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Mike and Karen's GLSS Trip Report 8/2 - 8/7
My wife, Karen, and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary at GLSS from August 2-7 (Friday - Wednesday). We have 2 and 5-year-old boys that stayed home with Grandma (She flew from Florida to keep them for us).
We arrived at Houston Intercontinental Airport around 5:30 A.M. for a 7:30 flight. We were checked in by 6:00. The plane took off on time. We were a little disappointed because they announced that Air Jamaica was not servicing this flight so we ended up flying Miami Air (same thing on the return). We did complain too much. We arrived in Montego Bay safely and 10 minutes early (10:45). We had originally planned to take the 12:40 AJ Express flight from MB to Ocho Rios, but since we arrived a little early and got through customs in about 10 minutes, we decided not to wait for the AJE, but to take the shuttle. While standing in line for the shuttle we were approached by Airlink. There was another couple who was looking for someone to fly with them to cut cost so we immediately said yes. The cost was $150 one way for the 2 of us (would have been $240 if it were just the 2 of us). The view was very nice, but we did not save much time. They had to shuttle us to another terminal, then we had to go in and pay and then wait for about 15 minutes until they gassed up the plane. We were on our way. The flight was 25 minutes. We had to wait about 12 minutes and then we were shuttle to GLSS (about 13 minute drive - at Jamaican speed (about 30 minutes us J ).
We go to the resort about 1:00. Our room wasn't ready so that lead us to Palazzina to have lunch. After lunch we went back to check on the room and said it was ready. They drove us to A36. We opened the door and it was a mess (floor dirty, bed cover all over the floor, etc.). They called the front desk. They apologized and told us to go to A34. Again it was not ready. Finally A30 was ready so there we were. It was a smoking room (we requested non-smoking). At this point we were just glad to get a room so that we could unpack and relax a few minutes. We only got 2 hours of sleep the night before. We were up at 4:00 that morning to get ready for the 7:30 flight.
I must admit, after the first 3 or 4 hours we thought we had made a huge mistake going to GLSS. It was our 10th and we have been looking forward to it for 3 or 4 months. After we got settled in the room and toured the grounds it was pretty much up hill from there. We had a wonderful time.
ACTIVITIES -
- There were a lot of water activities - Almost everything was included. We spend a lot of time on the Hyrdo water bike. They were wonderful. From the water we got a perfect view and some good camera shots.
- There were some type of live entertainment every night around 9:00 at the Balloon Bar Terrace. You were able to dance with the live entertainment. One night (Sunday or Monday) they had a DJ (live disco). They had a fashion show one night. The Friday night Gala was wonderful. It was a semi-formal affair with tons of food. Pretty much you name it was there. There was a steak station, salad station, seafood station, dessert station, bread and fruit station, and several others. There was a Managers Cocktail party Monday evening from 6:00 to 7:00. They had finger foods and drinks. You got to meet then entire management staff. The Tuesday night beach party was wonderful also. They had a buffet with lots of Jamaican food (curry, jerk coconuts, lobster, bar-b-que, salads, desserts, etc. Since they were celebrating their 40th year of independence, they had a lot of activities on Tuesday like soccer, Reggae dancing, and a lot more. A lot of vendors were on the lawn selling different items.
- There was free bike riding. You can just stop by the station (in front of the A & B rooms) and pick up one.
- There is a ping-pong table at the C/O beach. We rode the bikes down and played a couple of times.
- There were free tennis lessons each morning at 8, 9, and 10 (beginners, intermediate and advance). We went over 2 mornings for the beginner's session. Joe was wonderful and patient.
FOOD
- Overall I would say that the food was great. There were certain items that were excellent.
- The lunch at the Palazzina was great. Each day there was a lot of variety. You definitely will find something that you liked. The only other lunch option was the Beach Grill, which serve hamburgers and a jerk special (chicken or pork). You could also do room services.
- Outside of room service the only breakfast option was the buffet at Palazinna. There were a lot of options on the buffet. We pretty much went with the omelets and pancakes (cooked fresh while you waited) and added a couple of sides. There were no good breakfast items on the room service menu. The last day my wife ordered a hamburger and fries for breakfast through room service. They forgot her cheese, but she said it was good.
- Dinner at Palazzina was ok (good).
- Dinner at Casanova was excellent. I had the snapper and my wife had some type of beef. The environment was nice and romantic. You could really dress up if you wanted to.
- Overall we ate more than our share of food.
SPA Treatments
- There were ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. We did the massage, body scrub and reflexology as a couple - they all were wonderful. We did not get to do the facial. We both did the pedicure and manicure at different times.
- Make your appointment as soon as you arrive.
- Note -
The massages are done with no clothes, but your mid area is covered with a towel. It is done on the back only. With the body scrub you are strictly nude WITH NO TOWEL. It is done on front and back. It felt good as they rub the cool treatment, but afterwards I felt a little awkward. They stood you under a shower and hosed you down themselves and then put some type of gel on you.
- I had Simone for the massage she was wonderful.
Misc. Items
- We took a couple of small, square candles (we bought from Wal-Mart). There were wonderful. They add a nice romantic touch. They also gave the room a fresh smell.
- The AT&T calling card from Sam's worked fine. Always us the hotel operation '0'. If for some reason you don't get connected they will credit you for the $3 service charge that you get for each long distant call.
- They provide one umbrella in each room. It only rained for 1 day (about 10 minutes) while we were there.
- Bring your clock. There is not one in the room.
- There is a CD player in the room. I brought some nice mood setting music. I also brought some Reggae CD's and we played them every day.
- There are about 10 TV channels (USA, HBO, WGN, etc.)
Wednesday, we decided to take the shuttle instead of the flight from OR to MB. It took us about 2 hours. Our driver was wonderful. He did not drive fast or crazy at all. It was the complete opposite. He was stopping in the middle of the road for bumps. He talked most of the way showing us different sights and stopping for pictures is we liked. We arrived at the MB airport about 2 1/2 hours before the flight. We were taken to the AirJamaica Love Bird (I think) waiting lounge. It was wonderful, clean and relaxing. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 4:45 PM, but we left at 5:20. We had to wait for a delayed flight from Kingston. We arrived in Houston at about 8:20. We arrived home about 10:00. Grandma and the boys were up with balloons waiting to welcome us home. We were glad to see them.
Thanks to all who provided information on the message board. All of this information made things a lot easier when we were planning our trip.
We would definitely go back to GLSS, but on our next Jamaican trip we would probably go to Negril because we have heard a lot of wonderful things about the beach so we are curious.
Mike and Karen.