The Spice Isle, Pt I - Booking and Research

 



One of many small gardens on the Grenadian

I first read of the enchanting island of Grenada, while researching our first trip to St Lucia. Enticed by visions of a tropical paradise, lush with rainforests, majestic waterfalls, rugged coastline and beautiful beaches, I put the Spice Isle on my list of future vacation destinations. Being nature lovers and amateur photographers it sounded perfect for us. That was in 2009, in the interim, I kept my eye on pricing for a one-week vacation in Grenada. Prices were always a bit higher than other destinations such as Jamaica and my beloved St Lucia. 

 



Upper Royal Mt. Carmel (Marquis) Waterfall



Being mindful of our travel budget and with our preference for winter vacations to sunny hotspots means there are only certain times of year we will travel; usually just before high-season in late November or early December, in late January or early April. I regularly check Trip Central for pricing on destinations we like.

 

 



Magazine Beach - south end



In August of 2012, when I noticed some great pricing from Air Transat for January 2013, I booked our trip through Sears Travel, taking advantage of Sears’ no interest, equal payment plan and the early booking special offered by Air Transat. Booking early with Air Transat gave us; a price-drop guarantee, seat selection, priority boarding, an extra 10kg baggage allowance, complimentary alcoholic drinks, comfort kits and no penalty cancellation up to 3hrs in advance of the flight; at no extra charge.

 

Prior to booking, I read many reviews of The Grenadian by Rex so I had a good idea about what to expect at the resort. The price was already better than anything I had previously seen and though I was booking for the last week of January, the early booking special made it a no-brainer for me. I contacted our agent at Sears Travel to complete the booking and set up the payment plan. I requested a king-sized bed and a top floor room: ever since being wakened at 4 am by some inconsiderate people staying in the room above ours, on a vacation in Cancun, I have made a point of asking for a top floor room.

 

The Grenadian - pool patio

 

Reviews of the Grenadian rated it as a 3.5 star resort: a beautiful property, dated but clean, friendly staff, nice beaches, decent rooms and the food is good but the buffet selection is very moderate. The pond on the property was an added bonus as it attracts many shore birds, which are always great subjects for photography and interesting to watch. I booked a hillside room with a garden view. Many reviews mentioned the numerous stairs up to these rooms, which had me a bit worried as I pictured trekking an endless succession of steps up to the room and back. I accidentally overlooked the dinner dress code for men – long pants and a collared shirt - which I think is antiquated, unnecessary and inconvenient as it forces men to bring extra clothing just for dinner.

 




St. George's - view from Ft George

Researching new destinations and planning our vacations is fun for me as I enjoy learning the history, culture and geography of other countries. I like to make the most of the time we spend exploring and visiting attractions, so I began scouring the internet for sites with travel information on Grenada. Of the many sites about Grenada, I found the following to be the most helpful: Grenada Tourism -http://www.grenadagrenadines.com/, Caribbean Outdoor Life - http://www.caribbeanoutdoorlife.com/pages/grenada.htm, Grenada Explorer - http://www.grenadaexplorer.com/General.htm, Trip Advisor (TA) - http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g147295-Grenada-Vacations.html and Skyviews Grenada - http://www.skyviews.com/skyviews/maps/grenada/ which offers a decent map of the island.  After numerous hours of research, I decided on an itinerary that would see us visit the major attractions and several other points of interest.