Emily and Craig's Royal Plantation Trip Report 5/12/09-5/20/09

Tuesday 5/12/09

We left Charlotte on time at 8AM and flew USAir. The flight was smooth and we arrived in Montego Bay at 9:50AM. We made it through baggage and customs in about 40 minutes and were excited when we saw the Sandals Lounge. As we checked in, we were told our driver was ready as soon as we were. My husband and I used the restroom and grabbed a Red Stripe and met our driver right outside the lounge. We had booked the private transfer with wine and snacks. Our car was a new, black Mercedes with leather interior and a television. The car could not have been nicer and even though our driver was quiet, he was extremely pleasant and answered all of our questions. He even took the time to stop and explain Discovery Bay and showed us the school that Usain Bolt attended .The only issue with the ride was that there were no refreshments. We asked our driver about it and he said he knew nothing of it. He offered to stop somewhere, but we just wanted to get to the hotel. We made it to the hotel in around 1 hour and 20 minutes.

We were greeted immediately by Jason the concierge and Sean Moses. Before we even sat down, Peter Fraser came to greet us and gave me a hug. It was wonderful to see him again and have him come out to say hello. He reminds me of a suave Panama Jack. He was genuinely kind and excited to have us back. Within moments we were sitting with cool towels and champagne with sugar cane sticks. They took a credit card imprint and informed us that our room was ready. Sean went ahead and offered to RSVP us for the returning guest dinner that evening and we told him that we were looking forward to this. Since this was our second trip to RP, we opted out of the tour of the hotel. As we walked from the check-in loveseat, through the lobby, we were reminded immediately why we fell in love with this place. The view from the bluff you stand upon is breathtaking and spans 180 degrees. We stood there for a moment just gazing at the water, and had to be reminded that we were on our way to our room.  As we passed through the Terrace Restaurant we were introduced to the new Welsch chef. He seemed excited about being there and we chatted for a few minutes. We them made it to our room- number 259. This was a luxury room and was extremely to our liking. The bathroom was to the right after entering the room. It had a large sink area and across from that was a walk-in closet with safe. Next, there was a large open shower in a room with the Jacuzzi tub. As you continued into the room, there was an archway that led into the bedroom area which contained a desk and chair, armoire with flat screen tv, bed with canopy, 2 end tables, a towel drying rack, IPOD docking station, and a chair. Then, the room led into a sitting area which had a dining table with two chairs, the mini-bar, and 2 comfy sitting chairs. The best part of the room was the French balcony- we had an unobstructed view of the turquoise, Caribbean sea and immediately we whisked open the curtains and doors. We also has a great view of the beach and hotel.

After unpacking, we headed to the Terrace for lunch. We were starved and were ready to indulge in the wonderful food that RP has to offer. I had the bacon-wrapped goat cheese salad and the jumbo tiger prawns with couscous and tzadziki. My husband had the caprese salad and grilled pork medallions. It was all delicious, but the pork was the highlight. It was seared crispy, but the meat itself was tender and juicy. We knew this meal was a great beginning for what was to come in the next week.

We went back to the room after lunch and slipped on our swimsuits and headed to the beach. Leon came up and pulled two chairs directly in the sun's direction and covered them with blue pads and white terry covers. He then rolled a towel for each of us and placed it on top of each chair. This acted as a pillow and was perfect when reading or just watching the sea. We ordered some rum punch and beer and it was delivered directly to our chairs- vacation had instantly started.

Once we had spent a few hours on the beach, we headed to the room to shower and get ready for the returning guest dinner. My husband made a phone call to tweak our mini-bar preferences and order pillows from the pillow menu. We opted for the water pillows and although they are heavy, they are very comfortable. We were to meet in the drawing room for cocktails and then we all headed to Le Papillon for dinner. There were 4 couples including us and Suzanne Millwood and Sean Moses  from management. There were a variety of cocktails, wine, and champagne choices. There were also some appetizers, such as coconut chips and caviar finger sandwiches. Dwight, the photographer, took a group photo and then some individual photos. We then went to dinner. We had a long rectangular table in the dining room and the menu was excellent. We started with an amouse bouche- a chef's special bite- of cucumber, creme fresh, and caviar. It was surprisingly very delicious. Our first course was a velvet corn and coconut soup served in a half a coconut shell. The soup was lovely and my husband who does not care for coconut at all ate every last bite. Next, was a canadian lobster salad with wild greens and a balsamic dressing. They informed us that they had the Canadian lobster flown in especially for our dinner. This was the most tender lobster I have ever tasted and was our favorite course. For entrees we had a pairing of snapper and duck breast with vegetables. My husband ate our duck and I ate our snapper as he does not care for filleted fish and even though I have not preferred duck in the past, this was delicious and I would have ordered it again. For dessert we had a silky chocolate mousse with an edible spoon. The dinner was wonderful, but the company was even better. The wine pairings with the courses were spot on and the conversation with our new friends flowed easily. We chatted about the filming of the movie "License To Wed" and about RP Fowl Cay and Dragon Bay. We all left dinner and headed to the Appleton Bar for more cocktails. There was a piano player, but the crowd in the bar left the music somewhat muffled. We decided to head back to our room around midnight. This was the end to an amazing first day of our trip.

