Timo and I have been married for nine years this December. During that time we have gone on multiple vacations, but only TWO without our children: our honeymoon road trip from Oklahoma to San Diego (December 2010) and a babymoon to the Alps in southern Germany/Austria (Summer 2012). That means as a whole we haven’t had decent alone time in our marriage. At all. We were long over due. As a mom it’s easy to get lost in the role of being a mother. It’s easy to forget how to be a wife, how to be patient, how to be kind. This trip was the most relaxed I’ve ever been in over 10 years! I highly recommend an adults only resort getaway for all couples. Timo and I are going to try to take one every year now. Here is a review of our trip!We flew into Montego Bay, Jamaica. Side note: this is the last time I saw my brand new hat, so if anyone finds it at MBJ airport, feel free to return it to me.

Through Expedia we booked Club Mobay VIP and I HIGHLY recommend booking it! In fact, I will be searching every airport we fly to internationally in the future for a VIP option. We were met shortly after deplaning by a young gentleman holding a sign with our names. That’s right. For a whole 5 minutes, I felt famous and special. We were led through the airport; he checked our customs papers; he took us to our own private line of customs and immigration. We literally deplaned and were through everything in about 10 minutes. No long lines. No extra waiting. After flying and traveling for around 6 hours, this was a blessing. Also included with Club Mobay was a sitting area to rest, eat, drink, and wait for our transportation. Timo chose Red Stripe and I had a water. We passed on the food, but we also only had to wait a few minutes before our transportation was ready. Perk number 325: they took our luggage and all we carried were our small carry-on bags from this point on.

Fast forward to the end of our trip: Club Mobay VIP offered us our own TSA line to fast track through and another VIP lounge which was phenomenal! The departure lounge came with a buffet filled with some of our new Jamaican favorite foods (meat pockets?) and drinks! We sat comfortably and charged our phones, ate, and drank (4 pina coladas with curaçao) while we waited on our delayed AA flights. Is there anything better than free WiFi, food, and drinks in an airport? I think not.

For the actual trip we stayed at Couples Tower Isle in Ocho Rios.

https://couples.com/resorts/tower-isle

It’s a smaller resort, but absolutely perfect for the price and privacy. We had our own private beach, included excursions, and all the food and drink we could squeeze in. Trust me, we tried to squeeze in ALL the food and drinks. I normally eat a healthy diet and workout five days a week, but on vacation…. I’m lush-me. I indulge in everything and enjoy the freedom! We enjoyed a Deluxe Ocean View Room. Our room was just above the main pool on the first floor. At first I was a little disappointed we were on the main floor, but after the first night heading back to our room with full bellies and sun-drained, I was grateful not to have to take the stairs or elevator. And could our view be any better? Probably not. It’s all beautiful.

I could try to list all of the amenities included in all-inclusive package, but it would simply be too much. Here are a few of our favorites that would have us rebooking:

1. The staff- they were funny, engaging, and efficient. We had so many favorites!
2. The games- my travel group was the pool Olympics champions and I won dominoes! There was a board next to the buffet that was updated every day with games and activities. Participation was not mandatory, but we enjoyed the games watching and participating.
3. The excursions: we rode a Hobie boat, snorkeled over a shipwreck and coral reef, and went to Dunn’s River Falls. There were more excursions included, but we enjoyed sitting at the beach and pool too much!
4. The food and drinks: Buffet was great! We tried the Verandah dinner, Bayside restaurant (my personal favorite) and Eight Rivers restaurant. Bayside and Eight Rivers both require reservations ahead of time and have dress requirements (note while packing). We also enjoyed a beach dinner buffet (I tried goat; it was delicious). I think we ate at the Grill every day for lunch whether we had nachos or the guys’ favorite jerked chicken. I was nervous about all-inclusive drinks to be quite honest. I’ve read the horror stories of fake alcohol and people getting sick (NOT at this resort) and I imagined the drinks would be weak. They were incredible. You were allowed to bring your own cup to the bars and we carried our yetis around most of the time to keep our drinks cold. We also tried many of the shots. I recommend it all. It was all delicious and we somehow managed to avoid any hangover. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

We don’t repeat destinations often (although, you will soon read a post about a repeat location, oops) but we would absolutely travel back to Couples Tower Isle! It was relaxing and reminded us just how much we like each other. Also, I highly recommend bringing our own snorkel for the beach! We found some great finds including my very own Dinglehopper.