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Royal Plantationt -10/2/2003 - 10/5/2003 Includes
Report from the previous week of the days spent at RP while staying at
Grande Sport Trip to Jamaica We arrived in Jamaica on 9/25/2003 and stayed a week at Grande Sport Villa Golf and Spa resort before continuing on to spend 3 nights at Royal Plantation. This was our fourth stay at RP, and we had spent another trip in Jamaica where we just had a day pass. Here are the reports I have written in the past: http://www.tropictravelonline.com/Debbiebrp2001_without_pics.htm http://www.tropictravelonline.com/debbieh103_beachesroyalplantation_52002.html http://www.tropictravelonline.com/DebbieH103_royalplantationbybeaches_122002.htm Here are my photos: http://www.tropictravelonline.com/cgi-bin/gallery/gallery.cgi?Category=100080 http://www.tropictravelonline.com/cgi-bin/gallery/gallery.cgi?Category=100081 http://www.tropictravelonline.com/cgi-bin/gallery/gallery.cgi?Category=100295 http://www.tropictravelonline.com/cgi-bin/gallery/gallery.cgi?Category=100335 http://www.tropictravelonline.com/cgi-bin/gallery/gallery.cgi?Category=100439 Here are excerpts from our Grande Sport report on time we spent at RP before we moved there on 10/2: 9/25 We had planned to go to Grande Sport's returning guest dinner, but we had 4 messages inviting us to Royal Plantation's chef's dinner table. It was pouring, and we were tired, and the Grande Sport menu was steak and lobster. I made us dash to both... The food and beverage manager and executive chef and resident manager at GS had our lobster cooked and wrapped, and Royal Plantation's driver, Raymond, waited patiently for us for 40 minutes while all of this took place. We were due there at 7 by invitation of Chef Hugo and Suzanne Millwood (resident manager) for a special chef's dinner. Victor had lobster cooked for us and wrapped, and Raymond waited for us and visited with us. He's the guy that personally took care of me last Christmas when I had to go get in the wheelchair after my accident at Dunns River Falls and took care of Todd on another stay when he got glass in his foot. We were late at RP, and they were already into cocktails, but our friends,
Lisa & Paul (Sunbums) were there waiting for us, along with the others, in
the Appleton lounge. After hugs from them and kisses from Hugo and Suzanne,
we ordered champagne. By the time we got that, dinner was ready and we
headed in to Bayside. Hugo started this chef's table about three weeks before our arrival. It is like dinner with the captain on a cruise ship, I am told. He was so thrilled we loved everything. Appetizer was some sort of scallop and shrimp thing in a little shell with wonderful sauce. The soup was a crab bisque with a few hunks of lump crab. The next course was asparagus in phyllo. Todd loved that. It was wonderful. Then was tenderloin. Paul's was very thick and cooked to perfection. Todd ate most of mine, although you could have cut it w/ a fork. Hugo kept telling me to eat my lobster, but w/ 30 people all sitting there, I thought that would be rude. I put it in the fridge at GS and had a tail for breakfast the next two mornings. Every course had some sort of elegant wine. First we had Kir Royale, one of the best drinks I have ever tasted. That is an aperitif with champagne and black currant liqueur. There were some reds and some whites. Lisa didn't eat much and didn't drink much. Todd and Paul ate everything, drank everything. Todd drank my 2nd red, and one of the whites was in a crack on the table and spilled. I was too afraid to have anymore wine. During dinner, the band played lots of great 70s songs, and Todd requested something romantic for me, which was touching. Scott and Suzanne offered to let us move over to RP any time we wanted since they had 32 guests, but we asked to just move only one day early, choosing to remain at GS during the Signature Guest golf tournament. Scott is now the front of house manager, and he promised to block a jacuzzi room for us. Todd, Scott, and Chef Hugo made plans to play golf on Sunday at Sandals Golf and Country Club. RP's Dinner Special at Bayside: Wines for the Evening: Aperitif - Kir Royale. White Wine-Sauvignon Chardonnay 2001. Red Wine-Syrah Alfredo Roca 1999. Dessert-Port Tawny. Dinner: Aperitif-Amuse Bouche (the scallop & shrimp). Soup-Crab Bisque Laced with Armagnac. Appetizer-Fresh Asparagus in Puff Pastry with Mango Hollandaise. Entree-Pan Fried Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms, Shallots, Red Wine and Seasonal Vegetables. Dessert: Modern Strawberry Strudel with Fruit Coulis. Petit Fours. Coffee or Tea. 9/26After spending a great morning at Grande Sport, we decided
to head for the afternoon to Royal Plantation.
