Tag: Montego Bay

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All You Can Jet Lodging

Staying All Inclusive at Sunset Beach Resort in Jamaica

Fresh off the heels of my last post, Beating the Winter Blues on a Budget, I wanted to follow up with a review on an all-inclusive hotel I stayed at in Jamaica last fall. I went during low season from September 26-30 (right in the middle of Tropical Storm Nicole), so it was just under $150 a night (after taxes) for double occupancy. But since all food and drinks are paid for up front, you might be able to get a good deal during the high season.

Sunset Beach Resort, Spa & Waterpark in Montego Bay, Jamaica

The resort is a $30, 20-minute taxi-ride from the airport, on its own little stretch of land that juts out into the bay. For those of you who are concerned about safety, the entire resort lies within a gated beachfront property that even my cab driver had a hard time getting into. There are 430 guest rooms spread out among two towers and a low-rise “Beach Wing” in a much more private setting. The main lobby is situated between the two towers, where you’ll find the front desk, a concierge, photo pick up, a bar, an Asian restaurant, and 2 pricey gift/convenience shops. Seriously, $22 for a disposable underwater camera. Remember to pack your own!

Upon entering the open-air lobby for check-in I was greeted with an ice cold tropical drink, garnished with a wedge of juicy pineapple on the rim. Check-in was fast, and I was able to upgrade to an oceanfront room on the seventh floor of tower B free of charge (probably because it was off-season, and I told them about this website). The room was exactly what you’d expect from your basic Caribbean hotel: tile floors, a frigid AC, and a basic old-school television. The beds were average with those gawdy floral quilted blankets that every standard hotel has. My room had a sliding glass door that led to a balcony overlooking a gorgeous view of the pools, mountains, and the seemingly endless Caribbean Sea. The bathrooms were clean and stocked with a liquid shower gel and shampoo dispenser reminiscent of a YMCA locker room. The rooms could use a bit of an upgrade, but I’ve read that they are finishing some renovations right now. Tower A was under construction while I was there and it in no way affected my stay.

Right past the main lobby, en route to the stage area for live entertainment, is the main pool area. There are two pools joined by a swim up bar in the middle, and a jacuzzi right behind those overlooking the ocean. The hotel didn’t seem to enforce a closing time for the pool or ocean since I found myself swimming at 3am the first night I arrived. That or I just didn’t get caught.

The main entertainment area is lined with 2-person cushioned wicker seats for a more intimate setting overlooking the ocean. But this is not the place to stay if you’re looking for a quiet, romantic retreat. It’s very family-friendly with plenty of activities including a water park, daycare, fitness center, miniature golf, tennis, shuffleboard, and giant games of chess and checkers (though some of the pieces appeared to be missing). For the most part the kid’s areas are comfortably situated away from the adult areas. But as I found out, it can be tremendously fun to join the kids and climb the concrete spiral staircases over and over again in order to glide down the 2 water slides. Once the kids have worn you out, try to snag a raft and float around the lazy river that winds throughout the castles and underneath waterfalls. I’m not sure how abundant these rafts would be in the high season since there were only a handful available as I floated around in the rain that was finally starting to let up. There is also a fourth pool with a volleyball net nestled between the water park and entertainment area. The resort is certainly big enough for every kind of traveler to find their own nook. Due to the storm and constant flash flooding, I rarely went over into the low-rise side of the resort, which was spread out across a lush green lawn with a gazebo fit for a wedding that I didn’t even know existed until my last day.

The resort has three beaches, each separated by a small stretch of rocks, with a good amount of marine life scattered along the shore. The beach closest to the towers is mainly for swimming and sunbathing, and is just a few steps away from the main pool area. The main (center) beach is lined with chairs and grass hut-style umbrellas, and allows free use of non-motorized water sports such as snorkeling, sailing, kayaking and paddle boats. I definitely recommend the snorkeling since it’s free. I was surprised at just how many colorful fish were in those shallow waters where I had been swimming. Unfortunately I didn’t get to try out any of the other activities because I was by myself for the entire hour that the sun came out during my trip, and they require two people to use the boats. There’s also a small bar just a short walk down the main beach, bordering alongside the secluded clothing-optional beach. Overall the beaches were nice—soft sand and clear, bath-warm Caribbean water. There was a lot of plant life in some areas just off shore which made for great snorkeling but not the best swimming.

