| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
Carol from Staffordshire travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Portland Direct
on a friends holiday.
There were 6 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2007 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed here during October half term and were suprised to find that the hotel was only about 1/2 full.
Starfish is promoted as a fun, family orientated hotel and this is precisely what it is.
We found the rooms to be of a very good standard, especially when compared to Spanish holiday hotels. Safety deposit box is included and there is a large closet for hanging clothes - take extra hangers if required as not many in the room.
I understood that room service is included, but unfortunately, we had no leaflets or menus in the room to advise us of this.
Rooms are kept very clean and plenty of towels provided.
The buffet diningroom is a little basic in furnishings, but hey, this is Jamaica mon and everythings irie lol !! The food was fabulous at each sitting and very tasty with lots of flavoursome dishes to be had. I loved the Jerk chicken and rice and peas!!
Drinks are served in plastic tumblers and tend to be quite strong, especially the rum cocktails!! Red Stripe is on draught. Many guest provided their own thermos mugs, which are larger and keep drinks cool.
The al a carte restaurants are a nice diversion in the evenings and have to be booked in advance.
We dined at the Casablanca, which was a lovely evening, do try the lobster and pear creme brulee which was delicious.
We spent our days on the beach as we found it too hot to remain around the swimming pools. The sea is warm, calm and the breeze is refreshing. Lots of water sports available. Lots of beach sellers, but they are part of the holiday experience and were very friendly and polite, as well as offering their knowledge of Jamaica.
The entertainment crew work very hard and provide activities throughtout the day and shows in the evening. However, the entertainment stops fairly early and guests seemed to disapear. The disco was very underused, which was a shame for the youngsters who wanted to party till late. However, I would imagine this would be different in high season.
We saw only 2 light rain showers during the week and both occured when we were having lunch and had cleared by the time we had finished. Weather was very hot with lots of sunshine. Mosquittos were a problem as Jamaica has suffered heavy rains over the last couple of months. It was also quite humid so of loose-fitting,natural fabric clothes are required for comfort.
All staff and locals encountered were pleasant and approachable and have an easy going, laid back attitude, which is very catching!!
Relax, chillout to the reggae beat and enjoy everything that Starfish and Jamaica has to offer, and yes, I would definitely return!!!
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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charlotte from London travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Thomas Cook
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel looked a bit faded from the outside, probably because the sign on top looks a bit old fashioned. The lobby is huge with its own bar and cheery tiles but spoiled I think by pool tables and slot machines on one side. That aside, it has several pools, loads of different restaraunts, including a rather posh dining room (Casablanca), an Italian and a japanese restaraunt. These are also part of AI, if you stick to food with no price against it, the ones with prices have to be paid for with a surcharge. There is also the main buffet area (with tons of really good food, fantastic fresh fruit and fish) and a beach side restaraunt with burgers, chicken, chips, nachos/cheese et. Plenty of bars too, including a swim up and a late night disco. the entertainment was ok, not my kind of thing but if you like Karioke, quiz nights, competitions etc...there's always something going on and the bands were good. They also ptovide lots of watersports (some free), trapeze training (hoot to watch people having a go), free beach towels too. The beach is good, fine sand and a little island offshore that you can walk to and use the sunbeds, we spent most of our time over there. Beware there are beach sellers, but the hotel has security guards on the beach, although they were a bit hit and miss with the sellers (but just be firm and say no). Room was fine, basic but had hairdryer iron etc. (pity the sockets were 3 pin and the iron 2 pin !!) and as someone else said...4 bottles of booze on optics. Hotel was kept clean, no complaints but I think they need to get some fly and wasp killers especially around the coke machines. Staff were generally great, warm and friendly but the odd few were surly and obviously not happy in their job but what's new. Overall though we would recommend this hotel, it more than matched our expectations and if you are going with kids, there is just shedloads for them to do...and they will never, never be hungry !!
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peverley from Colne travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Thompson
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: the bar areas could have been cleaner they smelt of stale beer everyday ,wasps or bees were always around the bar ,not enough comfortable seats in the reception area and bars and plastic cups are awful.
There is nowhere to walk in the evening apart from jerrys bar if like me you like a walk in the evening after your evening meal ,the security staff make you think that it is not safe to go out it is safe but nowhere to go (buy somthing from the locals they need the money just to live ,if you want to go on trips see sticky or squidly didly on the beach they may seem dodgy but will look after you as will all the taxi drivers but they will take you to shops that give them commission if you want to go shopping not much to buy anyway unless you like t shirts,
All the trips are designed to take money off you so be aware.