Wednesday 5/13/09

This morning we woke to crystal clear blue water and sunny skies. I called to make some dinner reservations and we headed to the Terrace for breakfast. I had eggs over easy with bacon and potatos and Craig had a bagel, toast, bacon, and potatos. I had coffee every morning- I love the strong taste of Blue Mountain coffee. The array of fruits and fresh squeezed juices was amazing. Shanique, Kingsley, and Collette really do a great job there. After breakfast, we headed to the beach where they were setting our chairs up before our feet even hit the sand. They called us by name from then on- we stayed on the beach this morning- swimming, reading, and listening to our IPODS. It was very relaxing. At 10AM Cleon came around with his tray of Mangosas. Those always got us started. Then he would follow with his tray stacked with blue flags. He would instruct you to just wave the flag for service- food, beverage, or anything else. Around 11AM he would come around with a silver tray of the freshest, sliced fruits you have ever seen. The tray included mango, papaya, kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, watermelon, and grapes. There was a gentleman that followed him with a tray that contained plates, linen napkins, and forks. They would both bend down right to your beach lounger and hand you a plate, napkin, and fork as you selected the fruits of your choice. They were at the peak of sweetness and it was perfect to cut the heat of the morning sun. We ordered a few bottles of water, but never needed the flag for service. They were always checking on us- there was never an instance where it was necessary.

For lunch we got up from our chairs and walked the 10 steps to the beach grill- the mento band was playing. The band is compiled of the three most adorable men that you have ever seen and they are a unique background to the crashing of waves at lunch. They played lots of Bob Marley and some carribean classics that we loved.  My husband had the calamari appetizer and then the lobster blt. I had the greek salad and the jerk chicken. The calamari and Greek salad was to die for- the capers on the salad were as large as olives. Around 2PM Cleon came by and misted us with rose water and gave cucumbers for your eyes. It was just as refreshing as getting in the water, and the smell was more fragrant than any perfume I have smelled. I loved it! The rest of the afternoon we vegged until it started to rain a little. We headed back to the room where I got ready for tea and my husband decided to use the jacuzzi. At tea, the piano player plays and they set up the terrace for traditional English tea. I selected the lemon tea and a silver pot was delivered to my table with cream, milk, sugar, splenda, honey, and sliced lemons. I fixed my cup and read my book. Soon, the tea steward pushed the cart to my table where he offered rum cake, carrot cake, lemon tarts, scones with clotted cream and preserves, pineapple turnovers, smoked salmon sandwiches, and cucumber sandwiches. I selected a lemon tart, a scone, and a smoked salmon sandwich. The food was a perfect compliment to the tea. I watched the rain move over the water and it was clear by the time I headed back to the room. We watched the sun go down from our French balcony with some excellent cocktails crafted by my husband. We were hungry and were to have a late dinner so we ordered a cheese plate, a ceasar salad, and a club sandwich from room service. It took about 30 minutes and was just the snack we needed- we ate only a little and put the rest in the fridge for another time and then we got ready for dinner.

Tonight we dined outside on the Terrace. It was all candlelit and beautiful. The menu at this restaurant changes daily for dinner, so you can dine here every night and have a different menu to choose from. I had the pumpkin ravioli, fresh mozzerella salad and seafood cannelloni and he had the lobster bisque(which was excellent), market salad, and fillet. Everything was spot on and anytime you got up from the table they came while you were gone to re-fold your napkin and re-set your place. For dessert I had the fudge pie and he had the fresh berries and cream cake. We were stuffed but managed to enjoy a few bites. The service was exceptional. After dinner, we danced the night away under the stars to the house band that played in the outdoor gazebo. The band played a wonderful variety of new and old favorites, and were pleased to honor requests.

