Let me first say; I was absolutely impressed! Do you ever feel like you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle of life? Have you ever dreamed of just waking up, going to the dining room and seeing lots of different foods lined out, waiting for you to eat? Luxury Bahia Principe was the answer; the vacation spot for me. As Jamaicans, we don’t really get to enjoy the many resorts on the island but we can start now. This is my review of the hotel and a few things you should know before visiting.
Journey from Kingston
The hotel is located in Runaway Bay, St. Ann, Jamaica. My best friend and I drove down to the hotel using the North Coast highway from Kingston. It took us at least 2 hours tops to get there. St. Ann is my home parish so it was pretty easy to get to our destination.
Our Arrival
A Hidden Paradise! It was amazing to see that such a place actually existed in the small resort town of Runaway Bay.
As with all our adventures, we had to have a small obstacle but this is what makes life interesting. This time it was with our room arrangements. It so happens that we came on the weekend where the hotel was booked to full capacity. We got checked in and excited as we were, we hurried to the room. Little did we know what awaited us. We swiped our room card, opened the door and there it was, a room that wasn’t ready for guests. Nothing was prepared. Our excitement flew through the window instantly. Can you imagine travelling so far, only to see your room unprepared. We went back to the front desk personnel who was very friendly and I had the chance to speak with the Manager, who did everything he could to correct the problem. We got a lovely ocean view room stocked with a mini bar and a great flask of Jamaican rum to welcome us. By the time we got settled, it was late in the night, so we went to have dinner.
Dining Experience
Here I thought we had passed all the obstacles. I was wrong. The hotel has two sections: a family section and an adult only section. Guests from the Luxury Bahia Principe (adult only) can access the facilities at the Gran Bahia Principe (Family). On our visit to the dining room, we didn’t know exactly where to go so our nose guided us. On arriving at the dining room, we noticed lots of families and that’s when we realized we were over by Gran Bahia Principe. This first dining experience wasn’t so pleasant for me because the table wasn’t set, I had to ask several times to get some juice/water, napkins weren’t available until my meal ended and servers seemed to have been limited. My bestie and I ate and left as soon as we could.
They had a lot of cultural entertainment that night, but we went to bed right after dinner with the hope that the new day would be better.
New Day in Paradise
I woke up to this amazing view the next morning and I knew the day would be great.
We had a delicious breakfast on the adult side. The customer service was absolutely amazing, a breath of fresh air! I was greeted on entry, given hand sanitizer, seated, servers were at my beck and call and I was just in awe. We then went straight for the pool activities after breakfast. We did aerobics (which was a lot of fun), played volleyball, enjoyed the Jacuzzi and then we had a few drinks at the bar. We went down to the beach to have some fun and then rain started to fall. This didn’t stop the fun at all. Music was pumping and we were all in the rain dancing, swimming and snorkeling. After having the time of our lives in the rain, we had lunch at a beautiful poolside restaurant and went back to the room to start preparing for our dinner reservations. Back at the room, we learnt that we had the option for free room service and also access to a Butler. Knowing these options were available was great but I preferred a nice dinner in a relaxed setting.
Dining Experience 2
Since, we were spending a short time, we decided to go to two restaurants that night. Boy was I full! It was crazy. Delicious food here, there and everywhere. One thing that I enjoyed the most was trying out the sushi rolls for the first time, eating squid and octopus and clams. Also, their wine selection was nice and we got a special drink on entry at one of the restaurants. My friend tried to eat the bamboo shoots at the Asian restaurant and let me just say, it is an acquired taste.
Last Evening
On our last evening before we left, we changed rooms again. This time we got an upgrade to a room with a magnificent view of the hotel and a Jacuzzi in the bathroom.
We spent the rest of the day and the next morning chilling by the pool, paddle boarding by the beach, having drinks at the bar and watching a live marching band. My bestie and I experienced that life of luxury. The hotel definitely lived up to its name and I highly recommend that you
visit when you get the chance. Check out the hotel here: Luxury Bahia Principe Runaway Bay
Stay tuned for more adventures……..
876 Adventures 