- Contributed
Tropicana's Rajesh Kriplani and Sheilag Jardim don winter coats and gets a feel of the new Ice Bar at the Coral Cliff Entertainment Resort.
Janet Silvera, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
JUST WHEN the north coast thought the best thing to touch Western Jamaica for 2004 was Trelawny's Harmony Cove, the owners of Coral Cliff adds two superbly gorgeous sections to its already fabulous entertainment resort.
In style, with class and innovativeness, the cream of the crop in entertainment created excitement and adventure on Montego Bay's Hip Strip on Thursday evening with the opening of a new state of the art gaming lounge and bar.
The parking lots on Gloucester Avenue were booked solid and additional parking was prepared at the Old Hospital Park as hordes of passengers arrived to experience the first class, first world 'Coral Cliff Aircraft.'
To board this aircraft and exotic entertainment resort, there was no entry without a valid 'Out of Many, One People', blue Jamaican passport, which had to be stamped by the resorts immigration officers.
Red cap porters with trolleys and suitcases stood ready to make the transfer from the arrival area to the lobby, where the task was taken over by attractively attired flight attendants, assisted by well groomed pilots.
Passengers had a choice of seven destinations, 'Paradise with a twist', at the Coral Cliff Hotel, 'Jackpot Rum Jungle', 'Ma Lou's Gourmet Food Shack' and 'Mermaid's Spa' all located in the business section of the aircraft.
Or the Chillin Lounge and Ice Bar in executive elass, for families a special area was created in economy, dubbed, the 'Rum Jungle Cafe and Bar'.The core of the energy was concentrated in the executive class as the curious, as well as many who have never experienced the stinging winter, took advantage of the creative Ice Bar. Dressed in winter coats provided by the 'ice attendants', the adventurous at heart entered into the below zero temperature area to get a taste of green or cherry Martini, served in real ice glasses.
The Chillin Lounge that adjoins the Ice Bar resembles a Canadian ski lodge adorned with moose heads, genuine hockey sticks (collector's items), raccoons and a big black bear on the wall.
At ground level, the economy class is located, it was Razzmatazz to the sounds of a big Jazz Band and this is where fresh oysters were served. Although oysters are reportedly aphrodisiac it never stopped the recently slim and sexy Brian Jardim, owner of Margaritaville from eating at least six of them.
In the business class (The Jackpot Rum Jungle), a steel band, excerpts from L'Antoinette Stines' Viva Xaymaca and a female fire eater played havoc with the eyes, ears and senses, beautifully complementing the exotic environment.
Stines dancers did snippets of Kumina, drumming, calypso, mucko jumbi steel drums, Gregory Isaacs Night Nurse and a South African Dance called Amathagazello.
At the end of the evening prizes of his and hers Raymond Weil watches, tickets to any United States/Caribbean destination courtesy of Air Jamaica, a Digicel cellular phone, US$500.00 and US$250.00 Coral Cliff gift vouchers were up for grabs.
Those who shared in the excitement included Shielag Jardim, hardware mogul Basil Johnson, Tropicana's Julie Samtani, Rajesh and Neha Kriplani, Margaritaville's Andre Dixon, Air Jamaica's Sharon Austin, CCS Tours Lee Bailey and Gavel Whitter, Sandals Montego Bay's Horace Peterkin and wife Dominique, Ritz Carlton's Roderick Crawford, Carl J. Cyr and Conroy Walker.Others were Red Bull's Mitch Watson and Felicia Dayle, Dorothy Vendryes, Hot 102's Jacqueline Williams and Flaval McGlashan, Montego Bay Club's Edgar Smith, JUTA Tour's Garfield Williamson and wife Jadit, Coral Cliff's own geniuses Brian Brown, Pepper, the magician and Lucille Lue.
