Catherine
02-24-2004, 03:14 PM
Posted by Catherine on February 01, 2000 at 09:41:51:
Trip Report to Jamaica & Boscobel Beach
( Very Long! )
We (my husband and I, with our 3 children ages 13, 10 & 8) arrived in Jamaica around 2:30 pm. Another flight had arrived just ahead of us, so we had a long wait getting through immigration, but we were already in vacation mode and didn't care about the wait, after all, what good would getting upset do?! Our only concern at that point was….will our bus wait for us? No Problem! We found our way quickly, waited less than 5 minutes before we were shuffled out the door and taken to our bus. Everyone seemed to know what bus went in what direction, so my advise, tip the gentleman who gets you on the right bus. As long as the bus driver knows what resort you're going to, you'll get there. Typically, your bus will carry passengers getting off at a variety of resorts along the way.
The trip to Boscobel is quite the experience if you've never traveled in Jamaica before! Although nerve wracking at times, your driver does know what he is doing and will get you to your resort safely. After a few bus trips, you do get used to it….it's just a different way of driving from what we're used to. If you get motion sickness easily or are afraid of what you might see out the front window, sit in the middle of the bus. The bus ride is just over 2 hours long. (The resort is located about 10 minutes east of Ocho Rios in what seemed to be a quiet, residential area) On all occasions, the buses were air-conditioned and very clean. Both coming and going, we made a rest stop half way. This was an ideal time to stretch the legs, use the washroom, and get a snack if you needed one. My advise is to bring something to drink or snack on along the way as I found the prices to be on the expensive side at the rest stops, but if you're craving that Red Stripe or a Ting….you pay what you have to!
Arriving at Boscobel Beach, someone is right there to take your bags for you. After getting checked in, they will then take your bags to your room. Every room at Boscobel is unique. We had requested a junior suite with day beds for the kids, so that's what we got…..a king size bed for us, 2 day beds and a cot for the kids (each having their own bed). The room and bathroom were clean, comfortable in size and in excellent condition. I saw other rooms which had bunkbeds and other bed configurations, so ask your travel agent to request a room setup that would best suit your family's needs. The air conditioning worked very well, most of the time we had it on the lowest setting. There was a small fridge in the room which contained a few bottles of flavored soda which was restocked daily if you drank any of them. A coffee maker and coffee and tea was also provided. There is also a TV with cable service in the room (for as rarely as you actually watch TV there!). Our only problem we ever ran into, we had a fan in the room that didn't work. There was plenty of air flow from the air conditioning, but the added movement from the fan would have helped to dry out our wet clothes faster. We mentioned it to the front desk, but we were hardly worried about getting it fixed. I suspect they preferred to wait until the room was vacated before making a mess. From my understanding, renovations and upgrading is a constant happening at Boscobel, but you would never know it. We happened to stumble upon a section of the hotel under renovations strictly by accident….we were exploring! And we only noticed it because a door to one of the rooms was left open and you could see the room had been newly painted and decorated. Otherwise, there were no signs!
Food was served ongoing from 7:30 am - 9:00 pm from 5 different restaurants (with a midnight buffet at the Terrace from 11:30 pm - 1:00 am) You could also order room service for a continental breakfast. The Bar-B-Q Park offered kids fare (hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, ice cream, desserts, etc.) The Beach grill also offered hotdogs, hamburgers and fries, but also jerk chicken and pork, chicken burgers and spicy beef patties. The kids loved to go to the Terrace for most of their meals (so did the adults!) There was always such a selection! Everyday your breakfast, lunch and dinner selections changed. Usually there were at least 2 different (meat) Jamaican dishes to try at every meal. Everything from, jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, callaloo, curried goat, etc. For those not so adventurous, there was always a wide selection of other dishes to try (pork kebobs, beef steak, stirfrys, lamb, roast beef, fish of every description, etc.) Lots of choices for accompaniments - a variety of rice dishes, potato dishes, pasta dishes and vegetable dishes, a large selection of salads, soup, breads, crackers, cheese and sausage, fruits and fresh vegetables. And the dessert selection! What choice! I gained 10 pounds just looking at it! There was also kids fare at the Terrace- pizza, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, pasta, ice cream, etc.
Typically, you filled your plate at the Terrace and then wait to be seated (no wait really…you walked over to the sign, they asked how many in your party, and they seated you at an appropriate table) A waiter would then arrive, fill your water glass and take a drink order. Your water glass was typically refilled on a regular basis, sometimes you'd be asked if you wanted another drink, but expect to wander over to the bar if you want another.
