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Starfish Trelawny 12/12/02
Reviewers Rating:  Great
Pete & Cherylís Trip Report Starfish Trelawny Beach & Fun Resort Dec 1 /“ 8th 2002. This will probably be a very long-winded report. Enjoy! PREFACE Let me preface this by saying that we bid on & booked both the lodging and air for this vacation package through skyauction.com. We were very pleased our experience with them. When US Airways changed flight times on us, skyauction notified us immediately and reconfirmed our reservations etc. GETTING THERE Hubby and I got up at 3:15am the morning of our departure to get dressed, finish packing, and drink a few cups of coffee and drive to the airport. Our flight on US Airways was scheduled to leave Kansas City, Missouri (MCI) at 6:15am so we were there and ready to check in about 1-‡ hours prior to departure. Security was tight; they were going through all the carry-ons, purses etc. I had packed our CD player and they even pulled it out, and wanded it too. Hubby set off the alarms, LOL had too much change in his pockets, but no biggie, they just wanded him and sent us on our way. The flight to charlotte was uneventful, we leavít MCI on time and arrived at charlotte with approx. 2 hours to kill before we caught our flight to Montego Bay. We were both starved so we stopped at the Airportís Burger King and got us one of their breakfast value meals. The flight to Montego Bay leavít as scheduled, we were served a sandwich, chips and cookie during the flight, basically it was pretty uneventful although a few air pockets now and then kept you awake and praying! (A bit of advise to travelers) This flight was almost full! Prior to ever leaving we called the airline to pick our seats for this portion of the flight. (ASILE SEATS) near the front of the plane. That way you can be one of the first ones off the plane, and if you keep moving through mobay airport, you wonít have to fight the long line at immigration. If your lucky 8-) Breezed through, Immigration and customs, and made our way to the Superclubs Desk. Everything was in order, and after filling out some paperwork for the resort, we were whisked away to the shuttle bus. All of this took about 20 minutes tops! Prior to getting on the bus though we were offered some of the local herbs, polite no-thanks mon usually does the trick. OkayÖÖ I didnít pay much attention to anything on the ride to the resort, Iím sorry to say, that I had my eyes closed most of the time and except for a few peeks through the fingers when the bus slowed down or stopped (goat/cow/sheep crossing) anyways, we arrived in one piece to what was to be our home for the next 8 days! THE RESORT After the driver unloaded our luggage, we made our way through the open-air lobby to get checked in. Check in took about 10 minutes, during which time we were offered a welcome drink. We were then given the key/card to room 647, a room that we were told was one that was newly renovated. (Bathroom) It was also one with a mountain view! The bellboy put our entire luggage on a cart and took us up to our room, one side of our room overlooked the entrance to the resort, and the other side (Patio) overlooked the tennis courts and the highway. After the bellboy leavt, we decided to check out the room, the bathroom was indeed renovated, in warm shades of cream and brown tile. Some tile had various design patterns inlaid with the larger ones. I thought the look was really nice! There was a liqueur cabinet in the room stocked with Appleton Rum, Vodka, Scotch & Whiskey. In the refridge were a bottle of 7up, Ting and 2 bottles of Pepsi. The room also had a coffee maker and a supply of blue mountain coffee, sugars, teaís, creamers etc. There was a color TV and a cd player in the room as well as a safe to lock your valuables in, We were told that if we lost the key to the safe we would be charged a US $100 fee for a replacement. Needless to say, we guarded the keys for the remainder of our stay. After doing some unpacking and changing into our shorts we decided to go check things out. The elevator took us down to the first floor where the buffet and main dinning room is located. The open-air dining room is rather large, and the tables were set with water and wine glasses, condiments etc and silverware rolled in white napkins. The staff was busy setting the tables and making ready for dinner that evening. Passing through the dining room, we spot the swim-up pool bar, and stop for a drink. Hubby orders a vodka and grapefruit juice, and I order a Rum Cream on the rocks (Yum-Yum) the bartender is a young woman, friendly and all smiles. After we get our drinks, we head out around the pool and check out the water slide and make our way through the grounds, admiring the vegetation and stopping occasionally to check out the hammocks, mini golf, bb-courts and the skating rink. When we get to the