Royal Plantation February 6 – 11, 2010
Arrival and Intro
I left Sandals Royal Caribbean after 10:30 a.m. in a private car and made it to the resort in 68 minutes. My driver brought a cooler. I was so happy to pull into the driveway. This was my 20th stay at the resort.
There were a lot of guests in the lobby and, evidently, there was a situation with a few people that could not leave due to a snow storm in Washington D.C. and the airport being closed. It was a bit hectic, but I sat down and checked in and had a welcome drink and was greeted by Shawn Moses (Head Butler and Loyalty Manager), Marcia Wilmot (Front Office Manager), Pete Fraser (General Manager), and the concierge and butler staff.
I started out in room 354, a premium room. Annazette and Shawn took me there and did a formal introduction of the suite even though they know I have stayed in every category. I was happy to see them doing it. They let me know that there was intention of giving me an upgrade but that people had not left and I’d probably get to move the next day. Nonetheless, Annazette offered to unpack my stuff and then pack again the next day and unpack again in the new room. I decided not to unpack in the first room, thinking I would unpack in the new one and not put them to all that trouble. My room was set up with a basket of whole fruit, a fruit and cheese plate, a chilled bottle of wine and a couple of my personal touches they always remember. Everything was very nice.
Shawn had told me that some of the butlers were still in training, and I found out that Director of Training Raj Suberamanian from The English Guild of Butlers was in house doing training and consulting to get the new butler program started. Royal Plantation began piloting the butler program late last fall, but the full resort roll-out of the program began on February 1. Raj is one of two people in his position at The Guild, and he was also on the Silver Spirit Maiden Voyage that we were on over the holidays. We did not meet at that time. He and I hit it off and found a lot to talk about with service, etc.
Also new on February 6 is that Yannis Paravalos transferred to Sandals Dunns River that day. He was the Food and Beverage Manager at RP and was promoted to Executive Assistant Manager at Dunns. Francine Allen came over from Dunns and was promoted to Executive Assistant Manager . Early in my stay, Mike Norton, VP of Incentive Sales in Sandals was visiting. We had an animated discussion about butler service for the future at RP, Carlyle, and Emerald Bay. I shared “the wealth of my knowledge” about butler service, golf, and a variety of other topics. It felt really good to get to have his ear.
First Day - Saturday
I arrived at lunchtime, and I was ready for my first of many delicious meals. I had lunch with Shawn. We both ordered the crab back appetizer. Shawn had two orders. I also had some coppa and then a small salad. Shawn had ribs.
I spent some time at the beauty
salon getting a polish change, and Denise Morrison, the spa manager stopped by
for a few giggles and girl talk before she headed home. Please get to know her
if you come here, she continues to amaze me with her sense of style (runs the
gift shop, too) and the way she puts herself together. Beautiful inside and
out. I just love her.
I got to see Yannis Paravalos briefly, and he is super excited about his new
job at Dunns and enjoyed his first day there as Executive Assistant Manager.
I spent a few more hours with Raj for another lengthy session at Appleton, and
then Peter joined while I waited until almost 9:30 for Shawn for dinner at Le
Papillon.
Shawn had escargot, and he was wildly enthusiastic about it. I ordered a salad.
I had soup, and we ordered it spicy. They interpreted that to be salty. Shawn
made me send it back. They made it regular, and it was a delicious yellow
pepper soup. For the entree, we of course had sea bass. Shawn had about 100
interruptions, but that is what the new life as head butler is. The phone is
attached to his earlobe. We had some laughs looking at my photos, and before I
knew it, it was almost 12:30.
Sunday
I spent the morning working in my room. One nice thing about the rooms with the French balcony is that you can slide open the doors and stay in a comfy chair. This works for me because I can plug in my laptop there and stare at the ocean while I work. One of my friends from a sister resort was able to come over that day, and we had a really nice lunch up on the terrace. We arrived at close to 2 p.m. and spent a couple of hours having, I think 5 courses. We had a great pumpkin soup and snapper, but we customized our side dishes. They did not do mine quite right, but I had a lot of delicious food. The drink service was the worst of the entire stay (as it always is on Sunday). It was raining briefly, so people that normally would have been on the beach were also dining upstairs.