We called for the jitney at about 11:30 thinking there was a shuttle at
11:50. That never came by 12:05 (lunch break), so we caught the beach
shuttle to the guard gate and walked through Sandals Ocho Rios' driveway.
After having to give our room number at the GS gate and both gates at SOR,
we walked the road to RP. Dwight stopped us at the guard gate and didn't
know what my VIP card was, so he called and finally was satisfied we could
get in. They still bring out
the salsa and chips at Royal Cafe. This was the first day of the new menu
(you can find it at http://www.tropictravelonline.com/royalplantation.html).
Gone are the mussels and lobster BLT. The Louisiana fish sandwich was moved
from Bayside to Royal. They now have oysters (ick). The build a burger and
jerk ribs are still there. Now there are crab cakes. I remember coconut
shrimp, and the seafood salad is still there. The soup was tuscany bean. I
ordered crab cakes and a lobster pita and a fish sandwich for Todd. I ate
half the crab cakes and had all the rest boxed. Lobster pita had mayo so I
wouldn't eat it. I joined Todd at Bayside where he'd already had a Caesar
with tiger prawns and was deep into his chicken Alfredo. He had ordered me
pot stickers and market salad special. I ate salad and boxed pot stickers (I
ate one). I had apricot sorbet. We left on the 3 p.m. shuttle. They dropped
me at Sandals Ocho Rios for my site inspection of the Riviera Jacuzzi rooms
and the spa boutique and Todd went on to GS. 10/2 - actual RP check-in day Raymond picked us up at Grande Sport at 1 p.m. and took us to Royal Plantation in the Sandals Mercedes limo. He gave us a ride around downtown first. I took the birthday bouquet they left for me along to RP. Check-in and Room set-up: Scott Werhun was there to check us in. We received the face cloth and champagne. He took our preregistration form and took us up to our room for in-room check-in. We got room 155, a Honeymoon Grande Luxe Oceanfront Suite, as Allister had told me earlier in the week! We have previously stayed in a number of rooms-we have stayed in the honeymoon plantation one bedroom oceanfront twice (206 and 306) and also in luxury oceanfront room 259 and in premium oceanfront room 354. There are two types of Honeymoon Grande Luxe Oceanfront Suite. The 3 in the west wing have a lovely king sized bed, desk and a couch at the end of the bed with a coffee table and an armoire that has a TV and a vcr. The bathroom has the walk-in closet to the right (with a digital safe) and two separate sinks. The tub is a jet tub. There is a large, open shower. The toilet area has a bidet and also the dreaded bathroom scales. We only had the lemongrass shampoo and conditioner and regular Sandals/Beaches soap. I am allergic to soap, so I used the liquid from our Sandals welcome kit that we received at Grande Sport. The TV has a number of channels. The room is equipped with a digital air conditioner. This room category in the west wing has a large balcony with the stocked bar being on the balcony. It has two wooden loungers and a wrought iron table and chairs on the balcony. There is also a couple of padded chairs. Room 155 is very near the line of the foliage and also right in front of Royal Cafe. If you are actually paying for the category, you might ask for 2nd or 3rd floor for privacy due to the proximity to Royal Cafe. The other Honeymoon Grande Luxe Oceanfront Suite rooms are in the east wing and numbered 01 at the end. These have a regular balcony on one side and a French balcony on the other. Scott mentioned that they would like it if we made reservations for Le Papillon that night, so I did so, and we set about enjoying our day. Instead of the diary format, I will highlight on some various things. Le Papillon: We dined there on 10/2 (Thursday). I wanted to dine outside, but they said that the outside wasn't functioning that night. It was fine the next night, so I am not sure what was going on there. Todd brought his jacket, but he placed this on the back of the chair. There were the two of us, a table of 6, another table of 2 and a table of 3. The table of 6 were some of the golfers from the tournament (2 were now honeymooners). They were very loud in their food sharing and experimenting, and it spoiled the quiet ambiance. I was amazed that with only 32 guests and 3 seatings that so many were at Le Papillon at the same time. At any rate, we had a lovely evening, and Todd was not at all bothered by the noise. We could not see the entertainment, but