1. Beach House Villas
2. The Caves
3. Idle Awhile
4. Rondel Village
5. Xtabi
1. Beach House Villas
2. The Caves
3. Idle Awhile
4. Rondel Village
5. Xtabi
1. Country Country
2. Bar B Barn
3. Seastar
4. Catcha Falling Star
5. NBCC
1. Coco (loved it here!)
2. Catcha Falling Star (never stayed, would love to)
3. Couples Negril (just because it was our first trip and I fell in love with Negril)
4. Xtabi (can't wait for our stay this summer)
5. Seastar (never stayed, but they throw a heck of a party!)
Crud, can we do an honorable mention??? I want to stay at Idle Awhile too!
1. Blue Cave Castle
2. Charela Inn
3. Negril Treehouse
4. Yellow Bird
5. Kuyaba
Tensing Pen
SweptAway
Couples Negril
Idle Awhile
Rock House
Last two based on walk throughs and bar time only
1. Tensing Pen
2. Catcha falling star
3. Coco la Palm
4. Idle Awhile
5. Xtabi
1 cocolapalm
2 charela
3 idle awhile
4 rondell
5 kuyaba
"interesting, not a single vote for THE CAVES, which has many awards as a top property ..... "
I'm confused - when you ask for your favorite hotels, I would assume you'd need to have STAYED there to make that call? I see lots of folks listing properties where they have had drinks or dinner or a "walk through" - but that's maybe why you are not seeing the Caves listed - because maybe those responding have not stayed there? Its not the easiest property to get a walk-through either, making it that much more exclusive....so in general access to that property is limited. Same goes for Tensing Pen.
I haven't stayed at a hotel on any kind of regular basis in 10 years - but in the previous 20 years I've stayed at Miss G's cottages (my first guest house in Negril), SamSara (where we stayed for 11 or 12 years in a row) and LTU Villas (before it was Catcha) twice for short periods of time. In retrospect I'd say my fave was LTU but the pillar house we always stayed in at SamSara was very humble and very "us" - we loved it. LTU still inches above SS because its in my 'hood and across from my local watering hole.
I've done walk throughs or site visits at quite a few properties, the Caves included. By the looks of things that property is probably the only true 5 star hotel in Negril (in my opinion). I do love Catcha Fallling Star - always did, even before Hurricane Ivan flattened, when it was under the previous ownership. Catcha Gardens is really really nice now with the pool and gardens and general upgrades. I visited Citronella many years ago but that property always intrigued me with all the private swimming coves, the beautiful landscape and location and especially the low density - large property, not so many rooms/cottages. Xtabi is also one of my faves - so many different types of rooms - I particularly like the seaside cottages (1 & 3) and my friends stayed in 21 this year and I just love, love love that little cottage.
I worked in the hotel biz for quite a while in San Francisco - when we did these informal surveys we usually only ask for the top 3 favorites - everyone can think of three places (restaurants, shops or hotels) but five is a bit trickier, especially for those loyal to a particular property and stay there year to year or for those who have not been coming to Negril for all that long. Just a suggestion - I would be very interested in seeing the results of this query!
OK, this is fun. Here are the leaders through Rastagirl's rant. (In cases of a tie, I used total No. 1s as a tiebreaker):
1. (tie) Catcha Falling Star -- 39 (three No. 1s)
1. (tie) Xtabi -- 39 (one No. 1)
3. Coco La Palm -- 36
4. Blue Cave Castle -- 29
5. (tie) Kuyaba -- 22 (two No. 1s)
5. (tie) Seastar Inn -- 22 (one No. 1)
7. Idle Awhile -- 17
8. (tie) Country Country -- 16 (two No. 1s)
8. (tie) NBCC/Mariners -- 16 (two No. 1s)
10. Tensing Pen -- 15
not many on here are going to pay $800+ a night in Negril.............Quote:
Originally Posted by gerryg123
mi can have very nice accomodations for two weeks for what one night cost mi at the Caves.........
Cool Runnings, Marko
think it would have been just easier if wi just said who are favorite resort is..........
mi have stayed at a lot of places in Jamaica and Catcha was by far mi favorite place.......
but personally for myself these days.........SeaStar Inn is the best for this guy........
Catcha is not guest friendly at all so it throws it out the window for this guy.........
Cool Runnings, Marko
1. Idle Awhile
2. Idle Awhile
3. Couples Negril
4. Tensing Pen
5. Swept Away
all dem places are great............think anyone of us would be happy at any of dem............Quote:
Originally Posted by gerryg123
places like Caribbean Sunset/WestPort Cottages that are the real ultra low budget are places a lot of us will avoid because of the unkown factor that comes into play.......
Cool Runnings, Marko
:D
1. Idle Awhile
2. Blue Moon Villas
3. Couples Negril
4. Tensing Pen
5. Swept Away
1. Blue Cave Castle
2. Seastar Inn (never stayed there, but passed out in the hammocks for 3+ hours once, that counts right? :D)
3. Rockhouse
4. Beaches Sandy Bay
5. Grand Lido
1 . rockhouse
2. Villas SurMer
3. Ten Sing Pen
4. Coco La Palm
5. Rondal Village
That's the FOURTH No. 1 for Blue Cave Castle ... very impressive for a property with no pool and no AC!Quote:
Originally Posted by Finny
At least 6 of the 15 rooms at the Blue Cave Castle have AC and who needs a pool when you have the Caribbean.