Shawn called me to discuss changing my room and said it was set but would happen later. That was perfect since I was busy. A second friend came over in the evening, and we had some drinks and laughs in Appleton. Shawn sat with us for a while, but he had to work. We were there until about 9:45. They left, and I had a late dinner on the terrace with Raj to discuss more butler topics. He ordered a nice Shiraz and a vegetarian entrée. I had sea bass and whatever he had for the other courses. I was getting sleepy on him after midnight. Shawn moved my luggage then and even offered to unpack at that hour. I certainly would not have put anyone through that, and I just wanted to lay down and relax before falling into a relaxing sleep.
Monday
Orayne and Tenisha were assigned as my new butlers. My new room was 155. The room has been fully renovated since Todd and I stayed in it. I’d seen 255 and 355 since the renovation but hadn’t stayed in this category in a while. These rooms are very popular with the huge balcony outside. I was up at 6 a.m. and set up my office out there where I could stare at the ocean. I left the doors open any time I was in the room and the a/c off.
Orayne showed up with a surprise breakfast of boiled eggs, potatoes and fruit. He carved a whole pineapple and brought some other fruits. It was a nice surprise. He brought a new butler phone and swapped it with the old one. RP has modern butler phones. When he came back for the cleanup, he escorted me to the spa for my facial. I had requested Marva since I have known her for some time.
I requested the C to Shining Sea. I am not sure I did not get the fountain of youth, but I love them both, so that was fine. They always take good care of me at the spa. They bring the nice flavored water and assist with the locker, and they are always happy to see me. In about two hours, I finished, and Orayne was there waiting for me to escort me back to my room.
For lunch, I went to the beach grill. It was quite busy, and there was only one table open. It was the one I wanted, anyway, near the rail, closest to the water. I had gazpacho, antipasto and a crab cake. It was nowhere near as good as the crab backs upstairs but still quite good (the crab backs are the best I have tasted anywhere). The gazpacho was just delicious. It tasted just like mine, but I developed mine from tasting theirs a while back and then twisting it up a little. I know they have my recipe and wondered if they had used it and we had come full circle. They still bring the chips and salsa. They are fine, but the salsa they have had the last couple of times is pretty bland for a South Texan. Anthony and Marvette were at the beach, and the service was excellent.
I went back to work in my room. Late in the day, Shawn called saying he and Tenisha would like to come by with a surprise. They brought seafood canapés and set up a little feast on the balcony. We took some photos. It was a nice gesture, but they arrived when I was getting ready for the manager’s cocktail party. They knew I was going, so the timing could have been better. It was fun, though and I ate some. Not the anchovies! Tenisha escorted me to the party after helping me with my accessories. Trudane Hardware, the Sales Manager was passing out appetizers. I did not take any. I chatted with Marcia and Suzanne Millwood, the hotel manager. The mento band was playing.
I had stopped by The Terrace and
asked for a table for 8 p.m. The captain put my name down. I came back a few
minutes before 8 p.m. I was seated at a nice table at the front left close to
the band. The mento band continued to play. Monday night is the surf and turf,
but they have other things. The menu is a la carte. Perhaps they thought
someone was joining me. All the tables around me were getting service, but
after 23 minutes, I got up to get someone to start mine. Francine spoke to the
waitress, and then she served things right away. I would rather have had
Tenisha escort me to dinner than the cocktail party because then I would have
received a menu and had prompt table service. Shawn joined me when I was on the
2nd course. We talked a little bit and then danced to Rojjah's
music and got 20 guests up there dancing. He is so good and we all just kept
begging for one song.
For dinner, I had some carrot soup that was good, next was the seafood
appetizer with clams, mussels and crab claws. I had blackberries for dessert.
Shawn had a fillet and a lobster tail and some cherry cheesecake that he called
the best dessert in the world. Everything was delicious, and it turned into a
really fun evening. It was amazing to just see the guests come alive. We kept
asking for more songs. Nobody wanted the show to end. Marcia and O’Brian Gordon,
Guest Services Manager came out, too. Rojjah sang a variety and even did a
wonderful Love Me Tender. Of course, there was reggae and easy listening songs.
