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Beaches Boscobel 09/30/02
Reviewers Rating:  Great
This was my 3rd stay at a Beaches Resort and again the staff was outstanding. Keep in mind that this resort is a good 2- 2 1/2 hours away from Montego Bay and still about 20 minutes outside of Ocho Rios so it is a long bus ride from the airport. You can also fly from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios on a small hopper flight it will run you about 60.00 each way. The check in takes a little bit of time while they gather your room key and other check in material. Just sip on the drink they bring you and start to relax. This is a couples, singles and family resort. If you have kids in strollers there are a lot of stairs, this is NOT a flat resort. There are ramps or elevators everywhere though. If you expect to walk right out to the beach though this is not possible. You either have to take the beach elevator (broke most of the time we were there) or take the stairs. Almost everything was wonderful during our stay. Keep in mind that this resort has only been open as Beaches for 2 1/2 months so they are still learning a little. Our room was great. We were on the 5th floor of the main building with a view of the ocean. We had 2 double beds and then when you walked down 2 stairs there is a living area with pull out sleeper sofa. The TV is in the bedroom area though not the living room. There is a clock radio/CD player, so bring along some CDs. We had a fridge in our room, but since we were not concierge it was not stocked. However if you needed to keep babyfood or bottles in it that would be good. The balcony is huge and bathroom is a good size. Of course you have a iron,ironing board and blow dryer. The floors are tile and get slippery at night b/c of humidity. Be care when you wake up that you don't slip. The grounds are very well kept and the paint is very fresh. The elevators on our side needed some work. The are small and need some touch ups. The beach elevator (besides not working) is really beat up on the floor and slow (it worked once!) The main pool is big and wonderful. Always plenty of rafts and beach chairs. Kyle at the swim up bar is great. There is a nice size kids pool with 2 water slides. Plenty of adults used them too. In the kids pool section you will also find a kiddie pool, pool tables, ping pong and the beach grill. The beach grill serves: fries, burgers, pizza, jerk burgers, chicken fingers, chicken wings, ribs, popcorn etc. They also have a self serve pop and slush machine there. Close to the kids pool is the game room with all the latest video games (coin free) and then the entertainment office where you can check out board games and do arts and craft projects. The watersports crew was great. They have a water trampoline, banana boat rides and all the other watersports that Beaches offers. I was here the week Tropical Storm Isidore was going through so the dive boats could not go out most of the week. The playmakers/fun pals( all are great especially Dexter) tried to organize lots of activities. I think that they need to be a little more prepared for many rainy days in a row for activities. The nighttime shows are in the outdoor theatre. The Friday night talent show is always great. They also have an adults only disco. This is very loud inside of it at night and opens at 10pm. During the day on stage they were giving free 5 minute massages. Of course after having that I had to book a 1 hour one in the spa. Jaqueline is great! Regarding food: I really liked the Venition and Elenors(adults only) The Venition is the italian and in this one you can wear nice dress shorts even though the books say you can't. You start with the antipasta bar and then order from there. Cheif Podda is wonderful as is the waitress Suzette. They always have a catch of the day, soup of the day and rossoto of the day, otherwise the menu stays the same. There is a lot to choose from. Elenors is located in the adult block of rooms below the piano bar. The one thing disappointing is that the Piano bar opens at 6pm , however no piano playing until 11pm (I'm in bed) Men are required to wear long pants and no sandals to Elenors. The food is really good here. Only 3 desserts to choose from and not that great, so after dinner head to Bayside (buffet restaurant) and get dessert there. Bayside is open for breakfast,lunch and dinner everyday. Breakfast has made to order omlettes, french toast, eggs, potato dishes, carved ham, bacon, cereal, pastries, fresh fruit juice etc. Does not change much all week. Lunch usually had a nice variety including things on the grill, fresh pasta, salad bar and lots of hot dishes. Not very easy to get a drink served to you at lunch, so stop by the bar and grab one on your way into lunch. I only ate dinner here on Friday night(seafood buffet) They had grilled lobster and a dish that had a combo of mussels, shrimp and scallops. Of course as much as you want. Was not the best seafood buffet I have ever had at Sandals/Beaches but was still good. Arizonas is open for dinner and then some lunches. Dinner is a choice of about 6 dishes: steak, burrito, fish etc. It is pretty good. Lunch looked pretty boring: burgers, fries etc. Not even as much to choose from compared to the beach grill near the kids area. I was here during the slow season so not many kids. One thing to really keep in mind is that if it is slow season they have things closed from day to day. The specialty restaurants are not opened every night so look at the schedule. Also Arizona was re-located near Bayside due to slow season. Also some of the daytime activities did not happen because there were not enough people around. I looked in the kids center and it looked nice. I asked parents what their kids thought and they loved it. They didn't want to leave their "new friends" All in all once the few things that need to get fixed do, I would say this is a great place. If you have specific questions or need comparisons to the other Sandals or Beaches just let me know.
Elain
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