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Published: December 22nd 2013
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We are going to see Sandals Royal Plantation, Sandals Golf and Country Club, and Beaches Ocho Rios today. All of these properties are quite close to Grande Riviera.
At Sandals Royal Plantation, you walk into the lobby and can see straight out to the blue ocean, and it was beautiful. In this resort all the rooms are butler suites and all have ocean views. There is a laid back elegance to this property and it was much more quiet and significantly smaller than the Grande Riviera right next door. A complimentary pillow menu offers each guest the option to choose from different styles of pillows to their own personal taste. This resort boasts luxury, intimacy, and upscale pampering at all levels. High Tea is served each day from 4 to 5pm. Being the fun-loving and boisterous bunch of travel agents that made up our group, it was almost a challenge to use our inside voices as we walked along the beautifully manicured grounds with roaming peacocks, but you instantly felt more relaxed. The activities here are also different than you find on other properties. In addition to your watersports offered at other properties, there are nature walks where trees
are named by the type, iron-chef competitions, and cooking demonstrations with wine tastings. The property sits on a bluff and there is no wheelchair access or elevators, so this would not be the right resort for someone who cannot walk, but it wouldn’t be hard for someone who just has a little trouble getting around. While the beach here was spectacular, I am also a pool person. There’s something I just love about a huge freeform pool with a swim up bar that makes me happy. The pools here, which consisted of a small heated pool, a small plunge pool, and one jacuzzi would not be for those who really love pools like I do. But the property is just so magnificent that I may just be able to overcome that, mostly because guests have full access to everything offered at Sandals Grande Riviera and Beaches Ocho Rios.
There are 4 restaurants on property and there is 24-hour room service available for all guests. There’s also the royal beach butler service where meals and beverages will be brought right to beach chairs. Here you can also be asked by your chef (if you’d like) 3 questions: “do you
have any food allergies?” “do you have any food preferences?” and “at what temperature would you like your meal served?” They will then create a meal just for you. And I cannot mention the meals here without mentioning ‘C’ Bar serving Vueve Clicquot champagne and Osetra caviar (at an extra cost) located inside the French restaurant. We then entered the drawing room, which is the oldest room on property. Those who have spent time in this room include Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Vanna White, Pat Zajac, and Robin Williams during the filming of License to Wed. The ancient woody smell and rich furnishings, magnificent chandeliers, along with the grand Steinway Piano which is over 100 years old, takes you back in time.
Probably one of the most incredible aspects of this resort is Villa Plantana, a 3-bedroom (each with its own en-suite bath) private villa with its own swimming pool, personal chef and private butler and includes the use of all resort facilities.
At Sandals Golf & Country Club, we first visited the full-scale pro shop, and then treated to a short informational session before we got into our golf carts for a drive around the
golf course. While the course is called Sandals Golf & Country Club because it is owned by Sandals and open for Sandals guests, it is also a public course called Upton and appropriate golf attire is required. This is a par 71, 18 hole resort course designed by PK Saunders. For Sandals and Beaches guests, the green fees and transportation as well as “Welcome to Golf” clinics every Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30-9:30am are complimentary. A caddy is mandatory, and as they are independent contractors, tips are accepted. Also offered at an additional cost are private PGA golf lessons, golf carts, club and shoe rentals, two fully stocked beverage carts for on course convenience, and an authentic Jerk Shack located on the 11th tee, along with a “19th hole” bar and grille.
Our last stop of the day was Beaches Ocho Rios, which has just undergone a huge $30 million transformation. We began our site inspection by visiting the Kids Camp area, the expansive X-Box Play Lounge, the arts and crafts center, and Trench Town, the teen hang-out area. Plus, Beaches Ocho Rios is the only property in the Beaches family that has all of the Sesame Street
characters on property.
The property is separated out into three distinct villages, the Greek, French and Caribbean. The waterpark here has 11 waterslides in all including the small ones for toddlers. The feeling of this property was high energy and family-oriented. What I think touched me the most was to see a Kids Camp Counselor being so wonderful and patient as she was trying to dry off a young girl with Down’s Syndrome who had just gotten out of the pool. For any parent to be able to enjoy some time to themselves, whether they have a special needs child or not, must be made so much better by knowing that their children are in good and capable hands.
After viewing some room categories in the Greek Village which had amazing balconies and views, on our way to see the new additions to the French Village, we passed by the main pool full of activity and action, and then stopped at the brand new Josephine’s Creperie, located next to the scuba pool, which is a brand new smoothie bar, bisto and craperie. We were treated to delicious smoothies and cherry coconut crepes, which had me wanting to
go back for more every day as they were that fantastic! Brand new additions to the French Village are the spa and the adults-only Piano Bar, which was so new you could smell the new carpeting and upholstery.
Before lunch we saw the Bayside Bar and Restaurant which had child-sized dining tables for the young kids and where on Saturdays and Sundays there’s Cookie Monster cookie making. We also saw the theater on property, and then to see the vast Venetian Terrace with fire pits and can fit parties of more than 200 people. Overlooking the Venetian Terrace is the only Penthouse on property which was originally the room for Hugh Hefner, considering this property was once a Playboy Club. At lunch at the Venetian, we were treated to an extraordinary lunch, great wine pairings, and visits by some of our other favorite Sesame Street characters, Count Von Count, Abby Cadaby, and Oscar The Grouch. I can only imagine what a child must think as they are having breakfast with them.
For dinner tonight a group of us went to Kelly’s Dockside, which is the only restaurant at Grand Riviera exclusive to butler category rooms. It sits
on the end of a pier that closes off a section of beach which is perfect for those who are afraid of the ocean because it is screened in from the surface to the bottom of the sea. The view from the restaurant was completely unobstructed to the vast warm waters of the Caribbean. We ordered a Kelly’s Sampler appetizer for the table. I then tried the chef’s garden salad, and had filet mignon plus sizzling shrimp as my entrée. I only wish I would have had enough room to try everything on the dessert trio offerings because they all looked amazing. After dinner, we walked around a little bit, caught a bit of the show at the theater, and then went to Ethel’s Piano Bar. When I finally got back to my room, my bed was decorated so beautifully by my butler that I hated to take everything off so I could go to sleep. He had also left me a plate of fresh fruit and chocolate sauce.
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