family pool, I was really surprised at the amount of people there. The pool area was filled with sun worshipers of every shape and size, wearing everything from shorts and tís, to one and 2 piece bathing suits. We wandered over to the snack bar, and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, fries and a Pepsi. Found a seat and sat down to enjoy our first meal. After we eat, we order another drink and head to the beach. The resort has about 1/8 mile of sandy beach line. The maintenance crew was busy running up and down the beach on a Kubota tractor w/rake attachment, cleaning the seaweed from the beach. Over all the beach was kept pretty clean. The resort has an Island about 100 yards off the shoreline or so and is passable by wading through the ocean. Both the beach and the island have many, many beach chairs, and a few big blue shade thingies and shade huts(?) Some women were sunbathing topless, on the main beach. Most were very discreet about it, although there were a few that were ìin your face/” about it. The nude/clothing optional portion of the beach is kept private with a tall bamboo type fence. This area not very big, but it was clean. There were a few persons using the nude beach while we were there, but not many. There is also a security station at the entrance to the nude beach and the security personnel regularly patrol the beach area. Seems a lot of the localís, pedal their wares out in the ocean. We were approached within 5 minutes. They arenít allowed on the beach it seems, but walk freely in the water???? DINING Food! Part of the reason we choose all-Inclusive is for the food. We Diet all year long, just so we can pig-out for the week we are on vacation! With that said, the food was plentiful on the buffet, but it was also repetitious. Breakfast had the usual, omelets to order, scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast, muffins, toast, A variety of fresh fruits along with a few Jamaican dishes like ackee and salt fish etc. Lunch and dinner consisted of various fish, lamb, turkey, chicken and pork dishes (Jerk, broiled, grilled, pan fried, roasted steamed etc) Various rice dishes, fresh steamed veggies, stews, potato dishes, sandwiches made to order, a ìTo die for/” dessert bar and the regular salad & fruit bars. The resort had quite a selection of Jamaican dishes while we were there, along with a stir-fry bar w/chef on several nights. The Midnight Buffet, had burgers, fries, hotdogs, sandwiches and other left-over dishes that were served at dinner along with salads, fruits, desserts etc. I would like to note: We did not have the chance to dine at the restaurants requiring a surcharge. Every time we went to make a reservation, we were told that they were full. And judging by the number of people at the resort, that doesnít surprise me. Most everyone at breakfast and lunch, wore beachwear w/cover-ups, shorts & Tís etc. At dinner, the guys wore everything from every day shortís and tís to nice shorts, polo shirts, tropical shirts etc. The ladies were dressed in everything from shorts & tís to sundresses, slacks, evening dresses etc. It just depended on what U want to wear. ENTERTAINMENT About 9:00pm the eveningís entertainment starts. The resident band played tunes according to the dayís theme, Jamaican-Reggae, 70ís-Disco etc. They also had a singer/saxophonist that was rather good, and sang love songs. It made for a relaxing or romantic evening depending on how you look at it. The resort also held a PJ party and Toga Party. Very few people showed up for either party and practically no-one came dressed for the occasion. We were rather disappointed in both 8-( I thought the best entertainment had to be the circus show and flying trapeze act. The performers had worked with some of the hotel guests and they each preformed some of the acts. The snake charmer was by far the funniest to watch. When the snakes were taken out in the audience, the guestís reaction (especially the kids) was priceless. STAFF No problem Mon, Everyone was great /“ With the exception of the bartender in the main lobby. He was a bit chintzy with the Rum-cream - 8-O DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES We spent most of our time in this order, Eating, sunbathing, swimming, drinking, eating, sunbathing, swimming, drinking, eating /“ LOL Did I mention we each gained 8lbs? WOULD WE GO BACK? Yes, we would most certainly return. We had a great time, just being together, and doing what we donít get to do often ìNothing/” Although this is defiantly not a 5-star hotel, you definitely get your moneys worth. WHAT WE WOULD NOT DO! Fly US-Airways again, We were rather P.Oíd at the service we got in Montego Bay and charlotte on our return trip. We were lied to, delayed, re-routed and lied to again. Needless to say, we will never fly with them again.
Cheryl
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