HowardC

Returned last Sunday from six nights in Jamaica, five of
which were at Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios and one night at
Wyndham Rose Hall.

Getting there--Left Orlando on Air Jamaica at 3PM (2 PM
Jamaica time). Never had flown this airline before and it
was a pleasant surprise. Even at 3 PM they served a hot
lunch, chicken, peas and rice and veggies plus
complimentary wine, champagne and Red Stripe Beer.
Unheard of on most US carriers. We arrived at Montego
Bay at 3:40 Jamaica time. Cleared customs and
immigration by about 4:10. Transfers to Montego Bay
were included in our package but at that time of day I didn't
want to ride for two hours to get to Ocho Rios. Opted to fly
to Boscobel with Inter Air Link. Were met by their rep
outside customs and transported to the commuter terminal.
Small six passenger plane and there was another couple.
The flight was about 1/2 hour and cost $90/person--well
worth it. Landed at Boscobel and the Airlink van
transported us to Jamaica Inn. Price ($30) included in the
airline ticket. Arrived at JI at about 5:30 PM.

Jamaica Inn--Built is 1950 by the Morrow family. The Inn
is understated casual elegance. Sort of like a grande dame
aging gracefully. Peter and Eric Morrow are your gracious
hosts. The suite concept is very unique, something we had
not experienced in our trips to many Caribbean islands.
The majority of Suites are Verandah suites. We were in a
premier suite # 19 in the west wing. When you enter the
suite there is the bedroom and bath. Then you go out thru
louvered doors to the verandah where there is the living
area. There was a couch, two end tables, lamps, desk,
cocktail table. wing chair with ottoman and mini fridge
along with a table and two chairs by the railing. True
outdoor living. Fresh flowers on the verandah and in the
bathroom, The west wing suites, 16-20 look toward Ocho
Rios and the mountains. The other Premier suites, 41-48
are beachfront. The least expensive suites, Balcony, are on
the second floor of the main and east wing. The deluxe
verandah suites are on the first floor of the main and east
wing. There are no tv's radios or even a clock in the suites.
The bedrooms have A/C and a fan. Also a fan on the
verandah. There is an excercise room with tread mill, stair
step, recumbent bike and free weights. For those who need
a TV fix there is a small TV room next to the exercise
room. Also a well stocked library with games and puzzles.

Dining--Our package included the MAP. Since breakfast at
home consists of an English muffin I really enjoy breakfast
in the islands and splurge. The JI breakfast was awesome.
Juice and of course Blue Mountain coffee, basket of toast,
muffins, pastries, then a large platter of fresh fruit to
choose from, eggs and style with bacon, jerk sausage and
ham, omelets, pancakes, waffles etc.etc. There was always
a special Jamaican breakfast item on the menu, Ackee and
salt fish, Callaloo etc. After breakfast we took toast back
to the room to feed the fish off the verandah. Created a
real feeding frenzy and it was like having your own
aquarium. There were small seargent majors, needlenose
fish, snapper etc. In the evening the sea urchins would
come in. You can have breakfast, lunch and a candle light
dinner served on your verandah. Lunch is also served on
the beach.

Afternoon tea is served from 4-5 PM, Cookies, small tea
sandwiches and cakes. At 7 PM cocktails and very good
hors d'ouvres are served before dinner on the bar terrace.
Dinner starts at 7:30 and you can dine at your leisure. We
normally went about 8 PM. Five course dinner which we
never worked our way thru--Choice of appetizer, choice of
soup, salad, choice of about 5 or 6 entrees and dessert. The
entrees varied daily and included catch of the day, another
fish entree, pork, chicken, pasta dish, beef . Especially
liked the almond crusted mahi mahi and the fillet. On
Tuesday there is a beach BBQue which was great. This
was preceded by a managers cocktail party. Most
managers parties we have been to are just wine or rum
punch. This was a full bar with Hors d'ouvres. BBque- Lots
of food including fish, chicken, shrimp kabobs, curried goat
etc.etc. There was a large bonfire in the beach. At every
meal there was live entertainment and dancing.

Grounds and beach--The grounds were lovely.
Meticulously maintained. Lawn mowed and raked daily.
The gardener gives tours twice a week discussing the
various flora on the property The beach was constantly
raked, graded, and very clean. Most of the beaches we saw
on this trip were very small but the one at JI was the best.
There are very large palm palapas, lounge chairs with
pads. In late morning complimentary fruit punch and lethal
rum punches are served. Rupert and Teddy are the beach
bartenders. Ruperts signature drink is Mountain
Magic--Try one, The dirty banana is also good. Like a
banana milkshake with a big kick. Rupert is also the
resident croquet pro and would be happy to teach you the
game. There are a couple of sunfish sail boats, kayaks and
floats and snorkel gear to use. The snorkeling is not great
off the beach. Find Tony on the beach and arrange a
snorkel trip--$15 for an hour. If you want to go to Dunns
River Falls talk to Tony and go by boat--$20 for two. If you
want to climb the falls it is $5 each for water shoes and $10
for a guide. Best time to go is Sat when the cruise ships
aren't in.

Ocho Rios--At 10:40 daily there is transportation from JI
to downtown Ocho Rios for a small fee. We went to Island
Vilages, and Taj Mahal and the crafts market to look
around. It is a typical town where cruise ships stop.
Crowded and noisy One ship came in each day about 7AM
and left 3-4 PM.. Passengers flock ashore for souvenirs
and to party. Ate lunch at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville.
Excellent margaritas But it was very noisy. Caters to the
cruise ship crowd with a DJ, foolish games and lots of
booze flowing. Glad to get back to the quiet of JI.

