Fun in the Sun at Starfish Trelawny
By: Katie Schretter (Age 13)
With two great new waterslides, beach chairs in the pool, and really reasonable rates, Starfish Trelawny Starfish Resorts - Best All-Inclusive Vacation Value In Jamaica is the perfect getaway for families who want to have fun on a vacation and not pay a lot. It's also excellent for active teens who want to have fun, meet other teens and get a great tan!
Starfish Trelawny is an all-inclusive resort located in Jamaica about halfway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. It's about a forty-five minute drive from the Montego Bay airport to the resort. I went there recently with my mom for a long weekend, and we had a really good time. The highlights of the trip were chilling in the pool, getting tan on the little private island right off the beach, swimming with the dolphins, and eating sushi and tapanyaki at Munahana's restaurant.
The pools at Starfish are amazing! They are definitely better than any I've ever seen at an all-inclusive resort in a long time. Somebody built them to combine relaxing and fun into one place, and whoever did it was very creative. Two of the pools are fully equipped with waterslides, and the one for the kids has little water jets coming out of it. There are pool tables in the pools (if you can believe it), and there's also a shallow area all around the large pool with beach chairs in the water. Somebody was obviously thinking of me and my mom when they built that place. Those chairs are the perfect place for laying back and soaking up the sun. One of the other pools, called the "Sports Pool", has a volleyball net and plenty of open space for whatever fun sports or games you could possibly want to play.
There are lots of other places for water fun at Starfish. There is a "Jacuzzi Park", which is located right next to the ice-skating rink (which is open in the summer as well as the winter) and the mini-golf course. The Jacuzzi Park has small palm trees surrounding it, giving it a feeling of seclusion and privacy from the rest of the resort. The jacuzzis are a great place for a late night dip in the pool. Starfish also has it's own private little sand island right across from the beach. You can walk out to the island and get some private time all to yourself or hang out with friends.
On your first day at Starfish, you should probably go exploring (only if your not too tired from your plane ride). First, if you're staying at the main hotel, you should explore the cottage area, such as the "Jacuzzi Park", the mini golf or the basketball court. If you're staying in the cottage area, go to the main hotel and check out the things there, like the arcade game room, the tours area, the giftship, or the spa and gym. After that, you should definitely explore the two pool areas and the little private island.
You can't miss the first pool, because it winds around the Starfish Buffet where you'll eat breakfast, lunch, and most dinners. The waterslide there is great. Keep walking past the basketball courts and the ice skating rink and you'll see the huge main pool area. Reserve a "dry chair" with your towel, and then go over to the Seashell Bar & Grill to grab a virgin strawberry dacquiri or pina colada. Best of all, they're free! That's one of the things I love about all-inclusives. You can have whatever you want, when you want it.
The little private island at Starfish is great. You can easily walk over to it (thanks to a sandbar), and it has hammocks and beach chairs perfect for hanging out or sun tanning. The beach is not that wonderful, but I didn't care because I spent all my time on the island or at the pools. Near the island and the Sports pool is the circus workshop with the trapeze and trampoline, and the rock climbing wall. These two activities aren't included in the all-inclusive price, but you can use the facilities for a couple of dollars if you decide you want to. The prices aren't costly considering what you get. For people who don't want to participate, it helps keep the vacation prices at Starfish down to something that's really affordable.
Underneath the main bar and reception area is a dance club called "Bubbles". Bubbles has certain times when different ages can party there. Teens -- make sure to check this out. Bubbles also has a Jacuzzi on its dance floor. It's a great place to hang out with your friends. You'll meet people hanging out around the pool, and younger kids in your family (12 and under) will make friends at the Kid's Club programs. They even have a cute little area for babies.
Jamaica has always been a great place to vacation, and make sure to get out and explore the country when you're at Starfish. From its mountains to its warm-hearted, welcoming people -- Jamaica is a wonderful place to have fun. Check out the tour desk when you're at Starfish and find some things that will be fun for you and your family to do. Climbing Dunn's River Falls is great!