Tuesday
I had mentioned to Shawn that I’d love to have the bath salts for my tub like they have in the prime minister suite. Well, Tuesday, Orayne showed up with the bath salts, and there was another surprise breakfast, too. The night before, Tenisha had brought exactly the fruits I like, and Orayne took them before I got to eat them and replaced them with a mix of ones I like and don’t. He did, however bring huge blackberries. I was a bit surprised that day, for sure, but I did enjoy having the bath salts and had a few lovely baths. They did not bring the salts I had before, they brought me some other nice anti-stress ones from the spa as a gift.
The day before, I had asked Orayne if he could arrange steam clams for me for lunch at The Terrace. I told him how I would like them prepared.
I had a massage appointment. Shawn had wanted me to try the male therapist, and I had wanted to, but Marva seemed to be kind of expecting me. Shawn was worried she’d be upset. At any rate, I signed up for the West Indian massage. It was very nice. She incorporated the stones (you hold them, not get rubbed with them in this particular one). She also put the hot booties on my feet. She had the table heated. It was a very nice treatment.
Orayne picked me up, and I stopped by the gift shop and bought some CDs before going over to lunch. I had a delicious crab cake, coppa and the steamed clams that Orayne ordered for me. Peter brought them over with some Scotch bonnet peppers. What a great meal. I finished with lemon sorbet. I stopped by for a chat with Maggi, and he strongly encouraged me to go to yoga. I would have but just did not get off the phone.
I had to go back to work up until about 6:30. Then I hurried up and got ready for the returning guest dinner. They had the cocktail party out by the hot tub. Durrant and some others worked hard to take care of everyone Suzanne, Trudane, Shawn, and O’Brian circulated amongst the guests. I prefer the drawing room or Appleton. They had lovely appetizers, but nobody was passing them, and only a few people had seats. They had coppa and shrimp and several other things. The appetizers were where they the few seats were. It was still nice being under the stars, and there was a lot of good conversation. A few people had to be helped up the two steps due to not seeing that well at night.
We were seated at two long tables . Jeffeson, the sommolier had some nice wines that he introduced. We had a lobster course that was medallions served cold inside of a tomato. The entrée was veal. I enjoyed myself and stayed with some guests to chat. When the band started some guests asked me to sit with them, and we stayed a while. O’Brian and Durrant Williams, Food Service Manager danced with me and also a few other guests late in the evening, and O’Brian played the guitar. We, again got a lot of people out dancing, and it was fun. Patrick Ried, one of my favorite singers was there, and he ended the evening with Angel at my request. After the show was over, I went to Appleton with a couple of the other guests and listened to stories of their travels. It was extremely late, but I had to work some more until almost two a.m. due to weather problems, and then I finally just had to go to bed for 3 hours.
Wednesday
I woke up well before 6, leaving the curtains open so that I could be sure I would wake up at daylight. I worked all morning. I just ate fruit.
Dawn and Jake from TTO were arriving, and I called about their whereabouts and was given a time. I called back shortly after and was told they were already in the lobby. Thankfully, they had not yet had their welcome drink, and I was able to greet them with exactly what they like. I had to stop by the bar for it, as my communication to have it ready with the butlers did not seem to get a result. Nobody expected them for about 20 more minutes. We had hugs and photos, and they checked in. They went to their room briefly, as did I, and then we met at The Terrace and had a terrific lunch inside.
We had crab backs. We also had coppa. We had a nice soup. They had seafood brochette. I had asked for angel hair with shellfish. They made me an incredible dish It was al dente and just the way I asked for it. I had a lemon sorbet for dessert. They had other desserts. We had a lot of fun, and they enjoyed the food and also looking around. They went to the beach, and I went back to work. I did stop by the beach where Dawn and Jake were to see if they were OK.
Dawn and Jake stopped by my room for a tour. By this time, I’d had a comfy chair put in the room. They need to have it there all the time, and it makes sense to put a second fridge inside the room.
We met at Appleton for evening cocktails, and Peter chatted with us for a while, and we took photos. We ran into O’Brian, and I asked him to have dinner with us. He graciously accepted. I was thrilled. The four of us had a wonderful dinner on The Terrace. We ordered from Le Papillon menu. Dawn and Jake had some escargot, I think. I am sure I had an appetizer. I had a salad maison, and Dawn and I ordered the sea bass. Jake had mahi mahi. We had soup, also. For dessert, I know Jake had the chocolate warm pudding (like a soufflé) and ice cream. O’Brian had a brownie. Dawn and I had crème brulee, but I had extra berries added. There was a wonderful singer, and we were all enjoying it. When we were done eating, we got up and danced, and then we got the resort dancing again. It was another wonderful evening. Shawn came back out later and did some dancing, too. Dawn and Jake eventually went to bed, and Shawn and I went to Appleton where a couple was singing to the piano, and we sat there a long time. Shawn got sleepy, and I stayed there and chatted with bartenders Ralston and Gladstone until they closed the place.
