Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Caribbean Islands
Reload this Page >

Fern hill club, Port Antonio

Search

Fern hill club, Port Antonio

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Aug 5th, 2005, 11:33 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Fern hill club, Port Antonio

I'm planning a trip to Fern Hill Club in December, Has anyone actually stayed there? I'm considering Fern Hill or Rio Vista.
sims1219 is offline  
Old Aug 5th, 2005, 12:25 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,323
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Fern Hill Club is closer to most things in the area , beaches , restaurants , etc. Rio Vista is very beautiful , great owners , great food , but it's either an expensive taxi ride or renting a car to get to beaches etc...... It is at the end of the Rio Grande rafting tour , sitting high on the river bank , with a view to the sea in the distance . Fern Hill Club had been closed for reno. after last years big hurricane , I am assuming it's up and running ? This place has stupendous views , and is great exercise ( lots of stairs !!! ) .
faithie is offline  
Old Aug 5th, 2005, 03:06 PM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes, they are open now, I made reservations a week ago. Hopefully, the renovations are complete. The price is right and there is a very minimal extra charge to have a cook. I've been doing my research and so far it sounds great. I plan on renting a car but I also want to be close enough to the activities.
sims1219 is offline  
Old Aug 5th, 2005, 03:20 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,323
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thats great . You do know that besides outdoor excursions , there are not that many " activities " ?? This is a quiet area , hotels hidden in the jungle ( and not many of them ) . Incredibly beautiful and lush , laid-back , seemingly lost in time ....
faithie is offline  
Old Aug 5th, 2005, 04:21 PM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes, "activities" for me is swimming in the blue lagoon, rafting on the rio grande, Eating Jerk chicken at boston bay. I have two small children 3 y/o and 1 y/o, so our activities will be very simple for a while. I chose Port Antonio because of the laid back attitude.
sims1219 is offline  
Old Aug 5th, 2005, 04:34 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,323
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Awesome ! exactly as we did !! I went with my then 6 and 8 yr. old . We stayed at Goblin Hill Villas . My trip report is under Port Antonio Jamaica trip report , by Willem . any questions , fire away ! Amazing , amazing place !! ( visited 2x fern hill )which is accesible from goblin by a back road hike .....
faithie is offline  
Old Aug 6th, 2005, 07:01 AM
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My sister who lives in Kingston went to P.A. yesterday for the weekend, How convenient, She did a walk through of a few places including Fern Hill, she says it's not well maintained, They decided on Goblin Hill, more impressive. Originally, GH was my first choice but they had a 5 night minimum at Christmas and we're only going to be in JA for 3 nights. She's going to try to pull some strings.
sims1219 is offline  
Old Aug 6th, 2005, 07:19 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,323
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We found Fern Hill looked just fine , everything in Portie is worn at the edges a bit , even Goblin Hill where we stayed ..... We would stay at both again in a second ! Very clean , staff cleaning up at every turn , but you will see some dated and chipped tiles etc. You probably would have been fine at Fern Hill , but Goblin hill is wonderful !!! looks like old world charm . Ask to have Joan as your housekeeper !
faithie is offline  
Old Aug 6th, 2005, 09:15 AM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Great, if things don't work out at GH due to the # of days, then I'll stay at Fern Hill. I actually thought Fern Hill would be a little more private because of the option of having three pools, instead of everyone in just one pool.
sims1219 is offline  
Old Aug 6th, 2005, 09:16 AM
  #10  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I'm going to try to look at your trip photos now.
sims1219 is offline  
Old Aug 6th, 2005, 10:57 AM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,323
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have no photos posted ..... Just a long report . Liza has photos !
faithie is offline  
Old Aug 10th, 2005, 11:17 AM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We stayed at Fern Hill and loved it. We had a car and no hotel reservations so drove around a bit before deciding where to stay. We looked at Frenchman's first (yuck), then Goblin Hill (nice enough but very quiet and too $$$), settled on Fern Hill's suite for $99 which was almost identical to the Goblin Hill $250 room. Fern Hill also ahs a bar/restaurant, 3 pools and San San beach apsses, all of which we used.

I do have photos: http://gallery.hookahheads.com/gallery/album569?page=3

...and a trip report: http://www.alink.com/personal/liz/negril/2003trip.htm
liza is offline  
Old Aug 10th, 2005, 02:29 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,121
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
liza,
Your pictures were great..thanks for sharing them with us. Porty looks like a place that I would like to go..after Idle Awhile in Negril. You all looked like you had a blast!
christiegr is offline  
Old Aug 10th, 2005, 05:07 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
That was my favorite Jamaica trip yet (of 15 or so)....no kids, rental car, only reserved a couple of nights' hotel, the rest we just went where the wind blew us.
liza is offline  
Old Aug 11th, 2005, 11:33 AM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I love Port Antonio...we have gone the last threee years. We rent of the Blue Lagoon Villas with a couple friend of ours. Do go to the beach at Frenchmans...there is a creek (not sure if it is a true creek) that runs into the ocean...we saw a lot of small children in it with their parents. Also recommend the spicey honey conch at the Blue Lagoon Restaurant (some what expensive but I loved it). When you get the jerk from Boston Bay if you get pork tell them no fat or they will load you up with it. Everyone is so friendly and willing to help out. I can not say enough good things.
jennifer3841 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
hochieman2
Mexico & Central America
6
Jan 16th, 2006 10:11 AM
mjp6
Caribbean Islands
12
Nov 13th, 2005 02:32 PM
lorkadoodle
Caribbean Islands
10
Oct 31st, 2004 01:34 AM
tantan
Caribbean Islands
9
Jun 6th, 2004 12:26 PM
geryfrain
Mexico & Central America
4
Jul 7th, 2003 10:30 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On



Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -