Grenada & Paradise Bay

It's now after midnight, technically Monday morning. I've spent the great majority of the afternoon and night cutting and cropping pictures to save them to albums. There were definitely pictures I wish I had taken while I was in Grenada that I didn't. Mainly pictures of things around the "resort" that I didn't bother with. Most likely as I was trying to stay on the positive side. Now that the vacation is done, I don't have to; however, I really want to put the whole vacation behind me and move on.


I will blog about our first international, three multi-generational vacation when I feel that I can devote the time and energy necessary in doing so. I just haven't decided how I want to blog about it. Unlike my European blogs that went day by day, as I was practically in a new country everyday, this wasn't the case in Grenada. (Can I say that in Ft. Lauderdale I finally learned that I have been pronouncing Grenada wrong all along. It is Gre-NAY-da instead of Gre-nah-da, and even now I still have trouble with this. You just can't train an old dog new tricks!)


Speaking of dogs (yes, I am again digressing...) this appears to be perfect time to share a fabulous dog photo that had me amused and more than mildly entertained for a good 40 minutes watching two dogs be "stuck". I was even reprimanded by my mother to look elsewhere as I was making it worse - but this is PRICELESS!

Anyway, so I haven't decided yet on the style (and no it isn't doggie style!) of my blog, but I'm leaning toward just highlighting.

For starters, Paradise Bay Resort was anything BUT PARADISE or a RESORT. It was as close to a high dollar hell as feasibly possible. For the sake of my son and the money already invested as it was a pre-purchased vacation stay from a PBS auction, we did the best we could and even upgraded to include the "super inclusive" which was to provide unlimited food and beverage. What a joke. I wouldn't even feed unwanted house guests what we were provided! While at the "resort" I did happen to google "Paradise Bay Grenada" and was linked to Trip Advisor and reviews. I read them all. I was not astonished by anything that I read. Clearly it appears that the most positive review, a man and his wife Ann from Pennsylvania, befriended Mr. James Post and had a fabulous experience. I'm curious as to how much they paid for their experience. In addition, when we received the bill on the last day for the upgrade, on the hand written bill was the following statement:

"If you commit to place min. 3 positive reviews on tripadvisor and other review sites we are prepared to reduce to $XXXX. " (an amout $243.36 lower than the initial elevated total!)

Can we say blackmail? Afraid that he wouldn't transport us back to the airport as he wasn't at the "resort" we paid for other transportation back. This cost was also to be included. He met us at the airport and the three of us exchanged heated discussions about the stay and the bill. To end it all after sometime I offered him EC and US money (although I converted the EC wrong and paid $250 more than I would have liked to) and agreed to not post anything negative on tripadvisor. However, since we paid the full amount due to my miscalculation and based on a reported 5% discount for cash I should be able to write whatever I want on Tripadvisor. I won't though. Unlike Mr. James Post, I am true to my word. My blog, however, is NOT Tripadvisor nor is it a vacation review site.

I would recommend that anyone interested in reading about Paradise Bay Resort in Grenada refer to Tripadvisor. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g616292-d617965-r13010625-Paradise_Bay_Resort-St_David_Grenada.html#TOPC Be sure to read past the few positive reviews as it makes me wonder how many of the positive reviews were bribed or created by Mr. Post himself.

In short the food was terrible. The post on the 30 minute wait for coffee, 30 minutes for sugar/cream, 30 minutes for cold toast was so accurate it made me laugh! Some days we were offered the basket of jelly and honey packages - however, they were old and additional packages were never added during our 8 day stay.

We were the ONLY guests at the resort. It was reported that a honeymoon couple missed their flight - if true, what a blessing for them!, as did another single male traveler miss his flight. Mr. Post DID NOT pick us up at the airport as he had confirmed two days earlier by email, which was to be part of our upgrade to the super inclusive package. A taxi driver called him and then drove us to the resort. The ride to the resort was off the beaten path and the narrow road was occupied by wandering goats, cows, chickens and dogs. The taxi driver didn't have any idea where the resort was, despite the small island. The resort was located high upon a hill and based on the surrounding homes on the street to the resort, we were pretty scared of what we may find although I was still hoping to be pleasantly surprised to find my "Paradise" nestled high upon the hill.

Mr. Post initially refused to pay the taxi driver and then told me that there must have been miscommunication about the transport. The "staff" quickly went to our villa to clean it. As it was early morning, we expected breakfast from our very long travel; however, there was nothing prepared. Additionally, we were informed that there weren't groceries due to the recently completed "Carnival". Mr. Post had mentioned that while Carnival was primarily Monday and Tuesday (we arrived Thursday morning) there would still be festivities around the island, WRONG. Consistent excuses throughout our stay were: Carnival and Hurricane. If something wasn't done, wasn't fixed, wasn't offered, it was because of one or both of them! Despite the reported day before cancellations of his other three guests, he was completely unprepared for the arrival of us - three guests. Due to the lack of groceries, my son and I had A crepe and my mom had scrambled eggs. Nothing else. A plate with ONE CREPE. Completely unappetizing, despite my obvious hunger.

