Jamaica-Negril
 

Looking for travelers who have stayed at Idle Awhile in Negril, in particular those who have stayed at their villas on the cliffs. Would you recommend staying here (Idle Awhile Villas) or would you stay at their main resort? Will likely stay the first 3 nights (6 night trip) at Couples Swept Away and then go over to Idle Awhile for the last 3 nights. Any recommendations/input/stories are appreciated.

Hi ccwright2520:

Couples swept Away is a great place to stay; never stay there but have frieds who do, and they say its a wonderful resort.
Idle Awhile Villas is a place to stay. The rooms are fantastic and also their staffs. I love it in Negril; its my number one spot in Jamaica. I just image myself on the seven mile beach sitting under a coconut tree drinking a fruit punch. And also taking a boat ride to small island there in Negril. I love to watch the guys jump off the Rick's cafe with my best driver in Jamaica Denzil Mcintosh from www.explorerjamaica.com ; you can't find better than him. He will make sure you enjoy your vacation. I hope i help you out with your questions.
Take care and enjoy your stay in Negril the best places in Jamaica.

I've just happened to be checking up on Negril today myself, there's lots of posts over on the Trip Advisor Negril forum about the hotels/resorts. I saw quite a few comments about Idle Awhile mentioned.

We stayed in the main resort in 2006. My biggest advice to you would be to request a room on the 2nd floor and AWAY from the main walkway. Why? The room windows are made of screens and wooden shutters. That's it. So nothing blocks the noise. We were in a 1st floor room next to the main walkway and were miserable at night trying to sleep. We could hear anybody and everybody walking by at all hours of the night (It didn't help that we were there during a national holiday and their equivalent of spring break). Our room was right by the generator which kicked in when power went out during the night. They also have lots of frog trees/crickets that start singing at 6pm through the night. They're so loud it's almost as if you're camping. Bring those foamy ear things if you're a light sleeper.

Besides that, it is a cute resort with a really nice staff and a great beachfront.

Not to discount Caribtravelers experience, as I dont know when it was that they stayed. I searched long and hard at various reports of different places to stay and last April spent a week at Idle Awhile. We too extended our trip and decided to experience the cliffs, however we stayed at Tensing Pen. I cant say enough rave reviews about both places. If you want to lok at staying on the cliffs I encourage you to check it out. Tensin pen is absolutely amazing and they have great pictures of their cottages which are true to life. If you are one who likes to snorkel then I suggest the cliffs because its so nice to simple walk from your cottage to one of the many ladders and snorkel along the cliffs. No need for a boat to take you anywhere. As for the main Idle Awhile resort, we stayed in the ocean view one bedroom suite. Room #105, and we loved it. The ability to just walk off the veranda and hang out at Chill Awhile Cafe was great. Again, we had a 7 year old with us and it was nice to know that she could go back to the room and be within a stones throw distance. We are going back in February and this time we are staying in the Ocean view one bedroom suite upstairs. We will be there for a total of 13 days. I think its important to search the forum as you are. You will find many people with rave reviews about Idle Awhile. One thing we found is that while staying at Idle Awhile we met many people who told us just how often they have been coming to Jamaica and were pleased to hear that after countless trips, virtually everyone we spoke to said they have found Idle Awhile to be far and away the best place they have stayed at. It really gave me solace knowing that the research panned out. I think we were among the only people that were in Jamaica for the first time as everyone else was a returning traveler, some having been back over a dozen or more times. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have.