San Souci Spa & Resort trip report

Old Oct 2nd, 2003, 04:49 PM
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San Souci Spa & Resort trip report

San Souci Resort & Spa Jamaica 09/20-09/28/2003

Just returned from our 2nd visit to San Souci and have nothing but glowing reports!

MoBay Airport: MoBay is getting a little better with arrivals, but still, plan on a bit of a wait for immigrations.
Tip: bring a pen on the plane and fill out all your paperwork. Saw so many people wait in line then be turned back because they did not fill out the forms. Customs agents will not let you fill them out at their booth.

San Souci Reception area: Once you get your bags proceed to the end of all the various booths and you will find San Souci?s booth. Charlotte cheerfully greeted us, quickly checked us in and walked us out to our van that was just outside the door. Note: If your bags have rollers you won?t need a porter. We waited just a few minutes for another couple then were on our way. There was probably only 6 - 8 of us on the bus total. The roads are still very bumpy in some areas, but they are working on it. The whole trip was about 1-? hours.

Check in was relatively fast, the usual paper work. We were greeted with champagne or cocktails and a cool towel. Very refreshing. From there the bellhops took us to our room in G block. We had originally requested G17 (same as 2002) but were given G6. Not a problem! Walked into a large bedroom with large closet, 2 (yes 2) full bathrooms, large sitting room with couch, chairs, writing table, TV, radio/CD player, mini-bar, coffee maker station and another large closet. Husband was ecstatic about his own bathroom and closet. The patio was huge with 2 lounges, table and 4 chairs. Great View.

Now for the other blocks:
G Block (our favorite): highest on bluff. Wonderful view, very large rooms. But even with the elevator, quite a hike. Would not suggest for anyone with knee troubles.

F Block: Also on the bluff. Similar to G block but closer to Casanova and the Piano bar. Can be a bit noisy if they get a party going.

E Block: Did not see, can?t state

D Block: About ? way between the bluff and the beach. Smaller than G-F blocks. Most with Jacuzzi tub bathroom. Some with patio, some enclosed.

C Block: Large bedrooms and Jacuzzi tubs. All enclosed patios.

A/B block: Rooms are smaller but newest blocks. Right on the beach. Large bathroom, 2 vanity & Jacuzzi tub. Small patio.

All in all your room choice depends mostly on your priorities. We love large, spacious room with a view and some privacy so the G block is perfect for us. For those who would be willing to have a smaller room to be right on the beach and in the center of the activities, than A/B is the way to go.

In my Webshots I have included photos of most of the room categories, including a few of the penthouses (for you honeymooners or those who can afford the price).

Restaurants:
Dinners:
Casanova (French) M-T-W-Th-Sat-Sun
Need reservations and men need jacket
Wonderful food. Menu changes weekly and chef special changes daily. They make the best lamb dishes. Tried a different variety each time. We ate there three times and loved it each time. Great, attentive service. Wine served Tarapaca from Chile, an OK basic wine.

Palazzina (Italian) M-W-Th-Sat-Sun
Need reservations
Antipasto - wide variety and very fresh. Soup, meat/chicken dishes and then pasta dishes. Was all very good. Pasta was cooked perfectly. Alfredo E Cappo was wonderful. Make sure you arrive hungry, the quantity and quality are great.

Bella Vista (Caribbean) M-W-Th-Sat-Sun
No reservations needed
Menu consists of soup, salad and choice of three entrees. Changes daily but the whole week is posted so you can decide ahead of time. Was a great casual meal on the beach (bring bug spray for your legs). We tried the curried goat (1st time), was wonderful! Spicy, but wonderful.

Lunch:
Palazzina
Mixture of hot and cold buffet. Always fresh with a wide assortment.

Beach Grill - C/O and regular beach
Great jerk chicken or pork, burgers, pizza, meat pockets and fries. Always hot and tasty. Try and find Seymour, he makes the best jerk around!

