Playing around on the computer tonight, I stumbled across what might be the first published online article written about enjoying a vacation at The Blue House Luxury Bed and Breakfast Villa in Ocho Rios Jamaica !
The author, Ben Thompson, has written many articles on Jamaica hotels and Jamaica vacation properties. Has he been a guest here ?
Hhhhhmmm.
Regardless .......... Thanks Ben !! Come visit sometime.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Jamaica Vacation - VIP Encounter at Dolphin Cove Ocho Rios Jamaica
A few months back, guests from the UK and Germany who happened to be vacationing at the same time at The Blue House Luxury Bed and Breakfast Villa, were talking about the high cost of swimming with the dolphins, debating whether or not it was worth the $250 and whether or not they would be willing to pay that much. In the end they simply opted to pay the minimum entry fee of $50 and go have a "look see".
One of these guests reported in her Virtual Tourist review that the dolphin encounters were disappointingly brief saying "there seemed to be a conveyor belt of swimmers, and the dolphins made a series of circuits with a different person hanging on each time."
Another guest, Michael, even though he was equally disappointed with the two minute encounters he had witnessed, had a "life dream" of swimming with the dolphins so felt pulled to return there. He'd observed that 8 persons at a time swam with the dolphins in fixed time slots so he was considering purchasing an entire time slot for a once in a life time thrill and making his dream a reality. Not usually an extravagant person, Michael debated long and hard, agonizing about biting the bullet and bringing his dream to fruition. For me, life dream or not, the amount of money in question seemed way too extravagant, so I made a couple of phone calls, and arranged a "discounted life dream" :).
Paraphrasing from Michael's his Tripadvisor review:
"I had a "life dream" to swim with dolphins. At Dolphin Cove tourists can swim with the dolphins. I watched this and was really disappointed. Large groups of pleasure-seeking tourists line up in a row; two dolphins go past and pull each for just a few metres, then move on to the next one. It looked to me like queuing for a short ride on a jet ski. All this for US$250.
I told Elise of my impression and that I want more than this. Some days later she told me that she’d spoken with the owner of Dolphin Cove and had arranged something special for me. On a day when there was no cruise ship in town, Daryl took me to Dolphin Cove. THEN A DREAM CAME TRUE. With only the trainer as companion I could swim for 30 minutes with "Misty" and "Pepe" – touch, hold and play completely at ease with them. It was one of the most touching experiences of my life."
Michael now dreams of bringing his wife and his children to vacation at The Blue House so they too would be able to enjoy the same magical experience.
Photos furnished by Michael and published with his permission.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Ocho Rios Jamaica Bed and Breakfast Wins 2nd Place Best New Hotel International Award
The Blue House Luxury Bed and Breakfast in Ocho Rios Swoops Second Place Spot For Best New Hotel Worldwide Plus Best Of Jamaica Award and Best Of Ocho Rios
In the tradition of the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, the International Restaurant and Hotel Awards™ (IRHA) is the world’s most comprehensive and prestigious awards program recognizing the best value, moderate and luxury travel establishments that go above and beyond industry standards. IRHA celebrates the world’s finest hotels and restaurants committed to the highest standards of quality service and promotes the global appreciation of travel, dining and cultural exploration.
To aid the selection process, IRHA conducts research annually in each category field by searching the web, magazines, travel guides and ratings directories, speaking with experts, attending industry expos and events, and coordinating travel and dining excursions. IRHA’s Jury reviewed submissions from 50 countries around the world from bed & breakfasts, top restaurants, chains, six-star luxury hotels, boutique hotels and independent restaurants and hotels in April & May 2008. Top chains and hotel groups that participated include The Ritz-Carlton, Marriott International, Accor Hotels, The Peninsula Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Kor Hotel Group, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels and a host of others.
The Blue House Luxury Bed and Breakfast Villa http://www.thebluehousejamaica.com/ in Ocho Rios, Tripadvisor’s #1 Jamaica B&B Inn, received the second place award for The Best New Hotel Of The Year in the Moderate Priced Category from the jury of representatives from the Food Network, Travel Channel, UKTV, BBC Food, CBS Radio, Zagat Survey, Cool Restaurants, Cool Hotels, Citysearch, Fodor's Travel Guides, Hungry?, City Guides and more.
