My wife and I have been to this resort once before (same week last year) and this resort never fails to go beyond our expectation. It’s the people that make this resort special. That’s AMresort’s biggest asset for Zoetry Montego Bay. They need to make sure that they keep their staff happy. Without them, they would lose their competitive edge. That being said the staff felt happier than last year. Last year we often saw them “grouping” together which felt that they were gossiping about jobs/management. We saw none of that this year. There’s not much entertainment on the property. That’s perfect for us! But the new GM is bringing in more and more entertainment, because I think a lot of people complain about the lack of entertainment. To be honest: I think there’s an opportunity to bring in more entertainment, but I really don’t want that. What I really want is more over the top bespoke experience on site. (GM if you read this send me an email would love to let you know some of my ideas). Highlights of the Vacation: 1. The service from Tica and Sunshine (Ralston) at Jerky Joe’s and on the beach. If you skim through trip advisor you will see that Mr. Sunshine is the highlight for most people that come to the resort. And he is a joker and entertainer! Make sure you spend some time with him and he will show...My wife and I have been to this resort once before (same week last year) and this resort never fails to go beyond our expectation.

It’s the people that make this resort special. That’s AMresort’s biggest asset for Zoetry Montego Bay. They need to make sure that they keep their staff happy. Without them, they would lose their competitive edge.

That being said the staff felt happier than last year. Last year we often saw them “grouping” together which felt that they were gossiping about jobs/management. We saw none of that this year.

There’s not much entertainment on the property. That’s perfect for us! But the new GM is bringing in more and more entertainment, because I think a lot of people complain about the lack of entertainment. To be honest: I think there’s an opportunity to bring in more entertainment, but I really don’t want that. What I really want is more over the top bespoke experience on site. (GM if you read this send me an email would love to let you know some of my ideas).

Highlights of the Vacation:
1. The service from Tica and Sunshine (Ralston) at Jerky Joe’s and on the beach. If you skim through trip advisor you will see that Mr. Sunshine is the highlight for most people that come to the resort. And he is a joker and entertainer! Make sure you spend some time with him and he will show you a good time! But the banter that he and Tica have together made me feel like we were in an authentic Jerk Chicken Hut on the beach. They taught us how to play dominos; and we played this game that Sunshine install on the tree (I don’t how to describe it but it essentially it’s get the ring on a hook… sounds weird but really meditative). Even the security got in on the action; he gave me a trick so that I could win the game! Tica’s cooking is unbelievable. We had the full house Jerk special for seven days straight and never got tired of it. Sunshine service is the best I’ve ever had at a resort. As soon as you sat down he got you a bucket of ice with a couple of bottles of water in it. He also made sure you never had an empty glass. (Sunshine and Tica was a bespoke experience that entertained)

2. Tajay (the Concierge/Butler): The butler/concierge service gets a bad rap on trip advisor. I understand why: they don’t engage and tell you want you can ask for; and they don’t regularly check in on you to see if you need anything. With that being said, we knew this from last year and we made sure we asked Tajay for some help the minute we got to the resort. And he didn’t disappoint. One day we got him to set up a daybed at the end of the pier with a bottle of champagne and orange juice (love my mimosas) and a fruit platter. We lounged around out there all day enjoying the ocean breeze and just the seclusion of it all (I posted a picture of what he did).
On my wife’s birthday Tajay and I coordinated so that she would be at the spa and he would decorate our room. I told him that she liked “Game of Thrones” and you should see what he made (picture below). He basically did the Stark logo on our bed using black rice. He also wrote the Stark family motto on the bed “Winter is coming.” A scary reminder for us Canadians but a great surprise none the less. Along with the decorations there was birthday cake and a bottle of Champagne. We coordinated very easily through” What’s App” which was a great way to stay in touch. Thanks Tajay you made my wife’s Bday very special!

3. On My wife’s birthday everyone at the resort knew it was her birthday. It was like being in a movie where everyone kept on breaking out into song singing happy birthday. Dean and Barbara did a surprise birthday cake at the polo club. There was one bartender who had her first day back on the job that week was on my wife’s birthday and she knew it was her birthday! It was crazy.

4. Barbara and Dean at the Polo Club: Dean and Barbara we met last year. But they were working at different parts of the resort. Now they are paired up and working together at the Polo Club. And much like Tica and Sunshine create a great authentic experience so do Dean and Barbara. They are the ultimate duo of making you feel welcome. They made the Polo Club feel like a Pub you show up to on a regular basis. Nothing over the top. But just really good service, conversation, and drinks. Dean would always greet us on the stairwell on the way up and he would be super excited to see that we were going to the Polo Club rather than the main restaurant. Once inside Barbara would make us her specialty. A Coconut Martini for me and a litchi Martini for my wife (picture of the martinis are posted below). Barbara’s drinks are made with care. She will chill each martini glass beforehand, run around the resort to get the freshest ingredients, and make sure that the presentation of the martini is perfect before serving it. All her drinks are not too sweet and balanced perfectly. Then after all that we would just sit and talk to Barb and Dean about any topic that came up. Can’t go wrong: Great food; great drinks; great conversation; great friends! NB that you can order the main restaurant’s meals at Polo Club. All you have to do is asked.

