MoonDance Villa or other AI's - Tipping?
 

Hey everyone. I've decided on a 7 night stay at the Moon Dance Villas in Negril. I am doing the All-Inclusive package that comes with your own chef, bartender and housekeeper. I wanted to know about tipping them. I know we can do it at the end. They recommended 10-15% of accomodations. I'm not sure if that is 10% of the total price or just the rate x night. Does the 10-15% of accomoodations seem right? That would be a $450-500 tip. Seems like a lot, so I was curious what your opinions were?

Thanks,
-Brandon

10-15% of the RENTAL price (excluding food/drinks/taxes/transfers,etc.) is a pretty standard gratuity on island. Use US/JA dollars (personal/traveller's cheques get docked a fee and take up to 40 days to clear). Split the amount btw.staffmembers and envelope each separately. Your cook should get the lion's share.

Every hotel that I have been to in the
Caribean has a service tax on the daily rate-in most cases its 10%. At least with this villa you know all the staff get a share!

I have rented private villas in Jamiaca twice and bot times we tipped 10-15% of the weekly rental and the staff split it.

We were well accomodated and treated like royalty and the tipping recommendation was very fair based on the service received.

Ok, sounds good to me. So if the room rate was $500/night for 7 nights. I would tip anywhere between $350-$525 depending upon the quality of the service. So if I did $350, I could give $100 to the bartender/waiter, $100 to the housekeeper, and $150 to the chef/cook? And I thought by doing this AI meal plan I wouldn't need to bring much extra money!! :) I don't mind though, I'm just excited to get down there!
How much cash would you recommend I bring down there with me? We would like to do a few activities like horseback riding, a massage, and tour but mostly we will be enjoying the beach, our villa and the food.

Thanks,
-Brandon

Bring gratuity money and about US$500 in cash (lots of US$1,5s,10s--nothing higher than a 20) for touring, massages,
horseback riding. If you feel more comfortable putting this in traveller's cheques, Negril banks will cash;many services in Negril/but not all/can be paid by credit card and there are ATMs
for cash advances. Have a great holiday.

Brandon,
We stayed at Moondance Villas in August, and you don't need to bring a lot of cash at all. In fact any extra activities you want to do they will just put in on your tab and you can pay by credit card at the end, including tips. We kept in touch with our staff via email afterwards to make sure they got their tips, and they got it a few days after we left. I will be happy to answer any questions you have about Moondance, but I can tell you that it is worth every penny!! You wil Love it!

BB

Hey BB,

I was wondering what activities you did while you were there? We are interested in any water activties, horseback riding, massages, and anything else that would be fun. Any other advice or recommendations would be great!
Thanks,
-Brandon

My sis-in-law stayed there & raved about her visit. You should really enjoy it. The Beaches AI doesn't allow tipping but the private AIs do from what I've heard. They earn every bit & you will feel pampered when you leave.

If you want a good guide that is reasonable, try Soloman Kerr at Talk of the Town Tours. We used him in May & he was excellent. His wife, Sienna, came along & their help was great when it came to finding good deals at the craft market. They did a custom tour for us based on our interests but they do the standard attractions as well. They have a website that gives info if you're interested.

Be sure to have for lobster for a meal. We had grilled lobster & it was the best!