Moon Dance Villas
 

Hello! I had a question about the Moon Dance Villas for anyone who has stayed there. Have looked through their site and am quickly falling in love with their villas. It says "personal chef & bartender." But then it offers an all-inclusive option for extra money. I'm a little unclear on what the difference is. Meaning, what would one do w/ a personal chef and bartender without the all-inclusive plan?

Am I making sense? :)

You are to me - perhaps they'll dust :-)

but I'm wondering why they're charging $600 a night for a 1 bed villa yet food and drinks aren't included :-(

Also taxes are extra.

It does look like a beautiful place though

LOL yes perhaps that is true. I emailed them for info so hopefully I can clarify soon. I am trying to nail down some possibilities for my honeymoon in late November and although this is at the high end of our budget, we may be able to swing it!

When we stayed there, it was just like staying at any other private villa on the islands. The staff is there whether you want them or not. We paid additionally for whatever food they purchased for us as I recall. Maybe they have changed things since then. It was a super place and we would go back except that they've really raised the rates since we went. One thing I did not like however was that the staff (God bless them) would always just "hang" in the villa throughout the day even when the work was done. Sort of made it uncomfortable as I recall. I dont think they really had anywhere else to wait though.

For that much a night I would stay at The Caves or Rockhouse, both are surreal cliff properties. If you a beach person and want the sand, Moon Dance looks unbelievable, but I would also look into the Honeymoon Villa at Kuyaba or Country Country cottages.

We are trying to do a split between the beach and the cliffs, and I have looked into the Rockhouse and it seems amazing. So, for our first few days we'd like to stay on the beach, then the remainder on the cliffs. We can't spend this kind of money on both places, so this seems like a good way to go. What about Sunset at the Palms? Any thoughts on that?

Snook, I have heard great things regarding SATP. It is located across the road from the beach, however. They have the beach area across the road with a beach bar and full beach amenities. I would suggest looking at Idle Awhile for a more upscale beach accommodation situated right on the beach amidst the most perfect part of Negril beach. This is a non-AI hotel, however. There are plenty of dining and entertainment options located within a 5-10 minute walk on the beach. All very affordable and provides the opportunity to get out and experience a little more of Negril.

We've stayed at Moondance. If you don't choose the all-inclusive option, you just pay for what you use.

Either way, someone from the front desk comes every day to ask you what you'd like for your meals and at what time. We decided to pay as you go and ended up spending less than the AI option would have been. The charges for groceries and liquor were more than if you bought them yourself, but not terribly so. I think we spent $100/nt for 2 for 3 meals and drinks. A lot of that was for fresh fruit.

The staff will do what you want. Wendy, our bartender, was very nice. We would walk up from the beach and ask her to make blender drinks. She would deliver them to us on the beach and then return with refills later. In addition to the food we asked for, they also gave us snacks and a cake which we didn't even eat.

I think if you drink a ton and like having alot of food around, go AI, if not the other option may be better. We also wanted to eat some meals at the restaurants in the area, so it didn't make sense to pay for AI.

What you're paying for at Moondance are very luxurious accomodations. We were in a 5BR villa which was 5000 sq feet, had a private pool, three jacuzzis, aircon in every room, a computer with DSL access. The property is very well maintianed. The beach is huge and kept very clean with water toys at your disposal. The security guys will keep the hawkers away if you want.

That said, the food at The Caves was by far the best I've had in Jamaica, but we prefer being on the beach.

The Villa to get at Moondance is the 4BR with the pool table. It's private pool is right on the beach and it has the best location.-

We have done the villa thing with a cook/bartender and I would only do it again if the price was right. We were not at Moondance, but as a previous poster stated, they were always there, so I did not feel like we had much privacy. I know it has to be uncomfortable for them too. I also felt as though I always needed money on me to tip vs a few other places we have stayed where no one seems to expect a tip, so we just give them a nice amount at the end of our stay (easier than always needing to worry about having small bills). We had to make decisions about what we wanted to eat. They did not give us many ideas or options, then we could either shop (cheaper) or have them shop for us. It just seemed to take too much planning for a vacation. I'd rather have it taken care of for me at an AI, or make the decision of where are we going to eat at a hotel. Maybe Moon dance villas is different, especially with their AI plan. It has great ratings. Sunset at the Palms has great ratings too and looks beautiful on line. Idle A while is in the middle of everything, if that is what you want, but looks to have beautiful rooms and it's a nice small resort. We stayed at the Caves, but walked on Rockhouse and Tensing Pen Property. I prefered Tensing Pen over Rockhouse, but if you can swing it, I'd do the Caves for the cliffs. It was an incredible place and we've been to quite a few over our 14 years of marriage. We can't wait to go again. Good luck!

Hmm, well while I like the notion of having your very own chef and bartender, I am not crazy about them hanging in the villa all the time. I hadn't thought of that. Will look into more beach hotel options. Seems like Negril has the nicest beach? Is it silly to stay in Negril the whole time if we do the split? If not, what do you guys suggest? (Cliffs are a must)

The staff will do whatever you want. The cook hangs out in the kitchen, you won't see him unless you want to .

The bartender hangs out so you can get her to do things, if you want her to leave, just ask. You could always call the office if you need her again.

What do you expect? If you have staff, they tend to try to be available to meet your needs.

I've never felt like the staff of any villa was "in the way". The cleaning person was seen the most, obviously, as she was cleaning our bedrooms and living areas during the day, and helping serve and clean up after meals. The cook was in the kitchen or serving meals. the gardener was out doing his thing in the garden.

If we needed something we'd go into the kitchen and ask.

Staff tended to hang out in a "staff area" when not working. Sometimes I'd go hang out there with them :)

We have always tipped staff at the end of the stay, in an envelope for each person, total 10-15% of the rental cost.

I hope no one misunderstood what I said earlier. I didn't mean to sound "unappreciative" of the whole chef/bartender thing. A post gave me an impression that they'd be around all the time (which led me to think we'd have a lack of privacy), but you've all clarified that since! Goodness, if we could afford both Moondance and the Caves, that would be the dream combination!

Once last thing, at least when we were at Moondance (didn't do it AI), the staff would leave after dinner so there's plenty of privacy. You can call the front desk if you need anything.

Thanks everybody! We have a tough decision to make for sure! Will keep you posted!
:)