The food was good especialy the paties at the pool bar inthe evening the restauraunt was busy and very little room between tables this was the main restaurant and is el fresco and the mosquitoes eat well the restaurant also resembled a canteen .
The rooms are clean if a little outdated make sure you put insect repelent plugins at all times or face a severe savaging .
It would be niceto eat in the casssblaca resturant every night but the menu is limited .
Overall I enjoyed my stay even with the above comments I didnt like reggae when I landed in Jamaica I now Hate it ,would go again but somwhere i could get out more
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Kim Morgan from Cleveland travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Portland Direct
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We really enjoyed our stay at starfish.Hurricane Dean arrived when we were there but the hotel kept us informed at all times and went out of their way to make us comfortable.Luckily there wasnt too much damage and after all the hard work of the staff everything was back up and running in no time.Our son was so upset when we returned home as he had such a great time.He loved the circus crew who learnt him on the flying trapeze, (especially Phillip).The rooms are basic but clean.The night entertainment was good but we felt it could of lasted longer.It seemed to dye off from around 10pm.All the staff were great especially the entertainment team (Kevan)and the bar men from the lobby bar (Kevin,kilmarnie,dwane and kevon).We will visit starfish again in the future.
Hope to go back soon
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Vcikie from Manchester UK travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 01 2007 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Been home for 5 days, and am sooooo sad for leaving Starfish. Truly was my best ever holiday (and I have travelled Europe/Med/Turkey/St.Lucia)
Remember this is rated 3* so the review is based on this.
Food is better than average, and for 3*star, it was fantastic for choice etc. All mainly spicy however in min buffet there was a kids section that always served non-spicy (spag bol, lasagne, casseroles etc)
Sea shells pool bar-excelletn-burgers hotdogs patties of course, and jerk chiken. Jerk everything is everywhere on every day-but we love it so was in our element.
Hotel, beach, pool, rooms were kept immaculate, towels/bedding changed everyday, cups/plates collected immediately, beach was even raked regular to clear seaweed!
Hotel is kind of in the middle of nowhere however we did venture out as there are 2 bars in very close walking distance.
You must get out of the complex and see the real Jamaica. People are Very FRIENDLY and think its hilarious that we are advised to not go out alone!!! Make a friend with a local-go with them-but do not stay within complex for your 2 weeks!
Entertainment ranged from acceptable to fantastic. The best being the circus show on a Friday night and Jamiacasn night Saturday night. House band were OK.
I have already booked my weddiong for here in December07/Jan '08.
My son had time of his life doing rock-climbing, ice-skating, mini golf, basketball, kayaking, swimming, volleyball etc. Plenty for kids.
BEST HOLIDAY EVER. DO NOT HESITATE TO GO HERE YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.
By the way, the rooms have a 3 pin UK standard plug for us! Pretty cool (even after I spent £5 in Manchester airport on an adaptor!
Rooms, basic but with everything you needed. tv hairdryer, cd player, radio alarm clock, spirit optics, fridge, tea/coffee facilities, lare wardrobe space and plenty of drawers.
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niki,barrie,georgia from widnes,cheshire travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2006 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This is a fantastic hotel,I cant wait to get back next year,staff are fantastic and so friendly. Always smiling. Lots of Americans here.
Beach is amazing. Food is great,this is great for children,my daughter spent most of the 2 weeks in the kids club,small charge of 5 dollars a day,but its from 9-5 and from kids age 18 months to 11 yrs. The staff are great with the kids.rooms are basic but who goes on holiday to spend it in your room.
In the room is tv,iron,coffee maker,hair dryer mini bar with rum,vodka,bacardi and 1 other,,we didnt touch ours as we drank downstairs but its there if you want it.
Towels changed everyday and room cleaned. We travelled to Falmouth market 1 day,if you ask around you will get a taxi driver who will take you any where during your stay.
The taxi drivers in the hotel parking are a little more because they have to pay the hotel money to park in the hotel. Looking forward to returning next year,yeh mon
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Paul from lincolnshire travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
direct holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 02 2006 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Rooms basic but adequate. Staff very helpful considering they have to put up with rude Americans who neither say please or thankyou.
Shame they use plastic cups for drinks!
Pool very good, beach great, our son enjoyed himself so much he did not wish to leave, which lets face it if your kids are happy then so are you!!!
Food is ok, nothing terrible.
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Tresa from S Wales travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 02 2006 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Rooms very basic but clean and right on the beach.