5. The spa: We discovered that if you show up early for your massage at the spa you have access to the dry sauna and steam room. These rooms look beautiful and are amazingly relaxing. Michael and Michelle gave us massages and both gave some of the best resort massages we have ever had.

6. Free Snorkeling trip: the resort offers two free snorkeling trips and you should take advantage of both. One is a catamaran tour for UVC members (or if you stay for 5 days or more you can go), and the other is a tour that leaves from the zoetry dock 3 days a week. I like the tour that leaves from the dock more than the UVC catamaran tour. Less people more personable, better reef. Tony was our captain and he was good resource about the reef and the fish swimming around it. The good thing is the trip doesn’t take up the whole day and you see amazing stingrays and really nice fish.

7. Reception: Kyle at reception was always helping me out. We had a standing order of latte’s and cappucino’s that would arrive at the room every morning at 8am. (Thank you soooo much to Christine for making them perfectly). Kyle also helped us pre order our breakfast in the room the night before we departed -so we didn’t have to worry about breakfast in the morning.

The people:
As I said the people made our stay at the resort special. Here’s a rundown of everyone that help create a magical week:
• Barbara: Best Martinis Ever
• Rupert: great fitness session
• Dean: Great conversation and service at polo club
• Wayne: great service at Coyaba
• Tajay: Best concierge
• Andrina :Always served us breakfast with a smile
• Sunshine: Best beach service ever, will make you laugh
• Tony: Water sports/great snorkeling
• Tica: Great jerk chicken
• Duwayne: Always put a smile on our faces
• Kyle: Reception –checked in one me daily!
• Patrice: Service at the pool… always made sure I had a fresh drink in my hand
• Christine: perfect lattes cappuccinos
• Michelle: UVC concierge , kept us on track
• Arlene : UVC concierge
• All three massage therapist were great: Michael, Nicole, and Michelle

Tips:

• If you’re staying at the resort 5 days or more be sure to contact the resort ahead of time to use club Mobay arrival service (fast track through the lines at the airport), and then when you depart you get to stay in a great lounge. It’s worth going to Jamaica just to use that service

• Ask you butler/concierge for stuff. Don’t wait for them. Remember you are entitled to a bottle of champagne and fruit platter every day. You can ask him to set you up with it anywhere on the property.

• If you want to eat inside go to Polo Cub. You can order any dinner meal at the restaurant you just have to ask to see the menu.

• If you’re a coffee lover have standing order to send coffees to the room for when you wake up.

• The hot and cold whirlpools at the spa are free. You do not need to get a massage to use them.

• If you book a massage show up early to use the steam room and dry sauna.

• Know that the GM is slowly getting rid of the seaweed on the beach. I say in 6-8 months the beach is going to be awesome! (Every day a guy is standing in knee deep water raking away all the seaweed that’s planted on the ocean floor. If you see him give him a tip… He deserves it).

• For airport transport don’t use Amstar. They charge way too much. Use Best Jamaica. We got private transport for a lot cheaper. Great service! Can’t beat it.

Unlimited Vacation Club:
We are happy members that promote UVC any moment we get, so I thought I would give a quick rundown.
Last year, we upgraded our membership at Zoetry Montego Bay from “silver” to “gold plus” because we fell in love with the resort.

• Michelle and Arlene were our UVC concierges and both were excellent. They were great at small talk and just making sure that we were happy! They came across as people. Rather vultures who are trying to hard sell you. (I find in DR/Mexico the UVC people are trying for the hard sell) Michelle booked our free foot massages and we would have missed our appointment if it wasn’t for her hunting us down and reminded us minutes before hand.

• Do the UVC catamaran tour. It’s worth it. (know that the tour stops at Margeritaville where you have the opportunity to buy a drink and go shopping so bring some money. It’s also a snorkeling tour so bring contact lenses if you need them for snorkeling).

• We upgraded my membership from Silver to Gold Plus not for the extra RCI weeks; not for the premier nights or the VIP weeks but for the better room upgrades. We were told that if the resort had availability, as a Gold Plus member I would be upgraded to a swim up room when I would arrive. I have now been to two resorts since changing my membership and I can say that I am getting the same upgrades I got as a Silver member. It is not worth upgrading to Gold Plus from Silver unless you want more RCI weeks- the room upgrades haven’t been better. Now, I may change my mind as I have only been to two resorts since upgrading my membership. But it really didn’t look like all the swim ups were occupied this time even though I was told they were… Last thing about the room upgrade: We did upgrade a couple classes; we booked a tropical view room and got an ocean view junior suite with a soaker tub. So still a very good upgrade, just not a spectacular one and definitely not what was promised.

We will be back again!More