Breezes Runaway Bay: Lori - December, 2011
Trip Report. Breezes, Runaway Bay. December 16-23, 2011.
We are regular visitors to the other end of the island (Hedonism II), but wanted a place to take our kids for a Christmas getaway this year. Our kids are older (15, 17, 18, and 20) so we had a family meeting about what we were all looking for before we booked. Beaches, pools, good food, watersports, and plenty of lazy sun time, and (and this was important to everyone)…no little kids. Breezes Runaway fit the bill for all those things.
At our time of booking, Breezes was advertised as suitable for ages 14 and up. However, effective September 1 of 2011, they upped their minimum age to 18. There was no problem with our reservation and Denny was nice enough to call a couple days before we left to confirm this. We were told the under 18’s in our group would have to wear wristbands, but nobody asked at check-in, nobody questioned them at all. All of them ordered drinks throughout the week and forgot to add ‘virgin’ to the front end and were served without question. Our kids aren’t interested in drinking and we were with them all the time, so it wasn’t a problem for us. But be aware that if you take your 18-year old there, they wouldn’t have a problem getting a cocktail just about anywhere on resort.
OK onward…checking in at the SuperClubs hospitality lounge took longer than a typical Hedo trip. They actually book you into the computer, typing every name, passport number, birthdate, etc. There were signatures required of everyone. We had three rooms and six people, so the whole process probably took 30 minutes. Then another 10-15 for the bus and we were finally off. The road east of Mo Bay is SO much nicer than the road west. The distance is about the same, but it being a 4-lane highway meant the trip seemed much shorter. With one stop to drop people off at Breezes Trelawney, we were at Breezes Runaway Bay in about an hour and twenty minutes.
First impressions of the resort were excellent. Spacious, open-air check in area. Andre at the desk checked us in while the family poked around the area. It seemed like it took awhile but Andre was working hard to find three rooms with the right number of beds in the rooms…all near each other. His efforts were appreciated and he was able to get us three rooms in a row, gardenview premium, a king bed for the Hubs and I and two doubles for each of the kids’ rooms with their rooms having a connecting door. That worked out great for everyone. Our rooms were 3119, 3121, and 3123 and had a gorgeous garden view. It was the outside edge of the resort, but there was a fairly deep expanse of grass and a tall row of native trees separating the resort from the outer edge of the resort so whatever activity and noise we dealt with was minimal. There were several hammocks back in the trees, and a couple of tables. It was beautifully lit at night. Having had questionable ‘garden view’ rooms at other resorts, everyone in our party was very happy with the setup at Breezes.
The rooms were very nice. I’m told they recently remodeled this 27-year old property. Don’t know what it looked like before, but it’s very nice now. Tile floors, a dresser, a love seat, small flat screen tv on the wall, coffee maker, ice bucket, alarm clock/CD player and no shortage of mirrors (but none on the ceiling he he he). The patio doors to the outside led us to the lush garden area and a small table and two plastic deck chairs and each patio. We were ground floor in this building, the second floor had the same space in a balcony. The bathrooms were spacious and set up with the shower area around the corner from the toilet and sink. It made getting ready very easy for everyone. A big closet gave us room for both luggage and hanging clothes plus the standard issue hotel room safe for valuables. Amenities in all rooms included a basket of shampoo, lotion, and sunburn gel, an iron and ironing board, and a functioning blow dryer. The housekeeping staff was fantastic, cleaning the rooms from wall to wall every day. There were plenty of towels, bath mats, wash cloths, and pillows on the bed and the rooms were cleaned promptly every day before we ventured back from the sun around 4-5pm. I never actually saw housekeeping until the last day we were there. The only problem I had with the room was that the mattress in our room slept like it was 50 years old. It was the most uncomfortable bed I’ve slept on in awhile. Usually I get used to a hotel bed after a couple of nights, but this one gave me fits all week. Nothing a healthy dose of rum couldn’t minimize. J
