Free Grocery Offers

So you’ve rented a villa for your Jamaica vacation. Now what?
Well if you’ve rented a luxury, staffed villa here’s what you
might expect: Your driver will meet you at the airport in a
comfortable, air-conditioned van. On the drive to your villa, he
will indicate points of interest along the road and provide
refreshments- if it is a long drive do not hesitate to request a
stop. Upon arrival at your villa you will be greeted by your
staff; they are your caretakers for the duration of your stay
and you should feel completely at ease making reasonable
requests of them. Get to know your head-of-house as he or she
will be your primary point of contact should you have any
questions about the villa and how it operates. Your cook will
handle grocery shopping and meal preparation. She will
prepurchase your first few meals plus pantry staples, then
finish the week’s shopping after meeting with you. A typical
grocery budget is US$210 per adult per week (more in some
villas) … less for children. This may vary up or down
depending on market prices and menus. If you wish to go to the
various markets with your cook, feel free to do so. Otherwise,
simply review with her your likes and dislikes and she will
handle everything while you stay at the villa and relax. At some
of the villa colonies, like Tryall, it is possible for your cook
to charge groceries to your account, which you then settle at
the end of your stay. At most of the independent villas, unless
you’ve arranged for a mealplan, your cook will request money for
shopping; she’ll bring you receipts and change. The day starts
while guests are still asleep. The cook quietly places pots of
steaming Jamaican coffee and platters of fresh fruit outside
your bedroom door or at the breakfast table. Full breakfast is
served when all guests are ready. A typical breakfast may
include fresh orange juice and several fruits, banana fritters
or plantain, eggs, bacon, pancakes or cereal. Light lunches are
usual in Jamaica, then for dinner your cook will prepare her own
mix of Jamaican specialties … including delicious homemade
soups and desserts, ackee and saltfish, jerk pork or chicken,
shrimp or curried goat. Lobster, too, when in season … she can
of course also serve traditional American fare as you request.
Warning: Jamaican cooks are excellent and portions are big. Your
chambermaid and laundress will care for every detail of your
bedroom and bath … providing a daily supply of fresh linens
and flowers and returning your neatly-folded laundry each
afternoon before turning down your bed each evening. The
gardener will maintain the pool and grounds immaculately each
day. Larger villas are staffed by a butler who serves, tends bar
and generally facilitates. Available on request are a masseuse,
children’s nanny and chauffeur. At the conclusion of your stay
it is customary to tip for good service. Villa staffs, like most
jobs in the service industry, rely on tips as part of their
overall compensation. Recommended gratuities tend to be around
10% of the villa rental in High Season ~ 15% of the villa rental
in Low Season (some villas have more specific guidelines). These
percentages apply to the entire staff, not to each individual
staff member. In each villa, you will find a gratuity guide
advising you how tips should be distributed among your staff
members based on their seniority- in some cases you can pay the
entire amount to the head of house or directly to the property
manager for distribution. Once you have experienced the villa
lifestyle, it is only natural to be intrigued by the prospect of
owning one of these extraordinary properties. Whether it is an
existing villa or a home site on which to build the vacation
house of your dreams Jamaica’s experienced real estate agents
will help you find it.

What are the advantages to staying in a villa over a hotel? The
only true privacy you get in a hotel is in your bedroom or
suite. In a villa everything belongs to you ~ the pool, the sun
beds, the terrace, the music, the TV ~ it is your home every
minute of the day. You will only see the people you wish to see.
Even your staff will become “invisible” if that is what you
want, appearing only at those times you ask them to serve you.
In a villa you decide everything from what you eat to the time
you eat it. And yet, despite having all these major advantages,
a villa vacation compares very favorably on price with a hotel.
Certain villas include temporary memberships in private clubs
such as Tryall, Round Hill and Wyndham Rose Hall that offer a
host of activities including golf, tennis and watersports. Those
actually located within a villa colony offer the best-of-both
worlds, with the complete privacy of a villa vacation and all
the amenities and social opportunities of a fine resort.

**for more information about Jamaica travel and tourism visit
http://www.jam-boree.com*

Jambo
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/the-villa-life-jamaica-3525.html