i need to write my thoughts on the terra nova hotel.
in the meantime, here's a picture of the salad i got my first night there.
(ti boss took it)
the interesting thing about this salad is- see that cucumber in the left side of the bowl? it's actually one long piece of cucumber, all connected, like a giant necklace! i'm not sure how it was cut, but it was paper thin and unbroken.
here's audio i recorded at night in our room at great huts.
here's a link to the same file, saved on my dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8s8wvw5u11...maica.mp3?dl=0
Last edited by mwenvlay; 03-12-2019 at 07:57 PM.
my thoughts on the terra nova:
terra nova was fine. i only have 2 complaints to register- my main complaint is that they put us in a room in a really mediocre part of the hotel. it was on the first floor in a side wing that was just past the bar and some room called the club room, which was used as a staging area for a conference they had going on. the conference was held in an area right next to our wing. we had to suffer through some horrendous daytime karaoke one day (a screechy rendition of "on the wings of love" and some other song). we were only there for 2 nights and were out and about during the day, so i didn't bother asking them if we could move rooms.
(i really was on my "no complaining" p's n q's this trip.)
the room itself was fine. the bed was comfortable, linens substantial, towels were huge and thick. there was an empty mini fridge that we used to stock our beer and water and a huge walk-in closet that we didn't utilize.
our first day we couldn't figure out how to use the tv (channels were screwed up), but ti boss called the front desk and they sent someone over to straighten it out. the same thing happened the second day but we were too tired to call the front desk again.
complaint 2 is that there was NO hot water when i finally got around to taking a shower (the morning of check-out). i mean NO hot water. the water was FREEZING. normally, stuff like that doesn't bother me, but i was super grimy from running around the city and was flying back home that afternoon and i just wanted one nice, hot shower to finish off my trip. and the hotel is supposed to be an upscale business hotel, so there should be no reason for there to be no hot water.
other than that, we all really liked the hotel. the guest clientele was a nice mix of (what appeared to be) foreign business travelers and visiting caribbean diaspora folks. the restaurant, bar and casino were patronized mainly by locals, which is always my favorite. the food at the restaurant was good and ti boss loved the patisserie counter in the lobby. the pool was simple but pretty and ti boss said the gym (in a building next to the pool) was good.
i'd stay there again, but would be more selective about my room location. not sure if we would really need to move up to the next category of room (we had the basic jr. suite), but would definitely try to score a room on a higher floor, with a view and away from the bar and conference center area.
when we first got there, husband grumbled that i purposely picked a hotel in the middle of nowhere (to keep him from going out and exploring the city) but once he figured out what i meant when i said, "there are really no decent hotels in kingston that are located 'in the middle of everything!'" he was cool with my selection. we drove up knutsford boulevard the next day, and i said, "this is the only area in kingston that has tourist hotels that are 'in the middle of' anything, and you wouldn't really want to stay in any of these hotels anymore." i used to stay at the courtleigh years ago, but i heard it's overdue for a renovation. the guy who was driving said i was pretty much correct.
ti boss LOVED the terra nova, because it had excellent wifi, 24 hour pool access and that awesome patisserie.
we drove by the spanish court while we were there and i dunno- it just doesn't do it for me. it's in an awkward location and maybe the grounds are pretty in the back part of the hotel, but the front entrance reminds me of a springhill suites in suburban maryland. and the photos of the rooms that i saw online gave me bad late 80s flashbacks.
here's a list of things we brought with us that were useful or that we used a lot:
cooler bag (i always bring one whenever i travel)
inflatable beach ball
binoculars (we totally used them!!!)
incense (i brought hem's black magic this time)
citronella candles in travel tins (not really necessary, but they smell great and were nice to have at strawberry hill)
dry roasted peanuts (we ate 'em)
assorted games (dominos, yahtzee, uno, old maid and bananagrams)
hydrocortisone creme (i always bring this plus bacitracin. ti boss got a small rash from a prickly plant, so they came in handy this trip)
tums (i always need tums)
flat metal bottle cap opener (so i can stick it in my carry-on without worrying about it getting confiscated)
pocket knife (packed in a checked bag)
audiobooks (for me and for ti boss, downloaded to our ipods)
a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle
a tablecloth (we used it as a table cloth at strawberry hill and something to lie out on at the beach in boston bay)
a bottle of champagne
a bottle of hennessey
needle to inflate/deflate soccer ball
flashlights
water shoes (the guys used theirs when we went to nanny falls, but i just stuck with my teva sandals)
lysol disinfectant wipes (got in the habit of carrying them around after the earthquake. they're really good for when you're driving around a lot and find yourself eating sticky stuff like fruit and patties)
things we brought and didn't use:
an inflatable pool raft and an inflatable inner tube (brand new, bought specially for the trip. they never even made it out of the backpack)
a soccer ball (ti boss got pool gravity at strawberry hill, where there was a perfect lawn available to kick the ball around)
antibiotics (i always carry them with me)
several paperbacks i thought i might want to re-read
a book of mazes
an umbrella
make-up (lol, who was i kidding???)
Last edited by mwenvlay; 03-14-2019 at 10:41 AM.
hey!!!Originally Posted by Odinson
how did your friends like jamaica/boston bay/great huts?????
come back and tell me, please!
this probably won't be of interest to most folks, but there may be a few who are curious about this...
this was my husband's 4th trip to jamaica. on our honeymoon we spent 4 days at strawberry hill and 10 days at xtabi. the other 3 trips were in negril with ti boss. husband wasn't crazy about negril, because the jamaicans there were kinda rude about him being haitian. he kept getting asked if he was a drug dealer and other dumb stuff. this didn't happen in irish town at strawberry hill, where he felt way more comfortable and like he was in a familiar environment.
the other night, after we'd been back about a week, i asked him if people in port antonio asked him if he was a drug dealer or other dumb stuff like that. he told me, "no. people there were much more..." he hesitated, trying to think of the correct adjective. "... civilized," we both said at the exact same time.
and he said he liked kingston, because he enjoyed talking with returning jamaicans at the hotel (which is always one of my favorite parts of my visits).
"you know, we had a really good trip."
Last edited by mwenvlay; 11-13-2019 at 04:06 PM.
I am so loving your report and photos!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Thank you for taking the time to post...just LOVELY! OKAY back to reading!
awwwwww, i'm so glad you like it! i know you're an old hand expert when it comes to porty.
i'm so happy i finally had a trip that i will remember and SO pleased that husband and son enjoyed themselves.
SOOOOOO happy to hear ALL went well!!!!!!!! This report and photos are medicine to my soul!
I love how you roll....love your vibe!
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