Silver Sands Jamaica
 

Hi everyone. My wife, 2.5 year old son, myself, and my mother in law will be staying here the first week in March. Just wondering if anyone who is familiar with this place has any advice or experiences to share. Specifically with regards to safety, meals, and the Quadrille villa if anyone has stayed in it. Thanks for your help!

Silver Sands is a 24/7 gatehouse guarded secure community of beach villas on one of best/whitest stretches of sands on North Coast. Meals are as good as your cook is. Quadrille is on
hillside above beach with a great terrace/gazebo overlooking beach. Silver Sands ia good choice for families with toddlers...

My wife and I stayed in the Queen's Cottage last February. We had a wonderful stay. Our cook (Angela) made us fabulous meals and managed to get some fresh lobster for $2US/lb. You will really the Silver Sands. There are a number of wood carvers just off the property that have some nice things on offer. You may be able to find more specific information on the Quadrille at www.silver-sands.com.

We were at Silver Sands last March, and we had my two grandsons (both toddlers) with us. We loved it. Our only disappointment was that it was rather windy in the afternoons - enough so that we would leave the beach in order to keep the blowing sand out of the kids' eyes. Fortunately, our villa (Day-O) had a pool, and so we enjoyed that on the windy afternoons. All in all, I believe that it is a perfect place for families with young children.

A bit of history: Quadrille is owned by the daughter of an actor who once owned The Houseboat floating restaurant in MoBay. He's better known as the English
diplomat who was killed off in the first 5 minutes of the classic James Bond movie 'Dr.No', shot on island.
Still performing strong, he's the only
man I've ever seen wear an ascot with aplomb in the tropics.

Thanks for the responses. Im a little confused as to how we handle the groceries. Does the cook do it? Do we do it? How much should we expect to pay for 3 adults and 1 child?

You can ask the cook to do it, or you can do it, or you can go together (my favorite).

Some villas will pre-shop for the first day so you don't need to do it right away.

At some point early on the cook will ask you about menus, times to eat, what you like, etc. Then someone needs to get ingredients.

PS: cost depends on what you plan to eat of course, but last year we paid $250 per couple for a week that included drinks, lobster one night, conch another night, plenty of good food. Breakfasts and dinners were all we wanted most days with snacks like tuna salad and such for lunchtime.

Chen's in Duncans/2 miles away generally does deliveries (US$3 charge) of groceries for villas/your cooks order what you want, either setting up a 'house charge' or payable credit cards or US/JA cash. But experience a real Jamaican market and ask your cook to go with you up to Brownstown markets
(car hire via Silver Sands or private
guide). Falmouth, which some find 'funky' but I find fascinating if only for the 18th cen. Georgian architecture and restorations is also worth a look for markets. There's a sweet little pastry shop up in Duncans village if you've a hankering....

Food, ironically, is not inexpensive on island and imports get docked extra tax. Figure on a minimum US$30-35 per person/per day, a tad list for real young kids, for everything but
'luxury' foods like beef, shellfish, wine, lots of liquor -- one can spend more or less depending on how you eat.
You may find yourself having bigger
breakfasts/or an 'elevenses' meal post breakfast, a late and light lunch
and a heartier dinner...given the temps and more indolent timing of tropics..

P.S. Why isn't the villa/rental agency telling you all this important info?

Thanks for the great information. There is a lot of great stuff on the Silver Sands website but no info about people who actually have stayed at the Quadrille villa. Does anyone have any suggestions as to dishes we should ask the cook to prepare?

I usually let the cook know that I like fish or chicken or whatever and let her go from there with whatever her specialties are.

But, some J'can dishes I like: curry chicken, escoveitch fish, jerk chicken or pork, brown stew fish or chicken.

For breakfast definitely try the national dish, ackee and saltfish and lots of fresh fruit.

Festival - a slightly sweet fried bread, is great too.

Let your cook know if you've any food allergies (wheat, nuts, dairy, eggs, shellfish, sesame, etc.) or if you've strong food likes/dislikes and 'no go'
foods, what you like for breakfast and what you son needs. Send the info via Silver Sands management/rental agency if you booked through them or through
caribe villas if thru them in advance to cooks. Then, let them take over...

We are staying at Quadrille Villa in late February, and looking forward to it. We are a family of 5 (3 kids - 11, 8 and 2). What day are you scheduled to arrive? We've been doing all sorts of research ourselves and wouldn't mind comparing notes.

We will be arriving first week in March. Ive been trying to do research as well but other than the website and my responses on here I cant seem to find anyone who has used this villa. We are excited about the looks of it. What have you done regarding food? Have you been in contact with the cook or the people at Silver Sands? We will also be travelling with our 2 year old. Any questions you have or info would be appreciated. I cant wait to hear how your trip went and would love any advice you could provide after you return!

did you book through prem with www.silver-sands.com??

if so or heck if not that web site can answer almost all of the questions you have listed here....you have to dig a little but it's a great site....another contact is Angella with the Silver-Sand management office here is her email [email protected]

we did come up with a menu before leaving the states but found we really didn't need to...i have the menu but it's pretty long...if you want a link to it email me at [email protected]

food cost was about 25 per adult per day...we had our cook prepare breakfast and dinner only and had left overs for lunch or was out and about and grabbed lunch while touring....the cook and i went over my menu and she did the shopping on her own and presented me with the receipt ...we faxed our menu over to angella at the office and that first night our selection was prepared but no other grocery was purchased so that next morning we bascially didn't have anything to eat other than dinner food...i am sure each cook handles her villa differently but keep that in mind

very safe compound as stated...no real planned activites to do ....nice beachfront area for the area.....ideal for a family, group or couple wanting relaxation

Big Red - are you scheduled to arrive on March 1st? We're scheduled to check out on that date. We did book through Prem (CCV) and yes, we've viewed virtually every web site and page containing information on silver sands and/or Quadrille Villa. However, I have yet to come across any solid information from anyone who has stayed at that villa either. I should mention that I was a little concerned about the railings falling cliff side - just concerned that my 2.5 year old girl could slip through. Prem offered to measure the distance between posts, but I never took him up on the offer. I was afraid to lose the availability, and decided to book without finding out the answer (figuring that we'll just keep a close watch on her). Let me know what you learn in that regard. It is a bit odd that there is not a single post by anyone who has stayed at the villa, but I was encouraged to see that it was one of the few villas booked consistently month to month.

Thanks for the response Sammy....good information...seems they now have a convenience store on site and you can pick from items and have them there when you arrive...doesnt mention prices though...We check in on 3/5...I was not aware of the railing issue...guess we will be winging it as well...have you had any contact with Prem or the people at Silver Sands regarding groceries, linens, toiletries?

I did fill out a form (from the website I believe) outlining the types of foods we like and expecting a meal prepared upon our arrival - which I sent to CCV. However, I have not had any discussions with Prem or anyone else at CCV regarding linens, toiletries, etc. We are scheduled to "check out" of Quadrille on March 1st - returning to the Washington, D.C. area. If you would like to contact me directly at any point before or after March 1st, you can do so through my blackberry at [email protected]