CSS in 3 wks! Q about rooms and excursion

[pinkcloud]

i cannot believe we leave in 3 weeks for our first experience with COuples! so excited! Thank you SO much everyone and Randy for all your advice these past few months!
i have 2 separate questions:

1. i am very, very anxious about the room at CSS. we paid for a verandah room because we HAVE to have a balcony large enough to put chairs out, to sit and have coffee or a meal. but because we booked with Apple, i am concerned. see, Apple buys a chunk of rooms, usually the lowest quality rooms available (at least they do at other resorts)--and we've had trouble with rooms at other locations. i am so concerned that we'll get there and be placed in a room without a balcony. Apple's record with rooms, plus Couple's unwillingness to honor room requests ahead of time causes me this anxiety. could someone please put my mind at ease here? up until recently i was prepared to beg and plead with them to get a room in G block, because to me that's the most amazing location. but now i am hoping to beg and plead just to get a balcony...

2. about a decade ago, when i first went to Jamaica, we stayed at a resort in Montego Bay. one of the excursions we took was a Blue Mountain coffee tour --tour of the plantation, where coffee and banana grew. we did a pineapple tasting (about 10 different types), had coffee and lunch up on the plantation and came back. it was the most memorable tour of my life and i really want to do it again and bring DH to see the countryside, taste pineapple and coffee. Does anyone know which tour I mean? i wonder if they still do something similar. any info would be appreciated.

thank you in advance!

[AAS]

Don't stress about the room. All of the balconies - even the small ones - have at least a table and 2 chairs. If you booked a room with a balcony you should be fine even if it is not one of the huge balconies in G & F. Last year when we arrived they had us slated for D I asked if we could be in F and they said no problem. If you are going in 3 weeks occupancy will probably be pretty low. There are only a few rooms in C block without a balcony at all so no worries.

[BobandJudy]

Almost all of the rooms at CSS have balconies except for C block, which are the cheapest rooms. The beachfront rooms have the smallest balconies, but there was still a table and two chairs. Since you are not going during peak season, I can't imagine that the resort will be booked solid. If you don't like your room after you see it, I'm sure they will do their best to switch rooms for you. However, if you booked at a hugely discounted rate, there may be a fee to upgrade.

As far as excursions, check at the concierge desk in the lobby. They can custom fit a tour for you. They should be able to find a Blue Mountain tour for you, although it may be with a private driver. We had Mr. Wally on our last trip where we went through Fern Gully, and he was well worth every penny.

[pinkcloud]

thank you so very much to both of you! i feel way better about the room!

i found the tour we did--it was to the Croydon plantation.

thanks again!

[Pamela]

. . . . I am very, very anxious about the room at CSS. We paid for a verandah room because we HAVE to have a balcony . . . . I am so concerned that we'll get there and be placed in a room without a balcony . . . . Apple's record with rooms, plus Couple's unwillingness to honor room requests ahead of time causes me this anxiety . . . .

If you booked an ocean verandah room, then your room will have a verandah. Ocean Verandah Suites at CSS are described on the accommodations page, indicating that "[t]hese spacious master bedroom suites have large balconies overlooking the tranquil Caribbean waters." From that description, it sounds as if ALL ocean verandah suites have a balcony. Your only problem would be if you requested an ocean verandah suite and Apple booked you in a ocean suite, the lowest category room, but that wouldn't be Couples' fault.

As far as Couples not honoring room requests made in advance, that doesn't apply to room category. You'll be placed in a room in the category you booked; Couples just doesn't honor requests for specific rooms, floors, or buildings made in advance (e.g., if you booked a Penthouse Suite, you'd be placed in a Penthouse Suite, but it might not be the Harry Belafonte Suite even if you requested that particular Penthouse Suite in advance). If Apple booked an ocean verandah suite for you, then you'll be placed in that category of room. Once you arrive at the resort, you can request a room in Building G.

Stop worrying, relax, and enjoy your trip to CSS.

[knd]

Don't worry about the room. We switched rooms when we arrived because we weren't happy with the one they put us in. We just called them and said we weren't happy and they gave us a tour of several rooms until we found the one we liked - we ended up in G Block with an incrdible view of the ocean.
Can't help with the excursions - we were there to relax and thus never left the resort.

[pinkcloud]

thanks so much, everyone! i feel much, much better! and all this excitement is making it very hard to work!