Coco la palm ?????????
 

This was intended for Carribeansoul, but anyone who has stayed at Coco la palm can help.

We will be going to Negril 3/30 for our 25th anniversary, reading your posts now for quite some time, we originally booked 4 nights at Couples Negril, and just decided to add 2 nights at Coco la Palm first. Then move on to Couples Negril. Gives us the opportunity to experience Seven Mile Beach and some local restaurants.

When we decided to extend this trip, I wanted a non all inclusive and remembered your posts. Idle Awhile was another we considered, but I did not like the idea of just the lap pool at CSA. Looking at the location of Coco it looks fabulous!

some questions for you.

1.) how far of a walk to CSA from there, my niece will be there when we are at Coco la Palm.

2.) best "reasonable restaurants within walking distance. for breakfast and dinner?
I've heard the best jerk is across the street is this true? Name of the place?

3.) Any great shops/bars or anything else we need to check out in that 2 days?

We may do an excursion with Solomon on the 2nd day not sure yet which one, may be the Pelican Bar/YS/Black River combo or may end up just doing Mayfield.

Is there any trip just out to the Pelican Bar????? That place looks like an adventure in itself.

Thanks for any tips.

We stayed at CocoLapalm last July and it was just fine for us. We had a beachfront room that was literally just steps from the beach. CLP is nothing "fancy" and lacks some ameneties, but is in a great location on 7MB. It is next door to Idle Awile. As for restaurants, check to see if you get the continental breakfast included in your room rate. We did, and for about $2-3 more, could get a complete breakfast. When we ate breakfast, it was usually there because of the convenience and the included meal. Food just average breakfast fare. The continental breakfast included home made breads, juice, coffee, toast etc. The banana bread was very good and fresh. While not walking distance, 3 Dives on the cliffs is a must do for dinner. Excellent lobster and jerk chicken at a very reasonable price. Large portions too. You will get 4-6 smallish lobster tails for about $20usd. Walking distance, we liked Norma's at Seasplash for a little more upscale dinner. If you tire of Caribbean cuisine, Gambino's had very good Italian/pasta, Chance's for a pizza. Not spectacular, but a change of pace. Although Best in the West for jerk chicken right across the street from CLP gets great reviews, we thought it was so-so. You just get chicken and a slice of plain bread, so OK for an afternoon snack but not a dinner. One of the best bargains on the beach is to get a patty from "Indian", the guy who rides his bike to the beach most every day and sells homemade "pattys". Spicy beef, veggie and sometimes just coco bread. The patties were $1 and delicious. I also got a small lobster tail that a local was selling freshly cooked in a cardboard box. Although many don't like the place, we enjoyed Margarittaville for an appetizer and a drink and watching Jimmy Buffet videos, we are huge fans. Guess that makes us somewhat Parrotheads! I wouldn't recommend much more than an appetizer there as the food is mediocore and over priced. Conch fritters with dipping sauce very good. This has gotten a bit long and there are plenty of experts out there to assist you. Have a great vacation.

mzambo: brenandg hit most of what I'd recommend to you. I feel, in comparison to other Negril beach hotels, CocoLaPalm is in the top 3. Depending on what part of the resort you stay at, it is an easy 4 stars in Negril standards. I can't think of any amenities it lacks....I believe brenandg didn't enjoy the pillows too much. They are fine for us....we just use more of them! But then again, it all really depends on what you are used to. I have camped on a beach on Lanai and have stayed at the Ritz Carlton on St. Thomas. In my eyes, Coco La Palm is THE perfect place on Negril beach. The jerk hut across the street is our favorite place for jerk chicken....hands down! It makes for a great lunch. It is called Best in the West as brenandg indicates. I guess we like it a bit more. Definitely check out the patty mon pushing his bike with a big cardboard box full of beef patties and coco bread....it is a great deal (50J each) and they are perfect for lunch on the beach. CSA is about a 15-20 minute walk. A very nice walk on the beach, I might add. We love Chances pizza for an inexpensive dinner and Norma's at Seasplash for a more upscale treat. There is a great little beachfront restaurant affiliated with Country Country called Country Peppa that has become one of our favorites. Great bar there, as well. Kuyaba has a great bar with bar stool swings hanging from tree branches. We like the bar in front of Rondel Village called Irie Vibes. All of these are easy walking distances from Coco. I have not been to the Pelican Bar, so I cannot comment. I do wish to work it into a daytrip sometime. Hope this helps. Have a great trip and we look forward to a trip report upon your return. Happy Anniversary!

