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Decided to try it after many disappointments over past few years.
Good news is they have new management since 6 weeks ago, and is now good like the "De Bus" of old.
Was Impressed when we slammed them with 12 people at once and still prompt service and great food.
Very pleased and will be back!
Yep the prices went up and the drinks got smaller.Was there the month of Feb ,Has the manament changed since then? Bands 5 nights a week in Feb.
They had new ownership in Jan, but the same woman seemed to be in charge.
I dont mind it during the day time. At night, particularly at the bar it just seems like it is a constant hassle.
Ditto - and the drink cups are TINY - one big gulp - that's it. Why? Rum is sooo cheap in Jamaica?!Quote:
Originally Posted by Flipadelphia26
Yes, there are a lot of hustlers and hookers at the bar - about 50% of the people around the bar are trying to sell something to tourists.
And one of the security guards there told me that there are 'lots of bad boyz' who come to BB at night.
too many folks for me . . . over stimulated lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
Yup, same experience. I've even stayed there twice. But that was when Kevin was in charge.
I preferred it when Kevin was in charge...
Too many working girls...
I will never go there again. Been 4 years now. It got to the point I could not take it. Weird vibe. Every time it was a new scam. The staff tried to scam me twice in one hour a few years back. I have nothing against the new management, just, that bridge has been burnt.
OOOH, a sore spot, I totally agree with you, First Mate. I really enjoyed Alfreds, seems like people go their more for
music, and dancing, and I even hung out at times at the more local spots in town, and down by American Pie, and got
a much better vibe than I did when I stopped once at Bourbon Beach one night.
Watching all the working girls, and getting the stink eye from women when a guy would try and talk to me, was oh to
much, I think I lasted an hour. I was thinking about checking out the Jungle, this coming trip, but don't really
want the same scene as Bourbon Beach.
OOOH, a sore spot, I totally agree with you, First Mate. I really enjoyed Alfreds, seems like people go their more for
music, and dancing, and I even hung out at times at the more local spots in town, and down by American Pie, and got
a much better vibe than I did when I stopped once at Bourbon Beach one night.
Watching all the working girls, and getting the stink eye from women when a guy would try and talk to me, was oh to
much, I think I lasted an hour. I was thinking about checking out the Jungle, this coming trip, but don't really
want the same scene as Bourbon Beach.
We had bheer so cannot comment on the drink cup sizes, and noticed no hookers either because I be ugly or because I had the lady with me.
Bottom line for me is food and service were good.
JoJo...Jungle is lots of fun and it's free for women on Thursday nites and "All you can drink" on Sat. nites for $20...Thursday nites are better more of a party IMO..lolQuote:
Originally Posted by jojo p
Hmmmmm..... and we get there Thursday.... hmmmm, and its your Bday:):):)
YES mi friend it's definitely on the party list! :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by jojo p
we were there on New Years Eve. As the evening went by the beers got more expensive. Just a D.J. no live music. NYE was kind of disappointing for me. I was wanting to ROCK the night away, but not pay the big entrance fee. So we settled for the D.J. They did play good music.
The food is still very good and there are many more seating options. Service was ok for food and really good at the bar.
For some of you that do not know, there are 2 size drinks available at the bar. The small ones are $250 and the large ones are $400.
I was not approached by a single hustler at the bar during several stops on my recent visit.
A handful of girls ask if I wanted company. It seems to happen everywhere I go....
Just got back from Negril and stayed at Kuyaba right next door to BB(Bourbon Beach).
I had heard about the serious noise issues from loud late night music from BB. Happy to report it wasnt much of problem anymore, at least for my wife and I. I asked around and found out the biggest problem was that BB had leased out the new bar right next door to the Kuyaba to some people who brought in local dancehall sound systems that played at full volume to almost sunrise many times during the week. This has been stopped. BB had live bands or DJ music most nights but most time the music stopped around 2am...and although it could be heard in the rooms it wasnt that loud and didnt keep us from sleeping.
They had free shows every night during the week with a live in-house reggae band twice during the one week that we stayed at Kuyaba.
