www.silver-sands.com
"We are there for
you!"
Green Family Trip Report
March 2003
I woke up in a sweat. It was about
two weeks before our family vacation to Jamaica. I had had a
nightmare. In my nightmare we arrived at the villa and it
was nothing like they said it was on the internet. It was
done in dark paneling with a 70's olive green shag carpet
through out. The pool was covered in green slime. There were
lily pads growing in it, empty beer cans floated in it, and
something scary, very scary with teeth, was obviously living
in the murky muck. In this nightmare the promise that we
would be the only ones staying in our villa was also not
true. We were one of several families, and were to sleep on
daybeds in the living room. I guess I was a little nervous
about booking on the internet. (Maybe you are too, and that
is why you are reading this!)
(The Green Family
rafting on the Martha Brae River)
Let me assure you NONE of that is
true! Okay, maybe the carpet at Je
Suis Content is a bit out
dated, and the inside could use a fresh coat of paint. But,
Lisa and Lileth, the housekeeper and cook, kept everything
super clean. And, frankly, after you are there for an hour
the view and the sound of the ocean lulls you into complete
satisfaction. The beds we slept in were comfortable, there
was air conditioning, but we did not use it, preferring to
enjoy the sound of the surf and the warm tropical breezes.
If you are someone who needs super long hot showers with
plenty of pressure this villa is not for you, but we found
the washroom adequate and as I said before it was sparkling
clean.
(Dad and son playing
"Scare-A-Mango")
Lisa and Lileth, will bend over
backwards to make your stay comfortable. The food they
cooked was fantastic. Breakfast every morning included
freshly squeezed orange juice and fruit like melon, mango,
papaya, and bananas. We had our choice of eggs many ways or
pancakes, we usually had bacon also. We tried the salt fish
and ackee and it was delicious. It was just like scrambled
eggs! We had chicken from the stove top the first night,
from the new grill-smoker later in the stay, and both were
great. We got adventurous and tried a bit of mildly flavored
curried goat with dumpling and loved it. We had lobster
twice, divine twice. Our last dinner we had fresh fish and
it too was marvelous. If you like lime ask them to keep a
pitcher of limeade in the fridge, it is a very refreshing
drink to have on the veranda when you get back from the
beach!
(Lifeguard being
followed by kids, and snorkeling out at the reef)
One of the best things about
renting a villa like this is the laundry service. Every
morning whatever is in your hamper is washed and returned to
your room folded in the afternoon. This was great since I
had brought some summer PJs but they were too hot so I ended
up wearing a soft white cotton nightgown I had packed last
minute. Every day, God bless her, Lisa washed and ironed
that nightgown for me. It was heavenly to find it hanging in
my closet waiting for me each night.
The Silver Sands community is small
and the beach was never crowded. That in itself is a
delight. There are 2 lifeguards, Roy and Brian and they are
both very helpful. They have a room with a limited
stash of sand and water toys but you are probably best to
bring your own if you can. There is a bar, grill, and gift
shops just steps from the beach. This is a lovely family
beach with kids playing, couples reading, everyone enjoying
the view. I only saw jet skiers once. They did not stay
long. (A note to the Jamaican Tourist Board-ban these
horrible things ASAP before they damage your reefs, pollute
your sea, and ruin the tranquility of your lovely beaches!)
(Children at play in
the sand on the Silver Sands Beach, and right, lounging on
the balcony at Je Suis Content)
"Nightlife" seemed pretty non
existent, which frankly we liked. We were a bit disappointed
that the hermit crab races advertised on the bulletin board
were cancelled. That seemed like a lot more fun than karaoke
night for families. The karaoke gets a bit too loud and runs
a bit late for me. (Both these events are not sponsored by
C.C.V. but open to all guests.) The Mento Band that C.C.V.
sponsored was great. We even bought one of their CDs. Our
villa had a VCR so we brought along a few good old pirate
movies to enjoy. "Captain Blood" with Errol Flynn and "The
Crimson Pirate" with Burt Lancaster were both fun to watch.
(Cooling down with a
frozen drink, and right, steps from Je Suis Content winding
steeply down to the Caribbean Sea.)
A lot of people ask me about the
security. I felt very safe. There are guards at the gate and
all around the resort friendly security staff are a
presence. Je Suis Content Villa has a set of very steep
steps down to the water. One evening as twilight approached
my son and I made our way down to the bottom of the steps to
enjoy a bit of snail spotting on the rocks. While we were
stooped over watching the snails slinking along I turned and
was surprised to find a security guard a few feet behind me!
I'm not sure how he got there but I felt good knowing they
were patrolling "all the nooks and crannies" and not just
the main road!
(At the bottom of the
stairs from Je Suis Content, the blue Caribbean Sea.)
We did take a few excursions
during our stay. One morning we had Errol take us out
snorkeling. He was really great, charged a fair price, and
even returned the underwater camera I had left behind. We
will definitely use Errol again when we return to Silver
Sands, probably even twice! One evening we went to
Glistening Waters. We did not do dinner, just the boat tour
with a swim. This was absolutely incredible. We all want to
go again on our next trip. The water glows in the dark when
you swim in it. You really must see it to believe it. We
also went rafting on Martha Brae and that was quite nice
too. Much more relaxing than I expected, soothing. While we
enjoyed Martha Brae, and would recommend it, we will
probably explore something else next visit. We enjoyed the
trips but our villa was so lovely that we enjoyed just
staying "home". We all liked hanging out and reading on the
veranda while sipping cool limeade so much, that often even
a trip to the beach for a change of venue seemed like work!
(Being captain on the
bamboo raft, going down the Martha Brae River, and right,
lobster- fresh catch of the day for tonight's dinner!)
All our interactions with C.C.V.
staff and drivers were positive experiences. Book with
confidence, you will have a great time. Feel free to email
me with questions. I'll do what I can to provide you with
answers.
Anne Green
Ontario, Canada
anne65@yahoo.com
Go to Anne Green's Letter.
|
|
|
|
|