Thanks so much to both of you. 3/30 is not getting here fast enough. I am very excited about being able to experience both beach area's and all inclusive and non all inclusive. I am hoping all my research will pay off.

Thanks again!

What about the cliffs instead?

I seriously was interested in the Cliffs, but my husband is all about the beach!!!!!!!!!

We are doing an excursion with Solomon (Talk of the Town Tours) the Black River Safari/Pelican Bar/YS Falls..... Can't wait for that either,

I'd love to get up to the Cliffs for dinner one night.

I also thought I'd miss the beach when I was in Negril -- how wrong I was. Unlike most cliff areas along coastlines, in Negril the access to the ocean is immediate -- you walk down several steps cut directly into the rocky cliffs and descend into your warm ocean "pool". We had all day to lounge about in the sun, take leisurely swims in the ocean throughout, and the plus of having excellent snorkeling right off your private cottage or cabana. Generally sandy beaches aren't home to good near-by snokeling spots due to the sandy bottom structure.

There were a couple of days when the ocean was too rough for us to jump into for any length of time so we hopped into one of many cabs and went down the road for $6 to visit 7 mile beach. There's a much stronger commercial feel to the beach in Negril -- endless array of vendors who can put on hard sell pressure if business is slow. We were really happy that this wasn't where we were staying, particularly since access to the cliffs is much more difficult if you're not staying there, whereas we could visit the beach anytime almost anywhere we wanted even though we weren't staying on a property there.

If you decide you're not absolutely not going to stay at the cliffs, then definitely jump into a cab and go to Xtabi for an afternoon of snorkeling (buy a drink at the bar for access to the incredibly easy and beautiful snorkeling via their caves) and then walk up the road a few minutes for dinner at the Rockhouse (more elegant cliffside dining) or 3 Dives (inexpensive platters of lobster on rough wood benches/tables).

If you're already staying at the beach for an AI, I can't do enough to try to convince you to stay at the cliffs a few days -- there's a completely different vibe on the cliffs -- laid, back, peaceful, serene, secluded.

The Rockhouse is usually booked solid but you might luck out:
http://www.rockhousehotel.com/about/...php?page=rates

Catch a Falling Star is also great and half the price -- I love this place.

http://www.catchajamaica.com/thesagittarius.htm

Fishee: It all depends on what you are looking for....that is what is great about Negril. As strong as your attraction is to the cliffs ours is it to the beach of Negril. We try to have dinner once or twice at Xtabi, Rockhouse or 3 Dives but every time we tell ourselves how glad we are staying on the beach. Our last trip we didn't even get to the cliffs....didn't want to take a day or night away from the beach. I don't find the beach "hustle" much of a distraction at all. I actually like it and understand that they are trying to make a living like you and I are. It doesn't take most of them much time to figure out whether or not you are an experienced Negril traveler. Once they do, it is entertaining to watch them at work with those who might not be as experienced. A lot of it depends on what time of year you travel there, as well. I imagine March and early April things are a bit more busy than June or Novemeber.

mzambo,

We just got back from our 5th visit to Coco last night. I agree with much of what the other posters have already told you, but would just add a warning about some of the rooms at Coco. Be careful of the rooms that formerly belonged to a hotel called SILVER SANDS. These are definitely not nearly as nice as many of the rooms that were built specifically for COCO, and many of them get significant street noise.

Also, 2nd floor jr. suites are much nicer than the standard or superior ground floor rooms. If possible, try to book one of these upper level rooms,( or better yet, one of the upper level beach front rooms) and ask for one AWAY from the bar! There are often parties/bands at the bar until early in the morning.

Also, just so you know, while the pools at Coco are serviceable, they aren't nearly as big as they look on the website. Think of them as "quick dip" pools, and you won't be disappointed.

In terms of staff and value for the money, I agree with other posters that COCO is probably one of Negril's best properties. The staff is unbelievably helpful and friendly ( especially ROCKY who takes care of setting you up on the beach, and MICHELLE who works the bar) and the housekeepers do an amazing job of keeping guests happy. I think you'll really enjoy your stay there, despite some minor annoyances and glitches.

