Back from CTI - Review May 29-June 5

[Sueboo]

Everything was great! The sun comes up a little earlier and is a lot hotter and brighter than January. Spent a lot of time under shade or in the pool. It rained some on Wed. and Thurs. afternoon with a thunderstorm on Wed. Otherwise it was sunny and bright.
CTI seemed to be about 50% full with a younger crowd and lots of wedding groups. There were comments that tourism was down because of Kingston but no worries anywhere in Montego Bay or Ocho Rios. It's really too bad that the media blows everything out of proportion! Our direct flights out of Chicago were great. No delays. I don't know if it was because tourism was down or we were just lucky but we were on the bus to Ocho Rios 20 minutes after stepping off the plane! We zipped through immigration and our bags were waiting for us. Grabbed a quick Red Stripe at the Couples Lounge and we were on our way.

We did go off the resort for a powerwalk with the fitness instructor Alfred through the hills of Ocho Rios. Very interesting to see the real houses and learn some of the history. Even at 8:00 am it was very hot and humid. We went to CSS on Monday and Friday to mix things up and visit the CSS staff with the Trading Places program. We did the nature walk with Donovan and learned a lot about the trees and plants native to Jamaica. We skipped the catamaran because of the thunderstorm. Woody in watersports took us on a boat ride along the shore as far as the S resort.

We were greeted and remembered by all the staff "Welcome Home" and "Weren't you just here last week?" We received all of our repeater perks including the $100 departure check and got a great room upgrade without asking. Room 4506 Superior Ocean View. We also received champagne and snacks the first night and a call from guest services asking if there was anything else we needed. We were truly pampered! Food was great. We ate at 8 Rivers 3 times. We only ate at Bayside once - love the atmosphere but not the Asian menu. Bring back the Italian, please Another addition is several nights a week they have a Martini and Mojito Bar on the terrace rooftop. Great martinis before dinner. Entertainment was also good. The Steel Drum Band is our favorite. Another thing that was new since January was we noticed they had installed containers to collect cigarette butts all over the resort. We are not smokers but we were pleased to see an easy and fire safe solution to cigarette butt litter and so much more attractive than overflowing ashtrays.

We cannot say enough about the wonderful staff at CTI. From bartenders to watersports, waitstaff to maid service, bellhops to guest services, all were fantastic. It's what keeps us coming back. We have to give a shout out to Byron, Captain Kirk, Evarld and Emorth. Watersports - Roger, Calmore and Woody Woodpecker. Bartenders- Simone, Terry, Damion, Taneshia (great martinis) Nicolette, Antoinette and Kimoni. Adrian Klane and Jacinth at 8 Rivers and Patio retaurants. Pamela at the spa and of course Leonard Henry and Maxine. We will be back soon. We are already booked for March 2011.

[dandj]

Nice review, thanks.

[Mrssoto]

Thanks so much for the great review!

[spice505]

Thank for the nice review. I am glad that u had a wonderful time. Which airport and airline in Chicago did u fly? I too live in Chicago so I am interested. I am sooo glad for the positive review for CTI. IMO, they get a bad rep on the MB. I can't wait to visit 9/2011 for our 10yr wedding anniversary.

[scotsduo]

Great review Sueboo.

Just makes us wish we were there now. Only 5 months to go.

[CWargolet]

Thanks SueBoo.... Really looking forward to our honeymoon in October at CTI!

[Texas 1836]

Great review Sue. We leave in the morning for our first trip. Our daughter honeymooned there a few years ago so we decided to give it a go. You gave some good info. We cant wait.

[Sueboo]

Thank for the nice review. I am glad that u had a wonderful time. Which airport and airline in Chicago did u fly? I too live in Chicago so I am interested. I am sooo glad for the positive review for CTI. IMO, they get a bad rep on the MB. I can't wait to visit 9/2011 for our 10yr wedding anniversary.

We flew the AA direct flight out of O'Hare, Saturday to Saturday. It left at 8:20am and we were in Jamaica shortly after noon. The return flight was around 1:30 so we were back to Chicago at 5:30. No baggage fees for one checked bag per person. Movies on both flights. Friendly flight attendants. Win Win.
We heard that AA pick up some flights when Air Jamaica stopped direct flights out of O'Hare.

[spice505]

Thank you so much for the info.

[JMLattin]

Thanks for the great review - we will be there in 37 days! CAN'T WAIT!!! It will be our third time to CTI but 1st since the renovations.

[Ron & Rosa 25]

Great review Sueboo. So glad you loved your experience at CTI as much as we did (ok, the Asian menu at Bayside being the exception, that is ). As Spice stated, CTI does appear to get a bad rap every now and then. So it's important that when those of us who stayed there and loved our experience, we make sure to state as such in here and other travel websites such as TA, etc.

[dogandsophie]

What is the $100 departure Check? We Are repeaters and going in july

[Sueboo]

If you are at the Passionate (highest) level with the Romance Rewards program AND stay 7 nights or more at one resort you receive a $100 departure check. Click on Romance Rewards on the left for details