They also have photographers running around the resort to capture all of your fun moments (for purchase, of course). I thought that was pretty cool, because 1) who wants to carry a camera around the beach all day, and 2) if you’re like me, you’re always the one taking pictures, only to get home and realize you’re not in any of them. I actually got a few pictures to prove that I was in Jamaica this time around!

There are 5 bars and lounges throughout the property including a billiards-style nightclub, each with a pretty good selection of drinks on hand. The only kind of beer I saw was the local Red Stripe on tap, but they seemed to have all kinds of off-brand liquors. All-inclusive was completely new to me. It was hard to believe that I could walk up to the bar 25 times a day and order whatever drink I wanted and not even have to leave a tip! And really, when you’re in Jamaica during a tropical storm, what else are you going to do but enjoy free drinks all day long? I quickly learned that alcohol, jacuzzis and water slides can make the rainiest vacation fun!

There are three restaurants that require reservations, a snack grill, and a buffet providing a variety of food almost all day long. There’s definitely something for every meal for even the pickiest eater.

– Just off the main lobby is Silk Road, an Asian restaurant which I never visited since it was only open one night while I was at the resort.

– The Banana Walk: an open, ocean view buffet with extensive food options for just about every meal.

– Byron: a Caribbean Fusion restaurant where I had my very first taste of jerk chicken. Very tasty, Caribbean flavor.

– La Bella Vita: an Italian restaurant offering a five course menu, is tucked away just a short stroll outside of the common areas. I ordered a glass of red wine alongside fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, a caesar salad, a side of calamari and eggplant, a cheese manicotti and snapper dish with mixed vegetables, and finished off with a cannoli. The food was good, but the cheese manicotti and snapper didn’t blend so well for me. Separately they were delicious, perfectly cooked and flavorful, but together made for a bizarre combination that my palette wasn’t quite ready for.

– The Sunset Beach Grill: a small counter that offers up the basics: burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese and fries until late in the evening. When I first ordered a cheese dog, I was a little surprised to get a hot pink dog on a toasted bun and American cheese melted on top. But something about those pink hot dogs were very tasty and very addicting, providing the right amount of a “soaking up the booze before and after dinner” snack.

The nightly entertainment included live music and dancing, talent shows, steel drums, contests, flaming limbo, and even a proposal. I’m not really a fan of Reggae and I had a great time listening and dancing to the local band, who were slightly poppy. The hotel staff was extremely friendly, especially a young man named Michael, and by the second day a good handful of them knew my name and called me out on my horrible dance moves from the night before. At times it felt a bit like summer camp, but I’ll have to give them the benefit of the doubt. We probably saw much more forced entertainment than the average vacationer due to the weather. During the onslaught of Tropical Storm Nicole, they did an incredible job of keeping our minds off the weather and focused on having a good time. My favorite contest was when they blindfolded five women on stage, only to take the blindfolds off four of them and trick the fifth into thinking she was in a cake eating competition as we all watched her scarf down a piece of cake.

They charge for WiFi, and it’s restricted to use in the main lobby (although I heard you can get signal in some of the lower floors of the towers). I paid $15 and received a login name and password good for 24 hours of internet usage. Some advice: don’t sign up for day 2 until you check to see that yours has been discontinued. Mine lasted the entire time I was there, while only paying for one day. Also, do not log in on your iPhone if you plan on switching back to a computer. There’s something about the iPhone that doesn’t let you log out, so you’ll have to go back to the internet service station and have them authorize another code, if they’re still open.

For an extra fee, the concierge can help set up several excursions, including a day trip to Rick’s Cafe for some cliff diving in Negril, or over to climb the waterfalls of Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios. Unfortunately due to the flooding and rolling blackouts, I wasn’t able to take advantage of these day trips. The hotel also offers several free shuttles down to the Hip Strip (a 10 minute ride) for daytime shopping and nighttime partying. On the Hip Strip you’ll find tourist hot spots such as the Jamaican Bobsled Cafe, and Margaritaville with waterslides that pour out into the ocean where you can jump on floating trampolines.