One last thing- breakfast is fine, but AVOID DINNER. YUCK. Need I say more?? Lunch at the beach bar grill is OK, but I'd stick with the barbecued chicken. The hamburgers looked scary.

As far as restaurants, we've been going to Negril since 1981, and one of our all-time favorites is a simple place called CHICKEN LAVISH. CHICKEN LAVISH is located on the road up to the cliffs, and is a nothing fancy kind of place, but has some of the best fried chicken and conch soup I've ever tasted anywhere. And it's pretty cheap! I'd recommend it highly, especially for lunch.

Like one of the other posters, we did not find the jerk chicken place, BEST OF THE WEST directly across from COCO all that great. In fact, I didn't feel that welcome there when I went to pick up lunch last week. I hope that was just an off-day for the place, but if not, I wouldn't even advise trying it.

Other restaurants I would recommend are LTU, which is up on the cliffs ( GORGEOUS VIEWS) THREE DIVES ( basic lobster and chicken, but very cheap and good) and ROCKHOUSE ( expensive, but great drinks- try the GRANNY POLITES which are coconut rum and fresh fruit juice- and killer views over the cliffs). Of these, ROCKHOUSE probably has the best food.

We went to XTABI this trip for the first time in quite a few years, but thought the service was incredibly slow even by Jamaican standards, and that the food was mediocre.

A last note- many of the cliffside restaurants provide a one-way pickup from your hotel. This is good to keep in mind since roundtrip transportation can run $30 without tip!

Hope you have a great trip!

When it comes to cabs in Negril (particularly between the cliffs and the beach), remember that you can negotiate a price with any cab you flag down. We generally paid 60% of what they first asked for (in low season) , i.e. a $15 fare to the beach would become $8. Some people consider this negotiation a hassle but it's really not that big of a deal, nor is it all serious business. We'd cheerfully counter a price and if it wasn't agreed to immediately, we'd politiely thank the guy for stopping, smile and wave good-bye -- we never had to actually look for another cab since they'd always agree to our price by that point. Never took more than 30 seconds.

Fishee,

Great advice about the cabs! We were surprised this time when one of the cab drivers only wanted $8 for the trip back from the cliffs, when we'd been paying the asked price of $15.

I figure we can consider cab fare as sliding scale -- they probably do get $15 at least half the time they pick up tourists which is great if people don't mind paying it. If you're on a tighter budget then don't hesitate to bargain a little.

A couple of times on the drive down our cabbie asked if we'd mind if he picked up another passenger (both times local) and we always said it was fine -- we're on vacation after all. It seems that our fare helped to subsidize the fare of a local getting to work, which was a nice concept.

Hey now....ease up on Bobo and his jerk hut! I am not sure what you are used to when ordering authentic Jamaican jerk chicken....but his is top notch. I have probably ordered 20 plates in the past 5 years and never a bad order! He runs a good business and while not real outwardly personable....he is a very nice guy as his gal is that'll serve you one of the coldest Red Stripes in Negril! I recommend his jerk hut without reservation!

CaribbeanSoul,

I guess I'm spoiled by jerk chicken that I used to eat from grills on the beach years ago. That being said, Bobo is a really nice guy. But his help last week was neither friendly or welcoming, so based on that I won't be hurrying back.

have to agree BEST IN THE WEST was not the BEST by a long shot....and i too have had my share of jerk.....will not be returning

Must have been an "off" day because we could not eat the chicken at "Best in the West". Owa

I guess he just gives me his best then. I brought him back a photo that I took from a prior trip of himself preparing a plate of jerk. He thought that was the greatest! He receives a lot of recommendation on negril.com as well.

Owa: Good to see you around again! I missed your Negril trip report....can you provide me with a link possibly? Thanks a ton!

We liked the Best of the West.

Perhaps it's because we went in Low Season so he has the time to cook/season the chicken properly????

However, I still drool when thinking about the 'Pattie Man' YUM!!!!

CaribbeanSoul, I didn't post a trip report, because I felt lousy most of January (nothing to do with traveling). My daughter did post, but I can't find it.

We are coming your way 15 March with our four grandchildren. We are staying at Marriott Waterfront which looks to be a good location. Owa