Some friends of ours invited us to join them for their breathtaking wedding ceremony at a Secrets resort on the coast in Montego Bay, Jamaica. We were all too happy to accept giving us another chance for an adventure.
I thought customs in Jamaica was a little intimidating. There was a long line, and it didn’t seem to move very fast. My husband on the other hand didn’t seem to mind it. We did eventually get through it, and we were sent on our way. Outside, there were plenty of buses waiting to take us to our destination.
We arrived at Secrets Wild Orchid in Montego Bay. It’s just as beautiful as the photos. Check-in was quick and easy, and we made our way to our ground floor room facing the ocean. It was spectacular with a four-poster bed and jacuzzi tub.
We quickly ditched our gear, grabbed our phones (camaras) and headed outdoors to explore. The grounds were kind of like a maze but not so much you could get lost. There were paths of greenery and trees that were romantic and sparsely populated to our surprise. You could also walk along the topside of the beach. We passed several restaurants and pools along the way. We walked to the neighboring resort and back just taking it all in.
There is a shopping area with some great shops. Clothing, swimsuits, cigars, & knick knacks which sold respectable products at ok prices. There was Coco Cafe’ with coffee, ice cream and various desserts that we took advantage of right away. We both love our coffee!
After some exploring, we decided to find a place to eat. Wild Orchid offers Italian, Mexican, French, Jamaican, Asian & seafood options, all at different restaurants. Also available is a breakfast and lunch buffet as well as a grill. We chose Mexican first because it’s our favorite and the food was pretty darn good. If you ate inside, it was pretty open and was very outdoorsy, but you could also choose outside.
The second day was the wedding ceremony, and I spent the morning helping my friend get ready. They had a quick ceremony at a gazebo on the coast with only a handful of guests. They were married in a gorgeous setting under a gazebo. It was just beautiful! Afterwards we went to the Barracuda beach bar where they had swings for seats at the bar. It was so much fun!
We saw our friends off so they could enjoy their honeymoon and we decided to get some pool time. The pools were very clean, and the lounge chairs were very well attended. We didn’t have any wait times to get drinks. That evening we had dinner at the Italian restaurant. We ate outdoors and unfortunately; it was so dark we couldn’t even see our food. The food, however, was very good and we enjoyed it regardless.
Our third and final full day we decided to venture outside the resort and took a shopping tour. We were taken into the city where there was a small strip mall. We were instructed only to go into one of the stores, however. The tour guide specifically stated that no one was to go upstairs. The shop had your normal touristy t-shirts, shot glasses and other souvenirs. I wasn’t very impressed, but we were able to grab our Jamaica t-shirts for proof that we went.
Next on the shopping tour was a jewelry shop which we had no interest in, but they were also trying to sell us alcohol. I think my husband may have participated in a shot or two, but we didn’t purchase anything.
The last stop on the shopping tour was the Harbor Street Craft Market. This was interesting. This is a few blocks of very small shops that were said to have homemade items. Unfortunately, we saw very few things that appeared to be that way. The vendors were pushy and telling hardship stories trying to get you in their shops. Most of the items being sold were typical tourist items that we’d seen before either in Jamaica or other countries at cruise ports and such. The vendors didn’t seem to take no for an answer, and we had several of them following us around. We chose to return to the bus and wait.
One strange but wonderful thing that happened throughout our visit at Wild Orchid was the continuous run-in with the peacocks. They had a pair of peacocks on the grounds that seemed to show up everywhere we went…the shops…the fountains…the walking paths…our patio! They were beautiful and it was wonderful to be able to get so close to them.
Our trip to Jamaica was a great trip. We loved the resort amenities and the food. We would probably skip the shopping tour if we went again.