Daytime and evening entertainment very good and hotel entertainment staff worked very hard. All the staff were very nice and helpful
It was windy quite a lot, so the watersports availablewere restricted. They did have miniture golf, but it does need some work and there was only a samll number of gof clubs, the ice rink was out of action (did not look much like a rink in any case).
This is the hotel for you if you like sitting by the pool and beach most of the time. You are not encouraged to go out on your own only on organised excursions.
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Connin-Hillis from Brighton, MI travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
none
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2005 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We loved the starfish. It basically catered to families and that was why we were there.
Our room had a king size bed and a twin. With a lot of walking room in it.
Everyone was so nice ~ We hated to leave. My son felt like family after only his 4 day stay. I felt very reassured allowing my 13 year old just do his own thing. All staff took him under their wing. I couldn't have asked for better accommodations, food, and tranquillity. Starfish gets an A+++ .
We will surely return with the whole family.
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Bev Turgoose from Doncaster travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
portland Direct
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2005 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at starfish for 2 weeks and was dreading it coming to an end. This was definitely the best holiday of our lives and we have been all over eg las vegas dominican republic the med and spain.
All the staff were extremely polite going out of their way to please you I never saw my 15 year old son whose birthday it was while we were there. They baked him a huge chocolate cake and brought it out into the dining room singing happy birthday.
The a la carte places are superb and although it says surcharges will be applied it is only on certain meals and I found the free meals were the best.
You can vist these every night if you wish not once per week like lots of other hotels. All day there is something to entertain you and this goes on into the early hours if you wish to participate.
I never found one jamaican to be rude or anything I adore Pauline the thomson rep I could have brought her home.
If you are thinking of going to jamaica go to the starfish trelawny it is absolutely fantastic.
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Karen Thimot from Saulnierville Nova Scotia travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Fareconnect.com
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Beautiful Resort... And oh my the pools!! Pool after pool after pool! There is enough room there for everyone to swim all day. You won't bump into anybody in the water!
There is a seperate kids pool with a huge slide that we actually swam in a few days. Was so nice. The beach is awsome and clean. There's a cute little Island that you can walk on over and lay back in a hammock and let the wind rock you to sleep. Staff are great. They did everything possible to please us. Very friendly.
Wish they had more entertainment after 9PM. The only thing is that bothered me would have been that the music in the Disco is so loud that it's hard to get a quiet evening if your room is above it. But the shows at night were great.
Wish they had more though.
Go to the luminious lagoon. Well worth it. And Go to Braco Stables if you like Horseback riding. The ride accross the wooded area and along the beach is beautiful. The guides will assure that you have a safe mount! Than they will treat you to a few cold drinks after swimming with your horse in the laggoon.
The spa is a wonderful experience. If you get a rainy day like I got. I stayed there 4 hours to get pampered... They are so nice and do a great manicure and pedicure.
The FOOD IS EXCELLENT! Believe me you won't go hungry here! They have a very wide variety of foods!
Wow...I miss it very much. Will have to go back for sure!
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liz from Bradford travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Direct Holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The rooms at the hotel were basic, but exactly what we expected and needed, we were not in there long anyway, We were on the top floor and the bathroom had been refurbished and was nice, it was very clean.
We had a few ants but the cleaning staff must have sprayed everyday (without us asking) and they were never a problem. Staff were cleaning all day, the grounds etc were spotless.
The food was fantastic, I tried everything and there was always something different.They have theme nights. We never tried any of the restaraunts with a surcharge as the buffet was always fine for us,but were told they were very good.
The drinks were always good, and we were always served straight away, found that they seemed to prefer us English to the Americans but I think that could be because some of them could be very rude.And they don't seem to have as much patience as us Brits.
The hotel is about 45 mins from the airport, but was very near the luminous lagoon, and about an hour away from Dunns River Falls, We didn't go out except on theaw trips, which are a must, so can't say what else is near but believe me when you see the hotel and the beautiful beach you realise you don't need to go anywhere.
The sea is turquoise and the sand is white with a little island you walk out to which is lovely. The watersports staff clean the beach all the time to clear it of the seaweed and they do a great job. We went just to relax. and we did.Go out on the Katmarans they are very good, they take you quite far out very quickly, I was actually quite shocked how fast they went but they were great fun.
Some of the locals do approach you on the beach to sell there wares etc, but a polite no is fine and they leave you alone. They are very friendly, do not worry about them at all, the hotel also have security on the beach who move them on if they are there for too long. We bought some aloe vera plant off them for a couple of dollars, it was great, it really does soothe your burns. buy some and keep it in the fridge in your room, in case you need it later.