The food was excellent all week. We ate the gala buffet on Friday night after we checked in. It was set up around the main pool with serving stations and tables everywhere. Plenty of sushi, a chef serving up pasta to order, a carving station with roast turkey, roast beef, and suckling pig (known in our group as ‘food with a face’), no shortage of very fresh fruits and salads. It was all delicious. The regular dining room fare was always fresh and plentiful. At breakfast, there are some fun personalities dishing up omelets, eggs, and fresh fruit smoothies. Be sure to smile and play along with these wonderful, big-hearted people. We visited both the Munasan restaurant and Martino’s twice during our stay and thoroughly enjoyed both. The Munasan staff is very fun and emphasized the ‘show’ part of the dinner. And the fresh cooked food was tasty. Martino’s has a strict dress code and we watched them turn anyone away wearing shorts at dinner. The people would come back dressed appropriately and then would be seated. The menu was standard for Martino’s and included anti pasta bar, a couple of soups, a few pasta dishes, and then several entrees. One chicken, one beef, one fish, one lamb, and one pork. I believe our family sampled everything on the menu between the two times we dined there and every dish was excellent. The only restaurant we weren’t able to try was the Starlight Grill, which is set up outside Martinos under the stars, weather permitting. The couple of days we had rain were our only available days to eat there and so it wasn’t open. It appeared to be a stir-fry where you select what you want from a bar of raw ingredients and hand it off to a cook where they fry it up right there on the patio. It was busy every night we walked by it and smelled wonderful. The last dining option on the property was the Reggae Café right on the beach between the infinity pool and the beach bar. We ate there for lunch nearly every day. The jerk chicken was good (not great…I like Nigel’s sauce better), the burgers and beef or veggie patties and french fries were in high demand. One day the line when the grill opened was wrapped all the way around the grill itself, probably 50 people long. It was a very popular place all week.
You don’t walk far on resort without bumping into a bar and that was just fine with us. The drinks were strong and plentiful and even during the rainy days, they were staffed adequately to keep the drinks flowing. They happily made virgin drinks for the kids all week, the most popular being the ‘Bob Marley’. Frozen strawberry, mango, and lime layered in a glass. The non-virgin variety has rum poured on top but the kids drank the virgin kind all week long. The bartenders were all very friendly. In particular we spent a lot of time with David at the swim-up bar. He loves talking, answering questions, and joking with the guests.
We had pretty lousy weather for a couple of days and spent a fair amount of time in the game room where there were a few pool tables, ping pong, something called Skittle that nobody knew how to play, a variety of slot machines, board games, a lending library of books (all of them seeming to be written in German) and tables for chess, checkers, or backgammon. Normally the game room wouldn’t hold any interest for us at all, but the pouring rain forced us there. And I was really glad they had it. It beat hanging out in our rooms watching TV waiting for the rain to stop. There is a hot tub next to the game room, built up high so you step up to it. We finally got tired of playing games in the rain and just got in the hot tub and let it pour on us (it’s not covered from the elements). We met some nice people and went back and forth to the main bar for fresh drinks. If you have to be in the rain, I’d say that’s the best way to do it.
Watersports was a bit disappointing due to a combination of bad weather/rough seas producing a red flag and a complex sign-up system that made it difficult to get on the list for anything. Two in our party wanted to take the resort dive course for $70 and then dive each day. We inquired the very first morning and they wouldn’t allow us in the class because we’d gotten there the night before so weren’t on the list. Even though it wasn’t a full class, they just said no. And, the watersports guy was kind of a jerk about it…like we were idiots for even asking. So we signed up for the Sunday class, and even though the weather looked good, they claimed it was too choppy for beginners. Monday, same thing so we signed up for Tuesday and it rained, for Wednesday and it rained by then there was no reason to sign up for the Thursday class because we were leaving on Friday and they wouldn’t have gotten to dive at all. We watched divers go out every day; people who were obvious divers with their own gear headed down to the boat every morning and were welcomed aboard. But as far as taking the class and being able to try it out, we didn’t find that anybody was making any effort to make that happen. It was very disappointing.
In addition, the 24-hour signup thing is for any of the watersports activities. While they had two snorkel trips a day, one a swim-out at 9:30 am and one by boat at 1:00, we were never able to sync the weather with the timing and the mandatory 24-hour advanced signup policy and take that trip. They also had hobie cats and some of those pull-behind banana looking things, but we never saw anybody using them. We heard the same complaint from several other guests trying to spend some time in the water. Again, very disappointing on that front.
