Tropical Thanksgiving Get-A-Way – Jamaica

2021

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Since my children were going to be on a Caribbean cruise for the week of Thanksgiving, my Husband and I decided to take a trip. We originally were going to go to fly to New Orleans, but less than a month from take off, we switched to an all inclusive resort in Jamaica. After looking at the rates we were able to do this within our original budget. Leading up to the trip, I was so excited and scared. This is will be our first time leaving the United States, first International trip! And we are going during a pandemic, so not as many helpful tips on-line and a lot of unknown.

Preparing for the Trip

Thankfully, we already had a passports. Step 1 done. A recent negative COVID test is required. No more than a week before travel we had to fill out travel authorization forms for Jamaica. We are packed Monday night. Plane leaves early Tuesday morning, so we need to go to bed early on Monday, going to be a long day. Make sure you have hard copies of all of your paperwork with you and easy to access at the airport.

The Resorts

There are two Hyatt resorts that are together in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Hotel Zilara and Hotel Ziva. Hotel Ziva is a family resort and Hotel Zilara is adults only. The adults can move between resorts, but not the children. There were 8 sit down restaurants that were open at the time of our visit. Each restaurant specializes in different food; International, Jamaican, Seafood, French, Asian, Italian, British Pub, and Buffet. The buffet food theme changed daily. Some of them are open only for dinner. There are also food grills open around the pools for Jerk Chicken and Jerk Pork. So many choices. All of them require reservations for dinner. I want to say that the service and the staff at the resort were impeccable. Everyone was friendly, welcoming, just great.

Time to Fly

Our plane leaves at 6:05 AM, so we need to leave the house by 3:30 AM. I am so excited that I wake up at 2:30 AM. We get to the airport and go up to the counter for our boarding passes. There were more people arriving at that time in the morning (4 AM) then when we flew earlier this year. We need two boarding passes each because we have a layover in Orlando. They have to check all our documents; passports, COVID tests results, and travel authorization. Everything in order, time for TSA. If you fly more than once a year, get the TSA pre-check. The lines are shorter and you don’t have to take your shoes off. If you travel with electronics (tablets/laptops) it is worth it. We are so early, there are no food or convenience stores open in the terminals, but people are lining up for them as soon as they open. We had packed protein bars, so we did not starve and the convenience store opened up a little before boarding so we were able to get drinks.

I feel a little silly, but bathrooms are important part of traveling, especially for women. I wanted to point out that Hobby Airport has been updating and renovating. The bathrooms that have been done are great. They have electronic signs at the entrance that tell you if there are empty stalls. Each sink has its own hand dryer. I had to take some pictures. Never seen a sink set up like this. The bathrooms are clean and modern.

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Montego Bay, Jamaica

After our layover in Orlando, we are finally approaching Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay, Jamaica. I got my first look at Jamaica and the bay on the approach. So excited, I just kept taking pictures. The airport is right on the beach. Unfortunately, we did not get a good look at the airport from disembarking, down the ramp, into customs. the airport has something called Club Mobay, that picks you up as you deplane and helps you get through customs faster, with shorter lines. This is an extra cost option that has limited spots. We did not do this, but I can see where it might be worth it if you come during one of the busier tourist times. The lines moved quickly though.

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Checking in – Hotel Zilara

Hyatt has a lounge at the Montego Bay airport. You can check into the hotel, fill out your paperwork, and wait for the bus to the hotel. The transportation is an additional cost. Since this was our first international trip, we were not adventurous enough to get our own car for exploring. Maybe next time. However, they do drive on the wrong side of the road. When we actually get to the hotel we are greeted with rum punch but our room is not quite ready, so we make dining reservations and wonder around for a little bit until our room is ready.

The Room

That fist thing we notice is the view. Then the bathroom. There are labeled light switches (tub wall, mirror lights, night light, entry). And then we found the tablet. Each room has a tablet that you can review the hotel activities and restaurant menus. You can also order room service from it. We spent some time unpacking and changed from our travel clothes to resort clothes. A rug would have given the room a more homey feel, but that is really the only change I would have made. The plugs are US and there are USB ports for your electronics.

While walking around, we found that some of the first floor rooms, the patio exited directly into the pool. Those rooms had their own loungers on a shallow shelf in the pool and then a deeper portion of the pool. For some of these rooms, these room pools were connected to the main pool. My first thought when I saw this was how much my boys would love this. There were a few of these rooms on the Ziva side, but not many.

Zen Spa

We looked at the different excursions that were offered at the hotel and there were quite a few. Horseback riding, zip lines, ATVs, etc. The tours that my Husband was interested in were not being offered at the time without some type of adventurous side trip as well, so he was not interested. No problem, I used that money at the Spa. Everyday they had a spa special listed outside, so I picked the massage. Unfortunately, due to COVID, the relaxation room was not been re-opened. There were four rooms that faced to beach. Once I was on the table, I had them open the doors to the water. It was so incredibly peaceful to listen to the waves while getting my massage.