Thursday 5/14/09

This morning we had breakfast at the Terrace and we both ordered the same as the morning before and took our places on our favorite beach chairs. We did a lot of swimming and lounging on the water platform this morning and we enjoyed the same beach services as the day before. The bloody Mary's we had were spicy and made just to my husbands liking. For lunch we headed to the beach grill where we shared the veggie spring roll (which was handrolled and very crispy) and I had the ceasar salad and chicken panini and my husband had the plantation house salad and the steak and blue cheese sandwich. Everything was very good and we headed back to our chairs. Unfortunately, the rain came soon after lunch and we headed back to the room and watched part of a movie. The sun was coming back out and I opted for a nap while my husband headed back down to the ocean for some Heinekens and rays. We had a cocktail in our room while getting ready for dinner and then we headed to the Jamaican night. This night was a buffet of traditional Jamaican fare. There was curried loster, pepper steak, seared prawns, broiled snapper, rice and peas, plantains, and much much more. This was not to our liking. We are not generally buffet people, but wanted to try in the spirit of the island- but we really wished we had dined elsewhere. After dinner, we grabbed a few beers and headed back to our room to enjoy the sound of the waves and the crickets.

Friday 5/15/09

Today when we woke it was overcast so we decided to get a car and go to Margaritaville. It was 9AM and I called Royal Touch and asked if it was too late to get a car for 10AM, she giggled and said it was NEVER too late to get a car and that they have driver's on the premises of RP at all times all I had to do was ask. This was great. We headed to breakfast where I tried the eggs Benedict and Craig had his usual. The Benedict was good, but I felt the bread was too soggy. Our car met us promptly, and the price was a mere $24 round trip for the both of us to be paid to the driver upon drop-off back at the resort. Margaritaville is housed in the Island Village Shopping Center, which made this a great outing for us. We are huge Buffet fans and could not wait to visit to get a shirt and have a rita. This particular day there were no cruise ships in the port, so we almost had the entire place to ourselves which was great! We shopped through the stores and ended with traditional and strawberry margaritas. We returned back at RP in time for lunch at the Terrace. We both enjoyed goat cheese salads, while I had the weiner schnitzel, he had the turkey wrap. The sun was beginning to peak over the clouds so we hit the beach. We ordered some cocktails lounge side and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. We went up around 4PM and I had tea while Craig napped. This evening we had reservations at LePapillon. We arrived at the Appleton lounge and enjoyed Manager's Martini Moments. I enjoyed a cosmo and a peach on the beach, while Craig opted for a Grey Goose and cranberry. They do this great thing when you order a liquor with one juice-they put the juice in a little carafe on the side and you pour as little or as much as you like into the liquor on the rocks. That was great for us because you could make it exactly to your preference. After a few drinks, we headed upstairs to dine on the outside terrace of the French restaurant. I began with the crab cakes and Craig started with baked shrimp, crab and gruyere cheese followed by the endive salad and a pear and walnut salad. For my entree I had a seared fillet with a red wine reduction that was tender enough for me to cut it with my fork. Craig had the veal tenderloin with a porcini demi-glace that was outstanding. We both agreed it was the best veal we had ever eaten. For dessert I had the vanilla bean creme brulee which was all I had hoped for. The sugar on top was well carmalized and I was very pleased with the taste. Craig had the apple tart which was a little mushy due to the ice cream had melted, but it was still good. After dinner we headed to the room.

Saturday 5/16/09

On this day, we woke up to rain so we decided to have breakfast and play it by ear. I tried the corn beef hash, which was not to my liking. It was not seared crispy on the flat top like I am use to. It had the consistancy of ground beef and I couldn't get past it. Craig had his usual and I just had some toast and coffee. They also had Jamaican hot chocolate that was served tableside. I LOVED this- it quickly replaced my coffee. We headed to the game room and shot 3 games of pool which I have not played in years. I lost horribly, but it was really great to get to do something as frivolous as that at 10 in the morning. We even had a waitress that delivered miller lights right to us as we played. The sun began to come out so we found our place on the beach and then decided to kayak. We signed the list and suited up in our life jackets and after a quick lesson we were off. We headed towards SGOR and we found that exploring the coves this way was a new favorite of ours. We have never kayaked before and now we have a new love. The water was clearer than we have ever seen it and the waves rippling over the reef were breathtaking. We headed back after a half hour or so and took a rest on our loungers.

