GLB Trip Report
Bob & Kathy, Textile Side
November 9-16, 2003
We’ve been reading everything we could on Braco since the spring, when we started seriously thinking about booking a trip. As with many others, we were a little nervous, having seen negative reports on other sites, but let me tell you, I agree with whoever said they must be either Sandals employees posting fictitiously, or people who can just plain find fault in EVEYTHING. In a nutshell, Braco was FABULOUS!!!
Getting there
I read it; I hoped it wouldn’t happen to us. Now I confirm it, if you can STAY AWAY FROM PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT AND US AIR. Everyone who flew Air Jamaica was happy, and we were late, luggage lost, flights cancelled, but Braco was so perfect, we didn’t care (except the lost baggage meant canceling our pre-trip reservations to Piacere.C’est la vie!
Red caps at airport will ask for a tip, even though they do far less than your Super Clubs Driver. It’s funny, but the bus (air conditioned) was a blast! The red-stripe stop was fun, and the driver was great. No apparent A-holes (yet) on the bus, so we actually enjoyed the bumpy ride.
Check in was easy, 10 minutes, maybe…tops. Rum punch was offered immediately, and we went right to our room, with luggage. No problem, Mon!
Block 6, 2nd floor. Last building before the clubhouse (Bar w/ food and hot tub). OK, the tile was a little stained in the bathroom, and it took 5 calls to get the toilet plunged (evening calls to the desk are a joke, Only the daytime people will actually take care of problems, such as no flushy-flushy, and the phone not working for outside calls) But WE DIDN"T CARE! Everything else was so absolutely perfect that it simply did not matter, and anyway, it was taken care of the next morning with ten thousand apologies. The room, including the bath, was clean and well cared for. My brother owns a home at the beach, I know what the salt air does to paint,cars,metal,air conditioning, EVERYTHING, and trust me, Braco is up on it. They are constantly painting,pruning,cleaning. There are over 400 staff at the resort, you make the call.
The beach-premium, in our opinion. Raked regularly, I think we found 2 butts in 7 days. I noticed that the water sports guys, who were unable to go out to sea due to "yellow flag" and "red flag"conditions (windy-no one allowed out past jetty) were cleaning the beach constantly, all day. The web chairs were in need of replacement for the most part, so we used the "strap chairs" which were great-especially w/ a cushion. We had our nice little spot under a little palm-grove, maybe 25 yards from the bar. What could be better? I’ll tell you what! Staffers who keep coming over to get drink and lunch/food orders. I know we never waited more than 20 minutes for either, including superb lamb chops with tasty fries….mmmmmmmmmmm! Rum Cream and Tia Maria, Rum Punch, bottled water (LOTS of bottled water!) Soda, beer, anything your heart desires. We were happy to have followed the tip on insulated cups, at least for beach and pool time. We had 24 oz insulated/covered coffee mugs, and life was good. The bartenders don’t care, and your lazy vacationing butt doesn’t have to even consider going for a refill.
The staff- we couldn’t believe it. Genuinely happy, nice people. I’ll admit, there were a few real drunken shit-head Americans at the pool bar our first visit there who treated the bartenders in a way that I was not comfortable with. But the ladies behind the bar had a great sense of humor, and dealt with the drunks beautifully. These bartenders were by far the best at the resort. They remembered everyone’s drinks, and HAD THEM THERE as soon as you finished the last one.Deserene and Novrick are 2 who come to mind now, but everyone was really great.
The Food- we were disappointed that we weren’t able to go to the French Restaurant when we arrived (due to lost luggage) and we couldn’t get in til our last night. As it turned out, it was our least favorite place to eat-possibly because we got the last seating (8-8:30ish). The disco downstairs took away any atmosphere they were attempting to have, as did the South American film crew at the next table, whose very bright light kept shining in everyone’s eyes (he apologized eventually). The food was fine, but I guess when we are in Jamaican vacation mode, we don’t need the fancy dress-up stuff. Every time we went to Victoria Market, the food and service were great. Great Omelet station, ham and bacon were awesome, and I loved the salt fish and Akee! Don’t be afraid to try the local stuff, it was all pretty tasty. The Japanese restaurant was nice-had the place about to ourselves, and the 2 chefs were so funny! Sat with a few folks we saw in those Lido Lizards pics (Hello Mobile, AL!!) La Pasta was OK too…. I don’t eat Carbs (this is possible at GLB…. although I admit the beverages did me in!) so not my personal favorite. The personal fav is either Nanny’s (YUM! Even the cats like it!) or ANYTHING on the beach. Lamb-chops….ooooh, yes. Hot wings, yum. The clubhouse actually had the best diet Pepsi on the planet-I don’t know why, but it was! We decided that we shall live on beach food on our next visit.Nuff said.
Other stuff- What I learned for our inevitable return trip- Bring more cash-smaller American bills. If the management is reading this, I shouldn’t mention tipping, capice? Traveler’s checks…don’t bother. They exchange them for Jamaican dollars at the resort rate, and that’s low. The whole island loves the American dollar, and it’s easier to strike a deal with it. Day trips- there are cabbies that are resort endorsed- we took a ride to the Falls with Robinson. He was great, but the car was a little cramped for 4. He took us to Ocho Rios after, and we picked up coffee (ten ½ lb bags for $9 each, marked at $12.99- make an offer!) rum cream, etc. People will bargain with you, and you can save a lot of $. We were very thankful to be in a private cab on our way home, when we went thru a village called Salem- we happened upon some civil unrest-debris was on the street, and someone was starting a fire with some blue kerosene-like stuff…Robinson became an off-road man, and got us around that right as things were heating up. I doubt a bus could have gotten thru the traffic, and thru the smaller spaces. Thanks, Robinson, you were great! Oh, and a word on Dunns River Falls- We really loved the falls, and got some great pictures-the guide was fabulous, and deserved a big tip. We will never go back, however, because the only way out (following the exit signs) is thru a seemingly endless maze of vendors who grab you, and will aggressively separate you from your group. It was extremely uncomfortable, and we felt like we needed to run away eventually, because it just never ended. The crafters at the resort are great, they alternate daily, and they deserve your business.
Beach Party seemed nice, but we were late (Japanese reservations) Entertainment was good- that limbo guy was amazing, and we love those steel drums! Too bad it rained, and the staff was running around trying to get it all packed up.
Street Party was the best food of all-Lobster,Lobster, Lobster! The ice sculptures, the un-ending buffets with every food imaginable, a nice bar, and then you work it all off with Tamika dancing into the night- that was a great evening.
We also were there for Karaoke, the crab races, the fashion show (fell asleep before Toga party) casino night, the palm reader, bingo, numerous trivia contests- all in all, they kept you as busy as you wanted to be, without ever feeling rushed. And yes, the Pedicures and manicures are still free, and that was a nice bonus. The splurge that was worth it was the Spa package I got- I think it was around $170, and it included a cucumber facial, a tropical body scrub, Swedish massage, and reflexology (2 hours total) Mine was indoors, but our husbands had their massages on the beach, and still talk about it. The best money we ever spent, it felt Sooooooooogood!
So, after this lengthy trip report, I will close by saying that we will be back. It exceeded our expectations in every way. For the first time in my life, I really, truly felt relaxed on vacation. Time magically slowed…after 7 nights, it didn’t feel like we just got there, and we were ready to go home…. refreshed, renewed, and with the knowledge that we would somehow, get back to this place.