantsuit with her hair all done up. Simone was the food and beverage manager. Heather (sales manager) was the hostess at Bayside. Anna-Marie, the usual executive housekeeper cleaned our room. Tracey took lots of pictures. I'm supposed to get some.

 

Todd went on the 10 a.m. bus for golf. He's never gone that late, but it was alright. He got back at about 2:30. It was overcast, and he didn't use sunscreen even though I’d bought him some new extra extra waterproof!  While Todd was waiting for the bus, we saw one of the resident peacocks touting his plumage. He strutted around opened up for at least 20 minutes.

 

I went over to the spa and bought some products. Do try the Creative line. I buy the lotions for gifts and for myself, and I found some new heel cream they have that is full of cucumber. It is great. I also had them mix me up the grapefruit oil that she used as part of my facial. I bought something called solar butter that is a hand cream and some other things, too.

 

I changed into my suit and hung out at the hot tub for about an hour and then went to change for my trip up to Goldeneye.  Goldeneye is a special group of villas out 10 minutes past Beaches Boscobel and a real find. I will talk about that elsewhere on the site and will post pictures. I had lunch and a tour and a very nice glass bottom boat ride up there with a former RP employee and arrived back at the resort at about 3:30.

 

Todd was just laying around when I got back. We went down to the Royal Cafe. They were getting close to having the covered section complete. Todd had the chicken fajita special, while I ordered a small seafood salad. They brought a big one and then thought I didn't like it. It was just too big since I had eaten.

The ocean had cooled off from all the rains.  The water had been rough during our stay due to rains.  We hadn’t snorkeled or tried to go on a sailboat.  We just mostly waded.

 

The pool is not yet heated. I think Peter said September. The hot tub was just perfect, and we stayed in the top part for an hour. The bottom part had become really noisy. Todd told me to go join all the gabbers down there, and he went to the room. There was quite a storyteller there that was entertaining everyone. I headed up in time to get ready for the evening. By then, the language was a bit “animated” for my taste.

 

Repeat Guest Cocktail Party and  Dinner

 

At 6:30, we headed to the repeat guest cocktail party. Five couples total were there. We had a nice visit, and Peter told us about the new look for the rooms. The model room is 205 next to ours. They are currently painting it. It is an off-white color. I hate to see them paint over that beautiful yellow. I think they should have left those and just painted the dark ones. They will put white slipcovers over the chairs and lighten the mahogany on the beds.  People noted how much they like the nice white towel chair covers that they bring around to put over chairs vs. the usual towels that fall down, etc.

Twelve percent of the guests that were there were on EP. Peter said sometimes they go out for lunch and still spend more than the royal plan. He also said the villa is almost always rented and the high end rooms often go the fastest. More Canadians have been coming, and we saw all ages, 20s to 80s.j

 

Andre brought around canapés with lobster, salami, and a few others.  Drinks were served, and ladies were given orchids.  Tracey took a group picture and individual pictures for those that wanted them.

 

We had the repeat dinner at Le Papillon. We had some interesting courses that were very fresh and creative. The first was papaya in some coconut sauce. The second was a king crab salad. That had chunks of crab and peppers and cucumbers, not sure what else. It was good but huge.

The soup was asparagus - white asparagus soup with chunks of asparagus in it. Not as good as Hugo's white asparagus soup, but it was quite good.

The entree was supposed to be lamb. At our table, only Peter had it. The rest of us had steaks except one lady that ate the sea bass (and loved it). Peter's lamb did look like the best thing, and we should have all listened and had it. Our meal was good, though.

For dessert, they all had some sort of apple dessert with ice cream. I had crème Brule.  This one was also different.

Peter entertained our table with great stories, and Andre entertained the other table.  This meal took until after 10 to get through dessert, and by then, both Peter and Andre had abandoned us for work!  We were all chatting across our two tables by then. Most of us went to Appleton until 12 a.m. John and Donna went to bed. Gary took care of everyone. There was a singer and piano player until 11 p.m. We were all just chatting in the opposite corner, but a guest came over and told us we were very rude. They stayed until the entertainment was over and left. Our group of 8 was the only ones in there, and I am sure the other 3 couples stayed on.

