Just returned Wednesday, Jan 10, from a 4 night stay at Samsara.<br> Very nice property. Good location on the cliffs. Nice<br> landscaping. Older, somewhat rustic rooms - but clean and<br> reasonably well kept. We had a nice "lockable" antique wardrobe in<br> our room that I kept my travel documents and travellers<br> checks in. Not perfecltly secure, but better than leaving<br> them laying out in the open.<br><br> Front desk staff was nice and very helpful. Free shuttle to sister property<br>Legends on the beach was a money saver. Use of legends beach was a big<br> advantage (I'm a beach person, my wife prefers the<br> cliffs... no sand! So we switch off.) The bar girl at legends<br> (sorry... I didn't catch her name) was one of the nicest,<br> friendliest individuals I've ever met anywhere... delightful!<br> She made great drinks too!<br><br> Didn't eat at Samsara much... had the fried wings (NOT<br> Buffalo style) & draft special one night (150J)... tasty snack. Had<br> buffet breakfast the last morning. It was okay.<br><br> Choices restaurant ( just past the Cambio & Bar to the left<br> as you exit) was great for lunch. Soup to die for. And fried<br> chicken that would put KFC out of business. Had one<br> "upscale" romantic dinner at Rockhouse. Coconut shrimp<br> appetizer was excellent. The lobster my wife had was<br> amazing! I had grilled snapper that was a little dry...<br> should've had fried. Total bill for 3 appetizers, two entrees<br> and 4 glasses of wine... $60! ($72 with tip.) We're talking<br> Red Lobster prices... with a hell of a lot more atmosphere!<br> Highly recommended for you and your special someone.<br><br>We spent a day at Couples on a day pass. The day pass has gone<br>up from $50/pp to $75/pp... they gave it to us for the $50/pp that we<br>were quoted via email a few months ago. Had a nice day for $100. <br>Wouldn't go back for $150... we'd go to Grand Lido next door for the <br>same price. Strolled the beach at Lido... looked very nice.<br>Couples was nice, but I didn't think it was as nice as Couples<br>Ocho Rios where we stayed 3 years ago, although the beach at<br>bloody bay is outstanding.<br><br>Back to Samsara....<br> Music at the bar was not overbearing. You could hear it<br> from your room, but it wasn't usually annoying. I had<br> trouble sleeping a couple of nights due to fighting cats and<br> barking dogs in the neighborhood. But I'm a very light<br> sleeper... next time I'll bring earplugs. Lots of cats on the<br> property. I like that... lots of cats equals no rats.<br><br> The weather was cool and windy the first day and a half.<br> Couldn't swim off the cliffs until Monday. Missed the<br> torrential rains thank heavens. Sunday thru Tuesday were<br> sunny & warm. Didn't need the AC this trip... but in the summer<br> I don't think I could live without it. The room had<br> a nice ceiling fan but not much ventilation otherwise. Bring<br> bug spray... I had deep woods off and still got bit. <br><br> You can get phone cards at the Cambio across the street,<br> and there's a nice little "all-in-one" convenience store just<br> past Choices.<br><br> Only two major suggestions for improvement at Samsara:<br><br> An ICE MACHINE on property (so one can have cold water<br> to drink even if the bar is closed).<br><br> A PHONE ON THE PROPERTY THAT ONE CAN USE PHONE<br> CARDS WITH!!! They have credit card phones but the rates<br> are outrageous. The calls will cost you more than the hotel if<br> you use these! Beware! We used the pre-purchased phone<br> cards from the Cambio to call on the pay phone across the<br> street... then the folks at home called us back at Samsara.<br> They have a phone that they use to transfer incoming calls to<br> you. This method worked fairly well, except that the pay phone is in a very<br> dark place... so if you call at night you need a flashlight to<br> dial. Also, I got propositioned twice while trying to call my<br> kids. Kinda ruins the wholesome feeling of calling home! <br><br> Other than that we had a wonderful time for an unbelievably<br> low price! (We booked a package thru liberty travel back in<br> Sept.) Swimming off the cliffs was a highlight... the salinity<br> of the water makes it almost impossible to sink. We also<br> brought some cheap Walmart floats to relax on. It was great.<br><br>The king of the cheapo travellers (i.e. me) was very satisfied!<br>We'll probably go back next year if we get the right price. <br><br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 1/17/01 04:40 PM.</EM></FONT></P>