Travel

Sheraton Vistana Resort Villa

December 26, 2018 by Alicia Jones Leave a Comment

Was here in March and stayed in a two bedroom villa. It’s so family friendly so I chose to come back for a mother daughter trip. I called about two weeks before departure to request a balcony. (ALL ONE BEDROOM SUITES DO NOT COME WITH BALCONIES) I was told they could see what they could do but it would not be guaranteed. We arrived around 8:30 pm and I was disappointed to learn that we would not get a balcony. So I called and asked they next day could I switch and they accommodated me. I was super excited about this!

The villa we stayed in was a little bigger than the one bedroom without the balcony. I loved this. Don’t think I would have enjoyed the other room as it was much smaller. Last time my bathroom didn’t get as clean as I liked it to be so I stopped by the local Walmart, bought my own cleaning supplies, and cleaned the bathroom. We stayed on the Cascades side this time and was super close to the pool. One part was only 1 feet with sprinklers, that was really fun for my two year old.

My favorite restaurant was the Tiki Bar and grill which I couldn’t seem to find this time so I just ordered it to be delivered to my villa. The Castaways restaurant was good and so was Zimmies. Breakfast, just like last time was not good so we only ate here one day and other places other days. So if you want good food for breakfast go outside the hotel.

I would stay here again because it’s so kid friendly and close to everything. They also tried to get me to sign up for the timeshare again which I politely said no to. You can purchase your tickets to the parks at the main office which is very convenient.

SoCal Or Florida?

May 30, 2018 by Alicia Jones Leave a Comment

I am having the hardest time choosing where to go with the girls this summer. There are def cheaper places in Florida but I want to see what’s up with Cali. I want to eat at Roscoes Chicken and Waffles, see the walk of fame, and whatever else there is to see out there. Cali places just cost so much more. Like I don’t want to stay in a crappy hotel. I want to stay somewhere really nice. Florida also has many beachfront hotels that are affordable. SoCal does not. Like when it comes to my vacations I am extremely bougie! I like what I like. LOL Choices…. If you had a choice where would you pick?

Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas Review

April 23, 2018 by Alicia Jones Leave a Comment

We arrived around noon on a Monday. Check in was very smooth but be prepared for them to offer you to go to a presentation for their timeshare. The lady setting up the timeshare offered my kids free toys which included a light saber and two Frozen toys. I was also given a $120 gift card and I had to put down a $20 deposit which I would get back after the meeting. I will get to the rest of it later on.

We stayed in a two bedroom villa on the Falls side of the resort on the second floor. The Falls side is very nice and quiet. Our villa was so spacious! It had a fully stocked kitchen with cookware and silverware. It also had a dishwasher,fridge, and stove. We also had a bathroom with a jet tub and then another bathroom with a shower. I put my two boys in the bedroom that had two twin beds and the girls were in the bedroom with me in the king sized bed. The villa also has a living room and a small dining area with a dining table.

The resort has seven outdoor pools, eight whirlpools, and three restaurants. My one year old really enjoyed the pool that had enough water to only cover her ankles. It also had sprinklers that she also got a kick out of. The Marketplace is where you can pick up a few groceries and it has a Starbucks located inside. We ordered pizza from room service every night which was really good! The breakfast was just okay. If you want a good breakfast you can fix your own or go to the many restaurants located nearby. The resort is also really close to Seaworld and Disney World. You can buy tickets in the main lobby for many attractions.

I would like to talk about some cons. The housekeeping could have been much better. The first night I was soaking in the tub and I look around and I notice mold by the handle and immediately got out. The next day the housekeeper comes and I show her the mold and she says call engineering. So I call the front desk before we leave for the day and they say they will have someone come right up. We come back hours later and it’s still there. It wasn’t until I left a message for the general manager that it was taken care of. There were also spots around the toilet that were there from the first night we arrived and still there on our last night. Let’s also talk about the timeshare. So when I signed up the lady asked was I married or single. I said single, which by law I am. So we get to the meeting and they have a checklist which asks are you single, married or living with someone. I check living with someone and because this person did not accompany us on the trip we could not do the presentation, which was fine because I didn’t want to do it anyway. This should have been explained to me when I signed up because that $120 gift card that they gave me, I got charged for. It could have saved me time and money. It didn’t bother me too much but they need to make sure to explain EVERYTHING when you sign up.

I would recommend this hotel because it’s very kid friendly and there was enough room for all of us. It was definitely comfy. The suite also has a screened balcony which is perfect for the little ones. Our suite also included a washer and dryer.

