bootstrap

I will be traveling to Negril for a wedding with a group of 8 in November.

We are having some trouble figuring out where to stay - each time we find we someplace we think we like, a friend's mother (who is from outside Kingston) tells us that the location is not recommended and suggests an AI or gated-community villa.

This is not really the type of vacation we are looking for. We are more intersted in a private villa with a cook that will allow us to experience Jamaica and local bars and restaurants, rather than an American resort in Jamaica. Yet, we are also concerned with our safety - we don't want to stay somewhere we will feel unsafe (as in someone breaking in), but we really don't want an AI.

So far we really like Cliff House in Cousin's Cove (http://www.cliffhousejamaica.com). Has anyone stayed there or do you know anything about it? Or at least about the area?

Thanks so much for your help!

CaribbeanSoul

Moondance Villas on Negril Beach. The most upscale accommodations in Negril. An amazing place....one that I desire to stay at....someday.

spook

I totally echo Carribean Souls thoughts on Moondance Villas. One day, that's the place I gotta stay at. It looks incredible as you walk by. As for your friends mother, Negril is very safe, just add common sense and I'm sure you'll have no problems. I have stayed in meiudm to lower scale properties on the beach and cliffs and yet to have had a problem after six visits. Enjoy Negril!

bootstrap

Thanks! While we would LOVE to stay the Moondance Villas, I think we are all in the same boat with that - I will stay there SOMEDAY They're way out of our price range!

Thanks though.

CaribbeanSoul

There are a plethora of choices on Negril beach. Negril is a very safe destination, in my opinion. I have traveled to the area frequently since 1987. Have you considered a place for your group such as Rondel Village? They have 1-3 BR accommodations in a premier location on the beach. They are not “staffed” accommodations, but do you really think you’ll need that? There are, literally, 20 restaurants within a 20 minute walk up and down the beach for breakfast, lunch, dinner options. Negril beach is lined with beach bars….part of its “charm”. It may be nice for a larger group to have many options without having to bother with rental cars/taxis/ground transportation. Just a thought.

spook

I just remembered that the place we stay at every year has a four bedroom, four bathroom villa with private pool that would be around the mid $300.00 mark per night. It is across Norman Manley Boulevard from the beach but I have seen it (the villa) and think it's a pretty nice place. The property name is White Sands and the manager is Francis Williams. I personally think that the White Sands is an overlooked gem and cannot understand why it does not receive more "lovin" from the sorts that frequent these forums. I know for a fact that it has an inordinate number of return guests and for a good reason. It is not the fanciest and some (stuck-up hoidy-toidies) might find it a little rough around the edges but there is a reason we have gone four years in a row and are booked already for next year.

spook

p.s.

It is about five properties away from Rondel Village, so it is also on the best part of Seven Mile Beach. The price I quoted is off-season (more like mid $500.00 high season) but you said you were going in November which is still low season. I honestly think you would not be dissapointed.

ejcrowe

Spook, is it really necessary to cast aspersions on those people who may not like your favorite accommodation in Negril? Using the term "stuck-up hoidy-toidies" isn't very pleasant. If we all like the same kinds of accommodations, we'd never be able to book the places we like because everybody else would be trying to go there, too.

spook

My ASPERSIONS were a little mis-directed as I really have never read a negative review about White Sands on Fodor's. There has been a few (less than 5%) on tripadvisor and one can see through their letters that most are uninformed, uneducated types expecting the Ritz for $65.00 a night. That being said, you must be extremely wealthy to have such intimate knowledge of the best the Caribbean has to offer and obviously you take your computer with you to all these places so you can post 100 times plus a month on this forum. If only I had the time. Once bootstrap posted that Moondance was WAY out of their price range, I only suggested a reasonably priced alternative I felt good about with a caveat about the few "hoidy toidies" I mentioned earlier. I won't bore you with where I have stayed in Jamaica but please bore me because I really want to know where you have PERSONALLY stayed. Then I can honestly qualify your opinions. Have a nice evening!

ejcrowe

Wow, spook. Indulge in sarcasm much?

I'm certainly not one of the best-traveled posters reading on this forum, but I'm probably one of the more frequent posters. I post most days on my lunch break and both before and after work. Since my first visit to the regions in 2001 I have become completely obsessed with travel to the Caribbean--I greedily consume all books--both travel books and others--every time I run across one. I have visited all over the Caribbean and I even check out hotels besides the ones I stay in--that way I can be armed for making better decisions for future stays. I occasionally grind my axe about all-inclusive resorts and international chains/corporations that add very little to local economies, but I don't think you'll find me complaining about places that are rough around the edges. I'm pretty sure I would like White Sands based on my reading of it.

Antigua--I've stayed at Long Bay Hotel quite a few times and at Hawksbill once. I've been on the property of Galley Bay, St. James's Club, the Admiral Inn, the Grand Pineapple, and Blue Waters.

St. Lucia --I've stayed at Jalousie and have visited Ladera and Anse Chastenet.

Barbados -- I've stayed at Cobblers Cove and didn't venture out to other properties.

Bequia -- I stayed at Frangipani and visited Gingerbread and Crescent Beach Inn.

St. Vincent -- I ate lunch and toured a room and the property of Young Island.

BVI -- I've stayed at the Sugar Mill and Guana Island, visited the LOng Bay Beach Resort, visited Guavaberry Spring Bay, visited Nail Bay, visited Leverick Bay, and also stayed in a villa.

Nevis -- I've stayed at the Mount Nevis hotel and visited Montpelier, Nisbet, and another place whose name eludes me but I think is the Golden Something-or-Other.

Jamaica -- I've stayed at Mar Blue in Treasure Beach and also visited the property of Jake's.

