What a wonderful place! The smiling concierge greets you the moment you walk in, and leads you to a beautiful loveseat in a parlour in the entry hall. Actually, he almost picks you up in his arms and places you on it very gently. You are offered a glass of champagne (which is served with a sliver of sugar cane so you can sip and munch) while he checks you in. The entry way, made of beautiful marble tiling, leads your eye outside to a porch and terrace with beautiful flowers and lovely plantings, then beyond to the blue sea.

Royal Plantation prides itself on its service, as well it should. here is no request that is not happily taken care of right away. You can see what a great relationship management has with all the staff. We chatted with the gardener, who could not be more proud of his plantings, trees, and flowers; he can tell you stories about each and every one of them.

Dining is delightful, be it at La Terraza, the Italian venue, or the lovely French restaurant - Le Papillon. Honeymooners (or anyone else in the mood) may have a candlelight dinner at the end of the pier, or beautifully done room service. While we were there we met several honeymoon couples - one of which had just married right at Royal Plantation! The hotel has a wonderful, energetic, fun, and very professional, wedding planner.

The suites are all beautiful. We were very fortunate to have had one of the honeymoon suites - an enormous room with a four poster bed swathed in Italian linens. One step down towards the French balcony doors are two enormous white chairs with cocktail table and to one side, the door to a wonderful balcony. This suite was absolutely private; built amongst trees you feel you have your own private jungle - with NO bugs.

There is a very large closet off the dressing room area. The dressing room has two marble sinks. The bathroom was fabulous, with a third sink (wonderful for a husband - the wife can keep the other two), an excellent shower stall, and a Jacuzzi tub. The WC is separated with a door. I had a tour where I saw another Honeymoon Suite that was quite different, but also wonderful. The bedroom area of that suite was a bit smaller, but had an enormous terrace. I also saw the fabulous Prime Minister Suite, which included a telescope on its terrace to watch the stars. All the furnishings were pristine, delightful colors, fostering a soothing and comfortable environment. You really have a hard time tearing yourself away, believe me!

I loved the beach and the quiet, warm, beautiful blue water. They have a float, which the honeymooners were wading to, with drinks in their hands, and they hung together. Delightful to watch! While relaxing on very comfortable loungers you get spritzed with cool water, and the bartender comes around with a tray with Mimosas, or anything else you want. He does give you a blue flag to wave if you need a drink, but you don’t need it, because he is always there with a ready smile. The beach attendants are great: always smiling and happy to help you set up your umbrella, move your chairs wherever you prefer - everything is “no problem”. I like that….

Royal Plantation’s Virtuoso amenities are great! We were presented with a large bottle of excellent wine, and a generous platter of cheeses, crackers, and fruit. As our flight to Jamaica was delayed 3 hours it was a welcome amenity when we arrived in our room that night, too exhausted to order room service. The fridge was fully equipped with Absolute Vodka, a variety of top-shelf liquors, small bottles of wine, water and sodas. These were all frequently replenished under the all inclusive plan.

And, last but not least, the other Virtuoso amenity: a $100 gift certificate towards the spa, which I promptly used. The excellent spa has earned 5 well-deserved stars. Scented candles burn, and you are offered a lovely tea to sip while you wait for your wonderful treatment.

You can choose between the EP Plan (meals/beverages a la carte) and the All-Inclusive Plan. I highly recommend the All Inclusive which includes private roundtrip airport transfers - a great value.

Please contact the travel agent below to book you perfect Royal Plantation vacation:

Luisa McGrath
Travel Exchange - A Virtuoso Agency
125 Main St.
Westport, Ct. 06880
203-221-3500

GOGO Recommends ROYAL PLANTATION

Tags: a la carte, all inclusive, caribbean, honeymoon, jamaica, Leading Small Hotels of the World, Luxury, Ocho Rios, Royal Plantation

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 10:09 am and is filed under Hotel Review, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.