"Here are the leaders through Rastagirl's rant."
It wasn't a "rant" and I'm still confused - is it your favorite hotels that you've stayed at or your favorite hotels that you've visited but not stayed at...????
Carry on. BCC is definitely a nice property and is very popular amongst the members on this board!
I hope Catcha Gardens is not the same way or else I'm going to have to re-think my stay there in March...ugh!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Marko
1)Hidden Paradise
2)Idle Awhile
3)Coral Seas Gardens
4)Swept Away
5)Hilltop (maybe different name now?)
This is fun!! Love the UN official part of it all.
1. Seastar Inn
2. Moonlight Villa
3. Tensing Pen
4. Westender
5. Catch a Falling Star
Rastagirl...
If I reach in April I may stay at Hilltop...any thoughts?
Some of the folks I played dominoes with in hermitage/red ground...not sure which it was they were mixing and matching it...(here I go again!)...work there snd know the owner.
It seems nice...great views and price...
1. Catcha Falling Star
2. Grand Pineapple
3. Seastar Inn
4. Coco La Palm
5. Banana Shout
(I didn’t stay at Banana shout, but I took a tour of the grounds and loved the vibe)
This is a really cool thread, Gerryg123~!
I’m looking forward to finding out who the winner will be.
I’m guessing Catcha…:)
Top five of my favorite places I have stayed (so far):
1 Catcha Falling Star
2 Westender
3 Grand Pineapple
4 Heartbeat (now gone) [for years this was my #1 :cool:]
5 Tensing Pen
Thanks for the informal fan favorite survey Gerry
I guess folks are using their natural instincts by giving the most weight to hotels in which they've stayed overnight. .... but a property like Xtabi deservedly is getting points for being guest friendly .... it's a good mix, nearly half beach and half Cliffs .... We'll keep tallying until it slows down, then I will give an OFFICIAL deadline to this unofficial survey ... ya mon.
For Real (RIP)
Coco La Palm
Charela
catcha beach house villas tensing pen blue cave castle xtabi i agree with sweetness,i loved heartbeat
1. The Caves for luxury
2. Rockhouse for ambiance
3. Idle Awhile for beach access
4. Moondance Villas for partying with friends
5. Chippewa for rustic vibes
1.Whistling Bird
2.Swept Away
3.Couples Negril
4.primrose Inn
5.Rockhouse
Brasi - I've never seen Hilltop so I can't help there. Sorry.
Rastagal - you'll love Catcha Gardens. By "guest friendly" both "gardens" and "star" are committed to the privacy of their guests that are staying there so they do not allow folks to just come in and hang out there randomly by the pools or the sea - "star" opens to the public at 5:00pm for sunset and dinner and closes at 9:00pm. If you personally have a guest you'd like to invite to your room or to hang out by the pool I don't see a problem walking them in and letting management know they are there.
Personally if I were to stay at a hotel now in Negril I'd pick one with policies similar to Catcha Falling Star/Catcha Falling Gardens. That was not the case 20 years ago for me but it would be a priority now.
Seastar
Catcha
Grand Pineapple
treehouse
Oasis
Not done yet looking for the place I have to stay again, Seastar excluded but since I am a last minute booker they are always full, Trying Seasplash next, will see how it stacks up. The Caves are out of most of our price, plus who want to stay with all those stuffy people like the ones that stay at Beaches.
Hey, PGW! I've stayed at Beaches and loved it, once without my kids even. Be nice! Geez!
We were booked a few years ago at Grand Pineapple and we got moved to Beaches Sandy Bay, it was actually very cool. The staff there are all super friendly, and really made our stay. It's where I proposed to my wife! The Sesame Street parades are a bit off-putting at first, but once I was good and "relaxed" I found it be hilarious.Quote:
Originally Posted by poolguywindsor
There were 2 ladies that had won 2 or 3 free nights at the Caves, and while they loved being spoiled with the food, etc., they were bored to death there! They then were our beachfront room neighbors at CCLP and we all had a blast! They said they would return to CCLP in a heartbeat but would never return to the Caves!
I think I would be bored there too, but then again, I'm a beach person who loves to VISIT the cliffs!
1) Rayon
2) Catcha Falling Star
3) NBCC
4) Hidden Paradise
5) Grand Pineapple
mi liked Hilltop a lot......one of the few places in Negril that mi have repeated at......Quote:
Originally Posted by brasi
close to everything....nice pool...guest friendly....had a kitchen etc...
mi would stay there again if the price was right........but SeaStar is tuff to beat
Cool Runnings, Marko
Tensing Pen
Idle Awhile
SeaSplash
Westender
Nirvana
Certainly it's different if you re
Single
Dating
Married
or
With family
Catcha
Rockhouse
CoCo Le Palm
Swept Away(if ya can afford it)
Breezes Grand(if you get the cheap price)
Yes I have stayed at Beaches a couple times with kids, they loved it, me not so much, really nice and service was great, but not my crowd. When you roll up to a beach or bar on the cliffsyou almost always end up in some great coversation with anyone at the bar, not so at Beaches!