We decided to do lunch in 2 parts today. We headed to the Terrace for our favorite goat cheese salad and lentil soup and a few hours later we had coconut shrimp with a sweet remoulade and burgers with bacon, Swiss, jalapenos, onion, and tomato. They we juicy and delicious. We headed to our room as it began to rain and we knew then that our reservations for the Royal Grill were going to be cancelled. This is an outdoor venue and it is open pending the weather. We got ready and headed to the terrace where we did some trivia one on one. Our great cocktail waitress, Camara, took very good care of us as I FINALLY held my own in trivia with my husband. They had cigar rolling on the terrace going on at this time. The ladies let you roll your own, but were very quick to step in to make sure it was being done properly. Camara brought us some coconut chips and wonderful drinks and then we headed to dinner on the Terrace since the Royal Grill was closed. We dined outside and had a great meal. I had a scallop appetizer, panchetta salad, and shrimp encrusted salmon. Craig had the pizza napoleon appetizer, balsamic salad, and the shrimp, crab, and scallop rigatoni. We were too full to eat dessert, but our wonderful server Philip said," What would you have if you were going to have dessert?"  We told him and left. When we got back to our room, our desserts had been delivered there. We had a banana spring roll and a molten cake with grand marnier ice cream. That was beyond service. We ate our desserts and watched a movie as we listened to the waves crash outside our open French balcony doors.

Sunday 5/17/09

Today we headed to the beach right after a breakfast of eggs Benedict and bagel with bacon. The Benedict was perfect this morning and I really enjoyed it. We spent the entire morning reading and then played a game of chess on the pier(we played checkers with the chess pieces). Cleon brought us our drinks right to the pier where we were playing. For lunch we ate at the grill, I had a chicken Caesar salad and a veggie quesadilla and Craig had calamari and a chicken Panini. After lunch, the usual rain shower came down so we decided to go to the pool and the hot tub to try to wait it out. As we were in the pool, we just mentioned to each other that a shrimp cocktail would be nice. Apparently a member of the staff heard us, because it magically appeared with two glasses of champagne poolside a few minutes later-and that is what separates RP from all the rest. We then headed to the gift and photo shops for browsing. Afterwards, I opted for tea and reading on the terrace while Craig headed up to the room for a Carib beer and some Sports Center. For dinner this evening we dined inside the Terrace and had great ambiance. We normally dine outside, but all of the tables were full. However, we ended up enjoying the change. I had the blackened salmon salad, artichoke and potato soup, scallops with sweet potato gnocchi, and fruits with fresh cream. Craig had the shrimp cocktail, blue cheese salad with a baked crouton, pan seared chicken breast with a spicy chicken jus, and a pineapple tart. After dinner we enjoyed the band and chatted with a few couples on the terrace.

Monday 5/18/09

This morning was bright and sunny and we were anxious to get out to the beach. We opted for the breakfast buffet which had fresh fruit, yogurt, French toast, pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs and omelets to order, pastries, Danishes, muffins, croissants, potatoes, and local dishes. We grabbed a few quick bites and headed to the water. The sun was out in full force this morning and we took advantage of all of the wonderful beach services. We spent lots of time in the clear blue water today and enjoyed the warm weather. We headed to the beach grill for lunch and took our usual ocean front table. We dined on corn chowder, plantation salads and club sandwiches. We then hit the beach for a nice walk and then took naps on our chairs for the afternoon. We awoke to the afternoon rain. Cleon raised our umbrella and we tried to wait it out while reading our books, but it became too heavy and we had to head up to the room. We watched the storm from our balcony and then got ready for dinner.

We were looking forward to the manager's cocktail party and went down just in time for the it to start. There was an outside bar set up with rum punch, sangria, champagne, wine and liquor. The mento band played during this time and got everyone in the island spirit. You could go to the bar or a waitress would come to take your order from the terrace. I had sangria and Craig had a cocktail. Managers came around and visited. We spoke with Suzanne and Peter briefly. They passed appetizers on silver trays that included crispy chicken wings with sweet and sour sauce and marinated, grilled steak skewers with a peanut sauce. The appetizers were very good and sizzling hot- that was impressive. Peter raced to hand us spicy jumbo prawns right before we were seated for dinner because he knew he had not gotten around to us before our reservation time- we really appreciated his attentiveness. The theme of dinner was surf, turf, and cabaret. There was a seafood broth served tableside and appetizers and salads served buffet style. We had a wonderful mixed green salad with balsamic dressing and some wonderful cheeses. There was a huge tray of cheddar, Monterey jack, Colby, Swiss, jalapeno jack, gouda, blue, and goat cheeses. There were also crackers, bread, and fruit to accompany them. It was amazing to have so many choices. We were in heaven. The surf and turf was served and was very good. There were four other choices if you preferred to have something else. For dessert we shared a cannoli and bananas flambé with rum and chocolate ice cream. They flambe right in front of you and the flame was at least 3 feet high- it was neat. The best part of dinner was that we were seated near two other couples and we began chatting with them immediately. After dinner the six of us then headed out to the terrace where we had cocktails and coffee. There was a band playing in the Appleton Lounge that was really getting the crowd going. However, we opted for the outside terrace where we could all chat. We lost the time and spoke as if we had known each other for years. This was the first vacation that we have met such wonderful couples that we had so much in common with- it was vey nice. We all headed back to our rooms after an evening of laughing and fun.