The package that I purchased from the online auction was valued at $2500 which included 8 days/7 nights in a jacuzzi suite (aka honeymoon suite) for two as well as a whale watching or catamaran trip, a seven course Sunday brunch (which we NEVER received as that was the day of our whale watching trip), 4 massages (my mom had ONE), an island tour and 2 hikes or walks. The additional confirmation letter boasted, "enjoyed instant recognition for the massages, fine cuisine and beautiful location. Although small, the resort has 3 massage stations and 1 massage Gazebo on an on-site secluded beach. There is a small gym with the latest equipment. Ocean kayaks are available." Based on our package, I was EXPECTING PARADISE.


Per night that comes to $357, with an additional $206 to add my son and then an extra $135 per day charge to upgrade to the "super inclusive" which offered all inclusive meals, tours, etc. We didn't even get the initial base package AND his final charge was at $200.25 per day plus my son's overnight fees!

The resort didn't have ANY massage stations. There was no massage gazebo and there wasn't a secluded beach. Beaches CANNOT be private on Grenada. Maybe this was what was considered the massage gazebo but it didn't overlook the beach/water:

Here are pictures of the "secluded beach" - it appears to be so secluded that not even Mr. Post nor his "staff" are able to get to it to clean the beach for guests:

I inquired about the gym and was informed that there was an exercise bike located in the villa adjacent to Cristina's villa (the back-up cook/helper/assistant/masseuse). I used the bike ONCE, which was in the front part of the villa, facing out the side window. There was no radio, but I was able to read a magazine about Grenada dated 2004! I did walk into the other room (Mr. Post escorted me to the villa, unlocked it and showed me the bike. Cristina had informed me that the "gym" was only a bike.) where I observed by light of the setting sun, a stair stepper, treadmill, workout machine and free weights. There was no working light in the room nor was there air conditioning, so I left the room and went to use the bike. At the airport during our argument Mr. Post stated that there was a "gym" and that I had only asked to use the bike, denying no lighting and a/c in the adjacent room. Like everything at the "resort" nothing was readily accessible, you had to find Mr. Post or Cristina to go, do or have anything. Most often Mr. Post was found sitting online, but sometimes no one was available.

We did use the ocean kayak, once. This was a small feat as the kayak had to be strapped to Mr. Post's truck and then driven down the long steep driveway, up the short distance road to the beach (the non-secluded beach). My son quickly found himself seasick and my foot was still bleeding from stepping on something in the water I hoped was coral. We never attempted this again. Mr. Post stated he hoped in the future that he would chain the kayaks with a lock at the other beach as driving them back and forth wasn't very reasonable. Had one been readily available, I may have attempted to use a single kayak; however, Mr. Post DID NOT have life jackets and when I questioned him about life jackets he responded, "Don't you know how to swim?" Clearly, being new to kayaking I was not about to kayak beyond the beach/cove of the beach into the Atlantic Ocean without a life jacket!

The massage, the one my mom did receive, lasted well over 1.5 hours. It took approximately 45 minutes for Cristina to shower and prepare to give the massage. Since my mom asked for one before dinner, dinner couldn't be started until her massage was finished, despite my son and I being hungry and knowing that the meal takes 2-3 hours to be cooked. My mom said that the massage wasn't very good either. They left the headrest and mat on our veranda leaning against the balcony which repeatedly fell over with the early morning rain and wind.

On a positive note, had the stay been less expensive and Mr. Post had been accurate of the expectations of the resort on his website http://www.paradisebayresort.com/, we may have been prepared for what we received. A website stating not to expect nightlife and lush carpets was far from what I anticipated. Knowing what $2500 for a week stay in the US would provide, I expected a lot from a country where the average monthly family income is $600! Had the package not been offered as a honeymoon suite/romantic getaway for two and as my mom stated throughout the vacation had been offered as "Come be my house guest and I'll show you Grenada!", then it might have been tolerable teetering on enjoyable.

Undeniably, the view (minus all the bugs - I couldn't get enough bug spray!) was beautiful. The beaches were too far to pleasantly walk to for bathing, besides the beaches were dirty and the water was nasty! There were no lounge chairs at either beach despite my mom requesting this on numerous occasions. We did receive "beach towels" upon request. The resort had a pool which didn't have water. Some of the reviews discuss the pool and how unsafe it was. Some of the vacation sites state that the pool is coming soon ('07) as well as kitchenettes in each villa - however, that wasn't on my paper (not even paperwork) nor on the main website. There were no exercise classes. There was no 7-course meal. There was no fine cuisine. There were no massage gazebos. There was nothing PARADISE about this ALL INCLUSIVE VACATION.

As I had two chaperones with me, my mother and my 11-year old son, I didn't expect to drink much despite the drinks (reportedly wine and champagne) were included. I did have one glass of champagne which was AWFUL. I was not offered anything besides champagne the entire vacation. All I wanted from this vacation was to get some rest and relaxation, enjoy great memories and experiences with my son and mother and get a good tan while occasionally drinking a fruity cocktail by the beach.

Well, we had experiences. Does that count?????