adanderson2002 Trip Report Beaches Royal Plantation

Date: Sat Mar 23, 2002 7:07 pm

Hello all!

My fiance and I just returned from Beaches Royal Plantation. This was our second trip to Jamaica. We stayed 4 nights, which was not nearly long enough! We plan to return as soon as possible. Hopefully this report will help those who are trying to choose which resort to visit.

We traveled to Jamaica on a red eye from Los Angeles. Yuck! Our air Jamaica flight left at 11:00pm and we arrived in Montego Bay at 7:30 am. We were the only people on the shuttle van to the resort. Our driver was awesome, pointing out all the towns, resorts, and historical sights along the way. He had some great stories about tourists he'd met as well.

When we pulled into the resort we were awe struck. It is absolutely gorgeous. We entered the lobby where we were greeted with champaigne (at 9:30am!) We were taken to our room at once, and what a room! We had the lowest room category (they would not bump us up although they were half empty), but it was amazing! Seriously beautiful furnishings and wall paintings. All rooms have an ocean view. We crashed for a few hours, got up and ordered room service (24 hour). Then we ventured out to see the resort. I don't want to be redundant, but we couldn't believe all the beautiful little details and touches. It was very cloudy and raining on and off so we decided to warm up in the jacuzzi. There were only two other people around, a young couple we hit it off with right away. After gabbing for a few hours, we returned to our room to shower and change for the beach party/dinner. When we got to the party, we were shocked. There were only 40 people at the resort and most of them were over 45! The food was unbelievably good, and the fire eater and limbo artist was great. Afterward, We watched a movie in our room and crashed early.

Day 2: The weather cleared a bit, though it was still not hot. We decided to walk next door to SOR for breakfast. (buffet style, and not so great) However, the patio where we ate was beautiful, and it was a nice change to see so many people! We headed down to the beach and swam for a while. Then, it was time to head back to BRP and catch the shuttle to Dunn's River Falls. We went with one other couple and had a blast. We all had lunch together at the Royal Cafe on the beach when we returned, again the food at BRP is fantastic. Then it was jacuzzi time, where we drank way too much because a waitress kept bringing us drinks to the pool area. Let me say now the service is superior. We ate that night at the French restaurant, very formal, and delicious. I had smoked salmon and caviar, cream of onion soup, and sirloin steak. The entertainment was a DJ who played standards and jazz. It is an older crowd and the music was tailored to them, but we enjoyed it. There was dancing under the stars, very romantic. At 10pm we caught the shuttle to BGS to check it out. What a mob! It was packed and very rowdy. We had a few drinks at the martini bar, and retured to BRP for a movie and crashed.

Day 3: Woke up to rain! Crap! Decided to stay in and order room service for breakfast. Ate watching the waves crash. The rain stopped but it was a little cold. We went over to SOR and played pool, and giant lawn chess. It warmed up so we went next door to the BGS beach to play on the water trampoline. There were no water sports available anywhere because the storm had caused dangerous conditions. We left BGS when the drunk people got really rowdy on the trampoline (scary) Grabbed a burger at the Beach Grill at SOR (yummy), then headed home to BRP for a jacuzzi and a little quiet romantic time. We had dinner at the Bayside and again it was great. I had giant shrimp cocktail, conch soup, and giant lobster tail. The entertainment was a folk singer, then a cultural dance group. They were great. We decided afterward to take two single girls (the only singles there!) to the night club at BGS. We felt bad for them stuck at BRP with a bunch of couples. The club was OK, by the time it got swinging we had to catch the last shuttle home to BRP (midnight). We returned and had hot chocolate at the main bar, we were the only ones there.

Day 4: Woke up to a gorgeous day! Went to breakfast at Bayside for the first time. How many times can I say delicious?! The water was clearer than we'd seen it all week , and finally water sports was open. We went snorkeling, then wind surfing, then snorkeling again! Late lunch on the beach, then collapsed on a beach chair! Moved to the jacuzzi for sunset, then returned to our room for some alone time. We had dinner at Bayside again, and ordered tons of food. Escargot, shrimp cocktail, duck and soba noodle salad, veal, and lobster! The jazz singer during dinner was cool. We took off for SDR after dinner. We liked this one the best after BRP. We hung out at the sports bar with another couple from BRP we bumped into. At midnight we headed back to BRP where a waitress kept the drinks coming to us in the game room while we played pool and watched the NCAA tournament.

Day 5: Another beautiful day. Went to our final breakfast, then checked out the gift shop. Spent our last couple hours on the beach, and the Royal Cafe agreed to pack us a lunch for the trip home (so nice). At 1:00 pm the resort delivered us to the Ocho Rios Airport where we caught a flight to Montego Bay (free, and arranged by the resort). From there we took the final flight home. One note about Jamaica, they're very nice to you when you arrive, but leaving is always a cold, annoying experience, so be prepared.

In conclusion I'd like to say that we loved BRP. The rooms, food, and service were way above par. The whole staff was not only friendly, but concerned about us having the best time possible. They bend over backward to serve you. Don't like the menu? They'll make your special request, no problem! We liked SOR, it's bigger and more active, and SDR was very cool. BGS was a bit too crowded and loud for us, a definite party place. We are 30, so we were one of the youngest couples at BRP, but that didn't bother us. When things were slow we just went to one of the Sandals for action. But, we loved coming home to BRP for privacy and romance. We plan to return again soon!