On the day I was supposed to fly back to New York, Tropical Storm Nicole continued rolling across the bay and flooding the island. The hotel staff worked quickly to mop up the common areas, and let us know at check out that all flights were canceled that day, and offered us a distress rate of $100/night. Luckily I had made friends during my visit, so I ended up crashing with them that last night for free (probably against hotel policy… shhh!). I spent the morning chatting up the friendly concierge about local foods and traditions, and comparing USA and Jamaican pop culture. Since we were all pretty much holed up indoors all day, the crew did their best to organize events at all times in the common areas. The entire staff managed to stay full of energy, even as we all crammed into the lobby since the rest of the resort was flooded.

All in all I’d have to give the resort a 4/5 star satisfaction rating. If you’re used to luxury accommodations, this probably isn’t the resort for you. But chances are if you’re visiting this blog, you’re looking for a good deal for your money. It was most definitely worth every penny I spent in September, but I’m not sure I would pay much more than that to return a second time. I would love to visit again during the high season, while the sun is actually shining on the crystal blue sea. If there wasn’t a tropical storm battering the beaches and knocking out electricity every few minutes, the entire trip would have been a truly carefree, unpretentious experience where I could’ve left all of my stress behind along with my wallet, watch, and cell phone. The staff was so friendly and helpful to ensure that we had every single need met during the tropical storm, I could only imagine how amazing it would have been in the carefree, gorgeous Jamaican weather. Plus I feel like I need to explore the rest of Montego Bay that I missed out on!

If you’re looking to book a room at the Sunset Beach Resort & Spa it can be a bit pricey during the high season. Try and book a week or two outside of the high season, and if you can, get a room that sleeps 4 so you can split the cost even more ways, and you’ll definitely get more than your money’s worth. Make sure to check out the website for coupons before booking, and if you’re flexible, try going during the week as opposed to the weekend to save a few bucks. Good luck and safe travels, mon!

*As always, check out more photos on Flickr.

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All You Can Jet

30 Things I Learned During 30 Days of Travel

Since my All You Can Jet journey has come to an end, I thought I’d share some of the things I learned during those 30 days of travel.

1. Tommy Lee doesn’t like having his picture taken. Unless he’s on a boat. Naked.

2. In the Pacific Northwest, it’s believed that Portland has the most strip clubs per capita over any US city. The city has just over a half million residents, and more than 50 strip clubs throughout the city. I’ve read online that Springfield, Oregon passed Portland as the most clubs per capita in 2009, but either way, Portland is still up there. More than Vegas. Apparently these strip clubs also serve up some excellent food.

3. I love eating Handi Snacks Breadsticks ‘n Cheez, but I hate eating them in public. See, I’m kind of a “no cheese left behind” kinda gal, and I fully support licking the plate (or plastic container) clean. It’s pretty embarrassing to do while sitting on an airplane or in an airport. But with a little creativity, it can be done discreetly.

4. The Travel Channel may have played a part in making Voodoo Doughnuts famous, but their end of day deal should be a must for any doughnut lover on a budget in Portland (if you’re willing to gain a few pounds). They sell 5 gallon buckets of day old doughnuts for $5. That’s fresher than packaged doughnuts from the grocery store; and more unique flavors too!

5. The iPhone 4 doesn’t just suck in New York. It sucks all over America. I don’t know if it’s AT&T or the iPhone itself, but mine didn’t work in about 60% of the places I visited- big and small cities alike. Mostly dropped calls, and no internet/data service (even though it had full bars and a 3G signal). Oh, and the “extremely tough gorilla glass” on the LCD screen is not so durable either. The prong side of my power cord hit the screen from 2ft in the air and shattered it. Of course, AppleCare doesn’t cover cosmetic damage. They actually told me to call my renters insurance and file a claim, or go in to Apple and pay $200 to have the screen fixed (on a phone I paid $300 for). I’ve had this phone just under 3 months and it has already cracked twice. Pretty bad considering I had my 3G for two years and it never saw a single scratch.