St. Kitts -- I stayed at Sugar Bay Resort and visited the properties of the Timothy Beach and the Marriott.

Grenada -- I have stayed in the SpiceTree Apartments and two different villas. I've visited the Calabash, La Sagesse, Spice Island Beach Resort, Blue Horizons, the Flamboyant, and the Allamanda.

Vieques -- I have stayed at Hacienda Tamarindo and did not visit any other hotel properties.

Puerto Rico -- I have stayed at the El Convento and the Sheraton Old San Juan and did not visit any other hotel properties.

Many but not all of the other property visits included seeing the rooms and enjoying a meal on site. Enough for me to get a feel for the atmosphere & service to determine whether I'd like to stay there or not. I've stayed in guest houses, B&Bs, full service resorts, small inns, private villas, and even one all-inclusive. I've stayed beachside, hillside, mountainside, in town, and in a neighborhood. I've stayed at bargain places as well as pricy places and I've always tried to judge them all for their overall value, not just by their pricetag. I've also been fortunate enough to be the winning bidder on a few travel auctions, which means I've been able to travel more frequently for less money.

spook

All in all we probably have more in common than not, but obviously not humour as my hoidy-toidy remark was just a dig at the element that sometimes colours us all in a bad light (the "ugly american" altough if you check my spelling of colour I'm not). The first place I stayed in Treasure Beach was close to Mar Blue and I'm sure you saw it with the wrought iron sticking out of the unfinished third floor. I admit your on-island experience overwhelms mine other than Vieques (pre-cruise for a week at Abador Suites and what a great little island!) and of course Jamaica where I have toured extensively but have settled on Negril for most trips because it's simply "Negril" I have been on Barbados, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, Dominica, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico Cayman Islands plus a few times to the Mayan Riviera both cruise or as a destination. One post of yours mentioned the big island of Hawaii with is an awesome place (three trips with the Orchid Mana Lani as the most posh hotel) but as you mentioned the Caribbean ROCKS. We went to the Pacific coast of Mexico at least 7 different times but have not been back since our first trip to the Carribean. Not a slur on that part of Mexico but just a thumbs up to the other.
P.S. I don't like all inclusive mega resorts either although my only experience was at the Playa Conchal in Costa Rica (another country I love but can't seem to get back to). Safe and happy travels in the future.

liza

Cliffhouse in Cousin's Cove does look lovely but i don't know it personally.

It's $3500 for the week and you have 8 people so is it safe to say that is your price range?

I would suggest some possibilities in Negril that are private villas with cook, etc that are in that range:

Llantrissant - has a private beach and everything, right in the heart of Negril. I have spent many afternoons/evenings there when friends stayed a couple of years in a row.

White Sands villa mentioned above

Gate House Villa - on the beach

liza

...also many options for places to stay on the cliffs in Negril, which is not as busy tourist-wise as the beach. Only one actual villa that i know of in that price range, it's been recommended to me by a couple of people:

http://www.visitnegril.com/paradise-cove.html

bootstrap

Liza - thank you so much for the suggestions! I appreciate it.

bootstrap

Oh - I forgot to mention:

$3500 is well within our price range. I'd say we'd be willing to pay up to $800/night, almost twice that. There doesn't seem to be much in that range though. It's either $400/night or $1200/night.

liza

Well that expands the options quite a bit.

You could have the entire beach house - 2 floors - at Beach House Villas on the beach in Negril. No cook, but that can be arranged and you'd have two full kitchens.

http://negril-hotels.com/

Or just a half hour drive from Negril but in the NOT touristy community of Little Bay, there is a villa that might be willing to lower the price slightly for you to take the 3BR villa and the cottage:

http://www.lookoutcove.com

spook

Little Bay is a great spot but if experiencing local bars and restaurants is very important in your vacation plans be prepared to spend some time driving as both Cousin's Cove and Little Bay are a hike from Negril (the road to Little Bay could use "some" work).
Some other suggestions; rent two two bedroom cottages at Nirvana hiring the maids to cook. In fact there are plenty of properties on Negril beach with two bedroom self catering units if your group doesn't mind splitting up (although you would still be at the same property)and every place has someone always ready to make some extra cash preparing your eat-in meals. I would reccomend doing some research yourself and then re-posting a message looking for opinions on your top choices. Your budget puts very few places out of reach. Actually Moondance now has a sister property on the cliffs, so maybe e-mail them and make an offer. The same goes for the Moondance beach units. I'm sure in November, the listed rates would be open to negotiation.

liza

Good point though Little Bay is not without local bars and restaurants...I can think of 3-4 offhand...Uncle Sam's, Romie's, the container bar on the beach, not sure it has a name.

LB is a much less touristy area than Negril (a vast understatement) so if that is what one is looking for it is probably the best option in the area.

But if being IN Negril is appealing there are certainly MANY choices.

bootstrap

Thanks again!

We were originally thinking of staying out of the way in Cousin's Cove or Little Bay or another similar area, but were discouraged from doing so by some Jamaican friends. They do not personally know the area, I think they are just going on what they have heard from others. Do you think there is any merit to their concerns?

Thanks for the suggestions - these are all great! It is exhausting trying to satisfy 8 people's preferences, but I think we're finally making some headway. We do need to hurry though, as some of the places I have looked into are already booked.

Posting a list of our top choices sounds like a good plan - thank you!

spook

Uncle Sammies chicken is to die for! Liza, have you ever been to the bat caves? What a "trippin" experience. Have done it twice, the last time 3 months ago. Whatever you decide bootstrap, I'm sure you'll love Jamaica. If you have the time and budget, why don't you and your significant other add an extra week and try the Treasure Beach area. You sound like the type that would enjoy the charms of this part of Jamaica. We've stayed there once for an extended period and always daytrip it at least once every visit to Jamaica.