I love going on vacation. Tropical vacations to be exact. Where I can sit on a beach with a drink in my hand and not worry about anything. No planning. No trying to figure out what we're doing that day. Where we're going to go sightseeing. Where we're going to eat. How much money we're going to spend. Nope. None of that. Just hanging out on the beach with a drink in one hand and a book in the other. And that is exactly what we did for five days in Jamaica. And it was perfect.
When I booked the resort back in January, I wasn't sure if we'd like it or not. I always second guess myself on the resort. Will we like it? Will the food be good? Will the entertainment be good? Will it be clean? I read the reviews on trip advisor and they always make me worry. The resort we stayed at (
Jewel Paradise Cove) had 4.5/5.0 stars AND was the #1 resort in Runaway Bay, Jamaica and I still worried we wouldn't like it.
BUT WE LOVED IT!!
The staff was extremely nice. We were in our room within 15 minutes of getting to the resort. The room was nice (I don't put a lot of emphasis on the room since we don't spend much time in it). The food was good (I'm not a foodie, so it's not hard to please me). The bartenders got to know us, so we never worried about having a fresh drink in our hand (tipping helped!). The sunsets each night were beautiful. We could always find a hut to lay under at the beach (which is important when you're married to a ginger). It was a smaller resort and we ran into the same people during our trip, so we were able to carry on conversations with them. It was a low-key resort and not big party scene, which is what we were looking for. Sure we drank & had fun, but since it was spring break we didn't want to go to a resort with a bunch of crazy college kids. Nick & I are pretty laid back people, so it would take a lot for us to not like a resort but overall this resort fit exactly what we were looking for.
If I were to 'warn' you about this resort these would be my three areas:
1. There is an older crowd at this resort.
For us, this didn't matter. We were there to spend time together and not spend time with strangers so we didn't care. We did make friends with 2-3 couples that were our age and talked/hung out with them while we were there.
2. Not a big party scene.
Again, since the crowd is older it's not a big party scene. But we weren't looking for a party scene so we were fine with us.
3. The beach area is small.
Since this resort is located in a cove, there is not a big beach area. But in the past, we haven't done much at the beach. We find 2 beach chairs and that's where we'd stay most of the day (while reading, napping and having drinks). If you're looking for long walks on the beach, this is not the resort for you.
But like I said, none of these was a concern for us and we had a great time!
Vacation has officially started. We dropped Kimber off at Gramma & Papa's and we were on our way to Minneapolis!!
We stayed in a hotel the night before our flight left. We had a 2:00am wake up call. Caught the 3:30am shuttle to the airport. Our flight left at 5:00am and we had a 3 hour layover in Charlotte. I was beyond exhausted and needed ALL.THE.COFFEE.
After 2 hours in the customs line, We FINALLY had our first drinks in Jamaica!
It was a long day of travel and we didn't get to the resort until 5:00pm.
We threw on some shorts, grabbed some drinks and headed out to explore the resort.
It didn't take us long to find the Grille where we had something to eat, drink and watched the sunset.
Day One (Thursday): Our first full day at the resort we spent at the three swim-up bars on the resort. We tried all different kinds of drinks that day from Beer to Bloody Mary's to Dirty Bananas to mixed drinks. Nick decided his favorite of the trip was Rum Punch and mine was Sex on the Beach.
The wood oven pizza place was one of our favorite places for lunch & a mid-afternoon snack.
Day Two (Friday): We spend the next day at the beach. Enjoying the view. Reading. Napping. And of course, drinking.
I don't read at home. Ever. But I was able to read three books on vacation. Still Alice by Lisa Genova and two Nicholas Sparks books: The Best of Me and The Longest Ride. I really enjoyed all the books. Maybe someday I'll start reading more on a regular basis...but I doubt it.
Three necessities for a beach day: beach hat, sunglasses and insolated mug for drinks!
The views from the top of the resort were beautiful!
Day Three (Saturday): We started out the day with this view on the beach.
This is how Nick does a tropical vacation. He tries to hide from the sun with SPF 30, a shirt on and hanging out in the shade.
After lunch, we moved to the hammock to enjoy the views and take a nap!
Every night from 5:30-7:00pm, we headed to the Sunset Bar for three things: drinks, an late afternoon snack (of pizza) and the beautiful sunset.
After we watched the sunset, we'd go back to our room to get ready for dinner, have dinner and then enjoy the entertainment on the resort or hang out at one of the several bars. On Saturday night ventured off the resort to a local seafood restaurant and had a great time!
Day Four (Sunday): I started out the morning by going on a walk around the resort by myself. Between it being Blakey's 15th birthday and my Gramma being in the hospital, I wanted some time alone. I wore my Batman shirt in Jamaica that day in honor of Blakey.
We enjoyed some more beach time and a ocean front couple's massage. Nothing beats a massage while listening to the ocean waves!
Day Five (Monday): Our Last Full Day. So we did it all. Walked around the resort. Hung out on the beach. Hung out at the swim up bars. Enjoyed our favorite drinks. Lunch with an amazing view. Watched the sun set. And dressed up one last time for dinner.
We left the resort happy & relaxed AND READY TO SEE KIMBER!!
It was an amazing vacation and I can't wait until our next one!!