6. I will no longer take New York tap water for granted. Of the 12 cities I visited, none of their tap water comes close to New York’s. I think it tastes better than most bottled water. San Diego was probably the worst I tasted over the 37 days. I heard Chicago’s is great, but I didn’t try it.

7. Seattle’s Sound Transit Link Light Rail is only a little over 1 year old, and cleaner than my apartment.

8. Los Angeles has a subway system. Who knew? I’ve always heard about how bad their traffic is, but I’ve never once heard anything about a subway system. It doesn’t look like it connects much of LA, but when I took it four stops it was much quicker than driving or taking a bus. Their public buses are a joke. Yes they have televisions on board for maximum [looping] entertainment, but you’d better leave four hours early. Or plan on being late.

9. When they say don’t travel to the Caribbean during hurricane season, they mean it. Unless you plan on spending your entire Caribbean vacation indoors.

10. This one may seem like a no brainer, but if you plan on visiting another country, check out the conversion rate BEFORE you get there. I figured since Jamaica accepts US dollars and I was staying in a prepaid all-inclusive hotel, I’d be okay with a $20 bill and my ATM card. Well the cab to the hotel was $30, so I immediately had to stop at a Jamaican ATM. I didn’t have cell phone service to check the conversion rate, so I had to trust what the cab driver told me to withdrawal (which was a pretty scary feeling, especially since I didn’t have more than a few hundred dollars in the bank to begin with). The Jamaican conversion rate is 86.855 Jamaican dollars for every 1 USD. $30 USD ended up being something like 2600 Jamaican dollars. I’ve never in my life felt more uncomfortable than when I stepped into the private locked ATM machine, and typed in a $2600 withdrawal with a line of people standing behind me.

11. Never make a phone call from a foreign country without a calling card. And make sure you’re using a designated hotel phone that will not charge you a connection fee, or a per minute fee on top of the calling card fee. Even though the credit card rate advertised may only be 50 cents a minute, they have all kinds of hidden connection fees. You’re better off just not making any phone calls. This isn’t the first time I was wrongly informed of how much a phone call to the US would cost.

12. Cool Runnings fans (there’s still some out there, right?) should check out the Jamaican Bobsled Cafe on the Hip Strip in Montego Bay. I didn’t get to see it, thanks to Tropical Storm Nicole, but they have the original Jamaican bobsled from the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

13. Despite how clean the city looked, I’m pretty sure one of the most disease-infested alleys in America is in Seattle. The saliva-filled “bubblegum alley” in Seattle’s Pike Place Market is fairly similar to the Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo, California. Is it weird that I had a strong urge to lick the walls?

14. Sunset is a great time to go up in the Seattle Space Needle. You can see the city in the daylight, sunset, and dark all within about an hour.

15. The 60th floor Sky Lobby at the JP Morgan Chase building in Houston provides a panoramic view of the city for free. It is the tallest building in Houston, and the 50th tallest in the world at 1002ft high. It is also the tallest 5-sided building in the entire world.

16. I-90 ends in Seattle. I’ve taken I-90 from my hometown in Toledo, West to Chicago and East to New York more times than I can count. I had no idea that had I missed the Chicago exit, I would have ended up in Seattle a few days later.

17. A man named Carl Fisher invented the car headlight, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Miami Beach in the early 1900s. He also began developing Montauk in Long Island New York as a “Miami of the north” tourist attraction before being cut short by the Great Depression.

18. The San Diego Zoo is expensive, and definitely not on a budget traveler’s agenda. It’s supposed to be worth every penny, but at $37 for the cheapest 1 day pass, I couldn’t afford to see for myself.

19. If your car breaks down on the Pacific Coast Highway, don’t count on your cell phone to call someone. Well over half of the drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco I was without service.