A couple days later I had a manicure and pedicure. This is done in the spa/salon located in the main Ziva building. Peaceful. The color choices were not as numerous as I would get at the nail salons at home, but they had the red I wanted.

You will pre-pay for the services, and there is an automatic service fee and tax on top of the prices listed. I added additional tip, and it was worth it. I will note that the massage special I chose, the price included tax and service fee, do definitely a great deal.

Dining

Hotel Ziva and Zilara are all inclusive; food, cocktails, beer (Red stripe) , yoga, on-site activities, etc. This trip was all about the sea and the food. Now all the portions were smaller than what Americans are used to and that was a good thing. This allowed us to try more of the dishes. We are 3-4 course meals when ever we sat down. The plates are art. And since this is all inclusive, if you are still hungry order another dish. Enjoy the experience and trying all the different dishes. Unfortunately we were not there long enough to eat at all the eateries. Everything is included except for wine. There are some off the menu items (lobster) that are additional cost as well. Also for additional cost they would set up a private beach side candle light dinner.

Now when I go for drinks or cocktails, I like to see what interesting cocktails the bar has that are their signature drinks. They do not do that here. They will happily make you any cocktail they have ingredients for, but you need to know what you want. That being said, I loved the rum punch and daiquiris the best.

Urban Heat (International) (Breakfast)

Most mornings I grabbed something from Aromaz, but one morning we did have breakfast at Urban Heat. I had a steak and eggs smothered in onions. The eggs were a little under salted for my taste, but the rest was good. Same for the omelet. A scotch bonnet hot sauce is available on request.

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Urban Heat (International) (Dinner)

We started with the Octopus and Pork Bell with Irish potatoes and a hoisin glaze and the Mussel and Chirizo Stew. The hoisin glaze was sweet, and the pork belly was fork tender. The whole dish worked. Next was the Roasted Corn Bisque and an Apple & Blue Cheese Salad. The crunchy bits of bacon added just the right amount of salt. Our entrees were the Shrimp and Grits and the Duck. The tail on the shrimp made it a little messy to eat, but still amazing. The duck was served with an orange-miso glaze, green beans and beets on the side. I do not like beets, if you like beets then this is the side for you. Dessert was the Chocolate Taboo 2.0 and the Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Guava puree and a thyme cream. The texture of the cheesecake was a little grainy but it looked so cool. The chocolate mouse with the coconut croquette, coffee and smoked vanilla was so rich and decadent, so my Husband won the dessert round.

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Jamaican Rootz (Jamaican)

We ate at Jamaican Rootz for lunch. This outdoor dining setting is on the beach with amazing views. We started by splitting the Boneless Curried Goat Empanada with red stripe cream and scotch bonnet and Backyard Salad. The heat was in the empanada, but the red stripe cream cooled it down perfectly. There was nothing spectacular or bad about the salad; it was just a salad. I had the Jamaican Fried Chicken with Sorrel BBQ Sauce and Roasted Pumpkin Potato Mash. The fried chicken was juicy and crunchy. My Husband had Fish and Shrimp Rundung simmered with okra and served with steamed rice. Jamaican food is known for spicy jerk chicken, but this showed that Jamaican food is so much more and has been influenced by multiple cultures. Dessert was the Vanilla Rum Cake and the Feeva Grass Panacatta. The rum cake was filled with coconut whipped cream, was moist and my favorite of the two. It looked like a Twinkie, didn’t taste like it though. The panacatta was lemon grass and you could tell it was lemon grass and not lemon. Different, perfectly set. I would order it again.

Petit Pariz

After we are seated, we are served a spinach quiche the Chef was trying out. The appetizers we ordered with the Steak Tartare and Scallops Gratin. The quail egg on the tartare was more cooked than I expected. The cornichon was diced up and set on the tartare along with American caviar. This classic was good, but I would have preferred the cornichon be separate, since I am not fond of must pickles. My Husband ordered the scallops gratin with mushrooms, swiss cheese and tarragon. This was creamy and umami, and my Husband almost did not give me any to try. I had the French Onion Soup and my Husband had the Warm Goat cheese Salad. The French Onion Soup was the only dish I was disappointed with on this trip; the broth was not as rich as I am used to. The goat cheese salad has a chocolate vinaigrette. You could taste the chocolate, but it wasn’t sweet. With that dressing, the goat cheese really wasn’t needed. The lamb chops I ordered was the largest dish as I received three lamb chops. The mint was not overpowering. I almost couldn’t eat it all, and that would have been a shame. My Husband ordered the Beef Tournedos with truffle butter and asparagus. He was not disappointed. For dessert I ordered the Strawberries and Champagne Mousse; it tasted like strawberries and cream ice cream. Delicate and sweet.

