Trip Report 2/3/07-2/10/07 - part 2
Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 3:47 pm
The villa: as mentioned earlier, I thought Great Expectations looked smaller than on the website, but, after a day or two, I guess it turned out to be to scale. Anyway, we quite liked the villa. Lots of room for the kids, many swinging chairs which the kids loved immensely, a few peaceful hammocks, a great hot tub, full-size tennis court w/tennis balls and racquets (used more frequently by the dads and kids than I would have thought...I just watched from above!)
The great room was not air-conditioned, slightly stuffy upon returning from the beach all day, but once we opened up, the cross breezes worked to cool it down. The views were beautiful, Chocolate Hole on one side and Hart Bay on the other. The bedroom villas had a/c, but no thermostats (another issue). Which meant, you either had the a/c on full blast (way too cold for me) or not at all. The a/c in our kids' bedroom didn't work at all when we got there, but after a call to the mgmt company, it was fixed by Monday, not that it was used much anyway.
An absolutely fabulous amenity was the: outdoor showers! OMG, they were the best! I told my husband we should buy the place just because of these wonderful showers. I've never experienced that before. That was a highlight of each day, couldn't wait to take a shower! What a great idea.
We had scheduled Katilady to cook an in-villa dinner the first night. That was an indulgence way worth the money. Our chef showed up, asked us what time we want the appetizers served, opened up some wine, and told us to relax. We had mahi-mahi fritters, the kids had veggies and ranch dressing. Dinner for the kids was chicken fingers and salad w/ranch dressing. Just before he served their dinner, all 5 of the girls had their heads on their arms laying on the dinner table. They were sooo pooped. We were very glad we didn't have to drag them out to dinner that night
He cleaned up after the kids, and before we knew it, our table was set, fresh flowers in a vase, and we were told to sit down. He made a wonderful grilled beef tenderloin w/mushroom merlot sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, and a salad with pomegranate dressing. Simply scrumptious. Dessert was a chocolate raspberry mouse torte. Out of this world. The chef cleaned up and, after giving us some helpful tips on beaches and restaurants, was off into the night. We collapsed into bed, exhaused from such a long day.
The next morning, after a trip to Starfish for groceries, packing lunch and drinks in the cooler, we decided on Cinnamon for our first beach. It did not disappoint. We wanted to stop at the Trunk Bay overlook to get a glimpse of that famous beach, but there were so many darned taxis in the way, we could barely get a look, let alone a parking space! We did manage to stop on the way back, however, and it was just like in all the pictures in the beach-themed calendars we saw over the years. The roads were quite unbelievable. The slope of some of those hills and switchbacks were indescribable. Saw some Hyundai sedans go by and couldn't even imagine how they navigate those hills w/o 4WD.
Cinnamon was beautiful. The water was calm, clear, and so aqua-blue. We truly had found paradise. The girls tried out their snorkels for the first time, were spotting conch shells, sand dollars, and other shells and stones. Tons of little fish swimming around our feet. They had a blast. We just sat there and drank our rum punch and Caribe. Wow, what a day.
I have to mention that the very first people we met on the beach on St. John were from a town about 20 minutes from our hometown! This guy was walking down the beach wearing a Penn State t-shirt, and my husband, who is a Penn State grad (I genuflect when I say "Penn State"...oh brother) has to say hello. We get to talking and find that they are from the same area as we are. They were on a cruise and came to St. John for the day. Nice folks. Anyway...
Back to the villa to those heavenly outdoor showers. We were on our way to Pastory Gardens for dinner and the Super Bowl. The place was packed, loud, and rocking. The girls played 9 holes of mini golf, I walked around with them sipping on my very first Painkiller....It didn't last very long and I was soon ready for another! Simply loved those painkillers. (No martinis yet, but soon come.)
The food was good, drinks were great, our waitress was friendly and attentive. They had a super bowl buffet of ribs and BBQ chicken which they let the girls eat from at half price ($10/child), not bad. Our meals were reasonably priced. Never once really had sticker shock regarding meals or drinks on the island. We've found that after numerous trips to Atlantis, nothing has been more expensive than being there. The game was on a large screen over the bar, some of the commercials were in Spanish. That was interesting! We left around half-time, I think, those painkillers were working their magic, and headed back to the villa for the night.