we could hear it. Todd's Dinner: Cocktail de Melon au Port, Normandy Onion Soup, Salad Boujallaise, Sorbet, Coquille St. Jacques Meauniere Cleopatra (scallops and shrimp in capers), and no dessert. My dinner: I had a tiger shrimp cocktail from Bayside (they were out of mussels), the Normandy Onion Soup, Salad Boujallaise, Sorbet, Mgnons of Veau aux Cepes (veal in white wine) and creme brulee au banana. I much preferred the creamy onion they used to have over the traditional onion soup. The scallops and shrimp that Todd had was very well presented, and he loved the taste. This was a dish we always loved, but they have changed it up a bit and made it new. The veal was in a tangy orangish sauce somewhat reminiscent of marsala, though it was supposedly a white wine. I don't know what made it taste good, but it was great. The creme brulee had banana slices on top, and I loved the custard mixed with fruit chunks. Room Service Breakfast: I stuck the room service menu out the night before and asked for a 9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. delivery. The food arrived at 9:25 a.m. This was October 3, my 42nd birthday. We ate out on our balcony. I dined in my robe. Todd had a ham and cheese omelet. We shared a fruit plate with watermelon, cantaloupe, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe and large red grapes. I had dry toast and eggs. I swear I ordered bacon, but maybe I didn't. They come in and set everything up for you with tablecloth and linens. I ordered tea for me and juice for Todd. I was all beautifully set up, but our bar was there on the balcony even if it hadn't have been. Watersports: I got Todd to make my birthday our watersports day. We went snorkeling. I wanted to go toward Sandals Ocho Rios since that is where there is more fish. The guy took us the other direction. We went with Peter and Lisa, the couple that had got married earlier in the week. This direction we saw more coral and did see lots of small fish. The water was warm, and very clear. We had a very good time. We had Wesley take us out on a Hobie cat. We had gone out on one at Breezes Curacao a year and a half before but it was cold at that time, and we didn't try to navigate. This time, the water was warm, and Todd announced when were were way out that I wanted to try it. I navigated us all the way back to shore. It was great fun. You just steer the metal bar. Todd and I were surprised I did just fine. That was the extent of our watersports except for the wading and the sitting in the jacuzzi. Jacuzzi, pool and ocean were all the perfect temperature. Towels: Each lounger at the pool had a towel nicely rolled up in it at the beginning of the day, and there were extras at the pool, jacuzzi and beach. We never had a single time there were not towels. Also, we had two on a drying rack on our balcony. Other stays, they have been on the drying rack in the closet. Service: They had yellow flags for beachside drink service, but Sophia and sometimes others came around all the time. Every morning, they had a plate of fruit and offered a selection and were always available for drinks. It is close enough to go get your own. At meals, we had good service, bordering on hovering a few times. Our needs were always met or expectations exceeded at all venues. Bar Service: Our room was stocked with various liquors-gin, vodka, rum, Johnny Walker red. We had no wine or champagne in the room. I called room service to ask for wine and was told to come to the bar after it myself. We went to the bar and were sort of chewed out for asking for it there, but they did give it. That was at lunchtime. Late that night, we asked at the bar for another and were scolded again. I did not ask anyone again during our stay except Alda that has known me for a long time, and he brought one bottle to the room when I ordered two. I did put this on the comment card, and Ricardo, the food and beverage manager and Suzanne, the resident manager, both contacted us at Couples Ocho Rios the very next day and informed me they were looking into this behavior and that it was a very isolated situation. I thought it was great that they were so concerned. I can't stress enough how important the comment cards are. Management and staff read them and follow up at all the properties. Bayside Lunch: I think I ate here 6 or 7 times, and Todd ate here 4 or 5. This was top-notch as always. We always dined outside. Cordice, O'Neal, Warren and others gave great service. Wine or cocktails are