John & Jackie
Grand Lido Braco 03/16 – 03/24/2000
Part
1 His story.
Lots
of the usual stuff for trip reports. Got up early for the drive to the
airport. Got to know our knees better on the flight flying coach (Air
Jamaica). Picked the wrong line
at immigration. The ground transportation: which is normally good, sucked.
When we arrived at the resort all things began to function well. It was
Jackie's turn to do the paperwork at the front desk, so I wandered over to the
bar said Hi to Denton, got myself a scotch and wandered back to the front
desk. Check-in went smoothly and lots of hugs and hellos from the staff that
we have come to know well from prior visits. Also covered the usual items by
making reservations for the French restaurant and Muna Hana.
On
the way to our room on the A/N side, got to stop and chat with Chester and get
a refill. There were quite a few guests playing volleyball and the A/N side
appeared to have more guest that in November 99. A guestimate would be about
20 couples using the pool or playing volleyball.
The
repeat guest party is held on Thursday night and has been moved from the
courthouse to the patio by Muna Hana. Lots of good munchies! The resident
manager Mr. Richard Bourke welcomed everybody and announced that the
invitations to repeat guest party were now being given only to guests that
were repeat guests from Grand Lido Braco and not just repeat guests from other
super club properties. Since we had reservations at Muna Hana the party ran
right up to dinner. The day was too long, I ate too much, or I’m just
getting old and we did not make the PJ party. (From her – he really doesn’t
remember a whole lot from the first night since he and Johnny Walker were
bosom buddies from our arrival until he fell into bed that night)
We
did meet a couple that we met through the message board when they got in on
Friday. This was their first trip to Braco and they did and enjoyed
everything. I think Gary will need a rest when he gets home. To Sue, this is
our sixth trip to Braco and I didn’t know there were so many activities at
the resort. The Friday night street party was great except that I somehow got
caught up in the dollar wine dance thing (Got the sympathy vote and was King).
The price was paid the next morning with aching joints and muscles.
We
did the usual stuff every day breakfast, lunch and dinner. The combo Pizza at
the Pasta Place is great. Several days we had lunch at Victoria’s Market
because the string quintet Fantasia was there. Note. On Thursdays on the A/N
side they serve a lunch and had Fantasia playing. “Cool”
The
service throughout the resort was better than ever. The service staff is very
attentive and friendly. A new practice at the French restaurant is to have the
chef come out with the maitre d’ and invite comments on the dinner and
service.
I
do not try and remember what day it is when we are on vacation. I know it’s
time to go when we get the eviction notice. (“Bags out by noon, Bus leaves
at 3 PM”) One day we took a short bike trip with Michael the aerobics
instructor to visit his family and see his new daughter. She is a real cutie.
One
other daily activity was the 5PM cocktail hour. Don’t know how it started
but wouldn’t miss it for the world. Hi Ron and Judy. Is it 5 o’clock yet?
Chester was great and would always bring another round of drinks before he
left for the night. For all that is said about service at the resort, a major
part of any vacation is meeting people and enjoying their company.
The
beach party was nice and the entertainment was good. The PJ party was somewhat
quiet early on and we migrated to the pasta tables for less noise some
munchies and coffee.
I’m
sure that we did do some other things (Oh yes I got a massage on the beach
Grrrreat)I did spend one afternoon taking pictures of windows (don’t ask
Photography is a hobby).
Final
story occurred one night when we turned in around 10:30PM. I sleep like a dead
man but Jackie does not. It seems that there were some workmen chiseling the
concrete by the A/N pool just outside our room at 11PM. This kept Jackie awake
and she was not a happy camper. She did call the front desk and the night
manager came and stopped the work but when he left they started again. At some
point when they started again I did woke up long enough to understand what was
going on. The unhappy camper was going out to resolve the problem. All I could
picture was some workman walking around for the next few days with a chisel
stuck in a very tender orifice. I
did sympathize with my wife and promptly fell back to sleep. This was my part
of the trip report. Jackie may add her comments. I know she will correct my
spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. In summary great vacation, great resort,
wonderful people, we’ll be back in November.
Part
2. Her story.
Really
don’t have a lot to add, just to repeat that the service in La Pasta and
Victoria’s Market is outstanding. A huge improvement since our last trip.
Apparently, the wait staff has received additional training. Servers were
friendlier and our water and juice glasses were never empty. Braco just keeps
improving.
The
weather was great. Only rained at night a couple of times and not nearly as
windy as November. Even did some snorkeling off the beach. It was lots better
than I remembered. Try the area in front of the gym.
They
had casino night a couple of times and the toga party. We wimped out on that
one. I know there were lots of other things going on too. Entertainment staff
was all over the place. Renard (just call him Fabulous), Carl, Kacie, Ashley,
Julian, Tanya, Tamika, and Tyrone. I don’t know how they manage to keep
their energy level up all the time.
Had
a body wrap, facial and massage at the spa. It was heaven! Caroline has magic
fingers!