The Entertainment staff was fun, energetic, and busy all the time with plenty of pool games and trivia, scavenger hunts, name-that-tune, volleyball, swim races, and anything else they could dream up. Our kids got roped into a lot of the games and had a great time. They gave out million dollar bills (like Hedo bucks) and we ended up with a bottle of Appleton for all their game playing (it was nice of them to get Mom and Dad a bottle of rum!) At one point, our son was entered in a goat race. Real goats, racing across the beach from point A to point B. The activities moved mostly between the infinity pool and the main pool each day. The ECs did a great job keeping people engaged, without being overwhelmingly annoying trying to get people to play. There was a ‘piano bar’ at night up in the main building where you checked in. Some of our family went one night and said it was fairly subdued. The guests didn’t really get into it and the piano man wasn’t very animated, so it fizzled pretty fast.
The Blue Mahoe Spa was tucked away in the main building. One of our daughters got a manicure there and said it was very nice. Nobody else in our group took advantage of any of the spa services, though the white-coated ladies made their daily stroll around the pool to drum up business. I thought the prices were really high. The gift shop was large and well stocked and the prices weren’t bad there. Someone in our group forgot a razor and a decent disposable cost $3. A small internet ‘café’ had a couple of desktops available for a fee. The Hurricane Club disco was in a very weird place behind the internet café and we didn’t even find it for three days. We never went…just because we aren’t late night people at all. The gym was above the main building and while small, was well appointed and open 24 hours a day. Above Martino’s were a number of conference rooms and office space. I don’t know who uses them, but they looked very nice.
Other amenities…
We aren’t golfers, but a lot of people obviously were there for the golf. There’s an underground tunnel on the far east end of the property, just past the tennis courts, where you catch a ride to the golf course. Greens fees are included with the price, but caddy and cart fees are not and are mandatory. I overheard one of the staff say that would cost about $20 per person. There were plenty of people golfing, so it must be a decent course.
There was also a lovely open-air chapel in front of the main dining area for weddings. We saw the beach area set up for a wedding, but that couple was not using the chapel. And there was another gazebo on the opposite side of the resort with a arched hedge that would have been a lovely place for a wedding or renewal ceremony.
We took advantage one day of the complimentary horse and carriage ride into the neighborhood across the highway. It only takes about 30 minutes with a driver and tour guide who were knowledgeable about the area and answered any questions. The horse was a little bedraggled and tired looking, but I think he was healthy…just old. His name is Riley and here’s a little tip: Before you head out for your carriage ride, swipe several packets of cane sugar from the coffee bar in the main check in area and give him some before and after the ride. He’ll remember you. Just hold that hand flat for him. ;)
There was another hot tub on resort, between the infinity pool and the tennis courts. We sort of snickered when we went looking for it because it’s this cluster of trees and then all this gorgeous decking and vegetation sort of stuck in the middle of the property…and in the middle of the decking is this tiny hot tub. Two people, tops, could fit in it. It made us laugh.
Many of the rooms have a ‘plunge pool’ and you can see them as you wander the resort. Some have louvered doors that you could shut for privacy. The plunge pools were about 4’ X 5’ maybe and were sparkling and pretty, and there were lots of those rooms. The patio areas looked like they had a couple of lounge chairs and would have been very nice to have if you were there as a couple.
The building on the west side of the resort (backing up to FDR) had plunge pool rooms and a smaller pool that faced the ocean. We didn’t see anyone in that pool all week.
The main pool had a vb net set up in it every morning and people would frequently start a pick-up game. The pool was large and very clean.
There were a minimal supply of yellow floaties for the pools (you weren’t allowed to take them in the ocean), and plenty of beach chairs around.
Several little huts/cabanas were available first come/first served.
All-in-all, if I’m rating all inclusive on a 1-10 scale, I’d give Breezes Runaway Bay a solid 8, perhaps an 8 ½ even, with the only true disappointment for us being the watersports desk. There were plenty of other things to do, but that was something we were very interested in and couldn’t do it at all. The staff we met there were all wonderful, friendly, helpful and just wanted to make sure you had a good time. Specifically Andre at the front desk (he helped us pull off a little Christmas ornament scavenger hunt for the kids), Allison and JJ at Munasan, Aretha at Martino’s, David at the swim-up bar, and Shirley in the dining room.
If your family is of the right age for this resort, my family would highly recommend Breezes Runaway Bay!