We are considering the following villas: Pango Pango; My Jamaica Getaway; Idle Hours. Has anyone ever stayed there? Would you recommend any of these? Idle Hours is on the beach, while the other two are on the hill. Would being on the beach worth the extra cost? Thanks for any information you can give me.

In Runaway Bay, beach locations are preferable to hillside. Beachside will also put you within walking distance (5 min) of Beaches (daypasses available for watersports/scuba/golf and night passes for restaurants/entertainment options), although most restaurant/nightlife options are in Ocho Rios/15 min.drive away. Hillside locations require car rentals or a villa with a driver
available daily. Directly on beach at Runaway Bay (see jamaicaescapes.com)Siesta villa with beachfront pool(sleeps up to 10), adjacent Bahia cottage (2) and adjacent BayWatch villa (6) and annext (3-4) can accomodate larger groups well.

Just returned from my 18th trip to Runway Bay this morning. We love Jamaica more and more each time we go.
(even if Air Jamiaca delayed our flight 2.5 hrs and we did not get home until 5 am this morning after a 2 hr drive from Chicago)


Anyway......here's my take on the beach or hill delima...It really depends on how much you REALLY like being on the beach.
It's a super beach that depending on how you hit it, can be either very enjoyable and calm or pretty windy and not comfortable at all. That said if you have a lot of wind, you might not be on that beach nearly as much as you like. Thus being hillside with a fantastic view and a pool could prove benificial as well. Yesterday for example it was very windy on the beach and not at all up at the villa we stayed in on the hill(go figure) More likely than not, a driver will come with your villa and on even beach front you'd want to have one available (IMHO) FYI from the Pango Pango area it would be about a 5 min drive or 20 min walk to the Cardiff Hall beach. So......there you have it. Basically it's up to what your priorities on a vacation.

Have fun!

Thanks so much for the information. Tivertonhouse, I have read many messages from you on this forum and truly respect your opinion, especially since, like you, I am always a 'traveler' rather than a 'tourist'. I agree that being right on the beach would be great, but since there is such a difference in cost, we'll be staying on the hillside. Michaelpl, your message makes me feel better about not being able to stay on the beach. I thought that the villa we'll probably be staying in was called My Jamaica Getaway, but it seems that that's just the name of their website. The villa is called Villa Boonoonoonoos. Are you familiar with that one? If so, how does it look?
Again, many thanks to both of you.

Wow, I was looking at villa's like the ones you are talking about today.(on the internet) We are trying to find a family place to stay and we are having a hard time since there are 7 of us. It is hard to find 2 available rooms around Christmas time. Is this when you are going? How big is your family? The place we are looking at area called Jamiaca Villa's. We usually just go, me and hubby and stay at Couples Swept Away, which is like Heaven. (if it is 2 people, I promise you will feel the same way!!)

Sillymom, I know nothing about availability at Christmas, but I have included below some websites that might be helpful to you. We will be 6 or 7 people and will be in Jamaica in March. I have had no trouble finding villas at a reasonable price for then. Good luck!
www.jamaicaescapes.com
www.silversands.com
cvillas.com/jamaica/index.html
I also found many villas at www.vrbo.com.

Well thanks so much, I will try those too!! A villa sounds so great, but I called today about one and it was $9500 for the week and I would still need to find air fare!! Way out of my range!! you would get a personal chef/driver/butler and I guess live like the rich and famous, but I would come back poor, so this may not be for us!! Good luck to you though!!!(I still will try those you gave me too)

Though I can't vouch for any of the Runaway Bay villas you mention, it will be tough to find anything for Christmas/New Year's this late in the game.We have, for example, only one upscale property with two suites/4-6 people, and one lower-priced villa available still for Christmas week--for the villa up to 26 Dec/3 bedrooms/sleeps 6 (we might be able to fit 7 in a pinch...).
Both properties are on Jamaica's South Coast. A good rule of thumb: when booking either a villa or a resort hotel pretty much anywhere in the Caribbean for the holidays , start early (most get booked out 8-12 months in advance) and be prepared to pay higher prices ( Christmas/New Year's weeks generally have 10 night to 2 week minimum rentals and/or premium rates that are higher than regular Winter Season rates. Being smack-dab on a good beach -- tho ALL beaches in Jamaica are public like the one for Cardiff Hall's villas, the best are LESS public than others (like the one at Siesta) -- generally also means higher rates than hillside. It's a steep hill from the beach up through the golf course road to the hillside villas in Runaway Bay-- few people walk it, esp.in the heat. If a driver is not included in your hillside villa rental, a private PPV insured/certified driver and large a/c van runs about US$600-750/week for up to 8 hour a day service (airport transfers included).

Prizren;

Though I am not specficially familiar with Villa Boonoonoonoos, I drive by it all the time. Though located on the lower level of the hillside, it still should have a good view of the sea. That said, it would also be at least a 10 min faster walk to the beach if you ever chose to do that. Pics and website in general seem fair as well. FYI, and for what it's worth you might also write Ivan or Vanna Taylor who operate Sunflower Villas property mgnt in the area. Though I do not suggest staying in a villa located at their home base,(somewhat dated) they do also respresent many privately owned villas in the Cardiff Hall area. Write them at [email protected] if you like. At least it will give you more to compare to. Otherwise I think you'll do fine with your choice of Villa Boonoonoonoos as not all rentals will allow for rentals by the
number of person rather than the whole villa. Good luck and whatever you choose I'm sure you'l enjoy the Runaway Bay area. Good luck!

Also.......tivertonhouse is correct on pricing for a good, certified driver.
Our driver has driven us for years. We consider him a bargin at $1000 for the week as he's got a super van and also acts at tour guide knowing where to go, NOT go and the best "local" things to do and try. It would be a mistake to look at that $1000 as just simply money for tranportation as you get so much more for for it than that.

Sillymom,
I just received an e-mail message from Silver Sands about some of their villas that are still available for the Christmas period. From everything I have read and been told, Silver Sands is a great place, and I promise that you will find their villas much, much more reasonably priced than $9500. Good luck, and please let us know what you decide.

http://www.silver-sands.com/availability_year_end.html

Silver Sands offers a better beach than Runaway Bay. Just 40 min.from MoBay, it's a gated private beach villa community -- the oldest on island.
If you can find an availability for
Christmas there, grab it.

And if Miss P's Place at Silver Sands fits your needs/3 bedrooms plus additional crib for child at no charge, for 20-27 December, the Christmas Week
rate with us is US$150 less than thru
Silver Sands direct.

Prizren......We stayed at Pango Pango villa about 3 yrs ago. Very nice property w/a nice pool and gazeboo, all overlooking the golf course. The pictures on their website were exactly the same as in person. The staff was extremely pleasant and helpful during our stay. The cook prepared fantastic meals all week long and the private driver was waiting at MBJ upon arrival just as scheduled! Good luck on your search...

Thanks to all of you who gave me information. We have now decided to stay at Silver Sands in Villa Day-O and are eagerly looking forward to our holiday there.