20. If you’re riding shotgun and hoping to take pictures along the Pacific Coast Highway, drive south. It’s easier to be on the outside than trying to take pictures past the driver’s head. And if you can, make time for a few stops along the way. Just make sure you take better pictures than I do.

21. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport is the 2nd busiest airport in the world.

22. The show Most Extreme Airports on the History Channel ranks San Diego’s airport as the 10th most dangerous airport in the world due to its proximity to the mountains and downtown. In order to keep the noise down in the surrounding area, planes are allowed to take off between 630a and 1130p, or else face a fine. Arrivals are allowed 24 hours a day.

23. Apparently it does get hot in San Francisco. And there’s no air conditioning so you just have to suffer.

24. I stayed on Grant street, which was the first constructed street in San Francisco. It was originally named Calle De La Fundacion.

25. Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills trumps any cupcake I’ve ever had in NYC (yes, even the dry, overrated cupcakes at Magnolia). And they’re opening their first NYC store in Feb 2011, on Lexington between 60th & 61st.

26. Willamette Valley in Oregon produces some of the best and most inexpensive Pinot Noir in the world. I chose one based on the cool label, called The Four Graces, and it was by far the best low price wine I’ve ever had. Willamette Valley also appears as the end destination in The Oregon Trail.

27. Recycling bins on the streets of New York make me happy. But an abundance of compost bins out on the west coast? Incredible.

28. Nineteen of the world’s 25 largest hotels (by room count) are on the Las Vegas Strip.

29. Hostels are a perfectly cheap place to sleep in a new city. I stayed at my first hostel in Seattle, and although it was a huge difference from the hotel rooms I’m used to, a girl on a budget can’t complain. It was only $35, and since I only needed a place to rest from 9p-5a, I couldn’t justify spending much more for a hotel.

30. Traveling is a lot more fun when you don’t have to go back to work afterwards.

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All You Can Jet

Day 24: Leaving Jamaica

Thursday I woke up to a tiny bit of sunshine, but by the time I got downstairs for breakfast the storm clouds were rolling in.

It was pouring all day again, but the winds had died down immensely. I managed to get out on the same flight I was booked for the day before, just 24 hours late.

I landed back in rainy, windy New York around 8pm. I made it home just in time to watch The Office, eat some dinner, repack my bags, and get some sleep before leaving again at 930am for Fort Myers. I’ll tell ya though, it has never felt so good to leave a Caribbean island.

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All You Can Jet

Day 23: Stuck in Jamaica

I woke up at 7am to one of the most intense thunderstorms I have ever witnessed in my life. The thunder was loud, the lightning was bright, the rain horizontal, and the wind was blowing chairs across the sidewalk right into the pool.

Before long, the beach had completely disappeared as the waves rushed in and the water slammed up against the walls of the resort.

Since the resort was open-air, the inside of the resort was starting to flood and most of the areas were closed down.

As if totally oblivious to the weather, I grabbed my bags and went to check out to go to the airport. That’s when I saw the sign at front desk that read “ALL JET BLUE FLIGHTS FOR TODAY HAVE BEEN CANCELED.” I may have freaked out for a minute. Being stuck in a foreign country with no money for a hotel room during a tropical storm is not exactly an ideal situation. I spent the next four hours trying to figure out my situation, when Betsy and her daughter came down into the lobby. Since I was freaking out, Betsy offered up her room for me to crash in for the evening free of charge. Seriously, nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. If not for her, I may have ended up staying in the lobby all night. I kept my all inclusive bracelet on and enjoyed the resort all day long. There were some kids scouring the beach for seashells in-between the downpours, and they were finding some pretty amazing shells and crabs. I searched and searched for one of my own but no luck.

The beach was a mess. All kinds of things were washed up on shore.

The umbrella huts were knocked over from the wind and waves.

The Margaritaville booth was destroyed.

When the rain started again, we went back inside and enjoyed more indoor entertainment as we continued to get soaked.

We went up to the room to pray for the weather to clear up so that we could get out of Jamaica on Thursday. Jenice introduced me to her teddy bear, and she seemed pretty bummed that the weather had been so crappy, because her bear didn’t get to wear all of her outfits that she’d packed for her. So I said “let’s see ’em!” and with that we had an impromptu fashion show while watching “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Of course, since the teddy bear was the model, Jenice the stylist, I was the photographer.

