Couples Ocho Rios
April 13-19,2003 Honeymoon

We got married on Saturday afternoon/evening and left for a hotel at the
Charlotte (NC) airport about 10pm.  Big mistake. Finding the hotel with the
directions they gave us was not an option.. We found it on our own at about
1am.  Their directions said to make a right when it should have been
left..uughh.

We get to the hotel and check - in and just went to sleep exhausted.  We got
up around 7am so we could get to the airport by 8 for our 10:30am flight.
We went to check in and found that the flight was overbooked. They MIGHT be
able to get us on this flight, or we could take one through the Bahamas and
get there about an hour or so later.  This option also gave us 1st class to
the Bahamas and two free round trip tickets anywhere in the US.  We went
with that (our first error).  We had to practically run across the airport
to make that flight but did.  We get on and had a nice flight..got to love
1st class!  We get to the Bahamas and there is no electricity in 1/2 the
airport, including immigration and customs.  We end up having to wait in
line in the sweltering heat in the dark.  Once we got through all this we
had to wait in an astronomical line to get  checked in for our Air Jamaica
flight to Jamaica.  The automated sign said the flight was cancelled - but
this turned out to be from February 2nd (??) and the sign was "stuck".
After this long line we went to wait and eventually got on the flight after
a two hour layover.  The power eventually went back on in the rest of the
airport too.

We got to Montego Bay and found that USAir had left our luggage in Charlotte
(wonderful!) so we filled out all the forms and headed (with our carryon)
for immigration/customs and the Couples Desk.  They were very friendly
greeting us and told us it wouldn't be long before our bus was ready to go.

About 10 min later we walked out to the bus (it was starting to rain) and
piled in.  There is little foot room in this bus and it was a hellish ride!
It was pouring most of the time and apparently had been all day.  The roads
were flooded (thank god the buses were equipped with snorkels so they
wouldn't flood the exhaust) and filled with holes, animals and people.  They
drive like lunatics even in the rain!  There was no way to sleep on this
bus, despite my exhaustion and hunger because the seat backs didn't have
head rests..but all the horn beeping would have kept me awake anyway..
Normally they stop for a while about half way - but we just told him to keep
going - we were exhausted and didn't want to delay the trip at all!

Once we arrived we were greeted by the Ainsworth and some of the nicest
people!  They were kind and sympathetic and brought us cold drinks right
away with the cool towels.  We had filled out our paperwork before we got on
the bus so all we had to do was hand it over with our credit card (for
incidentals such as phone calls) and our suite was ready!

We were in suite 116 which is just down the hallway from the main lobby,
right next to the beach access stairs.  At first I was afraid it would be
noisy and high traffic - but the only thing I ever heard in my room was the
catamaran coming and going (it has loud music playing on the boat)!!! 

You walk into a mini-dining area with a table/chairs, coffee/tea setup,
water pitcher and bottles of Merlot and Chardonnay.  There was a bottle of
champagne on ice waiting for us with a fresh fruit plate. 

Next was the "living room" with a leather couch, coffee table and the
entertainment center with the mini-bar and TV in it.  The mini-bar was
stocked with the following: pints of gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, bottles of
Merlot and Chardonnay, regular and diet pepsi, coke, ting, bottled water,
soda water, ginger ale, orange juice, pineapple juice, clamato juice and red
stripe.

There is a wonderful balcony with 2 chairs and a table and we had a
wonderful view of the pier, island and the water in general.  It was
wonderful!  Even though it was the 1st floor, it was not at ground level. It
was very private at night and frankly we could have gotten away with
anything but we're a bit more conservative than that.

The bathroom was huge with the Jacuzzi tub and shower and lots of towels!
There was lots of counter space and it was kept very clean.

The bedroom was great with a couch, vanity area, king sized bed and two walk
in closets and a dresser.

We were exhausted and very hungry so we went to the Veranda for dinner.  It
was incredible. I had snapper and Chris had chicken.  I was so tired I don't
remember the appetizers or dessert, but they had a great cabernet.

Day 2 - Monday
We got up the next morning and found out our luggage would arrive about 4pm.
We had ordered breakfast in our room - great pastries, breads, cereal and
fruit.  Hubby was a bit upset about the whole luggage deal, but we decided
to make the best of it!  We decided to go to the island - if we didn't have
bathing suits it was the place to go! We stopped at the gift shop for some
sun screen and off we went!  We had a great time - I thought we'd feel self
conscious but we didn't - there are people of all ages and sizes and
everyone is nice - no gawkers or hedo types.  I will say that the small room
at the top of the tower got some use that week as I saw..

We eventually got hungry and grabbed some stuff from the bar (they get grill
items at the island) and more than one of Shawn's special drinks!  We had
made reservations for that night at Le Gourmet and for the next night at
Bayside so after we'd had enough sun we went back to the room for a nap and
to wait for our luggage.