My mom and I went to Ocho Rios to do some shopping, and then we got to swim with the dolphins at Dolphin Cove Swim with dolphins in Jamaica - Dolphin Cove, Ocho Rios. There is nothing like having two dolphins swim up right next to you and let you hold onto their dorsal fins to take you for a ride. The dolphins are very well trained and are very sweet. The foot push is awesome too! The dolphins push on the bottoms of your feet and shoot you right out of the water. There isn't anything like this almost anywhere, it is a MUST do while in Jamaica. After you're finished with your swim, go on the garden walk so you can hold a snake and kiss a parrot. If you hold a sunflower seed in your teeth, the parrot will take it right out of your mouth. It looks a little scary, but it's actually fun.
If you want to buy some Jamaican crafts, walk down the beach a little bit to Bamboo Village. You can get some good buys down there. They have jewelry, purses, wood carvings, and lots of other cool stuff. The prices are really low, and you can get some great souvenirs for you and your friends.
I think Starfish Trelawny is perfect for families with kids or teens. This resort is really reasonable price-wise, and you get more than you paid for. Some things cost a little bit extra, but they are worth it if you want to do them. One of the best things about this place is definitely the price, and by not including some things they can keep the costs down and still keep the feeling of an all-inclusive vacation. The Kid's Club is $5 per kid per day, but when we go away my mom wants to be with me most of the time, so we would probably only have used that for two or three days out of the week when I was younger. The stuff that's included, like the great pools and the huge fruit bars at breakfast, are fantastic. I loved my vacation here, and I know other teens would too! If you've always wanted to go on a vacation to the Caribbean -- and your parents have said "that's too expensive!" -- Starfish Trelawny might be just the place for you.
Starfish Trelawny is an all-inclusive resort located in Jamaica about halfway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. It's about a forty-five minute drive from the Montego Bay airport to the resort. I went there recently with my mom for a long weekend, and we had a really good time. The highlights of the trip were chilling in the pool, getting tan on the little private island right off the beach, swimming with the dolphins, and eating sushi and tapanyaki at Munahana's restaurant.
The pools at Starfish are amazing! They are definitely better than any I've ever seen at an all-inclusive resort in a long time. Somebody built them to combine relaxing and fun into one place, and whoever did it was very creative. Two of the pools are fully equipped with waterslides, and the one for the kids has little water jets coming out of it. There are pool tables in the pools (if you can believe it), and there's also a shallow area all around the large pool with beach chairs in the water. Somebody was obviously thinking of me and my mom when they built that place. Those chairs are the perfect place for laying back and soaking up the sun. One of the other pools, called the "Sports Pool", has a volleyball net and plenty of open space for whatever fun sports or games you could possibly want to play.
You can't miss the first pool, because it winds around the Starfish Buffet where you'll eat breakfast, lunch, and most dinners. The waterslide there is great. Keep walking past the basketball courts and the ice skating rink and you'll see the huge main pool area. Reserve a "dry chair" with your towel, and then go over to the Seashell Bar & Grill to grab a virgin strawberry dacquiri or pina colada. Best of all, they're free! That's one of the things I love about all-inclusives. You can have whatever you want, when you want it.
The little private island at Starfish is great. You can easily walk over to it (thanks to a sandbar), and it has hammocks and beach chairs perfect for hanging out or sun tanning. The beach is not that wonderful, but I didn't care because I spent all my time on the island or at the pools. Near the island and the Sports pool is the circus workshop with the trapeze and trampoline, and the rock climbing wall. These two activities aren't included in the all-inclusive price, but you can use the facilities for a couple of dollars if you decide you want to. The prices aren't costly considering what you get. For people who don't want to participate, it helps keep the vacation prices at Starfish down to something that's really affordable.
Underneath the main bar and reception area is a dance club called "Bubbles". Bubbles has certain times when different ages can party there. Teens -- make sure to check this out. Bubbles also has a Jacuzzi on its dance floor. It's a great place to hang out with your friends. You'll meet people hanging out around the pool, and younger kids in your family (12 and under) will make friends at the Kid's Club programs. They even have a cute little area for babies.
