Two weeks ago I returned from my first "real" vacation. It wasn't a drive across the US/Canada or US/Mexico border, a trip back home to see the nutty people we call family, or even a scenic drive down the coast. This time we decided to do it right. After sizing up various sunny and tropical destinations, we selected Jamaica because of the many all-inclusive resorts there. Not having to worry about how much we're spending on food and activities was very appealing. Most appealing to my husband was being able to drink free beer and mai tais all day long. Having decided on the island, some digging through online travel sites yielded a good package deal at the Beaches Grande Sport in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We chose it because of what we got for the price, and also because it's an adults-only resort; guests must be 16 or older. There were lots of honeymooners there.

The Beaches Grande Sport is one of a number of resorts in Jamaica which are part of the Beaches chain, owned by Sandals. Formerly known as Ciboney, this resort is said to be the oldest all-inclusive in Jamaica. It's located on a hillside in Ocho Rios and is a complex which includes the Great House, where there are restaurants, guest rooms and other facilities, villas on the hill behind the Great House, and a beach accessible by foot or more conveniently by shuttle bus across the street. There are four on-site restaurants, three in the Great House and one on the beach, plus a poolside grill and swim-up bars (one swim-up bar each at the pool near the Great House and the pool at the beach).

Getting there really was half the fun... some people may complain about the long bus ride to the resort from the airport, but I found it to be one of the highlights of the trip. Jamaica is very different from the US, and it was interesting to see the "real" people and scenes of the island before being tucked away in the tourist-oriented setting of the resort. Do take your Dramamine, though, since it's a bit of a hairy ride. Our driver announced that he had a PHD degree - "Pot Hole Dodger." Although the resort is all-inclusive and has a no-tipping policy, the bus drivers to and from the airport do get tipped (and will remind you if you forget), as do the tour bus drivers and baggage porters at the airport.

Resort grounds and activities
The resort is very green and well-landscaped. Some of the plants and trees along the path to our villa room were labeled with the species names. Activities available at the Beaches Grande Sport include tennis, a rock climbing wall, water aerobics, "Reggaecize" and other fitness activities, crafts, evening entertainment at the Nicole nightclub and twice-weekly theme dinners, and water sports including snorkeling, kayaking, Hobie Cat sailing, and SCUBA diving. My husband, a certified diver, took advantage of three dives while we were there, and I took a beginning SCUBA class but was unable to dive because of some recent oral surgery (apparently compressed air and scar tissue don't mix well). That's probably a good thing since my husband dubbed my first-time snorkeling experience the "open water struggle," also known as "snorkdorkeling."

My favorite activity was simply relaxing on the beach, in the corner under the shade of some low-hanging trees. The beach is small but very nice and didn't ever seem overly crowded. Taking the beach shuttle never presented a problem and the wait for the shuttle was 15 minutes or less. Yellow mats are available at the beach to pad the lounge chairs and float on in the ocean. The first day we were there we swam out to the floating water trampoline, which was fun for a few minutes. There's a platform up the stairs to the left of the beach where guests can get massages while listening to the sound of the ocean... very relaxing. They'll charge the massage to your room. The Beaches Grande Sport also has a full-service spa on site, but we didn't visit the spa. Many of the women had their hair braided at the spa during their stays. Spa services are extra, not part of the all-inclusive package.

For an extra cost you can also book off-resort tours with the tour desk. The guys at the tour desk were very helpful and also very tolerant of the changes we made to our schedule. Because of my husband's SCUBA dives we ended up taking only one off-site tour, which was climbing Dunn's River Falls, a beautiful cascade a few miles from the resort. It's a beautiful place and it was fun to climb through the water to the top of the falls. We rented funny-looking plastic climbing booties there, though we could have and should have bought our own water shoes beforehand at the Beaches gift shop. It's a little sad how crowded it is, though (there were literally traffic jams of people climbing the falls, all in a big line), and that people have carved graffiti into some of the rocks near the top. My aunt and uncle went to Jamaica on their honeymoon 45 years ago and said they were the only people at Dunn's River Falls. I sure wish I could have seen it then.