Trip Report to Jamaica & Boscobel Beach
( Very Long! )
We (my husband and I, with our 3 children ages 13, 10 & 8) arrived in Jamaica around 2:30 pm. Another flight had arrived just ahead of us, so we had a long wait getting through immigration, but we were already in vacation mode and didn't care about the wait, after all, what good would getting upset do?! Our only concern at that point was….will our bus wait for us? No Problem! We found our way quickly, waited less than 5 minutes before we were shuffled out the door and taken to our bus. Everyone seemed to know what bus went in what direction, so my advise, tip the gentleman who gets you on the right bus. As long as the bus driver knows what resort you're going to, you'll get there. Typically, your bus will carry passengers getting off at a variety of resorts along the way.
The trip to Boscobel is quite the experience if you've never traveled in Jamaica before! Although nerve wracking at times, your driver does know what he is doing and will get you to your resort safely. After a few bus trips, you do get used to it….it's just a different way of driving from what we're used to. If you get motion sickness easily or are afraid of what you might see out the front window, sit in the middle of the bus. The bus ride is just over 2 hours long. (The resort is located about 10 minutes east of Ocho Rios in what seemed to be a quiet, residential area) On all occasions, the buses were air-conditioned and very clean. Both coming and going, we made a rest stop half way. This was an ideal time to stretch the legs, use the washroom, and get a snack if you needed one. My advise is to bring something to drink or snack on along the way as I found the prices to be on the expensive side at the rest stops, but if you're craving that Red Stripe or a Ting….you pay what you have to!
Arriving at Boscobel Beach, someone is right there to take your bags for you. After getting checked in, they will then take your bags to your room. Every room at Boscobel is unique. We had requested a junior suite with day beds for the kids, so that's what we got…..a king size bed for us, 2 day beds and a cot for the kids (each having their own bed). The room and bathroom were clean, comfortable in size and in excellent condition. I saw other rooms which had bunkbeds and other bed configurations, so ask your travel agent to request a room setup that would best suit your family's needs. The air conditioning worked very well, most of the time we had it on the lowest setting. There was a small fridge in the room which contained a few bottles of flavored soda which was restocked daily if you drank any of them. A coffee maker and coffee and tea was also provided. There is also a TV with cable service in the room (for as rarely as you actually watch TV there!). Our only problem we ever ran into, we had a fan in the room that didn't work. There was plenty of air flow from the air conditioning, but the added movement from the fan would have helped to dry out our wet clothes faster. We mentioned it to the front desk, but we were hardly worried about getting it fixed. I suspect they preferred to wait until the room was vacated before making a mess. From my understanding, renovations and upgrading is a constant happening at Boscobel, but you would never know it. We happened to stumble upon a section of the hotel under renovations strictly by accident….we were exploring! And we only noticed it because a door to one of the rooms was left open and you could see the room had been newly painted and decorated. Otherwise, there were no signs!
Food was served ongoing from 7:30 am - 9:00 pm from 5 different restaurants (with a midnight buffet at the Terrace from 11:30 pm - 1:00 am) You could also order room service for a continental breakfast. The Bar-B-Q Park offered kids fare (hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, ice cream, desserts, etc.) The Beach grill also offered hotdogs, hamburgers and fries, but also jerk chicken and pork, chicken burgers and spicy beef patties. The kids loved to go to the Terrace for most of their meals (so did the adults!) There was always such a selection! Everyday your breakfast, lunch and dinner selections changed. Usually there were at least 2 different (meat) Jamaican dishes to try at every meal. Everything from, jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, callaloo, curried goat, etc. For those not so adventurous, there was always a wide selection of other dishes to try (pork kebobs, beef steak, stirfrys, lamb, roast beef, fish of every description, etc.) Lots of choices for accompaniments - a variety of rice dishes, potato dishes, pasta dishes and vegetable dishes, a large selection of salads, soup, breads, crackers, cheese and sausage, fruits and fresh vegetables. And the dessert selection! What choice! I gained 10 pounds just looking at it! There was also kids fare at the Terrace- pizza, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, pasta, ice cream, etc.
Typically, you filled your plate at the Terrace and then wait to be seated (no wait really…you walked over to the sign, they asked how many in your party, and they seated you at an appropriate table) A waiter would then arrive, fill your water glass and take a drink order. Your water glass was typically refilled on a regular basis, sometimes you'd be asked if you wanted another drink, but expect to wander over to the bar if you want another.