IRHA announced the Best of City and Best of Country recipients on June 18th. The Blue House Ocho Rios Jamaica was awarded both Best Of Ocho Rios and Best Of Jamaica Titles.
The Grand Award Nominees for the coveted titles of International Restaurant of the Year & International Hotel of the Year (value, moderate and luxury titles) will be announced in July, 2008. The Grand Award recipients and the 2008 IRHA Award Honorees will receive the coveted IRHA statue presented at the 2008 IRHA Gala Ceremony on November 25th, 2008 at the home of the Golden Globes, the Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, California. The star-studded gala ceremony will be hosted by Mark DeCarlo of the Travel Channel and will include a Special Spotlight on New Orleans along with Grand Award presentations.
Info for this post was taken directly from the IRHA website.
In the tradition of the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, the International Restaurant and Hotel Awards™ (IRHA) is the world’s most comprehensive and prestigious awards program recognizing the best value, moderate and luxury travel establishments that go above and beyond industry standards. IRHA celebrates the world’s finest hotels and restaurants committed to the highest standards of quality service and promotes the global appreciation of travel, dining and cultural exploration.
To aid the selection process, IRHA conducts research annually in each category field by searching the web, magazines, travel guides and ratings directories, speaking with experts, attending industry expos and events, and coordinating travel and dining excursions. IRHA’s Jury reviewed submissions from 50 countries around the world from bed & breakfasts, top restaurants, chains, six-star luxury hotels, boutique hotels and independent restaurants and hotels in April & May 2008. Top chains and hotel groups that participated include The Ritz-Carlton, Marriott International, Accor Hotels, The Peninsula Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Kor Hotel Group, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels and a host of others.
The Blue House Luxury Bed and Breakfast Villa http://www.thebluehousejamaica.com/ in Ocho Rios, Tripadvisor’s #1 Jamaica B&B Inn, received the second place award for The Best New Hotel Of The Year in the Moderate Priced Category from the jury of representatives from the Food Network, Travel Channel, UKTV, BBC Food, CBS Radio, Zagat Survey, Cool Restaurants, Cool Hotels, Citysearch, Fodor's Travel Guides, Hungry?, City Guides and more.
IRHA announced the Best of City and Best of Country recipients on June 18th. The Blue House Ocho Rios Jamaica was awarded both Best Of Ocho Rios and Best Of Jamaica Titles.
The Grand Award Nominees for the coveted titles of International Restaurant of the Year & International Hotel of the Year (value, moderate and luxury titles) will be announced in July, 2008. The Grand Award recipients and the 2008 IRHA Award Honorees will receive the coveted IRHA statue presented at the 2008 IRHA Gala Ceremony on November 25th, 2008 at the home of the Golden Globes, the Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, California. The star-studded gala ceremony will be hosted by Mark DeCarlo of the Travel Channel and will include a Special Spotlight on New Orleans along with Grand Award presentations.
Info for this post was taken directly from the IRHA website.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunsets Galore ! - Real Jamaica Vacation in Ocho Rios
Sunsets are such an awesome display of God's superb artistic ability.
Our neighbour directly across the street from us cut down his massive lychee tree last week, amidst much rejoicing and cheers from us at The Blue House.
The Blue House is once again blest with incredible sunsets, an ocean view, (or as we rightly say in Jamaica "sea view") and even a glimpse of Sandals Dunns River and the Riu Ocho Rios across the expanse of deep, blue waters. Lights twinkle at us from these hotels on clear nights and I fantasize that they're saying "Wha gwan, Blu Howse. Lang time mi nuh si yuh" in morse code. :)
My heart is singing and overflowing with joy at the return of these sights after being deprived of them for so many years!
At sunset most evenings my brother, Chef Darryl, laughs at me as I grab my camera and make a mad dash for the front balcony of our bed and breakfast, gleefully clicking away as I record umpteen versions of fiery sunsets like the one above.
PRAISE GOD !!
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