Villa vacation

Does anyone have any experience with a villa vacation? We have a cook to prepare our meals. Other forums have suggested various ways to save a bit of money on groceries, things to bring from home to cut some of the high import costs on certain groceries items in Jamaica. We have teen boys so I am used to high food costs. We usually do AI for that reason, but for Jamaica I didn't want to be be behind the walls of an AI. We will go out for some meals as well. Much appreciate any input. love this forum and all of the advice, shared experiences and memories. Can't wait to get to My island in the sun!

We did this last year with our three kids ages 25, 20 and 16 and a friend 24 so six of us. Our housekeeper Michelle prepared our breakfast and dinner and we did our own thing for lunch. We did not bring anything as the villa was fully stocked, but I sat with her the first day, made a grocery list and hit the Hilo for the weeks worth of food. She was great to menu plan with, and my family is not fussy so lucky there. We also got fresh lobster one day right to the door, and Michelle picked up fresh produce on her way each morning if needed. It definitely cut costs, but you know the cost involved with feeding your family and I really did not find it too different. Now the beer bill.....don't even get me started :) That said, this was our long overdue treat for our kids to foot the bill for the week so not complaining at all and the memories can never be measured by a dollar value. We also went out for dinner twice, and the kids had fun finding lunch on the beach each day. The beauty of the villa life with a crew was at night we could chill as a group on the patio, or have a bonfire, played cards, etc.....had lots of room to roam!!! We stayed at Seasand Ecovillas and would highly recommend it. My kids still talk about the fresh squeezed orange juice every morning, hard to top that one here in frozen Winterpeg!!!!

Please see my post "Outstanding Accommodation...", Feb 10. Ideal location, 300 m from Hi Lo grocery store.
How many family members and when are you planning your vacations ?

I will be the self proclaimed expert on this! There are only a few items that would be worth bringing in my opinion. Snack food like chips are one, salad dressing being another, and if they have to have cereal for breakfast that would be another, but eggs, bacon toast pancakes are no problem there! Really you don't need to bring any food, but the above mentioned are some that we go through that are more expensive because they are imported. If you have any specific questions ask away.

When you say your villa was fully stocked, do you mean with kitchen staples? I am wondering about things like salt pepper spices foil Saran Wrap etc.

hey_mon, did you happen to stay in the beachfront villa? Haven't ever stayed there but did a walk thru once a few years ago. Really liked it a lot,and thought it would be great for a larger group.