About 50 to 60 people usually show up to be greeted by the general manager of the hotel who welcomes everyone back to their "island in the sun."
For the past year, Glenville Huntington has been the general manager at Sunset. And a top-notch GM he is.
"Has anyone been here more than 10 times?" he asks.
I put up my hand, rather sheepishly, and the very proper Mr. Huntington invites me over for a chat.
"What keeps bringing you back?"
Ahh, a very good question...Why have I visited Jamaica more than 30 times in the past 35 years? What is it about the home of greats Usain Bolt, Ben Johnson, Bob Marley, and Ian Fleming that attract me?
I've visited other Caribbean resorts and islands over the years: Dominican Republic four times, Bahamas twice, Barbados twice, Mexico twice and once each to St. Kitt's and Costa Rica, plus one nauseating cruise. But none have had the appeal of Jamaica.
Some tourists are lured by this Caribbean country's reputation for dope and island tours, but not me. My daily vices on these Jamaican getaways are Red Stripe beer and lounging by the pool with a good book. My daytime pool experience is always enhanced by two wonderful bartenders, Jacqueline and Garcia who have been at the hotel since I started staying here seven or eight years ago.
Charming, thoughtful, gregarious and well, just Jamaican, Jacqui and Garcia are the cornerstones of my stays. I stop and see them first when I get there and they are the last to wave me off. It is also that pool bar which, I believe, leads to such a high rate of repeat guests at the hotel. Mid-afternoon drinks in the pool lead to some long-term relationships. Plenty of same-time-next-year discussions are held with the sun overhead and the water under foot.
Stephanie and Tony, a Boston couple with two beautiful children, and Bill and Kelly from Easton, Pa., - she a top lawyer and he a motivational speaker - all fit into that category.
The Sunset has 430 rooms spread over two towers and some low-slung, two-floor hotel units in the east and west wings. A main buffet dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner and three a la carte restaurants featuring Asian, Caribbean and Italian fares are all solid. Another great dining option is the outdoor grill where the menu includes the best jerk chicken I've ever tasted.
The entertainment is strong with outside cabaret-style acts brought in most nights. The beach, because of the gated variety of the hotel, is not long and features a clothing optional area.
Jacqui and Garcia are typical of the people who work at this hotel. Real Jamaicans doing real jobs and having some fun while doing it. Because the Sunset is not the most expensive hotel on the island, I have some cash leftover to venture to other places.
Two of my favourites are the Montego Bay Yacht Club and the Houseboat Grill.
The yacht club is a short walk, only a hundred metres away. It serves up top pub food and a great view of the harbour.
I also frequent the Houseboat Grill, a houseboat made into a fine-dining restaurant that holds its own against any top North American restaurant I've dined at. It has a fabulous view of the lights across the dark mountains of Montego Bay.
It's a five-minute cab ride from the hotel, and to make things really easy, the grill will send a driver to pick you up and return you to the hotel. Brenton, the driver, is another Jamaican with charm by the bucketload. He's likely to remember you from visit to visit. Cabbies and drivers all over the island are much like Brenton.
It would be unfair for me to ignore the topic of violence while encouraging a trip to Jamaica, because it does exist.
However, it is fair to say resort tourists are spared much of the problems existing in Kingston.
Just as tourists are wise to avoid many parts of downtown Detroit, Atlanta and Miami, so too they should be wary of Kingston.
Now back to the microphone, Mr. Huntington and the party.
That day, I mentioned the things that I hear quite often when people talk of their trips to Mexico or the Dominican Republic.
They praise the long, sandy white beaches, but then are stuck for other reasons.
Not me. No such challenge for my Jamaica. It's Jacqui and Garcia, Red Stipe beer, jerk chicken, the rich music history, the athletic and cultural mosaic of the island, the Sunset Beach Resort and Spa for starters ... But Harry Belafonte said, or sang it best:
"This is my island in the sun Where my people have toiled since time begun I may sail on many a sea Her shores will always be home to me."
David Langford is the national sports editor for Sun Media.
david.langford@sunmedia.ca
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