My wife and I went to Grand Lido Braco for the first time in November 2003. This was our first trip to an all-inclusive of any type, so we limited our stay to 6 days / 5 nights in case we would get bored at not leaving the resort. (Previously we have gone to SXM 3 times, plus a smattering of other islands.) Boredom was not an issue -- we loved the ability to relax without having to decide where to drive for dinner that day. In brief, we loved it and will almost certainly be returning.
To briefly highlight our thoughts on some concerns that we've seen posted:
- The drive from the airport to GLB was uneventful, and the roads seemed no worse than in SXM and other islands. Total travel time from home to the resort was the same, or less, than places we've been in SXM.
- The resort was very nice, if one keeps expectations in check. Yes, there were certainly some glitches -- mainly the large hot tub was closed almost our entire time there (the pump broke and a replacement was not available - so we had to wait for repairs), and food was good but not excellent. [The French restaurant is fantastic - try the escargot] But, I would expect things like this in any Caribbean island.
- Evening dress was a little fancier than we expected, with most men in long pants and women in dresses or other nicer clothing. And, nice clothing was required for both the French and Japanese restaurants, which serve the best food at the resort.
- The people staying at GLB were probably the friendliest we have encountered anywhere. This was largely due to the resort's small size (I think 300 rooms, and only 60 or so on the au natural side) and the all inclusive nature. It was common for people to 'buy drinks' for others -- which led to frequent conversations. And, you would repeatedly see people throughout the day: at the pool, then at dinner or the night's activities. It was large enough that you could be alone if you wanted, but could also meet people very easily.
- The staff was fantastic, providing drinks during volleyball, providing drinks poolside, and on the beach. The social staff was entertaining with trivia and games constantly. The one shop person dug tirelessly through her stock to find beach shoes and long pants when we needed them.
Detailed trip report follows below.
Jim & Sue Strohman
Thursday November 13, 2003
Woke up before our 5:00 am alarm - too excited to sleep - finished packing, showered and headed for the airport. We got to see the new International Terminal, which was nice but most of the stores were not open that early in the morning. The flight itself on USAir was uneventful -- direct and only about 3 1/2 hours. We had to walk through the entire Jamaican international terminal to go through immigration and customs. A Jamaican singing group entertained while we waited in line. Our luggage came in on a different belt than what was posted, but we eventually found it and headed for the SuperClubs desk. Went to a little British van where another hotel worker hitched a ride with us. It took about an hour to get to the resort -- the driver was friendly and shared some of Jamaica's history with us. At the resort, we checked in at the same time as about 10 other people, receiving cold wash cloths and refreshing rum punches while we waited. The bell man took us and some other people's bags to our rooms -- we were staying on the au natural side. We had booked a one bedroom room, but received a free upgrade to a deluxe one-bedroom which overlooked the pool and beach. (It seems that almost everyone we spoke to received a one-level upgrade.)
Our room had a balcony overlooking the beach with two chairs. We had a living room, dinning area, tiny kitchen, two bathrooms and a large bedroom with a king bed facing the pool.
We immediately undressed and went downstairs to catch the tail end of the au natural pool buffet for lunch, then sat at the pool for an hour or two. We decided to orient ourselves, so got dressed and walked the length of the resort, checking out a couple of the shops. We had an appetizer at the clubhouse at the other end on the beach on the textile side. Walked back and changed for dinner. We had made reservations in advance via e-mail for the Japanese restaurant, which the SuperClubs web site listed as having a 'casual' dress code. But, when we arrived, the Japanese restaurant wouldn't seat us because Jim didn't have long pants. So instead we had to eat at Victoria's Market - after complaining to management. There were seven or eight dinner entrees on the menu - three fish. Sue had the spicy seafood while Jim had the chicken. After dinner, we stayed and watched the talent show at Victoria's Market. It seemed to be mostly hotel staff, although a couple of guests did participate. Went back to our room and changed for the PJ party. The party was a really big dance in the disco and was a lot of fun. It rained during the party for about 1/2 hour, but no one seemed to mind. Headed back to the room after a long day and crashed.
[FYI -- after we returned I sent GLB an e-mail noting the incorrect dress code listed for the Japanese restaurant, and they offered me 2 free nights on my next visit to GLB to make up for the inconvenience. So, they certainly try their best to resolve any problems they may have, if you complain. I normally don't like to complain, but was told by several people that if you have a problem ask and it will be fixed -- and it won't be fixed if you don't ask.]
Friday November 14, 2003
Got up around 8:30 and went to the gym to treadmill before breakfast. Breakfast at Victoria's Market was large and wonderful - lots of fruit, an omelet station, meats, cheeses, etc. Left in time to join the 10:00 orientation which was very helpful. We learned that one needed to specify whether they wanted sushi or grill at the Japanese restaurant when they made reservations, so we may have had the wrong type last night anyway. Went to the beach for the morning. The fruit lady greeted us and we had our first taste of fresh coconut, and we were also presented with drinks from the bar by another staff member. The beach was pretty rocky as you got in the water, but they had rafts so you didn't really need to touch the bottom. Left the beach around 12:30 and dressed to go to Nanny's Jerk Pit for lunch. Got a camera at the sundries store. We each had jerk chicken and seafood soup for lunch, which was excellent. After lunch we went to the boutique. It took some time but we found beach sandals and pants for Jim. We went back to the reservation desk and made reservations at the French & Japanese restaurants. The French restaurant requires a jacket but they said they'd have one for Jim. Went to the pool and lounged for the rest of the afternoon. On the way back to our room we saw a hummingbird - our first one ever.