Thursday
I had to work again, in fact, I got a call during dinner the night before. I never did get to get in a bathing suit or anything the whole 5 days. I had tried to get a hold of a butler to do my packing, but nobody ever answered the phone. I was not sure what time they wanted me out of the room. I was doing the cooking class with Dawn and Jake at 10:30 and knew it would run for a few hours. I went ahead and packed my own bags, one for Boscobel and one to go home.
Dawn, Jake, and I were doing a cooking class. At 10:30, we were escorted up to Le Papillon by Peter. We were given our aprons and hats and given an intro by chefs Derreck and O’Neal on what we were going to be doing. They let us do everything - slicing, dicing, cooking lobster, rice, tuna. None of us had ever cooked rice w/o boiling or steaming, and I doubt I could do it again. It was super. Dawn and I must have said Yummmm about a million gazillion times. They let us take a lot of pictures, and we had various visitors who came to see our progress. We worked with peppers, callalou, onions, green bananas, garlic, and other ingredients. I made my own pan of the grilled greens and veggies, and Dawn and Jake did the rundown. I made mine w/o coconut and with extra Scotch bonnet peppers. We curried the lobster, and Jake seared the tuna. Durrant and Livermore set up a lovely table for us and gave us great service. Shawn, Denise and Peter sat down and ate with us. At the end, Dawn and Jake went down to the beach after we said goodbyes. I was still eating and chatting, and I got emotional and cried a lot. Experiences like this day just touch my heart deeply.
I left around 4:30 for Beaches Boscobel after saying goodbye to everyone. It was really a special stay.
Comments
One day, I went over to Sandals Dunns River and spoke with Yannis and Louis Grant, the General Manager. I had a small slice of pizza while we chatted. The resort looked good. Yannis had been at the resort only one or two days but was happy there, and Louie was doing well. He seemed as uncertain as anyone if Dunns will have a miracle or not and stay open after July 31.
The French restaurant, Le Papillon was open every night. It was very busy, and some nights, they overflowed into the drawing room where they set up nice tables. They were not operating the beach grill restaurant at night.
Adrienne is the main beach butler now. He works all day serving mangosas in the morning, fruit, misting, and serving drinks. The watersports guys help with setting up chairs and raking and such. It is obvious Cleon still loves it down there, though he is a regular butler now.
I never had time to even put on a bathing suit, but I never missed a meal, and they were all excellent. As always, there was a lot of choice available. I was easily able to get many favorite dishes and have a few made. Fruits were nice, too. My only food criticism is that every day they seemed to have lemon sorbet. There is usually more variety. I have always wished they would mix and do some granites. Le Jardinier at Sandals Royal Caribbean has a delicious orange one served with a huge strawberry.
I was glad I got to be one of the first butler guests. I saw a lot of good things being done in the planning. They meet every day, they discuss things, they have schedules, they plan surprises, etc. In my situation, it seems like I went through a few butlers since I changed rooms, and then the last 2 days, I had no butler service unless I called someone, and I could not reach anyone to pack. They did some nice things for me that were really special. I would like to see them use the butler phones they give the guests more than the room phone. I know the same thing happens at Sandals. I would be out on my balcony and run to the phone and not make it in time and then go back out, and it would ring again. Then it rang when I was in the tub, too. I had the butler phone sitting right there nearby always. They assembled a great team,of that I am sure. They care about the job and the service. Service was already wonderful at the resort, so I hope to see this take it to another level. Here is an article (long) that I wrote about butlers: http://www.tropictravelonline.com/rpbutler.html.
My photos can be found at http://www.tropictravelonline.com/cgi-bin/gallery/gallery.cgi?Category=101634
Not responsible for errors and omissions.
Debbie Hoffren, CTIE, CLS, DS
Certified Sandals Specialist Platinum Agent
Information and Travel Resources
Preferred Sandals Agency
Top Travel Agency Royal Plantation Ocho Rios STAR Awards 12/2009