Trip Report, Day 3, June 5, 2011--Westender Inn Bonfire

Day 3-Sunday

Here comes the rain again. And again. It lets up long enough at 930 for breakfast. Tam had the complimentary continental again; I went for the callaloo, onion and peppers omelet. Yum. Again. Service was excellent today, with 3 different servers hustling around, making sure everyone got what they wanted, when they wanted it. Did I mention that coffee was included and if you upgraded from the Continental you got juice with your order? The breakfasts so far have been great, the baked goods great and the banana bread great. Also, the restaurant is very clean, which is difficult for an open-air establishment.

Today is spent dodging rain, swimming in the ocean during the rain and watching how absolutely deserted the beach is. I've never seen it this slow, June or no.

Now for one of the finds of the trip, the Firefly "pancake" beach bar. Maxine is the hostess and she is very kind and chill. The place is firmly under roof in case of rain(yeah!), the RS is $150J and the chairs and tables very comfortable. They have dominos to lend and decent tunes on the mp3. As long as Firefly isn't full up, you can use the beach loungers as well! Lunch was coco bread, beer cheese patty and beef patty on the beach. No jerk pork guy. Again. This bar became "our" bar for the remainder of the trip!

We were debating what to do that evening and settled on the Westender Inn with another couple from Coco. We met this nice couple in the main swimming pool during a rare rain break. I had the netbook going, videochatting with my kids, RS's on deck and a great feeling of calm settling over us. Negril was now coursing through our veins and we were finally in stress-free "no problem, mon" zone. Tam and I had seen the ads for the Westender's bonfire and we wanted to check out the property.

The Westender Shuttle arrived on time and took us out to the property...which is way out, a long way from much of anything. The driver was very informative and polite. Interesting place. Very dramatic location with an unusual vibe, owing to the remote location. The weather was very windy and they finally got the bonfire lit. This was cool and the four of us hung near it, and enjoyed the setting. It was just us 4 and 4 staff! The food was jerk chicken, jerk pork, curry conch, rice and peas, no salad. The food was VERY good, but the old guy serving/cooking the food had a poor attitude and actually snarled and hissed at us when we asked for some seconds. Hissed!!! Sheesh. Also, the drinks were VERY expensive out here. I don't know if I can recommend the bonfire, given the lack of entertainment, other than the bonfire, strangely hostile food service and high drink prices. The $15 included r/t transport, but it would have to, as Westender is in the middle of nowhere. It’s a cool location and if there was some entertainment, the bonfire could be bon. We decided that for us it WAS worth it to see the place, eat a decent meal and have r/t transport for $15us p/p. YMMV. Back to the hotel for a nightcap and turn in. Oh my.....listen to that rain........

I have been to the bonfire (while actually staying there) and they had great entertainment. It probably depends upon the time of year. Its likely a good thing to check prior to deciding. The night we were there (in the spring), there were probably 20 people and a great little band - that did calypso, ska, reggae. Actually, it's not in the middle of "nowhere" - its in the middle of a very nice "somewhere"! ;) My little pet peeve. I live in the country and people are always saying middle of "nowhere" when actually...it's very nice and quiet and beautiful. Alot of people like staying someplace where there isn't alot of noise of hotels and restaurants and bars right next door, so the Westender is perfect for them (us!) We all need different stuff on vacation, which is great, because if we all wanted the SAME place, it would get pretty darn crowded there! (p.s. I barely drink so I can't comment on the cost of drinks...it's probably because the booze has to travel so far to get there!) p.s. I love your reports!

Middle of nowhere really is a state of mind. But, if you are a solid beach person and that's most of your experience in Negril then yes, Westender is in the middle of nowhere. I like it there

Its in the middle of nowhere. I like that. I said so. But, face it, its in the middle of nowhere near anything, other than Jackie's. I wouldn't walk there from....even Ricks.....YMMV

Westender is about 2 1/2 miles from my yard (which is deep west) and I wouldn't walk it either...there's a long stretch of empty road between Secret Paradise and there.

Deb, thanks for the compliment! We are "country" folks and like the quiet as well. For us, it would be too quiet out there without a car. We like to dine out to a different restaurant every night while on vacation...

Rock...I know it is far from the "action", I was pulling your leg about the "nowhere" phrase! We like to cook, so we have a kitchen there, so hence we don't need to run to town every night. We seem to go in every other day for something or another though. My partner and I are real real real good at chilling. He can sit on our 2nd floor balcony staring at that sea for about 12 hours a day, so boredom is not an issue with us and I spend about the equal time in the pool. I like being at places where there aren't alot of other people around. I love to hook up with people and chat and have a drink also, but I really like feeling like you have a place to yourself...kind of like I won the lottery and this is MY place!! Aren't we all lucky to be going on vacations like these at all. I feel very fortunate, enough though I don't make any money, I can squirrel away enough to get a vacation most years.

The first time I went to the westender I made my son walk there with me in the middle of the August heat and had no idea how far of a walk it was from Catcha!