Long weekend in Jamaica
 

For his 40th birthday, I want to surprise my husband with a trip to Jamaica in September. (We only have 4 days so I don't want to spend too much time traveling once we are there.) I would love to find a nice resort, with a great beach, good food, and some evening activity (no huge parties needed). I'm thinking about an AI but never been to one before. Any suggestions are welcome!

Try Idle Awhile in Negril. its beautiful, reasonably priced, has a great beach and fabulous food
http://www.idleawhile.com/rooms.htm

If you don't want to travel after landing, then you might not want to go to Negril, which is at least an hour or longer from MoBay, though that's no longer than it is from many Caribbean airports to resorts, and Negril is my favorite part of Jamaica.

Idle Awhile is a good choice but not an AI. How about Sunset at the Palms, a nice, small AI? Or the Caves for a truly unique kind (albeit expensive) kind of experience since it's not on the beach.

4 days is plenty of time and Negril is such a great place. If you want a unique experience go for a place on the cliffs. The Caves is the best...AI, but very pricey, but worth every penny. Tensing Pen is also wonderful. Rockhouse may be a bit more happening in the evenings. If you really crave the beach, which we went to for 1 day while on the cliffs. Negril beach is beautiful, but I really didn't miss it with the beauty of the cliffs. You could try Idle a While or Sunset at the Palms. I've heard great reviews about Half Moon Bay.. Pricey, but closer to the airport and very nice. You can also find specials on luxury link for the Jamaican Inn.

Depends on your style: Jamaica Inn is
classic AngloJamaica, luxe, laid-back
a little sedate if you need entertainment and 'action' outside the resort; The Caves is boho chic luxe and the best Negril has to offer tho not on a beach (it's cliffside, with Negril's beach readily accessible if you ever do leave the resort which has great style, food, service. The redone Tensing Pen is another good choice, if quite a few pegs down on the luxe special scale. Also on cliffs. Idle-A=While, on beach, is small, private, intimate and very
well-priced for a short getaway. Would avoid the routine Sandals, Couples, Rius, Grand Bahias and chain places.

Thank you--this information is very helpful! We really like the beach so right now I'm thinking either Couples Negril, Idle Awhile, Sunset at the Palms, Sandals Whitehouse or Jamaica Inn. We loved Caneel Bay/Little Dix 2 yrs ago, but don't have to have something that fancy. Any other thoughts?

Consider also Round Hill, Tryall, Half moon. All upscale, all very close to Montego bay airport (under an hour or much less in Half Moon's case), without being IN the city.

My wife and I have been to Jamaica 9 times and are planning our 10th this December. We love Sandals MoBay. Its not the fanciest resort but they get the most returnees of any Sandals to that resort. Its only a five minute trip from the airport. The planes fly right overhead (very minor annoyance) that occurs maybe 15-20 times a day. The crowd is 50-50 honeymooners/returnees. The night life is pretty subdued(honeymooners go to bed early). The food is okay but varied. The drinks are sweet and poured as often as you want one. The Jamaicans are a friendly group. There is a guy on the Frommers Jamaica site named JohnnyBGood who is an expert and will give you great advice.

Don't know if you've made your plans yet, from our friend in Ja., have heard nothing but troubles about Sandles Whitehouse and that is quite a drive from the airport. We've stayed at Sunset at the Palms many times before the renovations,the renovations are very, very nice. Since it is a smaller resort you don't have masses of people at the buffets, buffets usually are not as tasty as a restaurant. You are not on 7 mile beach there, but still a nice beach, you walk across the street, no big deal. Country Country in Negril on 7 mile has good food at their restaurant and you can walk to many others right along the beach. Margaritaville is a few resorts away for entertainment if you would like. The hour 1/2 drive to Negril is worth the time plus you get to see Jamaican life beyond what you see in resorts.

We stayed at Country Country for a week in April and loved it. It was very low-key, right on the beach and the food was great. We walked nearly everywhere we went, taxis a few times to the cliffs, shopping. Mostly it was a relaxing, laid back time on the beach! We plan to return in the fall.