That evening we got dressed and went to the Street Fair for dinner. On Friday evening they close all the restaurants and serve a buffet on the streets of the main village. When we arrived they were temporarily out of plates (we hit just after the peak rush) so we had to scrounge. OJ Simpson was there - just visiting the party - not staying at the resort. There were several buffet lines and a long line for the lobster - which was precooked. People were raving about it, but we really didn't think it was that good. We wanted to try the goat -- our driver had talked about it on the way in -- but only bones were left by the time we got to it. Everything else was wonderful - the veggies, desserts, entrees, it was very tasty. At 9:00 the band started playing, there were a lot of line dances. We ate dinner with three other couples. They gave us tips on getting a full bottle of wine rather then glass - you just have to ask for them to leave the bottle and they will. We also found out if we ask for beer in the fridge we'll get it. (Our room only had soda when we had arrived.) We found out later that a pre-stocked fridge comes with more repeat years at the resort. We got back to the our room 10 minutes before it started raining.
Saturday November 15, 2003
Had room service deliver breakfast - it was 20 minutes late - and pretty meager - we decided we would do the breakfast buffet from now on. Went to the beach for the morning. The water was rough - a red flag was out meaning the water sports desk was closed. Someone squirted Sue with rose water as she was laying on the beach. At around 11:00 when the strolling string players were nearing we went back in to the pool. The people we met from the night before were there - we got chairs near them.. Jim played pool volleyball then we ate lunch at the pool. It was menu ordering instead of buffet today. We met some more people over lunch who had a couples massage, so we scheduled one for the next day and Sue scheduled her free manicure for Monday. Later in the afternoon Sue played bingo and completely lost. We all tried to hot tub - but the large one had broken the night before and the little one was full. Came back to our room and took a bubble bath together instead. We had dinner reservations at the French restaurant at 9:00. We stopped by the casino night on the way. Watched some crab races and played some blackjack. Dinner was wonderful. We had escargot and calamari appetizers. Jim had the bisque while Sue had the salad. Then Sue had the stuffed chicken entree while Jim had the seafood medley. Everything tasted wonderful. The escargot was truly amazing - not soaked in garlic like normal. A wedding party must have been there - a large party with a photographer was at the end of restaurant. After dinner we went to the small hot tub, which was finally free.
Sunday November 16, 2003
Got up in the morning, treadmilled, then did the breakfast buffet. It was very windy, and the red flag was out again. We walked out to the point before breakfast and felt the surf being blown onto us. After breakfast went back to our pool which is more protected from the wind. It drizzled a few times during the day, and was a little quieter than the day before -- we believe the wedding guests had left. At 12:00 we got dressed to get a quick lunch at Victoria's Market before our Couples Massage at 1:00. Lunch was OK, but not nearly as good as breakfast.
We had our massage outside under the trees. It was Jim's first massage. Down here they include the stomach and butt in the massage. It was relaxing. We weren't sure if we could tip them since it was a extra service, but they said no. Jim played volleyball in the pool again. Hung out at the pool late talking and then went to the Italian restaurant for dinner. We both had pasta. After dinner some other people we had met at lunch the day before joined us at the bistro tables and we had a long conversation. After dinner we went hot tubbing in the small hot tub and played a little pool in the au natural club house which was basically empty.
Monday November 17, 2003
Went to the big breakfast then for a walk around the property, identifying all of our house plants that are just growing in the ground here. Settled in for the day at the pool, Jim played volleyball again and we played some of the trivia games. We ate lunch with the people we met at the Bistro the previous night. Sue went for her free manicure after lunch. In the late afternoon we went to the small hot tub again with some other people as we were waiting for dinner time. We changed quickly for our sushi dinner. Sushi was good but there was not nearly enough served compared to what we usually get at home. We had two plates, and could have had two more - there were very few rolls. After dinner we stopped at the Italian place for dessert and met up with some other people we had met earlier in the week. From there we went to the au natural bonfire. It started out with jokes from the audience, there were a lot of Newfie's down so we had Newfoundland jokes. It only lasted about an hour, but that was OK. After the fire we went to the club house to watch the end of the MNF football game. A couple were playing pool who had swum with the dolphins, and the Steelers lost.
Tuesday November 18, 2003
On our last day we ate the big breakfast at Victoria's Market again, packed up our stuff and went to the pool with some clothes to change into later for our trip to the airport. We had a 5:00 flight, so they wanted us to have our bags outside the room by noon and we had to catch the 2:00 bus. Decided not to try to shower before the plane, as it would have taken precious time out of the sunbathing. Filled out the questionnaire at the front desk -- they contacted us upon our return asking for clarifications on any neutral replies and really seem to want to improve things. Took the bus back to the airport -- again uneventful. Security at the airport was somewhat difficult. All our checked bags were hand-searched at the USAir check in desk - VERY slowly. We had no problems getting through the metal detectors, but then had little time to shop as our flight was called to board 50 minutes before takeoff. We then found that they called us early so that could hand search our carry-on bags as we boarded. Finally got on the plane. Flight was uneventful, although the wait for our bags at PHL was a little longer than usual. Got our car and went home. We're seriously thinking about returning the same week next year -- we've learned that several of the people we met come back that week year after year, and now that we get two free nights on a future visit.....
