Fete : Hyatt Lime, Hyatt Regency Hotel Port of Spain
Price: $1200.00 General, $1900.00 VIP
Date: February 15,2012
Location:
Held at the waterfront of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Port of Spain, the entire fete is spread out along the hotel’s boardwalk. Parking is designated at the hotel car park if you arrive early enough there are no lines to get into the car park but there is a bit of a wait if you arrive later. Parking attendants were on hand to direct you to parking and you took the elevator to ground floor if you were parked on the top level.
Ambiance/Décor:
The entire décor is in harmony with the dress code for the fete, white with a touch of lime. Tents were decorated with the Lime logo banner and lighted with green lighting. Bars were draped in white and lime fabric with the lime logo most prominent. Lots of green lighted areas and lighted trees which added a glow to the entire venue. The champagne bar was an entire separate area with white chairs and couches to lounge on and shrouded in a fog cloud; very cool effect. I also liked that everything was in harmony with theme down to the plates we were served on were green.
Bar:
This year they added a bar at the dining area which was never crowded and gave very prompt service. In addition there were three more bars including the huge circular bar. Nuvo Bar, Champagne Bar, Angostura Bar as well as other drink stations for tequila shots were set up throughout the venue. You were never far from a bar or drink station even though the layout is very spread out.
Food:
Wow, LOTS to eat. On entry you were greeted with canapés, always great as I am a fan of finger food. As for the main menu, from the top of my head there was a wild meat station, soup station, Indian station, Chinese station, Richards Bake and Shark, Tandoori, gourmet doubles, regular doubles, Arabian Station and also a desert area. I am sure there were other menu items that were available that I missed out on. This was one fete I ate at, my choice was “Far East” the Chinese station and I also sampled the Tandoori later on because they had naan.
I must say the lines for food by the time we got there were LONG, especially at the more popular food stations. Far East was popular as they were serving both shrimp and pink salmon. The shrimp was delicious, succulent and a good size. The servers did not skimp on a serving either, you got as many as you wanted! They also had those pot stickers that I love so I really enjoyed the food at the Far East tent. The Tandoori was good as well, though the naan did not live up to my expectations. Chicken was tasty.
The only caveat for the food as I mentioned before were the lines. Maybe the organizers can look into setting up food stations on both sides of the venue serving the same thing to avoid a crowd at one tent.
Performances:
The only band I went stage side for was Kes though we did take in Kerwin Dubois’ performance. Kes was great as usual; glad to see he kept in theme for the fete (pet peeve of mine) and dressed accordingly.
Crowd Vibe:
I don’t know if the layout has a part to play with the general feel of this fete but depending on where you were you were either liming or feteing. Stage side during performances there was a whole lot of dancing and feteing taking place. But if you walked throughout the venue there were people liming in little areas; along the waterfront sitting and chatting, at the Champagne bar, by the food court. And ever so often you would find some people dancing in their area as well. This is a more mature crowd as well which has it positives and negatives; you definitely get the feel that you are at a more upscale fete than any of the others I have been to. You would not see anyone dropping to the floor and rolling, ever!
Eye Candy:
I always like to see how the women and men interpret the dress code at this fete, white with a touch of lime. In fact I put a lot of planning into what I am going to wear as well; dressing up for this fete is part of the fun. For the most part everyone looks very nice and then there are those who flout the rules and dress in some colour like red! I would put eye candy rating around a 7; there were some head turners of both sexes for sure.
Bathroom:
I used the hotel’s bathroom, which was pretty easy to get to. Full length mirrors, proper CLEAN toilets, and air conditioning. One could not ask for more.
Extras
Makeup and massage station were available again this year and I saw many people taking advantage of it. The VIP area also got goody bags I heard, but since I was not in VIP cannot confirm if this is indeed true.
Overall Rating:
I would give Lime a 9 out of 10. It is a premium event priced accordingly but you do feel the difference compared to other events once you have attended Lime. Everything is done on a scale that goes just one step beyond what is normally expected. The only thing that faulted the event was the line up for food, too long a wait especially at the prices you are paying. This took away from time that could have been spent enjoying the fete as well as the ability to sample the variety that was on offer. Overall I had a good time and my little crew brought our own vibes. I hope the food situation is sorted out for 2013 as I have already heard many people saying they are returning to Lime next year.
