I'm trying to plan a summer beach vacation for my family (kids ages 20, 18, 16). With 2 kids off at college we are looking forward to all being together as a family for a week. I have a private villa in Jamaica near Round Hill on hold - on a small beach with a pool & staffed with cook, housekeeper, etc. But after reading hundreds of posts on this website I'm wondering if this is the right choice for us. I had thought about St. John but we live in Houston and it's fairly complicated to get there from here...but lots of direct flights from Houston to Jamaica. Wherever we go, we want something beachfront with 3 bedrooms and a kitchen. We stayed in a condo on Grand Cayman last summer and loved it but want to go somewhere else this year. Has anyone stayed in a Jamaican villa and how was the experience? Thank you so much.
PS...my kids aren't big on going our partying at night (thankfully) so that's not something that's a concern.

I think Jamaica is an excellent choice. I am planning a trip right now in June with my teenage daughter. We are looking at villas in Treasure Beach. If airfare would just cooperate, I'd be booked already. I do not believe you need be concerned about safety. I cannot really compare Round Hill to other villas - Jamaica has so manh wonderful villas that it is a difficult decision to make.

I wouldn't worry about safety at Round Hill AT ALL. You are in a private villa (and htey all have security of some kind anyway) but at RH you are additionally on the grounds of a resort that has resort-level security.

We've done the villa thing several times with our kids and it's really a great way to vacation - no cooking or cleaning either!

Have you considered one of the out-islands of the Bahamas? We went to Eleuthra 2 years ago and had a wonderful time at a beachfront house called "Endless Summer", I think it was in the "Double Bay" area right outside Governor's Harbor. We could snorkel at numerous reefs directly out a few yards from the house. It was very private and quiet, but no staff. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale and then a smaal plane (Twin Air) to Governors Harbor.

arc, there are no beachfront villas on St. John. All are cliffside locations where you'd be driving to various beaches on the island.

The place you've found in Jamaica sounds great, and as others have indicated it's a good location. Sounds like better fit to me than STJ.

We love Jamaica - the food, drinks and the people. The only downside is going through customs - very slow. The next time we return, we have looked at the waterfront villas on Bluefields Bay. They look really luxurious and have private swimming pools, snorkeling gear, kayaks and a beach pavilion. There is an AI format which also is fully staffed. It looks to be a safe, secure area.

Arc,
With any Jamaican villa rental safety is always a concern, however truly your concerns are more for theft than any violent crimes although it does happen and has happened in Jamaica, that is Jamaica as a general statement. There are safer areas and less safe areas, I'm not familiar with Round Hill.

If you want a safer overall destination and a nice beachfront location, gorgeous water and relatively easy to get to I'd suggest Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. Its a pretty upscale island as a whole, with much lower crime rates. Prices you will find higher than Jamaica. A good resource for villas check out:
www.tcsafari.tc

Also of note, if you're looking for a place with island beauty, local culture and staffed villas then Jamaica is by far a better choice.

If you are looking for gorgeous beaches and not much else other than enjoying the beach and water sports, and not having a staffed villa a major issue then you'll find Providenciales perfect and safer. It will be similar to Caymans but a bit more brilliant waters than Cayman, but basically the same type of island...low laying and dry.

I think with whatever you decide you'll have a great time.

Happy travels.

My family and I spent 10 days in March at a villa at Silver Sands. SS is a gated beachfront community of privately owned villas halfway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. It is an ideal place for anyone who does not need nightlife. many of the villas have private pools, and all of the villas are fully staffed. Even so, the price was extremely reasonable. The beach was beautiful, and security was perfect. I highly recommend that you check out www.silver-sands.com.

prizren, I looked into the Silver Sands website and it looks very interesting. I'm wondering which villa you rented. The best beachfront one available for our dates is Ebb Tide...are you familiar with it? Thanks.

Actually, we had planned to stay at Ebb Tide, but later we decided to stay at Day-O, which is about a 5 minute walk up a gradual hill from the beach.
We changed because we decided that we wanted a pool, and Day-O was the only one available whose pool was fenced. That was necessary for us because our group included an infant and a toddler.

We saw Ebb Tide from the outside, however, and it looks wonderful. I think that its location is perfect!

We walked around looking at several of the other villas and also talked with people who were staying at some of them. Although being beachfront would be great, in my opinion there are other villas that would be as good or perhaps better than beachfront. If you feel comfortable letting me know your travel dates, I'll check availability and let you know which others looked good to us. If you want to get in touch with me privately, my address is [email protected]. It would be best to contact me before the 11th because after that date I won't have online access for awhile.

We just returned from the Turks and Caicos Islands with two 19 year olds and a 21 year old. We stayed at Villa Renaissance which is directly on the beach and within walking distance of many restaurants. We did a snorkel trip on a catamaran, rented a hobie cat one afternoon, and sent the kids to Club Med on an evening pass one night (you must be 18 or older for this). It's a quiet island with many restaurants and watersports, and Villa Renaissance has full kitchens for breakfast and lunch in, if that's what you choose. Our kids thanked us over and over for the wonderful week.