|
Breezes Montego Bay 09/04/02
Reviewers Rating:  Good
I visited Breezes Mo Bay in August 2002 with my fiance. We paid for the Supersurprise package as did the majority of the guests at this resort. First, I will say that if you get "stuck" with this resort through the supersurprise lottery, you get your money's worth. However, if you pay full price you will definitely be disappointed. The staff was mostly very friendly and helpful with the exception of... get this.... the main entertainment guy. He was lazy, never once smiled, and frankly gave me the creeps. There was a dry erase board by the pool where the daily activity schedule was posted, but many of the activities on the schedule never took place. Although a few did, and you just have to be in the right place at the right time. The food was surprisingly VERY good, but be sure to get your fill before 10:00 PM. If you get the late night munchies you'll have to call Domino's. The hotel is located within walking distance of Margaritaville, although be warned.... you will be harrassed to buy everything from ganja to hair braids, to taxi rides the whole way there. The best way to avoid this is to appear as though you are deep in conversation with others in your party, and NEVER make eye contact. DON'T MISS Margaritaville! I repeat... DO NOT go to Montego Bay without going to Margaritaville! The food and the souveniers are very overpriced, but you can go during the day and use the water slide (which is awesome, by the way), and water trapolines without having to pay anything. Also, if you stay at Breezes they have a special night where Breezes guests get in free and get free shots all night. The nightly entertainment at the resort was ok. Some nights it was better than others. The regae band that played nightly was very good, and the contests were a hoot! However, the entertainment staff in charge of kareoke were young boys who prefered to select the teenage girls to participate. The rooms were... well.... the worst I'd ever stayed in, and frankly I literally cried when I saw it for the first time. We got stuck with what they call a "cabin" room. This room is about 10 x 12 with a queen sized bed and only one small window behind the bed, facing the street. When you open the door, you have to sqeeze between the door and the entertaiment center to enter the room. The only plus side, is the mirror on the ceiling over the bed. However, the rooms are clean, and housekeeping always folds a towel into a swan or some other shape on your bed daily. They also straighten up your things for you, which is nice considering the limited space. However, if you stay in this resort bring your own shampoo and bath gel. They never seem to refill the despensers, and whatever brands they use are really crappy. The beach and water sports are great! The beach, while public, is really only shared by two resorts, and there are security guards that attempt to keep the locals off the stretch of beach in front of the resort. Although, don't be surprised if someone swims up to you in the ocean and offers to braid your hair! The water is fairly clear and there aren't too many rocks on the beach. There's a grouping of palm trees that's perfect for shade and makes a beautiful background for pictures. The watersports are all free and you can use the equipment for as long as you like. Never once did I have to wait in line for equipment. There are venders that come to the resort to sell straw hats, wood carvings, etc. If you are interested in these things, go ahead and buy from these venders. They charge about the same prices as you will pay outside the resort and you won't have to deal with the harrassment. The drinks are GREAT!!! They have 2 serve yourself daquerie machines and you can add as much rum as you like. It's best to stick to the drinks that they do best. If you order drinks that you are used to in the states, it won't be the same thing. However, if you must, just be sure to ask for top shelf liquor. You might as well, it isn't costing you anything extra. However, if you are adventurous, go for the daily specials and whatever you do, do not leave Breezes without trying a Hummingbird! Those are the BEST! I saved the best for last. My fiance and I became engaged just 2 weeks before leaving for Jamaica. We decided to tie the knot while there. Weddings are not included in the Supersurprise deal, mostly because you have to inform the resort that you intend to marry at least 21 days before your arrival. With Supersurprise, you don't know where you will be staying until 7 days before. Anyway, my fiance and I decided to just do all the legwork on our own. The only requirement is that you bring your divorce papers, proper ID, and reside in Jamaica for 24 hours. You have to go to Kingston to get your marriage license and present all your documents at that time. Sounds easy enough, right? WRONG! First of all, nobody is willing to take tourists into the city of Kingston (only to the tourists spots such as the Bob Marley museum). We finally found a taxi driver who was willing to take us there for the bargain price of $350 american. It's a 3 hour drive to Kingston and there is some truely BEAUTIFUL scenery along the way. However, once you arrive the scenery changes to a much scarier picture. Polital parties mark their territory much like gangs do here. They carry weapons and they hate tourists. We had to cash some travelers checks at a bank, and ouside was a security guard who cocked his rifle as we walked into the bank. As we walked out of the bank (escorted by our taxi driver)we were followed, and quickly ducked back into the car until the man turned and went back to where he came from. Once we received our paperwork from the Ministry of national Security (by the way, I was not allowed to enter because I was wearing shorts--so was my fiance, but he was allowed to enter) we had to take that paperwork to the tax office which was located in a very bad section of Kingston. Our taxi driver was quite nervous about taking us there. As my fiance stepped out of the car a rasta man began walking toward him with a baseball bat in hand. Our taxi driver stepped out of the car and the man turned and walked away. I was left in the car with the doors locked. I nervously sat trying not to make eye contact with any passers by until the taxi driver returned to escort me into the tax office. My fiance had grown worried about me and sent for me. Once the papers were signed and proper fees paid, we then had to get the papers signed by a justice of the peace. One was out of the office, another was not able to sign anything due to some legal issue with his office at that time, and the third was a priest who was the rudest person we encountered while we were there! He came out practically shouting that he would not sign paperwork for people he did not know personally. I swear I thought there was going to be a knock down drag out between him and the taxi driver! We went across the street to the police station where they were able to contact another justice of the peace and informed him we would be coming by. This man had attended grad school at Stanford and was happy to accomodate our needs. He kindly invited us into his home, and signed our paperwork no questions asked. He even congratulated us and wished us well. Then we had to take the signed paperwork back to the Ministry of national Security to retrieve the actual paperwork we needed to present to the minister who would marry us. After 6 hours of fearing for our lives and driving around Kingston we were finally ready to return to Mo Bay. We left for Kingston at 6:00 am and did not get back to Mo Bay until 6:00 pm. After our ordeal, we actually felt that $350 taxi fee was quite reasonable. We could not have make it there and back alive and with marriage license in hand if it had not been for our taxi driver! Naturally, since he only got to keep a small percentage of the fee, we left him a VERY generous tip. Once we were back at Breezes, we asked to speak to the wedding coordinator to see if she could recommend a minister. She took one look at our paperwork, shook her head, and started laughing! Our hearts fell! Finally, she said "No one has EVER done this before. After all you have been through to get married, your marriage is sure to last". She allowed us to use the wedding services at the resort and we didn't have to pay an extra dime. We got married the very next day, barefoot on the beach. Everything was planned for us, and all we had to do is show up. Afterwards we had a little reception complete with champaign and wedding cake. We paid the resort photographer a reasonable fee to take pictures and they turned out absolutely beautiful, and were ready for us in a photo album the very next morning. On our wedding night, champaign was brought to us in our room, and our choice of breakfast was brought to us the next morning. In summary, even though the resort was not luxurious, we had a WONDERFUL (and rather adventurous) 7 day weddingmoon all for around $2000 total (including the trip to Kingston). As for the crappy room, well... the mirror on the ceiling made up for it. Heehee!
Sharon Supplee
 Read more Caribbean Travel reviews at TripAdvisor
|
Geat a FREE, no obligation quote for travel insurance - click here!
Reviews