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All You Can Jet

Day 22: Playing at the Water Park During a Tropical Storm

I woke up with an intense craving for bloody marys which is strange because I’ve only had them once in my life before. I gulped down about 10 of those for breakfast.

It was raining, so I paid $15 for internet access and decided to play on that for a bit until I got bored. After a bit I thought “screw it. I’m on vacation and I’m not going to let some rain stop me from having a good time.” I changed into my bikini and went out to the hot tub where I met a couple groups of people from Pennsylvania and LA. After nearly an hour in the jacuzzi, one of the dads asked the kids, “who wants to go to the water park?” to which I shouted “me!” Then I felt a little weird, so I said “I mean, if that’s okay. I’ve been dying to go and maybe I won’t look like such a loser if I’m with some kids.” So we gathered our things, filled up on drinks, and went over to the water park. It’s not a huge water park by any means, but obviously enough to keep a group of children (and some fun-loving twenty-somethings) amused for an hour or two. There were two water slides and a lazy river, but all of the kids and I kept running in circles up and down the slide. Honestly, it was the most fun I had since I arrived in Jamaica. I bought a couple of pictures that the resort photographers took of me going down the slide with the kids. Once I get back to a scanner, I’ll post those.

It stopped raining for a little bit, so I went down to the beach with one of the moms, Betsy, and her 7 year old daughter Jenice (I may be totally butchering the spelling). They were from LA, and Betsy was probably about the same age as me. Nicest people ever.

The kids wore me out so I headed back to the room for a quick nap before dinner. Unfortunately I didn’t have time for a nap before dinner, so I got ready and went over to the Italian restaurant for another five course meal. I ordered a cheese manicotti with snapper, which was a very interesting combination. The dish had all kinds of mixed vegetables, and in my opinion it just didn’t mix too well. The manicotti was great on its own, as was the snapper, but together it was a bit strange for me. I also enjoyed a glass of red wine, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, a caesar salad, calamari, eggplant, and a cannoli. The meal definitely didn’t compare to some of the amazing Italian meals I’ve had in New York, but Jamaicans also cook a bit differently. It was all good, just in a different way my ridiculously American taste buds aren’t used to.

During dinner it was really storming. The entire resort lost electricity quite a few times during dinner, but never more than a minute or two at a time. On the way back, there was a steel drum band playing in the common area.

After I made a quick Skype call to my mom, I went back to watch some live entertainment. Some guy proposed on stage (of course. What would a Caribbean vacation be without witnessing a proposal or two, no?) There were a few dance offs, and then some crazy man limboed underneath of a burning piece of wood about a foot off the ground.

The entertainment went on for several hours, inviting members of the audience to get up and compete in a few random competitions. They called five women up on stage for a cake eating contest. They blindfolded all five, then took them off of the first four girls, leaving the fifth one to believe they were all still competing. We watched and cheered on “all of the contestants,” and after the cake was gone they took the blindfold off the last girl to show her that she’d basically just been scarfing down cake alone, with all eyes on her.

Later in the evening I saw the cake-consuming winner hanging out in the lobby. She was actually an insanely nice woman from Toronto, who was down in Jamaica on business. I almost felt bad that they played such a prank on such a nice woman, but  she liked caked so I guess that made it okay. Her coworker told me that he laughed so hard he threw up. I wish I would’ve gotten that on tape! I stopped and chatted with those two about all things New York, Toronto, and hockey related until I decided to call it a night to go up to the room and pack.

It took me all of 10 minutes to pack, so I sat on the balcony watching the thunderstorm out over the ocean until my buzz wore off. With each crack of thunder, all of the lights would go out in the resort. Kind of crazy seeing nothing but pitch black in front of you, except for the glow of lightning reflecting off the water.

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All You Can Jet

Day 21: The Calm Before the Storm

I woke up to the pleasant surprise of sunshine around 9am and immediately headed out to the beach.