Our luggage arrived on time and we made it to dinner properly dressed!  The
food was incredible!! Every course was just amazing - the portions aren't
huge - but there are several courses and you can always order something else
if you want to!  Hubby is a big eater and was always satisfied.  After we'd
had our fill here we went over to the patio for some entertainment and
eventually got to the piano bar to hear a little music - it was wonderful!!!


Day 3 Tuesday
We got up the next morning and went to he breakfast buffet.  I was in heaven
and so was hubby! There were so many great things to choose from - and they
make sure there is something different out every day for variety - it was
amazing!!  He had lots of meat and I had lots of fruit, pastries and other
goodies. 

We headed to the beach for some sun and reading...then decided we wanted to
try the lunch buffet.  Again this was great and always something new to keep
it fresh.  We headed back to the island for the afternoon and got some more
sun and a few more tropical drinks!

Bayside that evening was another incredible Italian dinner - the salad and
dessert bars were great!!  The atmosphere is amazing - we had a table on the
corner of the pier (the whole restaurant is out on top of the water) and had
an excellent view of the sunset.  We walked around after dinner and headed
back to the room to sit on the balcony and relax with some wine.

Day 4 Wednesday
Next morning we did the breakfast buffet again and did our beach in the
morning, island in the afternoon routine.  This night was supposed to be the
beach buffet but it rained so it was a patio buffet.  The food and
entertainment was really good!  There were so many choices I didn't even get
to try everything I wanted to - and the dessert buffet - I was amazed at the
variety!!! We went back to the room about 11 and called it a day - stuffed
to the gills!

Day 5 Thursday
We started out with the buffet again and this time we just headed straight
for the island.  We spent most of the day there and drank way too much - but
had a great time doing it!  We also met several nice people out there and it
was a lot of fun.  We went to Calabash for dinner that night (lobster night)
and it was wonderful - it was grilled perfectly and just melted in your
mouth!  We watched the entertainment which was good as usual and called it
an early night - we'd signed up for the 8am horseback riding trip!

Day 6 Friday
We got up early and had breakfast in our room.  We dressed in jeans, grabbed
our cameras and headed for the bus.  The ride to the place was very short -
about 5 minutes and we were there. The guides were wonderful and the ride
was really nice.  It was scenic and they explained all the foliage and the
history of the plantation to you.  We stopped at one point for the
photographer to take pictures, and at another to see the man demonstrate how
they get the coconuts out of the tree and all about local fruits.  Most of
this was in the shade with a nice breeze so the heat didn't kill us!

When we got back we headed to the main pool for a while because we had our
massages at noon.  We relaxed there and then went back to the room to change
and head for the spa.  The massage was amazing, it felt like the lady had 6
hands!  They use lots of oil however so if you have long hair make sure to
put it up before you go - it took me 3 shampoos to get it all out of my
hair!!

After the massage we showered off the oil and grabbed some lunch at the
patio.  Then we headed over to the craft market.  It's open 9-5 and is full
of goodies. You are swarmed the second you get off the resort property - you
just have to continue to politely tell people no.  We got some great wood
carvings - a duck, a turtle and a bird feeder as well as a T-shirt for my
mother in law.  We didn't spend a lot either -and you can barter with them.

We headed back to the resort and out to the island for the rest of the day.
After perusing menus we decided our last dinner would be at the veranda.
They had so much on their menu for the night I liked we went there.  It was
as good as I expected!!  After dinner we took a walk around the place, spent
some time out on the dock and around the pool, then eventually settled in
for the evening and did our packing.

The next morning it was time to go! We had a great breakfast at the patio
and were on the bus by 10.  It was sad to say goodbye to some of the people
we met while we were there - they were all so sweet and nice - and I'm not
just talking about the employees - we met lots of other guests that we hope
to keep in touch with!!  The ride back to the airport was awful!  At least
it was daylight.  The wait in the airport was horrific - the lines were
incredible. Once we checked in we went up towards the gate and found that
unlike in the US you can't just sit at the gate - so we were ushered into
"margaritaville" and sat at the bar for an hour!

The flight back was uneventful and on time - figures since we were headed
home!

Overall we loved it! There was such a variety in the food you didn't get
bored - and I don't eat red meat or pork so that's saying a lot!  Make sure
you try the Jerk Chicken - it's great!!!

The place was very clean and well kept - it was obvious they'd done
renovations - but kept the old world charm of the place.  It is not a new
place - but it's clean, charming  and well run.

The staff was wonderful and you were never lacking for something to do.  We
really just wanted to relax and there was no one pushing us to participate
in the beach Olympics or pool volleyball. 

I've heard others complain that the beach is too small. If I was one that
wanted to walk miles on the beach I'd think so, but for me as long as there
is enough room for everyone to get in adequate sunbathing room - it's fine.


It was never crowded and there was never a lack of chairs or pool floats
anywhere. I never had to wait in line or anything at the resort. 

I've been to Sandals and after being at Couples you couldn't ask me to pay
the extra money to go there again.  We definitely plan to go back to
Couples!!!

Susan & Chris
shadwsam@aol.com