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Calypso (Seafood)

Being in the Caribbean, you have to eat seafood. This restaurant is open air and faces the beach, but the bushes obscured the view for us. We could still hear it though. I had the Bay Scallops Ceviche with coconut sorbet. It was citrus and cool with the crunchy dasheen chips. Unexpected. My Husband had the Seafood Chowder, full of shrimp, mussels, clams, scallops, and vegetables. The thick creamy sauce brought it together. I ate the Snapper Fillet with the papaya salsa. I enjoyed the snapper even though it might have been over cooked. The papaya salsa I ate last, because I forgot what it was. And that was a shame because the salsa was delicious. My Husband had the Seared Tuna Steak and he loved it. The dish was almost too large. For dessert, I had the Banana Sunlight and my Husband had the Milk Chocolate and Raspberry Gateau. The Banana Sunlight was a spiced rum banana bread with an orange pineapple ice cream. I liked the banana bread, loved the orange pineapple ice cream, did not like them together.

Fusion (Modern Asian)

Fusion has three different layouts; A La Carte, Hot Wok, Yakatori. We dined at the A La Carte. You have to make that decision when you make the reservations. I chose the A La Carte because it had the largest menu and had the Assorted Sushi Rolls and the Marinated Mushrooms. I wish more sushi places had partial rolls like this. The flavor on the mushrooms was great, but they are a cold dish, and I would have enjoyed it more as a hot dish. My husband had the Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls and Sriacha-Honey Glazed Chicken Lollypops. He enjoyed the rolls, and the chicken was very good, Spicy, but sweet. Too spicy for me, but I still would have eaten more. I ordered the Green Curry Shrimp. You cannot tell by the picture below, but there were a lot of shrimp on the plate. They also had the tails on, which made eating them more difficult. Spice level was just at my threshold. My Husband had the Pad Thai with Chicken. No complaints there. We both ordered the Chocolate and Sesame dessert. Smooth, rich, delicious and very chilled. This was my favorite dessert of the trip.

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Barefoot Jerkz (Jerk Hut)

The most famous of Jamaican food is Jerk. I am a wuss when it comes to spicy food, so I had the jerk chicken with the sweet sauce. The rice and beans and the corn bread fritter (?) served with it were very good. I got a plat of the corn bred fritter/dumping. The sweet sauce reminded me of the sweet and sour sauce found in American Asian restaurants and tempered the spice of the jerk chicken. The spicy sauce on the jerk pork, put the spice level higher than my Husbands threshold. Warning. They grill this meat bone and all, and they chop it with a large knife and do not remove bones, so be careful when eating or serving children. A nice fresh fruit punch was served.

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Aromaz

Aromaz was the coffee/snack bar in Zilara. Every morning they had fresh baked breakfast pastries and other breakfast items. In the afternoon they has sandwiches and desserts. All day they had two lemonade varieties that changed daily; mango, papaya, lemon grass, etc. Most mornings I grabbed a pastry and lemonade on my way to morning yoga.

Bitez

Coffee and sweet treats are available here at this Ziva location. We picked up cupcakes for later here. Most days we ate dessert with our meals so we did not try as many treats here as I would like. I know my kids would have been here every day if they had been with us on this trip.

Yoga

There is morning yoga every morning at the gazebo (good weather). Peaceful. Good for beginners as well as more experienced participants.

Pools

There were multiple pools for both Ziva and Zilara. Both pool areas had swim up bars with built in bar stools in the pool. Neither one had any slides, but they brought in inflatables on multiple days. They even brought inflatable slides one day to the adult pool. That was entertaining to watch.

Beach

I saved the best for last. The first day on the beach, it was a little rocky, but after that I didn’t notice the rocks.

Heading Home

Unfortunately, we have to go home. We are taking the the bus transportation back to the airport. The airport is packed. We use the machines to get our boarding pass (direct flight home) and then have to get in line for security. The Club Mobay has a significantly shorter line. Maybe next time we will get it for the return. The US pre-check means nothing here. The lines is moving nicely though. Unlike in the US that have signs posted frequently in the TSA line, about what you have to do (remove shoes, electronics, belts) they did not have that information posted.

When flying into the US, try to get a direct flight to your location. If you have a connecting flight, you have to go through customs, get your bags, recheck your bags, and go through TSA. Not something I want to do after a long day of travel. Easy lines going through customs at Hobby Airport. Thankfully this was our stop, and we are on our way home.

We really enjoyed the trip and would love to return, but we also want to try some of the other Hotel Ziva and Zilara locations. Maybe Cabo is next, but not for a while…