Spring Hill Suites

May 12, 2017 by Alicia Jones Leave a Comment

The kids and I had an overnight getaway here and it was really nice! It’s located in Brentwood next to Houlihan’s. We arrived around 4. Check in was super quick and nice. We were able to park right in front. You can park in the garage or in front in any spot that is not reserved.
The lobby area is nice and it has a small cafeteria like area where you can sit and eat. The Hotel has a really nice clean smell.

The room was very nice and clean. We stayed in the room with two queen beds. When you walk in it just had that clean smell. It has a small living room area then the room for the beds and the bathroom. It also has a coffeemaker,microwave, and fridge. The beds are comfy and the room is comfy and very modern.

The hotel has a pool and a gym which are both open until 11 pm.
The pool area is clean. The pool seemed a bit small though. The kids had a blast because we had the pool to ourselves.
The hotel also has free hot breakfast. There was turkey Canadian bacon, eggs, fruit,coffee, tea, and pastries.

Overall I was really impressed. The staff were very friendly. I would definitely stay again and would recommend it.

Secrets St. James Master Suite Review (Pics included)

October 28, 2016 by Alicia Jones Leave a Comment

I had an amazing trip!! It was just perfect! My birthday was amazing and this by far was the best trip there out of all the times I have been there!

Check in:
Okay I will start off with check in. We arrived at the airport around 10:30. We got to the resort about 11. We stayed in the Master Suite at the St. James preferred side. Check in took a while. No worries we went to lunch and came back. The room still wasn’t ready. We were informed that we got there a bit early so we sat in the preferred lounge. Davion our butler,( yes butler! ) introduced himself to us and took us up to our room. WOW!

The Suite:
The master suite is just amazing! It comes with a living room,bedroom, and separate bath area. The rooms have sliding wooden doors, which are perfect if you don’t want to disturb whoever you are on vacation with. It’s so much more private than the regular suites. We had a really nice view.The balcony has a nice size to it with a Jacuzzi and lounge area. (pics to follow) The sunsets were a little blocked by the palm trees but that’s okay. If you want a clearer view stay in the suite on the 4th floor. We were on the 3rd floor in room 4319. We were there to celebrate our birthdays. The rooms all have steamers now, they no longer have irons. I miss the irons and kinda wish they would bring them back. The shower was sooooo spacious! It was like two of the regular showers put together maybe a little bigger. The closet was in the bathroom right across from the tub. The tub was so nice. The master suite and butler service was just great! I almost felt like a celebrity! lol It was just beautiful! Caulette! Love you! Still need to meet you!!

The Spa:
On my birthday my fiance treated me to a spa day, so I got a wonderful massage,manicure, and pedicure. They are working on the spa so they are doing massages in rooms. I got my massage in a suite on the 3rd floor. Some people were complaining about this but I enjoyed it. It was just as relaxing. I could hear the hammering from the construction across the street because they are building another resort. It wasn’t very loud in fact I was able to sleep during my massage. Kay did a wonderful job. She did my massage, manicure and pedicure. I think all the services are available in the spa except the hydrotherapy. I enjoyed my services.

Butler Service: The Master Suites and the Presidential suites come with a butler. Our butlers were Davion and Travis. Davion was super nice and polite. Travis helped set up the decorations in our suite for my birthday! So when I got back from my spa day I came back to beautiful decorations and a nice bath. It made my birthday so special! Ugh I wish I could rewind! Anyways! Shout out to Travis and Davion for being amazing butlers! I hope to see you guys again!

Okay so let’s move on to the restaurants. One of our favorites restaurants to eat at is the World Cafe. One thing that was missing this time was the Reggae music. We were there for 7 days and we didn’t hear it there at all. Not even at night at the Blue Mountain. I don’t know what they were playing but it didn’t feel right. We really missed the music. What happened? Leroy always does an amazing job at taking care of us and making sure I get my ackee and saltfish on the final day. He is great!!

The Preferred Beach: The beach area is nice. The St. James side is closer to the construction but we didn’t mind it. We had some nice days at the beach when the weather was nice. The pool is nice as well. Shout out to Kerry-Ann she made sure I had a nice rum punch to keep me cool.

The entertainment is always great! I love the house band Pace! They even took a few requests from me for songs to sing! This trip was so great I had so much fun and really really enjoyed myself. I also participated in the Talk Jamaican
class taught by Sunshine. That class also included a Jerk class as well. I do recommend that. Also the ATM was only giving Jamaican dollars while we there. We had to go to the resort next door to get USD. We found that to be very odd. We were told the ATM was out of order. The grounds are always kept nice and clean as there is always someone out working hard. Everyone here works so hard! If I could make all their troubles go away and give them lots of money I would. Anyway that’s it for my review If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I will be happy to answer.