laustic

Hello all! I have a quick question for the experts. If we chose to stay off the beach (either in the middle of the island or on the bay side) would the beach still be easily accessible to us (a family of 3 with a 4 y/o dd)? Forgive me if this sounds ignorant, but let me explain....when we stayed in Negril it seemed as if the respective beaches were "owned" by the hotels that sat on them and one had to be a guest at that hotel to enjoy the chairs and umbrellas. In other words are the beaches public? Would we be having to schlep gear to and fro to enjoy the beach? Thanks so much for any input!

caribtraveler

We've been to Negril so I get what you say about the beaches appearing to be "owned". On HI, the space between the hotel and the water line is much much bigger than in Negril. The hotels are set far out from the water line so you definitely don't get that "owned" impression there.

We went to HI for the day. There's a beach access between the Pink Sands and Coral Sands hotels. There's a guy there (he takes care of the horses on the beach too) who rents out beach chairs and an umbrella. It cost us $10 for the entire day for 2 chairs and an umbrella... which we thought was reasonable.

laustic

caribtraveler -- This is exactly the kind of info i was looking for! Thanks so much! There seem to be a lot of cute little houses for rent "in town" on HI and much more affordable than the larger hotels so I was hoping to go this route.

mnag

We visited HI from eleuthera for a day. The beach is public and there is public access to the beach but there also are sections (atleast along the entrance we used) where you will find hotel chairs and umbrellas. We did not use the hotel chairs but set our towels a little distance away. I would not let that stop me from renting a villa though since I'm sure you could walk a bit and find space between hotels etc.

joan

I agree with the above comments, but want to add, if you stay on the bay side, that is a little long (and hilly) walk for a 4YO. You would need a stroller I would think. It is about a four block walk from bay to ocean.

denice7

We rented a place in May of 2005 right on the beach/bluff atlantic side. It was $1000 for the week for the 2 of us and it was perfect. I can't remember the name of the cottage but we rented it through the island rental company...not Arthurs. If you do a search under my name you should see it. We loved HI and are actually considering going back there and we have never gone back to any place we have visited before.

ishkribbl

It has been a while since I was on HI so things may have changed but I think it all depends on WHERE your rental house is located. Years ago I spent a week at the Romora Bay on the sound side. We did have a golf cart (very helpful) but it was very close to a public beach access that was near that area- not at all where the Coral Sands, Pink Sands, Dunmore Beach, Runaway Hill, etc. hotels/inns beaches were located and it was a very nice stretch of beach. We were not really into chairs and umbrellas any way at the time so we were not lugging anything other than a towel. Do what the other posted suggested and really "shop" for a rental and I think you will find something that fits your bill- it is a beautiful place. We are renting a house for a week in April on Eleuthera so we will take a day trip to HI and see how it has grown. Have fun!