Welcome to the Good Life: Villa Viviana

Sunset at Villa Viviana

I got my first "premier" villa experience at the Villa Viviana at The Tryall Club in Hanover, Jamaica, and I must say, it was everything I imagined and more!

"The Tryall Club, Jamaica's premier private club, offers memebers and discerning guests the luxury and hospitality of a true villa lifestyle. Set amid 2,200 lush acres, The Tryall Club provides all the ingredients necessary for an exquisite experience: world- renowned gold, private beachfront, exceptional cuisine and the best views in Jamaica". (http://www.tryallclub.com).

        Dressed in jeans and my shades, I felt like a real "celeb", and not even the grey skies or the light rainfall could dampen my spirits when I arrived at The Tryall Club on that eventful Friday afternoon. After checking in at the front desk, we were "shuttled" to our villa.

         Upon arrival at Villa Viviana, we were greeted by the staff who had their signature “Viviana Drink” and a cool towel awaiting us. This was something I could definitely see myself getting used to. They introduced themselves and told us their positions and encouraged us to relax.

View of a part of the villa and the pool

         Sheldon, the Butler offered to take us (myself and my co-workers) on a tour of the villa, after which we were left to decide among ourselves who was going to stay in which of the six bedrooms. We were all awed by the beauty of the villa. It was also very spacious and inviting…and I felt right at home…if only… 

        By the time the tour was completed, we were told that lunch would be served in a few minutes. We all gathered around the large dining table, chatting excitedly while we waited to be served. I must admit that I was expecting sandwiches or something really light for lunch; however, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized we were having escoveitch fish, bammies and festival, served with sorrel or fruit punch. 

     The staff was very accommodating, and checked on us to make sure we were satisfied at all times! 

Sheldon making sure we were satisfied (even in the jacuzzi)

After lunch we decided to lounge around a bit, we were too full to do anything else anyway. During our time of lazing around, we were visited by Anthea, a member of the Guest Services department who came to orientate us, as we were first timers, and told us about the various amenities the club had to offer.

Our first tennis lesson

At about 4 o clock, we left the villa dressed in all white attires to head to the tennis courts to receive our first tennis lesson (for most of us anyway). The instructors were very helpful and very patient, and we had a lot of fun.

Dinner! yumm!

 Dinner was served at 7:30 pm, and once again, our taste buds and eyes were not disappointed when we saw the grilled chicken served with potatoes and vegetables on our plates.

Saturday morning saw us getting up from as early as 8 am to do yoga. Naturally, we were all groggy, but by the time we were halfway through it, we forgot we were even sleepy, and listened intently to our yogi and followed ATTEMPTED to follow her instructions as best as was physically possible.

  I cannot stop talking about the food!!! Just reminiscing about it is making my mouth water; breakfast was fruits, French toast, omelet, waffles, bacon and a glass of orange juice. I said it before, but I feel the need to reiterate, I could definitely get used to this royal treatment!

French Toast, Waffles, omelette, bacon

After breakfast, we went to the golf course where we received golf lessons, this was also a first for the majority of us. Once again, the staff was very patient with us, and made it a wonderful experience for us. 

Golf lessons

The sun was scorching that Saturday morning, and it is a very good thing that we had sailing directly after golf. Raul from watersports took us sailing, and this cooled us down a lot. He chatted easily with us, and for those of us who were nervous, our fears quickly disappeared. When we got back to land, we washed tried to wash the salt away off us, but there were no towels to dry us off, I was having way too much fun to let this bother me though.

  Sunday came way too soon! We were not ready to take our leave; we were thoroughly spoiled by Sheldon, the chef and the rest of the villa staff. But, as the saying goes, all good tings must come to an end :(

I definitely intend to be rich!