Thread: Jan observations

1 - we really, really like this place!

B- room mini bar stocking lists are now door hangers - which also means one has to put it out day in advance.

3 - Bottles in mini bar may have regular caps (as opposed to the pour nipples).

Beach is fairly wide - down by the merchants/OON area it is ~15ft from water edge to the tree line.

Nellie calls her favorite guests "Arthur" (I thought "Art" was sufficient ), she can predict when you return.

Gonna run the beach.

1, B, 3 .... yup - you are def having too much fun!!! Sounds GREAT!!!
Pls tell Nellie congrats and we miss her!
Wish we were there !
Have a Fantastic Time... and please keep those up-dates coming!
Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Hi Rudi!

You know, at the repeater's dinner at Sans Souci, the one with the most repeats wins a free night the next time-keeps us coming back for sure, even though we miss CN. Once a year at CN will have to suffice!
Would like to see you guys again someday......

A&F - 1, B, 3 - you really think that was accidental?? If I have a sense of humor, that was it.

Last night Cashwayne and Tanesha a few days ago said hello to you.

G&P - why don't they have the same repeater deal here? We talk about going over to CSS, but somehow revert to our stubborn ways. Come back this way and we might even do the talk Jamaican class with you again.

Sunny, bright, and clear this AM. Water is flat and beautiful. Bye.

Originally Posted by Gary_and_Patti

You know, at the repeater's dinner at Sans Souci, the one with the most repeats wins a free night the next time-keeps us coming back for sure, even though we miss CN. Once a year at CN will have to suffice!
Would like to see you guys again someday......

Is that something new? We have won a $50 gift shop voucher for having the most repeats but never a free night!

Hi Rudi - Are you folks still at CN ? Thanks for all the updates on this post and the other - have been enjoying reading both this past week You have been doing a very GOOD Job!
Ha Ha with the Funny - !!
Thanks for the "hellos" from our Buds...
Forgot to ask you to tell Floy Hi from her "Auntie"
Gosh we miss that Place!

Originally Posted by Art and Francine

Hi Rudi - Are you folks still at CN ? ...

Let me check... did I see that beautiful beach this AM? - nope. Will update later - much cleaning and other responsibilities to attend to.

Rudi, Glad you made it back safely! That last post was from Patti. Try a split and take Tim Air to Negril. Then you can say you have beeflown out of the Ian Flemming International Airport! It is a fun flight and if you can get another couple to go with you, its half the cost. Its not so sad to leave CSS when you are going to CN for a week.

Sueboo, we know they have done that at times, but we don't know if its every week. We were last there in Sept.

Originally Posted by rudi

Let me check... did I see that beautiful beach this AM? - nope. Will update later - much cleaning and other responsibilities to attend to.

Rudi - We are missing your updates and the feeling of "being there"... Seems like your week flew (for us too)... Next best thing to being @ CN is knowing that you two are there and we get to "hear" of all the fun and new things all week!

Originally Posted by Gary_and_Patti

...Try a split and take Tim Air to Negril. ... It is a fun flight and if you can get another couple to go with you, its half the cost. ...

G&P - pondering it. That's one long bus ride or one pricey flight though. If we pull the trigger we'll look for flight partners.

A&F - always goes too fast, huh? Please post on your next trip so that we can re-live CN through your visit. Working on updates/changes but as much as we'd like otherwise, world doesn't revolve around Couples. Patience.

Our list of changes at CN from Jan 2012. There weren’t many major changes since our last visit, so perhaps this is a tad boring.
But here a few we noted, with annotations:
-----New-to-us (*NTU) meaning we heard of the change but hadn’t experienced first-hand
-----Temp? (*T) meaning this is likely a temporary thing.
An example of (*T) would be the guacamole for nachos; some trips it is not there all week long and we notice and this time it was there, so we assume they temporarily run out from time to time and that it is not a permanent change.

Also putting a sort of summary/notes at the end.

CHANGES

No boiled egg holders at breakfast (in any case, we couldn't find them)
Scrambled egg station moved to the grill area – western end (*NTU)
Guacamole & beans for nachos are back (*T)
No buzzers at BG again, they just call out names (*T) – I guess it is temp., seems to alternate.
Jerk sauce at BG is on the chicken (no more self-serve mild, medium, or hot)
BG serves fish tacos (*NTU)
Heliconia menu changes every day (as opposed to 3x/week previously)
Piano Bar stickers are a combo of green w/ black letter and white w/ green – just confirming (what???)
Coasters for drinks at the BG bar at night
“Function Moved to Piano Bar” sign (perhaps just *NTU?)
Private breakfast on the beach for a $ (there is an advert for this on the Guest Relations desk)

Nature Walk now includes a Bird Watching portion as well
Stone Painting Class on the activities schedule Fri @3PM
Painted stones at the foot of East end of block 1 are gone (well, all but 2) (*NTU)
Repainted yellow warning stripes on step-up areas at BG (not really new, but it was re-done our 1st day)
Activity sheet only lists Tues PM auction (OK this is just b/c they cut it off, ½ of Tues. missing as well)