always offered immediately. We received a bread basket each day. We always order many courses-almost always soup, salad and entree and almost always sorbet. Sometimes we ask to have our food customized, and they are accommodating if they have the ingredients and the time. If you want the full experience, allow 1-1 1/2 hours for this meal. If you are trying to choke down 3 courses before your bus leaves, plan on 40 minutes, and tell them repeatedly that you MUST hurry. Here are items we can recommend: Soup: Cream of vegetable soup (creamy but not rich and similar to pumpkin), cream of asparagus (creamy but not rich), Gazpacho (I never like this anywhere but love RP's with some peppers and croutons they add in-ooh, so good), red bean (flavorful and works in a pinch). Salad: Todd always ordered Caesar with either tiger shrimp or occasionally chicken. I ordered market with mango vinaigrette most days but tried Balsamic one day. The mango is tastier. On other stays, I've had seafood in papaya, and this works as an entree or an appetizer. Entree: Often, I just had soup and salad. I did order the Seafood crepes (Crepe Nantua) twice. The were different each time-they had a redish sauce that looked like enchilada sauce (would have been delicious) but did not taste like enchilada or Italian sauce. It had its own flavor. There was never lobster in it like on the menu, but it always had at least 3 different things. I just ate the inside and a little sauce and not all the crepe part. For the mixed seafood grill, I just ordered scallops only this time. Once Todd ordered as is and received Mahi Mahi, a lobster tail out of the shell and scallops and shrimp. Todd usually ordered chicken Alfredo, though this is not on the menu. Specials: They had something special daily for several courses. One day, we shared the potstickers. They always offered a pasta, an appetizer and one or two other things for specials. Sorbets: This trip they had apricot, mango, strawberry, and raspberry. Todd did have the melon balls in port one day. Royal Cafe Lunch: We only dined here once but ordered a lot and had it all boxed up to take to Grande Sport, as we liked Bayside's menu better this trip. I had gazpacho. I tried to have the lobster pita, as it mentioned a citrus dressing. It had a light mayo instead. I don't eat mayo, so I had it boxed for Todd for the next day. Another lady at lunch said the day before, it had the citrus dressing. Todd had the Louisiana fish sandwich, one of his favorites that used to be at Bayside. We also shared the crab cakes. These had real crab and were good but a bit rich for me. As always, the chips are sort of unique, but I can't explain it, and the salsa is very tasty. I never eat chips anywhere but have to watch these. Slurp. We didn't try the jerk stuff or burgers we have had before. I missed the mussels and lobster BLT. They have added oysters, but we don't eat those. We've never tried the coconut shrimp, either. This restaurant is far above a beach grill in atmosphere and quality of offerings. They were serving from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bayside Dinner: Appetizers: I usually had the tiger shrimp, Todd usually had the melon balls in port. Once I tried the crab in rice paper with vegetables. That was good, but the sauce had salt in it. I don't salt anything but potatoes, so anything else salted at all tastes salty to me. Soup: They usually have the soup of the day that is also served at lunch and also have Gazpacho and a Bahamian (red) conch chowder. Soups are usually served from a silver terine. We had all the same soups we had at lunch in the Bayside lunch section. All were completely outstanding. Salad: Todd always ate Caesar with shrimp, I always ate market with mango vinaigrette. Entree: We dined here on my birthday and the night after. I loved the veal marsala so much that I skipped lobster. Todd ordered the tenderloin both nights. One night he ordered lobster tail to go for me. They always have a roast of the night-something they bring around for you to have them carve your own slice (prime rib, lamb, etc.). In addition, there was always a chef special for most courses. The food, as always surpassed our highest expectations, and we are foodies. Dessert: One night, the chef special was a creme brulee in phyllo dough with cherries, and another day it was creme brulee w/o pastry but with bananas and cherries. Both were great. We are not into cakes or other desserts. Todd didn't eat any dessert at all.
