We flew Sky Service from Toronto on the Lottery. Flight was fine considering this was a charter and you feel more like a sardine than a human. Lynda got a back neck cramp that she could feel at odd times throughout the trip. I would pay extra for a roomier flight. Bus ride was long (about 2 hours) and I heard some people say they would not come back for that reason alone. Not the best way to start a trip, but we were so happy to be in Jamaica again (we spent our honeymoon there 15 years ago), it did not bother us.
Check in was very quick and our room was F-8. We overlooked the ocean, and the main lobby pool where the nightly entertainment took place. We had no expectations about what to expect. We had read about the Braco suites, but we figured being on the Lottery, we would get the bottom quality rooms. We were pleasantly surprised to get a separate bedroom, and living area, and balcony. We loved the view, and the service in the room was excellent. Mini bar had water, coke, and something else I forget. No champagne in our rooms as per the other couples trip report. We did have a coffee maker. Only thing wrong with room was that we had 1-2 occasions where we could not get hot water, but otherwise room was fine. Sure you could do better in most 4 star US hotels, but you could not beat the view we had (see pictures).
Food quality was fine, but not great, but not disappointing either. I personally preferred the Italian restaurant over Casanova's (fancy French one) but they were both good. I think that a lot of the comments about the food are related to expectations. We have been to many restaurants in our travels, and had better meals, but we were not at GLSS for the food alone. I had the lamb chops at Casanova's which were as good as anywhere in the US, and the steak was above average. I did not care for their salads (too small) and we did not like either soup. A nicer selection of wines also would have been nice. I recommend the Chilean Merlot. We loved the hamburgers at the beach bar on the c/o side, especially the fries with the sea salt. We never at the beach grill. I guess if I was going there expecting superb dining experience, I would have been disappointed, but we can definitely say that the food in no way affected our enjoyment of the trip.
We spent most of our time at the c/o pool, or the spa pool, or walking around the resort enjoying the foliage. Lynda loves vegetation and this place was heavenly. Lots of flowers, greenery, wildlife. We saw five turtles doing a conga line, and lots of birds, and ducks. Rocking in one of the many empty hammocks was also relaxing although my wife and I have different preferences for movement. She likes a gentle sway and I loved the rocking motion - guess who won!
The c/o side was lots of fun. We saw mostly fellow Canadians over there (50%). I do not know if this was due to the fact that we were all on the lottery, and half the resort was Canadian, or whether we just love the sun and getting as much of it as possible. It was our first time at a c/o resort. I got nekkid in about 30 seconds, but Lynda was less eager and I got her topless on day 2 and bottomless on day 6. Next trip she promises me the full monty from day 1.
A lot of comments have been made in other trip reports about people crashing the c/o side and gawking. This was an occasional problem with some 3-4 guys coming over and sitting at the bar watching all the ladies (or maybe the men?) but it was not overt gawking. There were a few older couples who stayed by the pool but never disrobed, and a lot of young couples where the woman was topless but the guy kept his suit on. I heard that in one case, the guy was bottomless but kept getting a woody so after five or six "suit on /suit off" episodes, he left them on. BTW for the guys - I did get a partial woody every so often, as did others, but no one cared. It was very laid back and we really enjoyed the atmosphere in general.
I ended up winning a bottle of rum for body painting (see pictures) and as a couple we won a bottle of run for some naked balloon popping contest (don't ask) :) Everyone was nice, and there were all shapes and sizes. No one will feel out of place and after a while, you have to remember to get dressed. We did put on our comment cards that they have a fully nude section and a clothing option section. That way both groups are happy. I see both sides of the argument. 75% of us were nude on average and I know a lot of others complained as well about the intrusions, but I think it was more on principle. I never saw any cameras other than those belonging to nude couples and everyone was very careful not to get any background scenery - if you know what I mean.
The beach was nice but rocky and the water was cold as a river runs right into the beach from the mountains. One day there was a storm in the mountains and the silt ran down into the beach and turned the water brown, and the next day left a nice sand bar to walk on. We wanted to snorkel, but the wind was too high the entire week, so a bunch of us were disappointed about that. The spa pool was great, and is fed from a natural spring although they water it down a bit. Great feeling on your skin and hair and very nice location.
None of the pools were ever crowded. The resort was not full and someone told me only 40% which seemed strange, but it was great for us. I did not find out about the tennis pro until day 4 but then spent the next 3 days with about 4 hours of private lessons and we also played midnight tennis.
A lot has been said about the night life or lack off it, and I must agree. Although we would go back anytime to GLSS for the serenity and view, I think we will try to get either Braco, or Negril next time, or try a different resort not on Jamaica. I don't think we are ready for hedo yet, but a bit more dancing and night time activities would be preferred. We also prefer variety, but that is us.
Service was great on all occasions. We never felt pressured to tip, and we never felt put out by the staff, but we were over at the nudie pool where all the laid back folk are, so maybe it was different elsewhere :) Anyhow, I could type for hours more.
We loved it, our best vacation in years, met some really nice people (hi Glen and Claire - hope to see you again sometime) and mellowed out. One last thing - definitely pre-tan (please don't start another post about this) and bring lots of lotion. We saw lots of lobsters and it hurt to just see them walking around.
See Their Photo Album at The Grand Lido Visitors Hangout!
Tim and Lynda