Tuesday 5/19/09

This was our last full day and the sun was shining brightly when we woke. We headed to breakfast and had a quick bite of our normal eggs, bagels, bacon, and potatoes from the buffet. When we got to the beach our new friends had saved us chairs all in a row. We spent the morning chatting and drinking dirty bananas on our loungers. The girls bonded while the guys had some beers and enjoyed the waves. One of our new friends was an artist and he entertained us all with his AMAZING talent of sketching and drawing. He had his sketch pad right by his chair and drew pictures for each of us to remember our stay. I have already framed ours and I am so grateful for such a neat momento from the trip. Four of us had lunch at the grill. Craig and I revisited our favorites- appetizers of calamari, spring rolls, and coconut shrimp. Then we had the burger and the chicken panini for the main course. After lunch we all headed back to our chairs for some more sun time. The usual afternoon rain came and Craig and I decided to wait it out. We went to kayak one last time and as we paddled the sun made its way back out. This time we headed in the opposite direction towards the villa and the Jamaican Inn (I believe). It was beautiful this way and we took several moments to soak it all in. After our trip, we went back to our loungers and Cleon brought us some bottled water and the most amazing banana split. It had chocolate, strawberry, and pistachio ice cream with chocolate sauce, whip cream, and sugared almond clusters. It was perfect after our kayak trip.

We decided that when the sun began to set that we would watch it from the hot tub. We headed up and had cocktails delivered to the hot tub as we watched the sun set. It was truly breathtaking. We met two other couples and visited with them as the sun went down. A couple who had a wedding on the gazebo earlier was having an intimate reception just below the hot tub. They had the wedding coordinator come to us in the hot tub and offer us some of their wedding cake. We were thrilled to share it with them. The coordinator took the time to explain to us the flavors and sent a waitress to get our champagne order. So here it was, sunset, and we are having vanilla cream cake, carrot cake, and champagne delivered to us in the hot tub-I am not sure that vacation gets any better than that. We watched the sun fade and then headed back to our room to get ready for dinner at the Royal Grill. This was the dinner we were looking forward to- we have always wanted to dine right on the ocean and this was finally our chance. We met our new friends on the terrace for drinks and then 2 went up to Le Papillon for dinner and the other 4 of us headed to the Royal Grill. It was lovely down there listening to the waves and watching the glistening candles. We all started with the chicken and beef soup (sounds different, but it was great- Craig and I definitely became soup people on this trip) and we all shared appetizers of chicken satay and thai chili stone crab claws. We then shared shaved parmesan salads and antipasti plates. For the main course the ladies had glazed spicy ribs with potatoes and the men had mahi mahi with soy ginger cream and large grilled prawns seared with a spicy dry rub. We all enjoyed every last bite. For dessert it was mango crème Brule and apple tarts. The crème Brule lacked the sugar crunch it had at Le Papillon, but it was still good. It reminded me more of a flan than a Brule. After dinner we headed up to meet the other couple for drinks and some laughs.

Wednesday 5/20/09

This is the day of our departure. We had to check-out and be ready to go by 10:30AM. We had a table for 6 at breakfast with our new friends and enjoyed getting to see them one last time before we left. After a quick buffet breakfast, we headed to the photo shop to buy some photos and then met our driver at the front. We had a private transfer back to the airport and Sean came out to hug us and see us off. We were told there was a cooler with goodies for us in the car. We left the resort and waved to Sean and the other staff and were amazed as they were still waving as we made it around the circle to see them once more. They genuinely were happy to have us there and we felt like we were leaving a second home more than a vacation. With tears in our eyes, we opened the cooler, popped some bubbly ,and enjoyed fresh fruit and royal club sandwiches on our ride back to the airport. There were also sodas and bottled water which were great for our wait through customs. We made it back to Charlotte and were at our house around 8:15 PM.