Other tours which were recommended to us by other guests were the Blue Mountain bike tour, which is about 18 miles straight downhill through beautiful terrain (and you can buy Blue Mountain coffee, said to be some of the best in the world, there for $10/bag), and the river rafting tour. Other tours available include horseback riding, a helicopter tour, Bob Marley's tomb tour, Dolphin Cove (swim with dolphins), and many more. We thought of taking the Ocho Rios shopping tour but were ultimately glad we didn't. If you like jewelry and such you may want to give it a shot, as long as you don't mind being approached by aggressive vendors. You'll be expected to bargain at any of the craft markets in Jamaica, and we were told to remember the term "menowant" (effective) instead of "no thank you" (ineffective).

Guest accommodations
I didn't see the Great House rooms, but our one-bedroom villa suite was comfortable and spacious. It wasn't brand new but it was certainly nice enough and had a distinct tropical feel to it (lots of aquas and peach/rose tones; the tile floor especially added to the island feel). It was on the upper floor of a two-story villa which housed two suites on top and two below. The patio overlooked the shared pool. Most villas have shared pools; some of the more expensive ones, including the honeymoon villas, have their own pools.

Our room had a king-sized bed (I believe the rooms on the lower level have two twins), and there was a bedroom, a living/sitting room, and a kitchenette where the fridge was always stocked with soda and other drinks. The air conditioning unit was in the bedroom so the living room never quite got chilly cool, but it wasn't uncomfortable. There are lots of ventilation slots in the suite if you want fresh air rather than conditioned air, but we opted for the A/C. We had two lizard visitors and a few ants during our stay.

My only complaint about the room was the terrible showerhead in the bathroom. Our shower was always at a mere trickle, which made it a bit of a challenge to rinse. I don't think it was the water pressure because when I removed the showerhead water came out at a nice clip, but after three requests for a replacement showerhead they'd come and fiddled with it but that's all. Oh well, it didn't make or break the vacation.

The package rate we paid was around $3500, which included six nights in the one-bedroom villa suite, food, drinks, activities, airfare from Seattle, airport transfers, and travel insurance. The least expensive rate I saw was around $2750, which would have included a mountain view room in the Great House.

Restaurants
On our first night, tired from nearly a full day of travel and running on about two hours of sleep, we ate at the Manor Restaurant, a casual fine dining restaurant located in the Great House. We were surprised to receive such nice service - waiters with towels draped over their arms, spreading the napkin in your lap and the whole bit - and an interesting selection of Caribbean-style cuisine. My husband had one meal there he didn't care for, but otherwise it was very good. Be sure to get the smoked blue marlin appetizer if it's offered! The Manor restaurant is open for dinner only and closed on Tuesday.

Orchids is also located in the Great House and offers Asian cuisine. It's open for breakfast and for dinner, closed Mondays and Fridays and closed for breakfast on Sundays. We ate breakfast there once but didn't eat there for dinner because there's a dress code and my husband didn't bring shoes other than sneakers and sandals.

The San Gennaro restaurant serves Italian food and is located at the beach. They have buffet-style grill offerings at lunchtime and reservations are required for dinner. It's closed for dinner on Tuesdays and Fridays (the restaurant closures are to accommodate the theme dinners held at the Grande Sport, which when we were there were Beach Party night and Caribbean night, and both were fun). My husband enjoyed the food at the San Gennaro restaurant but my ravioli was undercooked, definitely the worst meal during our stay.

The restaurant where we ended up eating most frequently was the Marketplace Restaurant, a buffet restaurant with a huge selection. After a couple of days we didn't even have to discuss where to eat - we'd just head down there for breakfast. Lo and behold, we discovered they had the same delicious smoked blue marlin we'd had at the Manor restaurant! Consequently I had marlin with nearly every meal while I was there. The Marketplace is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, closed Tuesdays and Fridays.

I don't think we ate inside the whole time we were there, with the exception of our breakfast at Orchid's. Each of the other restaurants have outdoor seating areas, which we took full advantage of since we were, after all, in the Caribbean and not back in often-chilly Seattle. There were a handful of stray cats who would prowl the restaurant areas hoping for a handout. I'll admit we fed them a time or two. I'm such a sucker for pointy ears and whiskers.

We thoroughly enjoyed Jamaica and our stay at the Beaches Grande Sport and although we'll probably try somewhere new next time, I'd definitely recommend it. You can find more information about the resort at www.beaches.com (don't pay rack rate for the room, though - go through a travel agent and get a package). My travel photos are at www.commentator.org/jamaica


Recommended: Yes