I pulled a lounge chair right into the water and laid out listening to music until the storm clouds started rolling in around 2. I was the only one on that part of the beach except for a crab who was playing hide and seek with me in his little crab holes.

Then I went to the Pirate’s Cove water park and lounged around in the lazy river and went down the water slide once, then right back out to the ocean for some snorkeling. I didn’t think I’d see much right off the beach, but I saw lots of crazy neon fish. I wish I had an underwater camera, but they wanted $22 for a disposable. Pretty big rip off considering the photographs from those things always turn out horrible. There were a few photographers running around taking pictures, so I was suckered into buying a few of me snorkeling and going down the water slide. Stay tuned for those photos when I get a chance to scan them in!

There was something wrong with my snorkel (or maybe it was just me) because I kept getting a mouth full of salt water every fourth breath or so. After about 20 minutes I had consumed so much salt water that I started to gag. I almost puked in the snorkel, so I ripped off my goggles and started dry heaving into the ocean but thankfully never vomited. I was pretty far out, so I started swimming as fast as possible back to shore and straight to the bar for some fresh water.

I snacked on some grilled cheese and cheese dogs from the grill almost every single day. Sometimes even twice a day, on top of the buffet and restaurants.

I took a nap on the balcony and woke up just in time for the closest thing to a sunset I got to see in Jamaica, which was still ruined by all of the clouds.

I even enjoyed a short walk on the beach that night.

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All You Can Jet

Day 20: A Rainy Start to Hurricane Season in Jamaica

I arrived in Montego Bay for the most unexpectedly hectic four days of this trip so far. I took a 15 minute cab ride from the airport to the Sunset Beach Resort and Spa. The cab fare was [inexplanably] thirty US dollars. I only had a 20 so I had to stop at an ATM. Shame on me for not planning ahead. We pulled up to an abandoned ATM that locked when you stepped into the private booth. I felt a little uneasy since three people were waiting behind me outside, and all of my luggage was sitting in the cab. I tried to withdraw $20 when I got the error message “you must withdraw in multiples of $100.” I wasn’t even sure if I had $100 in the bank, but I went ahead and withdrew it anyway. When it came out, duh, it was 100 Jamaican dollars. I had no idea how much that was in US dollars, so I got back in the cab and down the road we went.

I thought for sure the driver would try and pull a fast one on me, but I asked him anyway “is 100 Jamaican dollars enough?” He slammed on the brakes, turned back towards the ATM, and tried explaining the conversion rate to me, which ended with “$30 is equal to $2400 Jamaican dollars.” I didn’t know what to do! It sounded like such a huge difference. So I went back to the ATM and checked out my balance. The amount had hardly changed since I pulled out 100 Jamaican dollars, so I figured he must be telling the truth. When I got back to the car, he showed me a sheet of paper with conversion rates on it and to my relief, he was telling the truth.

I was immediately greeted with a tropical drink upon checkin. I told the staff about my travel blog, and asked for a possible upgrade to an ocean view room- which I got, on the 7th floor.

I was sharing a room with another All You Can Jet-ter, and since it was raining outside we headed down to explore the property and have a few drinks. What else are you supposed to do with access to an unlimited open bar on a rainy day? Then we had a four course dinner at a Jamaican restaurant on the resort, and I had my first taste of Jamaican jerk chicken. Overall, it was okay but not really for my taste buds.

The resort had a great live band performing, followed by a couple hours of dancing.

I’ve embarrassed myself many times attempting to dance in public, but this was one of the worst. I wasn’t really drunk, so I was still a little shy and completely lacking rhythm as usual. One of the workers brought me up on stage and challenged me to a dance off. When I showed him a few of my white girl moves, he realized he’d have to teach me a thing or two. Bottom line, I am probably the worst dancer in the world. But I kind of wish someone would have gotten it on video.

After many more drinks, the party moved out to a beachfront bar and dance floor adjacent to a jacuzzi and two pools with a swim up bar in the middle. It wasn’t too happening for a Sunday night, so we bounced back and forth between the jacuzzi and the ocean before calling it a night.