Lots of locals since it was free and we simply brought our own drinks over and no one seemed to care, pretty laid-back affair. Noticed a few hookers but nothing out of the ordinary. Did notice one night a couple of under-cover cops bum-rushed some guy out in handcuffs but in general the crowd of perhaps over a hundred around the bar were well behaved.
About three nights of the week there was a middle-aged female DJ spinning CD's on the sound system playing a wide variety of music. She seemed competent and professional and that to me was a very unusual sight. I assumed that she was part of the Italian management team that has leased BB for several years, but I could be wrong.
Looks like someone had poured a lot of money into upgrading BB. In addition to the new or refurbished bars, everything was newly painted red and there was a big projection TV showing movies on a wall like the Cool Runnings or the Blues Brothers films. Sound system was clean and pretty stout as well.
All in all, looks like a major improvement to me from the past situation. Perhaps missing might be shows with major artists such as John Holt or others Ive seen there before. Wasn't able find out if those kinds of shows will continue to be promoted there. If not, that will truly be missed.
Yeah, they even reduced the size of the Red Stripe bottles to 11.2 ounces!! How did they do that?? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
Bourbon Beach is a rollercoaster..lol..Seems different every time I go There..But I must say I have a soft spot for the place..Do they still do the upstairs VIP? When I was there New Years eve if you were VIP everything on the balcony was free. (Well almost everything)
That was a special party though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzikdoc
Ate there once in Feb, good food but horrible service. Ordered two beers as soon as I sat down and never had a chance to order more. Ended up sending a message to the lady who runs it but it took her a week for a two word response. Funny how if you are friends with her on Facebook she pimps the heck out of her place but if you want to complain she is too busy making excuses why they don't have fish tacos. Stopped back by 2 other times and lets just say I will not stop in again or send anyone there to do business.
Yeah, I had to remove said person from FB, because of the constant FB notifications.
Everyone's expectations vary, but we were in Negril for the last week of Jan. and had lunch there with friends, all ordering jerk chicken and chips, and service was prompt and pleasant and the food was fine. Also did carryout a couple of days, again for lunch of jerk chicken and chips, and again prompt, pleasant, and good food.
most everyone knows mi was a big fan of BB when Kevin was running the show...........
I stayed there a lot in 2012 and got to know the place quite well........
stopped in a couple times this winter to check things out...it was dead both times
not a big fan of things being more expensive like the drinks...........oh well
and they aren't using the same great Jerk Sauce as what they used with their Jerk Chicken in the past.....
overall I liked BB a lot better when Kevin was der.....it was a lot of fun and inexpensive
those were the days............
Cool Runnings, Marko
i stopped by there and couldn't believe it ---- where am i - where am i?
had a good laugh with the new young crop of gigs --- i overheard one tell his friend --- i know her from lang time --- she don't want no "boyfriend" --- i think my son knows them from lang time lol
The wife and I were there in February and left after 1 beer. Too many hookers and pimps. Scary guys watching our every move like we were a target or something. It was unfortunate too because the band was awesome.
Was in Negril the last week of February...disappointed that no major artists at Bourbon Beach. Saw Toots there last year and it was a phenomenal show. Not overly fond of the new improved BB...and Red Stripe prices are higher at night than in the daytime apparently. Ate there once and was surprised that there was a server charge if you were eating jerk chicken there rather than take out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhythmwize
Oh! I hope it's good when I visit! BB was our "go to" place during the day. We motor down from the West End to spend the day at the beach. Last time, my friend Ian was AWESOME! He'd spot us and have us a couple chairs fixed up under the trees. Drinks were good for me, bartenders very nice! Maybe cuz I'm over 50 so I'm not a threat to anyone, LOL! And people help us older folks a little bit! Ian was awesome, hard working fella, did security at BB and I think a couple other jobs as well, I hope he's still around, I'll hafta ask my girlfriend if she still goes there during the day for a swim!
