Grenada trip report
Mar 17th, 2008 | 11:43 AM
#1
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Joined: Mar 2003
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Grenada trip report
I have dreamed of this island. The white beaches with azure and turquoise water lapping the shore, the pool on an outcrop of cliff overlooking mountains and a town below… I had no idea where it was until now.
We arrived Wednesday afternoon and easily breezed through customs, as only about 20 people exited our plane. Taxis were waiting as we exited to take us to the Rex Grenadian. I would estimate that three minutes later we pulled into the property. It truly is that close. The driver told us that some people opt to walk. As mentioned before the proximity is not an issue. The second day we counted four planes taking off and landing. It was more of an exciting novelty than a nuisance, and surprisingly not very loud.
The resort was beautiful. We opted for the all-inclusive package but learned upon arrival that it only applies to food at one restaurant on the property. Food and beverages are also only available certain hours of the day as the bars don’t open until after lunch. That was a bit of a surprise – being four months pregnant I’m constantly eating and drinking something. So we simply had to adjust which was easy enough to do. I only wish I’d known of this earlier to bring more appropriate snacks.
We paid a bit more for a seaview room located on the beach, second floor. Part of the sea was obscured by palm trees but still very nice. Dinner the first night was fine, buffet style but fairly good. The staff couldn’t have been nicer – the chef walked us to all of the stations before seating us and came by several more times to ensure that we had what we needed. Dinner the last night was phenomenal. A variety of fish & chicken (including exceptional tandoori chicken), plus soup, vegetables and desserts that just melded together very well. The other meals were just fine - nothing out of the ordinary. Breakfast consisted of a large variety though of eggs, pancakes, cereal, bread, fruit, yogurt, bacon, sausage or potatoes. Lunch was more basic with fish, hamburgers, hot dogs or sandwiches.
In our brief visit we spent our full day one at the beach and day two exploring the island. The beach is virtually all Rex guests. It stretches from one rocky outcropping perhaps ¼ - ½ mile to another rocky outcropping with the Aquarium at the end. There’s no access to other resorts or beaches. Not necessarily a bad thing as the sand was quite nice, there was a reef out a bit from the beach to block some of the waves, and there were plenty of trees along the water’s edge so that we could have shade if we wanted, yet still be fifteen feet from the water. The pool was fantastically located on the rocky outcrop with St. George’s and the mountains in the distance – just like my dream. Everything was clean and beautiful.
We were able to get fins from the beach dive shop free of charge with our AI bands and spent a bit of time snorkeling right on the property. Unfortunately my pregnant self ran out of steam very fast. The last day I requested a life jacket as well and was able to snorkel for an hour. We saw parrotfish, a trunkfish, some kind of skinny stick-like fish, some Gobys, and who knows what else. Our Fishflips was a bit limited. The shop also offers free rental of kayaks and catamarans, but sadly we ran out of time.
We dined one night at the Aquarium which was maybe a football field length down the beach from our hotel. The atmosphere was lovely, and the food was good enough. I tried crabcakes and pumpkin ginger soup. The crabcakes were very good though not nearly as good as other places I’ve tried. I was surprised that the meal was not better seasoned considering we were on the spice island. I’d heard such wonderful things I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps it was just a bad night to be there.
The second day we rented a vehicle through the hotel. We considered a guided tour but it would have cost more overall, and we wanted to spend some time alone so it just made sense. We’ve driven in various cities around the globe, but driving the back roads of Grenada was an (ahem) experience. The roads are barely wide enough for two vehicles and there are few curbs. Add to that all of the children and goats walking and playing on the side of the roads and I consider it very fortunate that we only hit two curbs and nicked a sign. My husband has driven on the left before but with wider roads. Still it was a lot of fun and we saw some areas we otherwise wouldn’t have. It was wonderful to see the black sand beaches, all of the little towns, the friendly people (not one child was begging at our car – just smiling and saying hello), and Grand Etang. We’d hoped to stop at a waterfall too but missed the unmarked turn. That’s where a guide would have been helpful. We stopped for lunch after a long search for Rivers Distillery. Pretty nice tour (better than Cruzan Rum), amazing scenery, and the food was out of this world. It was a huge fixed plate for lunch and the price was very reasonable.