Tomorrow: looking for Maho, finding Francis.
The great room was not air-conditioned, slightly stuffy upon returning from the beach all day, but once we opened up, the cross breezes worked to cool it down. The views were beautiful, Chocolate Hole on one side and Hart Bay on the other. The bedroom villas had a/c, but no thermostats (another issue). Which meant, you either had the a/c on full blast (way too cold for me) or not at all. The a/c in our kids' bedroom didn't work at all when we got there, but after a call to the mgmt company, it was fixed by Monday, not that it was used much anyway.
An absolutely fabulous amenity was the: outdoor showers! OMG, they were the best! I told my husband we should buy the place just because of these wonderful showers. I've never experienced that before. That was a highlight of each day, couldn't wait to take a shower! What a great idea.
We had scheduled Katilady to cook an in-villa dinner the first night. That was an indulgence way worth the money. Our chef showed up, asked us what time we want the appetizers served, opened up some wine, and told us to relax. We had mahi-mahi fritters, the kids had veggies and ranch dressing. Dinner for the kids was chicken fingers and salad w/ranch dressing. Just before he served their dinner, all 5 of the girls had their heads on their arms laying on the dinner table. They were sooo pooped. We were very glad we didn't have to drag them out to dinner that night
He cleaned up after the kids, and before we knew it, our table was set, fresh flowers in a vase, and we were told to sit down. He made a wonderful grilled beef tenderloin w/mushroom merlot sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, and a salad with pomegranate dressing. Simply scrumptious. Dessert was a chocolate raspberry mouse torte. Out of this world. The chef cleaned up and, after giving us some helpful tips on beaches and restaurants, was off into the night. We collapsed into bed, exhaused from such a long day.
The next morning, after a trip to Starfish for groceries, packing lunch and drinks in the cooler, we decided on Cinnamon for our first beach. It did not disappoint. We wanted to stop at the Trunk Bay overlook to get a glimpse of that famous beach, but there were so many darned taxis in the way, we could barely get a look, let alone a parking space! We did manage to stop on the way back, however, and it was just like in all the pictures in the beach-themed calendars we saw over the years. The roads were quite unbelievable. The slope of some of those hills and switchbacks were indescribable. Saw some Hyundai sedans go by and couldn't even imagine how they navigate those hills w/o 4WD.
Cinnamon was beautiful. The water was calm, clear, and so aqua-blue. We truly had found paradise. The girls tried out their snorkels for the first time, were spotting conch shells, sand dollars, and other shells and stones. Tons of little fish swimming around our feet. They had a blast. We just sat there and drank our rum punch and Caribe. Wow, what a day.
I have to mention that the very first people we met on the beach on St. John were from a town about 20 minutes from our hometown! This guy was walking down the beach wearing a Penn State t-shirt, and my husband, who is a Penn State grad (I genuflect when I say "Penn State"...oh brother) has to say hello. We get to talking and find that they are from the same area as we are. They were on a cruise and came to St. John for the day. Nice folks. Anyway...
Back to the villa to those heavenly outdoor showers. We were on our way to Pastory Gardens for dinner and the Super Bowl. The place was packed, loud, and rocking. The girls played 9 holes of mini golf, I walked around with them sipping on my very first Painkiller....It didn't last very long and I was soon ready for another! Simply loved those painkillers. (No martinis yet, but soon come.)
The food was good, drinks were great, our waitress was friendly and attentive. They had a super bowl buffet of ribs and BBQ chicken which they let the girls eat from at half price ($10/child), not bad. Our meals were reasonably priced. Never once really had sticker shock regarding meals or drinks on the island. We've found that after numerous trips to Atlantis, nothing has been more expensive than being there. The game was on a large screen over the bar, some of the commercials were in Spanish. That was interesting! We left around half-time, I think, those painkillers were working their magic, and headed back to the villa for the night.
Tomorrow: looking for Maho, finding Francis.
