Need help from Jamaica Experts
 

Thanks to all of the great people on this forum I have learned a lot about renting villas in Jamaica. Now, Please help me with this. I am pouring my findings to you hear. Tell me what you think.

I have a dilema in picking where to stay and what will be best for my
family. Our trip to Jamaica was not in the plan. I had already planed and paid
for a Disney Cruise for October. Which mean that my budget for my dream Jamaican vacation is not as big as I would like it to be.
Here is what I have come up with my research and I hope you can help me out
here.

We are a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids, 6 and 9). We need to go to Montego Bay
for a wedding. My girls are the flower girls so we need to also go to rehersals
before the wedding. At lease one the friday before the wedding. The wedding will
be held on November 12. We would love to stay a week and are flexible with
arrival and departure dates. We would like to have a cook so a villa would work
perfectly instead of those big AI resorts. The wedding will be at Richmond Hill
in Mobay. We are not big on nightlife (after the kids) and do not want to be
running our vacation with a schedule in our hands. We just want to relax, sleep
in, enjoy the pool, enjoy the beach, and eat. A few excursions maybe and then
maybe not. All we want is enjoy the place and eachother and at the same time be
safe.

The choices that I have come up. Please let me know what you think about them.

Chez Nouse at Ironshore community in Mobay ($750/wk): 3 bedrooms, 2 baths,
private pool, nice yard, cook/housekeeper. Nice small house. Just what we need.
Not fancy or luxurius but a nice decorated house. The price is a dream. I don't
like the fact that we have to get transportation everytime we need to go to the
beach at Doctor's Cave, but I wouln't mind doing it for a two or three days. The
villa is very close to the wedding place and that is a plus.


Beach Haven Villa at Silver Sands ($1200/wk): Great villa from what I read with
private pool. Can walk to the beach and because is a gated community we can feel
relatively safe. I just don't want to feel like I am in a beach house here in
the States. I want to feel in Jamaica. Not sure about the views here but my
girls loved the pictures of the pool. They are pulling for this one. I am just a
little concern about the distance from Silver Sands to Richmond Hill in Mobay.
We would only need to travel for the wedding purposes 2 days so we could make it
if is worth it. The airport transfers are included and they have a few
activities not to many which is great I am the kind that wants to do everything
all the time. They also offer transportation once or twice a week to the shops
and other places.

Kamarr Villa at Silver Sands ($1200/wk): Nice small house with beautiful views
to the beach. A very short walk to the beach, private pool and all the other
advantages and disadvantages from staying at Silver Sands.

Quarter Deck Villa at Silver Sands ($1265/wk): I liked this one from the start
very nice furniture and decorations. Also has a private pool. Longer walk to the
beach but I don't mind.

I was also looking at other villas: Point of view and Island Breeze at
Ironshore.

Please help!

Would recommend avoiding Ironshore, even though it's closer than Silver Sands to your MoBay wedding site at Richmond Hill-- the 40 min.drive from Silver Sands should present no problems.
The US$750/week price for a villa at Ironshore should be a dead giveaway that you'll not get much bang for your buck. And Doctor's Cave beach, a drive from Ironshore, is the 'Coney Island' of Jamaica, not comparable to the privacy or sands or water quality at Silver Sands. That said, you'll want to explore with your kids outside the closed beach community to get a better sense of island. Guides for day trips are available (would recommend Mayfields Falls, a trip up to the Brownstown markets, gentle rafting trips down the Martha Brae and even the touristy Dunn's River Falls).

I'd do Silver Sands too.

You're not giving up culture by choosing it over Ironshore, Ironshore is a villa community too, just individually gated homes instead of a resort unit, and the drive to the beach is a pain.

You'll want to get out and about with a driver for a day or two. Mayfield Falls are lovely.

I have some pictures of various activities we've done if you'd like to see (and soem villa pics too, actually):

http://www.alink.com/personal/liz/negril/photos.htm

Tivertonhouse and Liza,

Thank you so much for your help and for taking the time to read my long post and reply to it. Also thank you for your site Liza and for those beautiful pictures. I enjoyed everyone of them. You guys sure know how to have a good time. If you know of any other great sites or more pictures please let me know. I would love to see them.

Margarita

I almost forgot!

What do you guys think of us just staying 2 nites at Richmond Hill for the wedding purposes and then traveling to Silver Sands and staying their for 5 nites? That way we won't have to worry about transportation to and from Richmond Hill and Silver Sands. I am not looking foward to the unpacking/pack/unpack/pack but will doit if I have to.

Mayilove:Your latter post sounds like best plan of all, letting you decompress, enjoy wedding -- then head out on holiday with less transport back-and-forth. Just make sure your villa choice at Silver Sands will let you do a short-rate 5 nighter for your dates.
You might also enjoy taking family out to dinner in nearby (halfway btw. MoBay and Silver Sands) Glistening Waters restaurant in Falmouth. Touristy but the phosphorescent plankton in the bay put on a 'light show' kids find fascinating. The trip up to Browns Town markets in the country -- go with your cook from the villa -- would equally reward kids/parents with a sense of island away from resortland.

Margarita,

You have just received great advice from the best Jamaican expert on this board. Tiverton lives in Jamaica for part of the year.

Please do check with the Silver Sands villa to be sure that a shorter stay will be available for you.

I really hope that everything will work out for you and your family and that the time you spend in Jamaica will make you all smile.

Marion

Thank you friends so much!

We have a plan then. I will contact the villas that I liked and ask about the 5 day stay. I hope it works out. I am so glad to have come across wonderful people like you, Marion, Tivertonhouse, Liza, and everybody else that took the time. I couldn't have done this without you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Margarita

Margarita,

Thank you for taking the time to post.

There are many of us here who really do try to help, and it is always rewarding to be thanked for the effort.

Please do let us know your final plans and then we will all look forward to a trip report from you !

Take care..

Marion