We stayed at Idle Awhile last year. When we first started to plan our last minute trip we checked into IA and found that they were booked for April. When my husband got back from his 8.5 (stayed longer than planned so the trip was pushed into May) weeks abroad for business he just wanted an all inclusive. CSA was booked for much of May. We had stayed at CSA twice in the past, as well as Sans Souci, so we liked the Couples brand for the most part, although we feel we are paying for lots of things we never do. Knowing we liked the look of the beach at IA and that the rooms were just about the same, even nicer than CSA, we loved our week there. Having liked the look of the beach at Charela I checked in with them and there was a great deal listed on negrilonestop, so we booked. We stayed in one of two jr beachfront suites, which is on the second floor. We loved the room. All the rooms seem to be very nice. Lots of people seem to like the beachfront ground floor walk out rooms. We felt we liked the privacy on the upstairs floor. We enjoyed the beach at Charela. There is so much more elbow room compared to IA. They set up our spot on the beach each morning, just like at IA. We enjoyed heading out each evening for dinner at other spots on the beach and cliffs last year, as well as our meals at IA, but husband did not want to do much of anything so we did the all inclusive option and found everything to be very good, generous and fresh. The staff was great. We walk and the vendors are pretty much the same as you walk as the ones who walk past IA and Charela. They ask, we say we are good, we are just walking, not shopping or wave our hand and that is that. There were not many vendors anywhere in Negril this past week. We love our walks and headed past the public beach past Breezes and down the other end as well. Never feel bothered by anyone. Not good with names, so I am not sure who the Barry is you are referring to MBJ. We felt safe at all times. While we thought that we would take advantage of the use of the fitness facility at CSA while staying at IA, we never did get over there. We did head to Hide Awhile for the day last year but it was quiet and they had a very limited menu so we called it quits after a few hours. We like the look of the rooms at IA a tad more, maybe, but overall we loved our room at Charela. We love being on the beach with lots of trees. The area between CoCo, IA and Charela is the best IMO. They share the same stretch of water and the ropes are lining the three so that there is a great area of water to spend time in. We walked past CSA many times and were so surprised by how crowded it seemed and how packed the water was, it looked like the NJ shore! Next year we will have a hard time deciding between Idle Awhile and Charela, but right now I give the edge to Charela. I found the staff to be more attentive and liked the wider beach.
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