 

April 7, 2005 (Thursday)

 

Todd still was not up to golf.  At lunch, we were ready for lobster BLT.  They had.
 switched to shrimp BLT's but they were good. Todd had a burger w/ cheddar and bacon. We had a good time feeding bread and chips to the peacocks. We had the German cheddar soup and salads.

 

I had a neck and back massage. I booked the 25 minute chair neck and back massage but asked to have it in a room and not in the chair.   She spent the whole time on my neck, shoulders and back and I also did a nice steam.  I was so relaxed.

 

We had lunch again at Bayside.  Todd had a sirloin steak, which was huge. I tried spaghetti with meatballs and didn’t like it much. Todd saw some juicy burgers and noted he hadn't had one the whole stay.  I ordered some sorbet.

 

We lounged around all afternoon.  I noted that I hadn’t attended the tea all week, but I always used to just like to grab some tarts, now you go through a whole presentation.

 

I went over with Lenworth to take pictures of the villa.  Had a nice visit with Raymond, the resort’s limo driver.  We always enjoy his company.

 

I happened on to a cooking demo.  They made fried plantains, bammie, ackee and saltfish and something else.  Guests enjoyed it, and it was fun to watch the cooking and the guest reactions.

 

Final Dinner

 

They’d arranged to make veal marsala for us, and we’d asked to dine at Bayside at 7:30.  We’d been enjoying the pool and hot tub so much that we struggled to make it by 7:30, but we did.  We had a nice table up front closest to the stage.

 

We had four courses—appetizer, soup, salad and entrée, and they incorporated the veal dish in with it.

 

Of note were some fried spring rolls with jerk pork.  They were really good.  The veal was tender and nicely prepared in sauce.  Sauce was a little sparing, so I definitely used it all.

 

April 8, 2005 (Friday)

 

This morning, I packed while Todd slept.  We went down for a last breakfast.  We had asked to leave at 10 a.m.  For some reason, they thought it was 11 a.m.  This got straightened out.  We received a wooden box with a peacock on it as a departure gift, along with some things for the TTO anniversary from Andre.  

 

The cover over part of the Royal Café patio was pretty much done, and I got a couple of pictures of that.

 

At 10 a.m., Peter put us in the town car.  We set off for Half Moon with Raymore as our driver again.  

 

Summary of What is New Since September        

 

The bedding and draperies are new.  There will also be new coverlets for the duvets. They are painting rooms lighter and will have white slip covers over the chairs.  

 

The menus at Le Papillon and Bayside have changed considerably and have a more Caribbean flair.  Vincenzo did say they would be bringing back more European dishes.

 

They’ve added a cover at Royal Café so that people don’t have to run when it rains, etc.

 

They have added new beach loungers and cushions and new covers for while guests lounge.

 

They are currently leaving the drawing room doors open, which creates a very nice open feeling.

 

Appleton has changed to mixed nuts from peanuts.

 

Signing is now everywhere and more consistent.  However, this has upped the service level.  They now come around very regularly at the pool and hot tub for drink service, and these areas have become more popular.  They consistently kept the hot tub at 100 or 101, and the pool was a nice temperature and will soon be heated.

 

We didn’t order room service because of the $10 charge, but Peter did say it is for food orders and not drink orders.  We never saw a cat!

 

Comments

 

The spa was in great shape, as were the grounds.  There was some banging going on with the cover being built, but this is complete.  There was a lot of construction at SGOR, but we didn’t hear it.

 

We had some trouble with the mini-bar in both rooms where stuff just flew out of the door.  We’ve seen fridges with little compartments that prevent this from happening.

 

There seemed to be a lot of seaweed, and the water was rough.  Not sure what they could have done, it was just nature.

 

We were able to visit with a lot of staff we’ve known for 4 years and to also meet some new people.  We always seem to run into others we’ve met there before.

 

Until Tuesday, the resort was fully booked.  We’d had two other trips where they were full when we saw some slips in service from the impeccable service we had when they were not full.  This time, it was just fabulous.  They seem to have noted every problem and had addressed each one and then some.  We were impressed.  After Tuesday, they were not as full, but things were still nice.  

 

We didn’t see a show our last night.  Maybe they started one after we went to our room, but we did miss having a show at dinner.  Not sure what that was about. We did enjoy nice dinner entertainment on other nights and the piano music during tea and the one late night that we heard a pianist and singer.

 

We hope to make it back in December because we can’t imagine waiting a whole year to make it back.