The staff were always very helpful, and always working the entertainment staff never stopped and were very good,They do try to get you involved in everything, but they are not too pushy, if you don't want to join in that is fine. It is a shame that there is not more to do after 10.00 but we had a great time anyway.
The only thing that put us off going to Jamaica again is the long flight and with the time difference you do get jet lagged, however if I do return and I hope one day I will, it will be to the Starfish. It is excellent.
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Jane from Rochester travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
mlt
on a friends holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 01 2005 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Nice hotel grounds, clean, and pretty, pool & beach are nice, drinks were very good. Buffet food needs much much more improvement, and I am not a picky eater(ick!) There are 3 resteraunts but you pay extra for them. Bar tenders very rude and in no hurry to serve you!!!! entertainment not good.
I would stay here again if they get new bar tenders & better quality food.
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Geraldine from Glasgow travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Portland Direct
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2004 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel has a choice of 4 restaurants with the buffet being the only one you do not pay nor the seashell grill / bar which is open by the pool side until 6ish.The other restaurants are an italian apporx $7 pp supplement.very quiet! Casablanca (very posh) apporx $10-$30 depneding on dish & Muranhana (japanese if you like Sushi) at $10 per person.
Buffet though is very well done with lots of dishes to choose from.
The hotel attendants were out at all times constantly sweeping,clearing even the pool attendants were clening up!So the hotel was kept in ship shape.
Some reception staff can be offhandish but majority were more than happy to accomodate you.I think they preferred us than the Americans as we British dont seem bolshy !!
The only bad thing i can say is the entertainment at night quite a let down after 10pm.You are left to sit at the bar or go the bubbles disco, please do not go in there unless you can dance like the Jamaicans !!!
Overall i really liked this place, but make sure you get a room overlooking the sea not a mountain view room as most rooms overlook an airconditoinng unit.
P.S a tip for you - email hotel beofre you arrive to introduce yourself, you might be suprised to get an upgrade !!!
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Aimee from Cardiff travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
Airtours/My Travel
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: In the summer of 2004, I stayed in the Starfish Trelawny hotel, and had the best time of my life.
The rooms were large, and had a fridge, satellite tv, radio/alarm clock, and air conditioning. Also to my amazment the rooms also had optics in the room.
The food was lovely, and there was a variety every night. There was meat carvery, and also fresh fruit. In the daytime the hotel served the best burgers, and if you don't try anything else try the Jerk Chicken, it was gorgeous.
The staff at the hotel were very friendly. Please note they cannot except tips in the open, but if you really want to tip them do it in private.
I would definitley visit the hotel again. as it was the best holiday in the Caribbean I have ever had.
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Pat Daly from Northampton travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
First Choice
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2004 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: My husband and I took a last minute break to this hotel in March 2004. It was a bad time to go as it coincided with the American spring Break and was overrun by young Americans who aren't old enough to drink in their own country but made free use of the a.i. package in the hotel.
The hotel is very modern and the main bar area is in the reception. There is no 'quiet comfortable' are to sit in. The only place which was more to our taste was the piano bar.
The staff very friendly and in the piano bar remember your usual drink and served it to you on arrival.
The food in the main area was o.k. but it is very canteen like and you sit on the same plastic chairs for diner as you do for lunch and breakfast (not conducive to wearing nice clothes). The al la carte restaurant was totally different, there were several items on the menu that you could chose without having to pay the extra cost and we took advantage of this most nights. Its a nice place to dress up and relax with waiter service. The Japanese restaurant was also very good. The Italian restaurant was located on the 'balcony' overlooking the pool and not particularly good.
We took two trips one to the Matha Bray river and the obviously one to the Dunns River Falls. Both were very good.
We wouldn't venture outside the hotel on our own but felt quite safe in the grounds. The beach was gorgeous and the water nice a clear.
This hotel is more geared to the under 35's and would recommend it to anyone over this age.
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Harris from Wales travelled to Starfish Trelawny with
My Travel
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2003 |
rated the Starfish Trelawny as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I loved the look on this hotel, our room was on the top floor. There are a few lifts. Our room was spacious. Rooms were also kept clean.
Everyone we met was so friendly and were enjoying there stay. The food was lovely I'm not one for spicey foods but there was plenty to choose from.
There was plenty to keep you busy if you wanted or if not you could just relax.
I will be back here next year.
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