REVIEW | GRAND BAHIA PRINCIPE, JA

Ah, Grand Bahia. How I miss you already..

If you're looking to stay in Runaway Bay, Jamaica and have a few extra pennies (or dollars, should I say) to spend, then I would highly recommend one or two weeks at the Grand Bahia Principe hotel. I flew in with my family in August 2014 and it really was one of the best holidays i've had in a while!

There were about 12 of us and we stayed at the resort for two weeks for what was supposed to be a wedding which unfortunately did not take place in the end (through no fault of the hotel). Never-the-less, it would have been a shame to waste this great experience, (and our money!) so we decided to still take the trip to JA as a family holiday instead.

Kimani Being Cheeky

Kimani Again..

Louise & Kimani

Thomson Dreamliner:

We flew with the new (at the time) Thomson Dreamliner airplane. I must say, I was quite impressed with the new design and great features, such as:

- Mood changing lighting

- Dimming windows

- Bigger windows

- More leg room - always a bonus

- Better cabin pressure allowing more oxygen

- Less noisy

The list goes on. Needless to say, my family and I, and especially the kids were very impressed, go Thomson!

Louise

Staff:

Both the hotel staff and the booking staff at Thompson were extremely helpful and sympathetic in regards to re-arranging the 'wedding' part of the booking. The Thomson staff managed to amend the holiday booking & extras so that we could still fly out and have an amazing time - which we did.

Arrival:

Upon arrival, we were taken straight to the Golden Club Lounge by a member of staff at Grand Bahia Principe. There we were given a brief 10-15 minute introductory break-down of what to expect both at the hotel and in Jamaica in general. The staff were extremely friendly and issued us with Gold Members wristbands which allowed us to access the all inclusive+ elements of the holiday such as complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails upon arrival and throughout our stay, a choice of two-three buffet restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, four exclusive bookings to the on-site á-la-carte restaurants, bigger rooms/suites and much more!

Our Chef Cooking us Fresh Food at the Table

Left to Right: Kimani, Lou, Mum, Rashad, Kai, Josh, Kinya

Entertainment:

If you are the kind of person who like to keep active on holiday then there is plenty to do at this hotel! Free daily activities included pool-side games such as bingo, volleyball, aqua aerobics, water polo, dance competitions and general talent competitions. Other free activities included tennis, volleyball, table tennis, snooker/pool and much more. Great fun for all the family and personally, I couldn't get enough of the water polo and volleyball tournaments which were arranged by the pool entertainment team - it's just a shame the games were so short. Another favourite of mine was bingo and of course, aqua aerobics which my aunty, my mum and I participated in almost every morning around brunchtime.

Evening entertainment also consisted of MORE bingo, a disco for the oldies and the kids, night entertainment shows such as plays, dances and other performances, and of course, there's a nightclub on site for the younger folks like myself - great tunes and great drinks. The music genre varied from hip hop, to r'n'b, to ressae, to soca, to bashment and if I am not mistaken, all of our drinks were free with the Golden Club wristband. What's really great is that the nightclub was actually a creché by day!

Kimani at the Pool

VIP Treatment: The Golden Club really did have it's perks;

- Unlimited free alcohol at any of the pool bars or other bars on site. The bars serve the usual wine, ciders and beers, as well as typical and signature Jamaican cocktails such as the Bob Marley and Strawberry Daiquiri.

- Private rooms with games on request

- Daily stocked FREE minibar

- In-room tea and coffee making facilities

- Bath robe and fluffy slippers

- Top floor suites

- Large balconies with pool views

- Evening turn down service

- 15 minutes of daily free internet

- Pool and beach towels provided

Grand Bahia Principe Hotel - Beach View

Grand Bahia Principe Hotel - Beach View

Crystal Clear Water

Grand Bahia Principe Hotel - Beach View

Surroundings:

If you are wondering how far the beach is from the hotel then wonder no more! The private beach is literally on the hotel's doorstep - leading on from the pool. FYI - along one end of the beach is a little "shack" style restaurant serving hot and cold beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as lunch/dinner foods which include fresh fish from the sea! Now, I am not a 'fishy' person but my mum sure did have a lot of good things to say about Grand Bahia's sea food. Other restaurants on site served a great selection of foods including your typical English breakfast, continental breakfast, American style breakfast, cereals, Western lunch and dinner foods, Italian lunches/dinners, Japanese lunches/dinner and so much more. The hotel it's self is not very close to..well anything really besides other hotels. Although there were local buses which could take you into town or to the local market. To be fair, we didn't leave the resort much but when we did, it was either in a minivan as part of an excursion or in a taxi! Pretty much everything we needed was right there in the hotel.