Bathroom showers have a new showerhead
Mini bar re-stock list is now a door hanger (as opposed to the previous flat card)
Mini bar re-stock list must be put out by 1AM (previously one just left it on the counter the day of)
No stoppers on mini-bar bottles, just caps (*T) – obviously temp b/c we had a stopper later (don’t ask)

CN House Band can roam the beach playing for tips just like non-CN vendors (*NTU)
Photo review shop where the news/sundry stand was just outside of Otaheite (*NTU)
Newsstand items moved up to LasLic (*NTU)
-----Incidentally, Newsstand employees, Karen B, Kerry-Ann were up in LasLic and/or Shades
Photographers wear CN uniforms and nametags (are employees now?) also seemed ubiquitous
Confirmed 3 wireless repeaters: by block 5 hot tub; tall palm by pool bar; in tree by wedding area.
Beach v-ball court was nice and soft – far fewer skinned knees/elbows
-----Court sand is turned over every 2 weeks by the front loader (per Nellie)
-----Also a “comber” cleans it ~1 week.
-----Maybe Art (excuse me, Arthur) made that happen.
n.b. – hey newlywed, put that wedding ring away for v-ball. Happens ~1x/week every trip.

Staff Changes – Bar/Servers Andrew and Melissa are gone. Latoya is pregnant. Didn’t see Sheryl –assuming she was on maternity leave.
Promotions noted before: Dilly-Ann to corporate, Onique to Front Desk Mgr., Simone to Duty/Night Mgr., Nellie to E.T. Lead.
Glenroy moves to CTI as Food&Bev Mgr, New Lady (didn’t catch name) is CN’s new Rest. Mgr.


Overall Highlights/Lowlights
Good:
Weather: The water was beautiful in the AM – flat and calm and we had no winter–storm-wave action at all. We had a few, very brief, light showers on a few afternoons and one lengthier one. Other than that clear and sunny and the air temperature was hot, but not scorching.

Food: was very good at all restaurants and all meals (OK, there was one fish taco that was “meh” – just ditched it and got something else.) Heliconia was fantastic.

Staff: nothing new here. Everyone was wonderful and there were only 2 or 3 staff no longer there. Also some wonderful bar/server trainees – Ricky, Otis, Kasheen, and Wayne were hustling.

Beach: nicely groomed and clean as usual (Tidbit: in addition to the daily grounds keeping cleaning, once/week selected staff representing all different departments are required to make a cleaning run). The groundskeepers also occasionally use a knife to cut errant tree roots sticking up out of the sand (ever have one catch you between your barefoot toes? - ouch) The beach was also nice and wide all the way down Bloody Bay.

Not-So-Good:
Weather: While the air was nicer than, say, mid-August, the water temperature is definitely cooler. There were a few “oooh” moments when first getting in the pool and snorkeling was accompanied by much shivering (note that was only one of us, who happens to be quite thin and sensitive to cold – most people are not bothered by it). We knew this about the water temp and went in January anyway, but may re-think it next time.

Grouples: This can happen any time of year of course, but high season (e.g. January) seems to increase the probability of uninhibited and, IMHO obnoxiously loud groups. This also will make us re-think January visits. As noted before, some groups of people are perfectly behaved; others are not.
---Anecdotally (and we have many), we were walking from block 1 past the Beach Spa Hut. A couple was in there (the “Quiet, Massage in Progress” sign was up) presumably enjoying a massage with a very light afternoon rain falling. We’re thinking “that must be so nice and relaxing”, until we get closer to the dive pool and hear the “wooohoo, yeah I’m goin’ to partaaaay, more shots!!!” coming from the Grouples in the block 5 hot tub. Then a guy comes running out from the bathroom right next to the Spa Hut a whoopin ‘n a hollerin’ “Hey Hot Tub Party, I’m coming to partyyyy!” Guess he didn’t see the spa sign or just doesn’t give a sh*t about others. Or both. Sad.

Just a weird event, but while husband was away (at bathroom or somewhere) wife was alone at the bar for a minute and had very aggressive, very suggestive, extremely inappropriate comments from a lone guy. It was the 2nd guy in the same day that behaved so! We’re thinking what the h*** is in the water today?!? That is not what this place is about, people. First timers, please note that this type behavior is extremely rare in our experience and we only report it because Pamela reported some similar incident (though in a different setting) a while back.


---------------
Another note - not a change, but a hoped-for-change, was the return of the self-serve cappuccino/mocha/etc. machines. I think Leoconnor liked them as well. Not going to happen. Long-story-short: the machines are not owned by Couples and obligations were not being met.

Originally Posted by Gary_and_Patti

... take Tim Air to Negril. Then you can say you have beeflown out of the Ian Flemming International Airport! ...

Garry&Patti,
I see they're planning to expand Ian Fleming - maybe it can accommodate your private jet now.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...business1.html

See what a few well placed tips can do! Great recap, by the way. We can't wait for Sept! Are you going for the anniversary again?

Originally Posted by Gary_and_Patti

... Are you going for the anniversary again?

If you mean CN's anniversary, we're not really planning on it but are hoping to make a trip sometime later this year.