skj

The wing that faces the older Zilara building (Building 1, former Ritz) overlooks the pool area which is, IMO, quite attractive at night. Just don't look across at the other building

bciranow

Hello all, I like many of you love to dive in to trip reviews and research prior to planning a vacation. I have gone back and read every post on this thread since the time the properties reopened in December of 2014. So needless to say I have already gleamed plenty of useful information from this thread. A little bit about my trip. My wife and I are coming to Jamaica for a week in August to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. We are going to be staying for 1 night at Ziva/Zilara prior to going to a resort on the south west coast of the country for another week. We are currently booked in a one bedroom ocean view swim-up butler suite. I learned from previous (amazing posts) that these rooms should be located in building #4 at Zilara and I have already requested that we be placed in one of the 8-9 swim up suites that connect directly to the main pool. I have already purchased the arrival/departure package from Club Mobay. We are arriving around noon on Saturday and are being picked up at the hotel by transportation to our other resort around noon the next day. I know there has been some debate about whether the Club Mobay service is worth the money but for me seeing as it is a celebration trip, splurging was the name of the game and the price was secondary in all aspects of the trip.

Now that I've gotten all of the background info out of the way, what I'm hoping you guys can help me with is deciding where we should eat while we're at the Hyatt. I know this can be subjective and there has already been a ton of food posts, but if people had to suggest a restaurant not to miss for dinner what would it be? I know the jerk chicken shack is a must for lunch! Is there a specific bar/experience we should not miss? Obviously, I understand our time at the Hyatt is very short and we purposefully planned it like that so we could have two distinct vacations. I just want to make sure we get the most out of our time while we are there. If there are any other splurges that anyone would recommend I would really appreciate the heads up. This thread has been super informative and I apologize for my long post and multiple questions.

bmrisko

IMHO, the restaurant with the best atmosphere and food was Horizons. It is a Zilara-only restaurant, so it is a bit more "refined" and the location directly off the sand of the beach can't be beat. That would be my choice it we only had one night...

PortlySpartacus

I'm staying at Ziva now with family. I walked down to the Zilara side and I agree that Horizons right on the beach would be very nice. There is also the Petit Pariz restaurant on the Zilara side that looks to be very nice and upscale.

The Calypzo restaurant is also close to the water and has open air dining but this is a shared restaurant between Ziva/Zilara.

From my experience staying here this week, the band plays on the Ziva side so you should take in the music as the talent has been very good. The band usually sets up on the stage or right out in front of the new Ziva building. They play until about 10:30pm each night and have a different musical theme each night.

The Fez rooftop bar is very nice and overlooks the band area. Another good option for a night cap would be the Stirz piano bar located in the main entry of the Ziva lobby. You can sit around the piano and have a drink or relax in comfy chairs or go out on the balcony area overlooking the Ziva pool.

skj

We enjoyed both Horizons and Petit Pariz. Both are for Zilara guests only, although Petit Pariz is on the Ziva side (which led to some entertaining exchanges when Ziva guests were turned away).

If I was only having one dinner, I'd choose Horizons. Its open-air setting on the beach is very nice and the cuisine is a little more "local". My only caution might be the evening temperature in August. It was absolutely delightful in mid-March, but I don't know if it would cool down enough in the summer.

Petit Pariz was also very good, but the menu could have been found in any reasonable "French" restaurant around the world. Petit Pariz did have some issues with its attempt to be a little more "formal". It has a dress code for men, requiring a shirt with collar, long pants and closed shoes. The guests did comply, but some with torn jeans, well worn polo shirts and beat up tennis shoes. An interesting contrast to others who were in business attire ...

We also liked the bar in the Zilara lobby (Potionz ?). We had a night cap there every night of our stay and it was never very crowded - maybe one or two other couples. They seemed to have the largest selection of liquor, including some aged Jamaican rums that were fun to taste. The atmosphere was more casual the the "old men's club" feel of the former Ritz bar near the Ziva lobby.

bmrisko

While I agree the food at Petit Pariz was some of the better food we had, the atmosphere leaves something to be desired. We much preferred the open air dining right on the beach to the open air patio crammed between a staircase and hotel wing that Petit Pariz afforded. When we dined at Petit Pariz, we sat outside and while not terribly hot out, the air felt very stagnant and I wasn't that comfortable. The breeze that comes through Horizons (and Calypso) is very nice. Just my $.02...

waygora

We didn't like Petit Pariz. Food was great but it was definitely in a weird location.

bciranow

In terms of Horizons is there a dress code like at Petit Pariz? I want to make sure that we have proper clothes for wherever we decide to eat. I know that butler's can make reservations for us at restaurants and that most of the recent posts have said they have found reservations to be unnecessary due to limited crowds. I'm not really sure what to expect in August in terms of crowds, so I would like to have my mind made up in terms of where we want to eat that first night so that we can tell our butler just to make a reservation for us.I really appreciate all the feed back so far. I know it has been discussed that one of the few perks of having a butler, is the fact that they will reserve a chair/cabana for you. However, I have read on some TA reviews lately that, that policy may have changed. Is anyone familiar with what the current policy is for butler's and reserving pool space? Would like to utilize our morning time at the resort to the full extent as well. Lastly, I know multiple people have asked and I'm not sure if I've seen a definitive answer. What have people been tipping their butler/butler's per day? Thanks again

bmrisko

Crowds won't be bad in August at all...that is the summer and hurricane season, so basically the low season for Jamaica. There was no dress code that I can recall at Horizons...I wore khaki shorts and a polo. The only restaurant that requires a dress code is Petit Pariz...pants and closed shoes for men.

skj

Other than Petit Pariz, the other restaurants are pretty casual. I saw lots of shorts, tee shirts and flip-flops at the other places we dined. I tended towards shorts, Hawaiian shirts and sandals at dinner, and was neither under- or over-dressed.

We didn't have a butler, so I can't help you there. I can say that for us, visiting in mid-March, reservations, whether for a restaurant or a cabana, were completely unnecessary. Our longest wait to be seated was about 5 minutes, at Fuzion, and I think that was mainly because they were trying to deal with a party of 14. Similarly, we were able to find a cabana both by the pool and the beach without any trouble each morning.

waygora

With Fuzion be aware there's 3 different things you can eat! It can be confusing.

Sunburn644

Pariz was good dinner, the lady really liked the salmon, Brazil was also good. I did not have horizonz for dinner but their breakfast was not that amazing.

Mommy Points

When we stayed there in late February our butler said that they used to be able to do that, but that they no longer were permitted to do so. I'm not sure if things have changed again since then, but that was the answer 5 weeks ago or so.

mrredskin

Pariz is still in that weird spot next to Brazilian place?!? I thought that was only temporary

bmrisko

Not sure, but I hated that space...really that restaurant should be somewhere off the Zilara lobby. It is confusing to have a Zilara-only restaurant on the Ziva side.