Gift Shop: I bought a $9 pump-style Off skin-so-soft (don't forget these type items because there is also a hefty tax on top). They still have decent t-shirt prices and decent liquor prices. Some souveniers are priced OK, as are sauces. Your medicine or toiletry items are pricey. The tour desk is also out there in the gift shop. Entertainment: Each night, they had the resident band playing at dinner. There wasn't much else going on due to low occupancy. They played dancing music and had wonderful singing and instruments. It was all we needed. They also have billiards and a big screen TV. They do have the beach night on Monday and usually the Hatfield Social Group on Wednesday, but we weren't there on those nights. On other stays, they have had more shows per evening with higher occupancy. We could hear the singer from our balcony of room 155 at night, and could see, as well. That was a treat. Tea: At 4 p.m. they offer finger sandwiches, bite-sized fruit tarts, and cookies, along with teas. They were offering tea from bags this time. They also have a champagne station. Inside Appleton, they offer upscale canapés from late afternoon into the evening. Bayside Breakfast: This meal is served from 7:30 to 11 a.m. On our last stay when they were at 100% occupancy, they had a self-serve table with fruits (tons of berries) and pastries. This was not there is time with occupancy at 20-22% everyday. One day, Todd had American Breakfast-Sirloin steak, scrambled eggs and home fries. The potatoes are wonderful. Other days, he ate omelets. I always ordered some sort of dry toast, fruit, eggs and bacon. The offer various juices, champagne (not always offered but always available), teas, coffee, etc. The pastries are very fresh. The chocolate croissants are always lovely, though I did not sample on this trip. They also offer traditional ackee and saltfish and eskovitch fish. Todd also ordered blueberry pancakes one day and was very pleased. They offer cold cuts, eggs benedict, waffles, corned beef hash, French toast, and about anything you can think of. The specials were varied. One day I had lobster scrambled eggs. There was a chunk of lobster in almost every bite! Comments: We enjoyed seeing a lot of friendly faces. We already knew that Giovanni and Viviann were gone. I did not know that Susan in watersports had gone to the states. We had some mosquitoes outside due to the massive rain the week before. Our room was right at the foliage line. I wanted to leave the French doors open, but we didn't do that much due to mosquitoes. Since our bar was on the balcony, we went in and out, so some came in anyway. I had them spray, and this did turn up a water bug in the middle of the night. We are used to them in Houston, though I freak. I think this was rare and also just due to that exact room location and like 5 days of rain, with one being a torrential storm. I would not let this ruin my time. You do see the geckos around too. Todd wanted me to mention this in case someone expects the property to be completely perfect. They still have nature. This time, the jacuzzi was always a good temperature. In the past, we had trouble with this. I only went inside the spa to say hello, I did not have treatments this time since I wanted to use Genni, and she was off almost my entire stay. Also, I had used my budget for that week at Grande Sport because I wanted to try something new. The resort is the winner of the 2003 World Travel Awards prize for leading resort in the region, and they also hold 3 5-star Diamond AAHS award and many other awards. They still deserve them all. I know that Chef Hugo seriously considered leaving quite recently and did end up staying on. We are quite grateful. The resort presently has no general manager. They likely have one hired to start by year-end. Meanwhile, Suzanne and her staff do an outstanding job. Louis Grant, the general manager from Sandals Dunns River, comes over and helps, also. The staff spent a lot of time talking to guests about the property. Again, please fill out the comment cards no matter how busy you are. We saw a couple of weddings. Both were held up on the patio near Bayside in the afternoon. They were well-done. Several guests discreetly enjoyed watching. We only left the property one time. The previous week, we'd been to all the Sandals/Beaches in the area, and we have done most area attractions. We walked over to Sandals Ocho Rios on October 4 to meet Dave and Holly (Socashark) from TTO. They were staying at Grande Sport (arrived that date). We visited for 90 minutes and had a very nice time. They are very nice people. We received SSG shirts with the 10 reasons to join and also received a little basket of sauces (small size). At GS, we also got the shirts w/ the GS logo on the front. We tried feeding crabs off past Royal Cafe, it was fun but not easy. There were over 20 peacocks this visit, they were more receptive. The elevator was out of service. The ice machine was not on our floor, so Todd found that annoying. It was not at all far. Todd loved the showers. The staff brought a nice cake - chocolate with almond - for my birthday, We ate a piece and then brought it out to the tea. We love the digital safe-no $100 key to worry about. No towel policy-yippee! Beach was ours to be had, especially the East side. Todd loved Appleton because the a/c was so good. There is always at least one friend in there. Stop on by. It is very hard to capture the essence of this place in photos or words. I can just say that when I cross the property line, I feel special and feel home. I have not ever had the feeling I have at this property anywhere else I have ever stayed. No, Grande Sport doesn't have exchange privileges with RP. RP does have exchange privileges with Grande Sport. We did get in because I am a CSS agent and frequent paying guest. Check-out: I asked for a late check out so that we could keep our things in the room until departure time. We were going on to Couples Ocho Rios. They did grant it since they were not full. Do check because they can charge $50 for a late check out. We had my gift shop charges and a few phone calls at $1.20 each for the internet. I believe our bill was about $38. If you want to bring your laptop, ask for Michael (IT guy) to come to your room and set it up. Ours was still there from last time, and he just verified the settings and gave us a password. We had time for a lovely lunch and checked out at 1 p.m. Couples had sent a van for us. We were on our way and arrived over there in about 10 minutes time.
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