One of the things that is so impressive about Jamaica Inn
is the staff. On a lot of islands you find people very
indifferent with an attitude. Not the case here. It is obvious
the staff takes pride in Jamaica Inn and like their jobs. No
small request will go unfulfilled and they bend over
backwards to make sure your stay is enjoyable. A lot of the
staff has worked there for 25 years or more and some 40+.
Rupert has been there for 26 years and Teddy 42. Forgot
to mention Teddy sang with the band one night and it really
good at age 62.

Return trip--We did not want to get up at 6 AM to transfer
back to Montego Bay for our morning flight and opted to
overnight at Wyndham Rose Hall. We took a private car to
Wyndahm rather take the van and glad we did. The road is
pretty bad but is was a smooth trip. They are building a new
highway between MoBay and Ocho Rios which should be
finished in a year and cut the travel time to about an hour.
The difference between JI and Wyndham is like day and
night. Wyndham is a large family oriented resort with lots
of activity and noise. Did have a good dinner at the golf
club restaurant Three Palms. Up the next morning for a 20
min ride to the airport and a 10:50 flight. Again a hot
chicken and cheese sandwich etc for lunch. Landed in
Orlando at 1:50 PM--Took longer to clear customs, get
baggage and car and drive home than the flight. All in all a
great trip and I definitely recommend Jamaica Inn.

Diana

Thanks Howard, for the great trip report.

I booked our flight last night for 10 nights in August.

We are planning on 5 nights in Negril and 5 nights in Ocho Rios (at Jamaica Inn).

Did you find that the MAP was a good value, or would you have preferred (or found it easy) to dine off-premises?

I had originally planned to stay somewhere in town just for convenience's sake, but when I saw Jamaica Inn, I knew I had found the place for us!

Would it be difficult to get cabs or transport to restaurants off site for dinner?

How did you obtain your flight/van transport to Ochi/JI? Ahead of time or at the airport?

Did you do any excursions like Blue Mountains or Port Antonio? Any recommendations?

Thanks!

HowardC

Think you'll really like Jamaica Inn. Really nice property. The MAP was a part of our package and I thought it was well worth it. It runs $80/person. A full breakfast is $22. When you consider Hors D'ouvres and a five course dinner it is a good deal. Plus you get entertainment. If you eat out you would have to add in the cost of a cab which would be around $20. The recent issue of Caribbean Travel and Life had a small article on Ocho Rios restaurants. Only one really intrigued me. Can eat Italian and chinese at home. You might be able to find the article at www.ctl.com or do a Caribbean Travel and Life search. The front desk will gladly arrange a cab for you if you decide to eat out.

I made my air reservations before hand but you don't pay until you arrive at the commuter terminal because they don't know how many people are going. The more people the cheaper per person. Think for two from MoBay to Ocho Rios was $135 for two. They also do a Negril Ocho Rios flight. Price of ticket includes transfer to Hotel From Boscobel to Jamaica Inn is $30 by Cab. About a 20 min ride. Check out www.intlairlink.com for schedules. Taxi from Ocho Rios to Mo Bay is $100. Didn't do a lot of tours to Blue Mountain etc. Check with Tedy for Blue Mountain coffee. It's cheaper than the tourist traps. Think when you see Ocho Rios you will be glad you picked Jamaica Inn rather than downtown. If you have more questions feel free to e-mail me. [email protected]

HowardC

P.S. Lots of JI reviews on www.tripadvisor.com

Diana

Thank you HowardC!

It's funny you should say that about Ochi. I took a look at it on several websites, and I was like, "Uh oh."

As soon as I saw the JI website, I knew I had found the right place to stay!

I do get CT&L, so I will check out the places they suggest to eat, but we REALLY like to go exploring and to eat local food, so maybe a rental car is in order.

I really appreciate your flight info as I have been having a heckuva time trying to figure out how to get around between where we want to go.

Thanks again!

Patty

HowardC,
So glad to hear you enjoyed your stay at JI (#19 was our room when we spent our honeymoon there 8 years ago ) Did you go through the luxurylink auction for your package? If so, did they upgrade you to the premier suite or was it a paid upgrade option? We buy our coffee from Teddy too! I hope they finish the road work soon, it actually took longer this year than previous trips. We can't wait to return.

Diana,
Once you arrive at JI, you have a tendency to not want to go anywhere. We've done 2 tours on different trips - one was to the Blue Mountains/Kingston where we toured Mavis Bank and Sangsters, had lunch at Strawberry Hill, and visited Devon House in Kingston. This was a long day! The other one was to nearby sites like Firefly and Wassi Art Pottery, and we also stopped at Goldeneye (my husband is a huge Fleming/Bond fan) where the guard there gave us a quick tour. This took about half a day.

Where are you staying in Negril? Our trip this year was orginally supposed to be a combination of Negril and Ochi, but my SIL decided to get married that weekend so we cut our trip short. Hope to go there next time. I'd love to read a trip report when you return, especially a comparison. Have a great trip!

Patty

I just saw your other post and see that you are staying at Idle Awhile. That was one of the places we looked into, we debated over and over about whether to stay on the beach or the cliffs.

HowardC

Patty--the answer to your first question is Yes. The second no did not pay. Think a friend interceded for me. Think this is the exception rather than the rule.