They were busy too, every day they were working and painting around the place, so looks like they were really keeping it up!
used to be a great place....now u gotta stay away from this area of the beach as noticed by others....too bad
Had dinner there last week, but it was an "early" dinner - during sunset. We had no problems with the food or the service. However, a couple staying at Rooms had an icky experience one night when they went down there for dinner. The husband dealt with a LOT of hassle at the bar when trying to get a couple drinks. Bartender and waitstaff witnessed, but said or did nothing about it. They were not impressed.
There is Absolutely No reason to avoid this part of the beach.Quote:
Originally Posted by ed kennedy
I spent several afternoons there this past February and there were no incidents of trouble at all during these times. The bar was busy (at least somewhat) at all hours of the day, evening & night. The food & entertainment was good (& free). Bourbon Beach is a pretty chill spot with no hassle.
At night, there are a few more "characters" around, but BB is still a nice spot to visit for night time entertainment.
Gotta toss my 2 cents in on ..
The "New Bourbon Beach "
Food was good .... service fast & friendly
Everything was fine ..till I took 1 look @ the stage
The murals that Gummy D. did... now have a big New Bourbon Beach logo covering a portion
of this iconic artwork
I talked to the owners & pointed it out ... (Being an old-timer ..)
I told them that I felt it was disrespectful.. & to move the logo up 4 - 6 feet
The music was BRUTAL ... east-coast/west-coast RAP CRAP ..with all kinds of F Bombs & other lyrics ..that I felt were in poor taste
One time & one time ONLY ..
I'll spend my $$$$
elsewhere Attachment 35975
Old photo.....
I thought the food and the service was good, during the day. At night, they had a DJ when I was there, music was good, had a few drinks (small cups) and played with the working girls. Security is good. I threw him a few bucks (to buy beers after work) and he keeps an eye on me. I don't normally get hassled by the higglers too much, but I've been here a few days and most of them know me. I'm available as an escort if anyone needs me! lol PM me for my JA number :)
BTW. The experience at BB this trip was vasty better than January.
I agree that my visits to Bourbon Beach have not been positive. Hubby pretty much refuses to go there now, because he doesn't like all of the hustlers. Just too much. I have had fairly good experiences at Roots Bamboo on nights when a big band was playing. We will be staying near Alfred's later this year, so we will check it out and see what it's like these days.
went with 3 other ppl for dinner . . . greek salad was not edible and i'm not a fussy eater. was floating in balsamic vinegar. . . . asked to see the chef, i saw him sitting at the bar. he came over i believe his name was dimitre. nice man. by then the table was cleared. i told him about my greek salad with 3 thumb sized pieces of feta and the vinegar. . . . he said for me to come back and he would prepare one himself. . . . during our conversation, he said that he thought he trained his staff well. my response was "you forgot where you are" . . . anyway, when i went back, he was not there and i did not want to take a chance again. . . . i stayed at bb during kevin's time and the scene has not changed at all. pimp and hoe haven . . . just a new paint job and a few more tables. . . . not my thing . . .
"pimp and hoe haven . . . just a new paint job and a few more tables. . . . "
....and the food is worse IMHO - and the music is nothing compared to last year - gone way downhill in every aspect except the paint job - too bad
Last trip I had one bad, and one good food experience there. The bad was ordering their jerk pork (I've always eaten their chicken). The waitress brought out our food, I cut into a piece of my pork and it's all fat, so okay onto another... all fat, the next one? Yep, all fat. I mean ALL fat, no meat. All of it. I then nicely ask the waitress if I can either swap it for chicken, or get something else, and she says that she can go have him give me more meat, but no switching. Okay, that's fine, I appreciate it... she comes back a few minutes later with a plate that was marginally better, but not much. I ended up just picking at that, and eating the misses' leftover chicken (quite a bit) so I was fine, but not exactly happy about it. No big deal, but still. The second time I just got the chicken like usual, and all was good. Maybe they were just down to the "bottom of the barrel" on their pork that night, who knows.
Nope, the pound I picked up in Dec was mostly fat too.Quote:
Originally Posted by TAH
Bummer. It's good to know, now I won't be tempted to give it another chance in the future. I'll stick to Ossies.Quote:
Originally Posted by booger