Breakfast
Palazzina: Large buffet with made to order eggs, & pancakes. Also yogurt, cereal, fruit, pastries and all the usual sides (bacon, sausage?)

Tuesday night: Beach party
Massive buffet and grills on the beach. LOBSTER on the grill was great! Band and entertainers perform after the meal. Quite a lot of fun.

Friday night: Gala night
Usually held on the lawn under tents but the past 2 years we have always had rain that day and ended up with the Gala at the Palazzina. A very nice event, with loads of food, carving stations, pasta-made-to-order stations, and the desserts! After dinner, they have a band and dancing. Hopefully some year we will catch it on the lawn. I hear it is quite beautiful with white tents, table & chairs and glitter lights everywhere.

Mineral Pool: Very relaxing and refreshing. Very close to the Spa so we would hang out there before any spa treatments. Also has a bar.

Duck pond:
Be sure to grab a roll or bread from breakfast for the ducks. They will be waiting for you. Are really fun to feed every morning.

Beach:
They have enlarged both the regular and C/O beaches. Both are much wider now. Plus a water surge drain/walkway has been added to the beach to help prevent beach erosion. They were almost done by the time we left and it looked really nice. Plus the walkway was an added plus on those days that the sand was scorching hot.
The C/O beach is still pretty rocky so you will need beach shoes to venture out into the water.

Spa: We had the complimentary massages, body scrub and manicure/pedicure. All were quite wonderful. Just didn?t want to give up beach time this time for the facial and reflexology, but they were great in 2002 so I would venture to guess 2003 holds the same. Some spa personnel stated that the complimentary service may be discontinued, but could not confirm it. So I would suggest to those booking to get the service in writing just in case the policy changes from the time of booking to the time of arrival.

Tours:
We were really just beach bums this trip. Rented a cab for $35 and went into town to get some coffee, cigars and a few souvenirs. We had a great driver, Sylvester Smith at 974-0373 or 0819-7600 (cell). He found us the best prices and offered friendly and fast service.
Also did some snorkeling. Was very nice and clear. Different locations each time. Bring a roll from breakfast and the fish will love you.

Overall view:
Was a little worried when San Souci departed from the Super Clubs chain. But compared to 2002, have seen no changes except for the better. Service was outstanding in every aspect. Housekeeping, restaurant and bar service, beach and property maintenance, everything was well worthy of its 5 star rating. I found the staff to be helpful, knowledgeable, efficient and genuine. Any question or request was handled quickly and correctly. No need to look elsewhere, we have already decided that San Souci will become our annual fall vacation spot.

Any questions or a download of the map, you can email me directly at [email protected]

Photos: http://community.webshots.com/user/lisa490

Lisa S
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Old Oct 3rd, 2003, 06:51 AM
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Great, informative report. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. Loved your pic's!
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Old Oct 3rd, 2003, 08:58 AM
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We just booked for March and I am so relieved to hear that the change in management has not affected service!!

I believe it is abour an hour and half from the airport, Jamiacan speed - is that about right? We are trying to choose a departure flight. Did you book a package deal with flight included - I am curious how the airport transfer will work if we book separately....should have thought about that I guess!!!
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Old Oct 4th, 2003, 08:55 AM
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About 1 1/2 hour drive is about correct. They are making progress with the paving, but not quite there yet.
We actually returned to San Souci as part of a deal in 2002 that was "travel 2002, get 2003 free" so we did do our own air. There was absolutely no problems with airport transportation. Contacted Tanya Robinson (who is an absolute wonder)at San Souci 1-866-55-SOUCI and gave her our flight info. I called again the day before arrival to confirm everything and she already had everything in the system. When we arrived at the desk, Charlotte checked us off the list, took us to our bus and we were off. No problems of any kind.
Any questions, you can email me directly at [email protected]
Take care, Lisa S
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Old May 25th, 2004, 02:29 PM
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Thanks for such a comprehensive report. We just booked our honeymon trip there for July 4-9. Yippee!
Janet Colclough
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