this is our first time to Negril. Would like to stay in the cliff area in a hotel that is on the water and has a refrigerator in the room . A/C would be nice . Heres the tough part. around $75 US. <BR>Also what is the cost to get 4 people from Mo Bay airport to Negril? Public Transportation or Taxi?

We loved Blue Cave Castle (http://www.bluecavecastle.com ) - it's under $75 a night except for the penthouse ($100 in high season) and does have fridges and some rooms have A/C. See our trip report on it at http://www.maherconsulting.com/negril/ <BR> <BR>Other good options (you don't say if you're going in high season or not - rates go up about 30% Dec 14-April 14) - Rockhouse (http://www.rockhousehotel.com/ ), Xtabi (http://www.negril.com/xtmain.htm ), Drumville Cove (http://www.negril.com/dcmain.htm ), Tensing Pen (http://www.tensingpenltd.com/ ), Banana Shout (http://theone.negril.com/bananashout/ ) <BR> <BR>Taxi/tourist bus from the airport to Negril should be around $80 each way for 4. Public buses/minibuses would be much less but they aren't plush (this is a vast understatement) and you have to change buses at least once. <BR> <BR Liz

thanks for the info liz. We go in Mar. <BR>as of now in the garden rooms of Samsara. no fridge or A/c. $72. Downloaded your trip report. Looking forward to meeting Lydie. Will we survive without A/c? Assume we can readily get ice for our soft sided coolers? We are budget minded. Did you run accross any beach locations that run 2 for 1 happy hour during the day?

Hi Dan (and LIZ!) - there's an ice truck that cruises up and down the road once or twice a day, but it is much easier to score ice at one of the liquor stores or grocery places, and sometimes bars will even negotiate with you to keep you supplied. <BR> <BR>March is not that humid, of course it depends on where you live now to say whether or not you can get along without AC but you should find yourself with cool ocean breezes going through your room, especially if you're facing the sea. <BR> <BR>So Liz - how come you didn't recommend jamaicans.com for Dan to investigate?? Dan, drop in on that site (not to say you should quit this one!) and keep gathering information. There's 3 travel forums to help you get the most from your preplanning time.

There are a number of forums to get Jamaica info from -- also www.negril.com 's message board. Dan, Samsara is a fine choice. You can take their bus to and from Legends on the beach, so you get the best of both worlds (beach and cliffs). You can also hike up the road to Rockhouse and, oh darn I forgot the name of the great little outdoor restaurant and bar that is right next to Rick's (which is overpriced by a mile and can't touch this little place's food)---I'll look it up when I get home. The Rockhouse restaurant is fantastic. They have two for one drinks at happyhour (sunset) but I think their drinks were a bit weak, so I'd go for Red Stripe. Samsara has a nice little jaccuzi on the patio...and you can snorkel from the cliffs. We stayed at Rockhouse last May and snorkeled from the cliffs there -- they have great access to the sea and nice little coves to explore.

There are a number of forums to get Jamaica info from -- also www.negril.com 's message board. Dan, Samsara is a fine choice. You can take their bus to and from Legends on the beach, so you get the best of both worlds (beach and cliffs). You can also hike up the road to Rockhouse and, oh darn I forgot the name of the great little outdoor restaurant and bar that is right next to Rick's (which is overpriced by a mile and can't touch this little place's food)---I'll look it up when I get home. The Rockhouse restaurant is fantastic. They have two for one drinks at happyhour (sunset) but I think their drinks were a bit weak, so I'd go for Red Stripe. Samsara has a nice little jaccuzi on the patio...and you can snorkel from the cliffs. We stayed at Rockhouse last May and snorkeled from the cliffs there -- they have great access to the sea and nice little coves to explore.

Don't have a clue how that double posted--I only sent it once

The cute little place next to Rick's you're talking about must be LTU Pub/Villas and as a matter of fact, they have recently-built rooms and suites there that look lovely on their website and are CHEAP (across the road from the water tho): http://www.negril.com/ltu/ <BR> <BR>I do use the tourist boards at jamaicans.com and also the board at negril.com - they're a little different but both have excellent Jamaica-specific info (thanks for the reminder Marie!). <BR> <BR>Samsara has a lot of concrete on the cliffs - too much for me. Also be aware that they do major shows there in winter/Spring Break and that could get pretty loud. <BR> <BR Liz

Thanks for the great info! keep it coming. What is red stripe? dan

Red Stripe is the local Jamaican beer!

..named for the local police who have a red stripe running down their trousers It's a lightish beer, perfect for the tropics but you'll also see Heineken (bottled locally) and Dragon Stout which is Guinness-like. I love a red stripe/dragon stout black and tan myself! <BR> <BR>There's no shortage of rum drinks either....and Ting is a grapefruit soda that is really delicious alone or with vodka! <BR> <BR Liz