First Time to Jamaica - Negril, Ocho Rios or Montego Bay - Please Help
 

I am planning our first trip to Jamaica in the beginning of July.

We are a family of four....Two adults and two girls, 17 and 14.
We would like a nice resort with nice beach. Possibly all inclusive. Close to activities.

I have looked at Half Moon and Round Hill and they seem really nice, (and really pricey) but I'm not sure about being far away from town and isolated. My girls like to shop and I would like to be able to eat at other restaurants other than hotel restaurants.

One other location we considered was the Beach House Villas and Hotel in Negril.

Any suggestions or opinions on these hotels would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

If you want easy access to stores and the like, I'd recommend Ocho Rios or Negril. Ocho Rios has the big Island Village shopping center (with a Margaritaville), and it's close to Chukka Bay, which has an infinite variety of adventure-type activities.

In Negril, the best places are, in my opinion, not AIs, so I'd steer you to one of the small beach resorts there. Many posters on these boards love Negril and can make personal recommendations.

If you really want to eat out a lot, then it's a waste to go AI.

In MoBay, Half Moon would actually be an excellent choice. It's a large, sprawling resort and has many different activities and the area's largest upscale shopping center. Many of the accommodations are villas that could easily accommodate your family. If you can afford the price, it's an excellent choice.

If you are leaning in Negril’s direction (which I highly recommend) check out Rondel Village. They have 1-3BR villa units, on the beach, with an onsite restaurant/bar and swimming pool. You would be within walking distance to everything Negril Beach has to offer. Our family is leaving on Friday. We stay at Coco La Palm, but our kids are very young so we don’t need the extra room that Rondel Village affords.

Negril 100%. I travel to Jamaica often and find that Negril is the safer destination over Montego Bay and Ochi. Check out the message board on www.negril.com, there are tons of people that can help you make you Negril hotel choice. My recommendations for a family would be Country Country, Seasplash, or Negril Treehouse (Not All Inclusives) or Point Village for All Inclusive. I would strongly recommend non AI's. You get to experience more, eat at different places, and explore the island. As a final warning, July will be HOT! and it is the beginning of hurricane season (trip insurance maybe??), however rates are very low too!

We stayed at Country Country in April. While I was traveling with only my husband, children away at college, there were several families with teenagers there. The kids were involved in all sorts of beach fun and seemed to have a great time. CC includes breakfast with room, so that is a great way to start the day. The restaurant at the hotel was great, but many other choices were close by. I'd take my boys to CC anytime! Have fun.

For the cheapest all inclusives on the island you can try Holiday Inn in Montego Bay or Starfish in Trelawny, they are family resorts. Starfish especially has a lot of activites. You can then do some tours to travel to other place like Ocho Rios and Negril.

HI Bethyk,

I just wrote a trip report on Round Hill which was truly wonderful, but it is pretty far from town. I've heard wonderful things about Half Moon too, and they are much bigger than Round Hill with lots of restaurants, etc.

There were a few teenagers at Round Hill having a great time, but not a ton. Not sure how much socializing they want to do, but that might be a factor too.

Jamaica is beautiful!