Sadly the most disappointing part of the trip was St. George’s. Perhaps with a guide we would have had a better time, but we drove around for half an hour in the crowds and one-way streets trying to find parking. When we finally did we couldn’t find any place to shop aside from the spice market, which at least was fun even on a Friday. We tried walking the streets a bit, but the shops all seemed to sell local wares and necessities (shoes, radios, cell phones). We finally gave up and drove around the island. We stopped at Spice Island Resort on Grand Anse to walk the beach and have a drink. Lovely hotel, but our two drinks (one without alcohol) were the same price as lunch. The lobby was so similar to the Rex, it made me overjoyed with our hotel choice.
As for souvenirs we got a good bit of chocolate thanks to Fodorite recommendations. I wish we’d purchased more spices at the market – when we unpacked them there was an amazing lingering aroma. We bought lots of clothing and children’s books for our daughter and new arrival, and some scented soaps. It took a while but we eventually found the Spiceland Market with Psst inside (the few people we asked at the hotel had no idea where the mall was; a guide might have hindered us in this area). I believe it cost less for the individual candy bars at the grocery than for a box anywhere including the airport. But Psst had some wonderful crafts, spices and handmade items. As always I wish we’d purchased more.
Definitely a beautiful island and, though I rarely say this, I really think we will return someday with our kids. It was such a kid friendly location, Air Jamaica had some very sweet flight attendants (arrival was on time, departing was only two hours behind schedule), and the whole island was so accommodating and genial.
We arrived Wednesday afternoon and easily breezed through customs, as only about 20 people exited our plane. Taxis were waiting as we exited to take us to the Rex Grenadian. I would estimate that three minutes later we pulled into the property. It truly is that close. The driver told us that some people opt to walk. As mentioned before the proximity is not an issue. The second day we counted four planes taking off and landing. It was more of an exciting novelty than a nuisance, and surprisingly not very loud.
The resort was beautiful. We opted for the all-inclusive package but learned upon arrival that it only applies to food at one restaurant on the property. Food and beverages are also only available certain hours of the day as the bars don’t open until after lunch. That was a bit of a surprise – being four months pregnant I’m constantly eating and drinking something. So we simply had to adjust which was easy enough to do. I only wish I’d known of this earlier to bring more appropriate snacks.
We paid a bit more for a seaview room located on the beach, second floor. Part of the sea was obscured by palm trees but still very nice. Dinner the first night was fine, buffet style but fairly good. The staff couldn’t have been nicer – the chef walked us to all of the stations before seating us and came by several more times to ensure that we had what we needed. Dinner the last night was phenomenal. A variety of fish & chicken (including exceptional tandoori chicken), plus soup, vegetables and desserts that just melded together very well. The other meals were just fine - nothing out of the ordinary. Breakfast consisted of a large variety though of eggs, pancakes, cereal, bread, fruit, yogurt, bacon, sausage or potatoes. Lunch was more basic with fish, hamburgers, hot dogs or sandwiches.
In our brief visit we spent our full day one at the beach and day two exploring the island. The beach is virtually all Rex guests. It stretches from one rocky outcropping perhaps ¼ - ½ mile to another rocky outcropping with the Aquarium at the end. There’s no access to other resorts or beaches. Not necessarily a bad thing as the sand was quite nice, there was a reef out a bit from the beach to block some of the waves, and there were plenty of trees along the water’s edge so that we could have shade if we wanted, yet still be fifteen feet from the water. The pool was fantastically located on the rocky outcrop with St. George’s and the mountains in the distance – just like my dream. Everything was clean and beautiful.
We were able to get fins from the beach dive shop free of charge with our AI bands and spent a bit of time snorkeling right on the property. Unfortunately my pregnant self ran out of steam very fast. The last day I requested a life jacket as well and was able to snorkel for an hour. We saw parrotfish, a trunkfish, some kind of skinny stick-like fish, some Gobys, and who knows what else. Our Fishflips was a bit limited. The shop also offers free rental of kayaks and catamarans, but sadly we ran out of time.
We dined one night at the Aquarium which was maybe a football field length down the beach from our hotel. The atmosphere was lovely, and the food was good enough. I tried crabcakes and pumpkin ginger soup. The crabcakes were very good though not nearly as good as other places I’ve tried. I was surprised that the meal was not better seasoned considering we were on the spice island. I’d heard such wonderful things I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps it was just a bad night to be there.
The second day we rented a vehicle through the hotel. We considered a guided tour but it would have cost more overall, and we wanted to spend some time alone so it just made sense. We’ve driven in various cities around the globe, but driving the back roads of Grenada was an (ahem) experience. The roads are barely wide enough for two vehicles and there are few curbs. Add to that all of the children and goats walking and playing on the side of the roads and I consider it very fortunate that we only hit two curbs and nicked a sign. My husband has driven on the left before but with wider roads. Still it was a lot of fun and we saw some areas we otherwise wouldn’t have. It was wonderful to see the black sand beaches, all of the little towns, the friendly people (not one child was begging at our car – just smiling and saying hello), and Grand Etang. We’d hoped to stop at a waterfall too but missed the unmarked turn. That’s where a guide would have been helpful. We stopped for lunch after a long search for Rivers Distillery. Pretty nice tour (better than Cruzan Rum), amazing scenery, and the food was out of this world. It was a huge fixed plate for lunch and the price was very reasonable.
Sadly the most disappointing part of the trip was St. George’s. Perhaps with a guide we would have had a better time, but we drove around for half an hour in the crowds and one-way streets trying to find parking. When we finally did we couldn’t find any place to shop aside from the spice market, which at least was fun even on a Friday. We tried walking the streets a bit, but the shops all seemed to sell local wares and necessities (shoes, radios, cell phones). We finally gave up and drove around the island. We stopped at Spice Island Resort on Grand Anse to walk the beach and have a drink. Lovely hotel, but our two drinks (one without alcohol) were the same price as lunch. The lobby was so similar to the Rex, it made me overjoyed with our hotel choice.
As for souvenirs we got a good bit of chocolate thanks to Fodorite recommendations. I wish we’d purchased more spices at the market – when we unpacked them there was an amazing lingering aroma. We bought lots of clothing and children’s books for our daughter and new arrival, and some scented soaps. It took a while but we eventually found the Spiceland Market with Psst inside (the few people we asked at the hotel had no idea where the mall was; a guide might have hindered us in this area). I believe it cost less for the individual candy bars at the grocery than for a box anywhere including the airport. But Psst had some wonderful crafts, spices and handmade items. As always I wish we’d purchased more.
Definitely a beautiful island and, though I rarely say this, I really think we will return someday with our kids. It was such a kid friendly location, Air Jamaica had some very sweet flight attendants (arrival was on time, departing was only two hours behind schedule), and the whole island was so accommodating and genial.
Mar 17th, 2008 | 12:55 PM
#2
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,870
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I love reading about Grenada *almost* as much as I love traveling there! So glad you had a wonderful time, despite the few disappointments. Grenada would be a wonderful location for a family, so I hope you return there with your little ones in tow.
I can't believe that anybody at the Rex didn't know the Spiceland Mall--sounds a little fishy to me. Maybe they just didn't want to send you there...
Sorry that you missed the shop Tikal near the downtown market--it's a very nice place to pick up local crafts, but it's possible that Pssst has those covered.
I can't believe that anybody at the Rex didn't know the Spiceland Mall--sounds a little fishy to me. Maybe they just didn't want to send you there...
Sorry that you missed the shop Tikal near the downtown market--it's a very nice place to pick up local crafts, but it's possible that Pssst has those covered.
Mar 17th, 2008 | 04:32 PM
#3
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 627
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Oh I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed your Grenada trip. It makes me "homesick" reading these trip reports. I also can't believe people at the Rex didn't know where
Spiceland Mall is! It's like the major "shopping mall" on the island. LOL.
Is the reef right in front of the Rex or in front of the Aquarium? How far off from shore did you have to go? I still need to explore this reef next time.
Thanks for posting.
Spiceland Mall is! It's like the major "shopping mall" on the island. LOL.
Is the reef right in front of the Rex or in front of the Aquarium? How far off from shore did you have to go? I still need to explore this reef next time.
Thanks for posting.
Mar 18th, 2008 | 05:05 PM
#6
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
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mymoosie -
there are a series of disjointed reefs that extend along the whole beach from the Aquarium to the edge of the Rex. It extends around the outcropping as well, but we didn't head over there. It was maybe between ten and thirty feet from shore depending on the section of the beach.
Maybe it comes down to who we asked at the Rex for directions - if we'd gone inside perhaps the front desk folks would have been able to help. We asked the guard and a groundscrew. At least it was a fun adventure finding it!
there are a series of disjointed reefs that extend along the whole beach from the Aquarium to the edge of the Rex. It extends around the outcropping as well, but we didn't head over there. It was maybe between ten and thirty feet from shore depending on the section of the beach.
Maybe it comes down to who we asked at the Rex for directions - if we'd gone inside perhaps the front desk folks would have been able to help. We asked the guard and a groundscrew. At least it was a fun adventure finding it!
