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We had are 1st taste of Negril last March and stayed at Catcha Falling Star which was absolutely heaven on earth! We are planning our next trip and are wondering...does anything on the beach compare to this place? We loved it so much but are thinking of trying the beach this time. I wonder if we're spoiled now. This will be our 25th anniversary so we are willing to splurge. We want an ocean view for sure! Non AI is more desirable. Talk me into the beach!!!:cool:
Catcha Falling Star is a pretty special place but I'm going to suggest Charela Inn for the beach. It is on a gorgeous part of the beach and has a lot of ocean view rooms.
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Owner's villa and view from deck at Nirvana.
Idle Awhile
I have to vote for Nirvana it's pretty sweet and it's right next door to the best bar on the beach white sands.
Sorry,I'm gonna suggest you stay west end,it's low key chill can't be beat,do day trips to the beach(IMO)
Never stayed there but I second the owners villa at Nirvana!
How about a split between Catcha and Nirvana? I would spend more days at Catcha and throw in a few days at Nirvana. Both are great places with a great vibe.
There's a big attraction, if you have the time between a split between the Cliffs and the Beach. If you want to try quiet... and depending on your time of year... you might want to try beach accommodations further away from the village. Places up near the AI's can be economical (we're trying Palms Negril in April), or a bit more appointed like Tree House, Charela, Idle Awhile, and others. In high season, accommodations near to Margueritaville, Alfred's and such might be a bit more active, and less quiet.
when the sea is angry and a little rough, you can still walk the beach, and the beach road is alot safer to walk , soon come
We will fill you in after our Thanksgiving stay at White Sands,We loved Ctacha but we really like the beach party and we have stayed AI for years and wanted something different.
Ok. I'll give this a shot. Our first trip to Jamaica was just like yours. We booked a week at Catcha in Libra and fell in love with the property. We spent most of the time just hanging out on the cliffs and loved the relaxing atmosphere. Our only trips out of the gates were an excursion to YS and Appleton, one day on the beach, and a trip to the grocery across the street every other day. We had no idea what to do on our beach trip and ended up mostly hanging out in front of Margaritaville (no where close to real a 7 mile vacation). A year later we wanted to go back and I had been dedicated to learning more about Negril. I thought we should at least TRY the beach and with a little coaxing my girlfriend agreed to split time between the beach (SeaSplash) and Catcha. Our second day at the beach we met a couple much like us and ended up doing everything beach related with them. It was a blast and when it was time for us to move toCatcha we were sad to leave the beach behind. We enjoyed the hustle of the beach (the mangos from the fruit lady, haggling the lobser guys, sandy bars, etc) We woke up at Catcha the next morning and quickly found ourselves in a cab back to the beach to see our friends and enjoy one last day and in turn invited them to come see Catcha. They decided next time they want to "try out the cliffs" We spend the last two days of our vacation shaking off the hustle of the beach by relaxing on Catcha's rocks and came back totally relaxed. I will say that both trips were relaxing but the second was more fulfilling. We decided that for this year’s trip we will definitely be going back to the beach and may forego staying at the cliffs. I would have described myself as a "Cliffs Person" before last year. Now I say I'm more of a "Beach Person". My advice to you; Split your stay and book at least a couple of nights on the beach. If it is too loud and busy for you, you know you will have a relaxing second half of your trip. If you find that you are really a beach person you are always only a cab away.
If you love relaxing, I think Charela cannot be beat. The beach there is so beautiful. Plus, you have that same great amenity of having a stellar restaurant on site which you also had at Catcha.
JamaGinger - wow - beautiful pictures!!!
Great advise everyone, thank you! Charela and Nirvana both look like good choices. Love the pics! Yes, I think we'll do a split. How early in advance would we need to book either place in order to get the best room?:confused:
Nirvana is very small (there's only one owner's villa) and has many returning guests who have first dibs. I've booked as far as a year in advance to get the room and dates I wanted. email Lonnie at Nirvana (info on website) and she'll get back to you fast with available dates.
If I were picking my most favored room at Charela, I would ask for the 3rd floor in the newer section. Away from the restaurant and quiet. Great views. You might have to book 2-3 months out, but you could get lucky with a shorter booking window.
I have been looking at Nirvana for years, and thankfully due to a cancelled flight I was able to stay there with some friends and family in Dec. After my first hour on the property all the glowing reviews suddenly made sense. No restaurant, no bar, no problem. Best beach spot in all of Negril IMHO. The beach is deep and well protected and the security is first rate. The staff simply aims to please. Their cottages are a great value relative to your other options.Quote:
Originally Posted by saeyedoc
Okay, so you asked someone to talk you into a place on the beach, so here goes. I say you call CoCo La Palm, request an ocean view suite for what date you need. I love CoCo but being a solo traveler I have drifted toward the White Sands.
IMHO, CoCo is perfect for a couple, especially for an anniversary celebration. They have a great spacious beach, with lots of shade options if you need it. Quality security, two great pools, and a very private, wink, wink, hot tub for your late night relaxing. There is two bars, and a restaurant, also a snack bar on the beach, that have servers that will cater to your every need.
The rooms are large and have everything you would need, large tubs, cable tv, hair dryers, great ac, large balconys, and they
have room service. Its in walking distance of many restaurants and shops, and have a very friendly staff. Best in the
West, that has awesome jerk chicken is right across the street. Friday night they have a live band on there beach, and the
main bar has a happy hour from 5 to 7. As it is not to close to any music venues, you will find it quiet at night. However, since its located right smack in the middle of the beach , you are still within close proximity if you do choose to go listen to some late night music.
There, how did I do ? :)
Splitting your stay to try the beach is an excellent idea!
OMG jojo p, you must be in sales! You did good! And so did booger! I feel like we'll have to flip a coin. The split thing sounds like a good idea, but after talking to my husband we really don't know if we want to have to deal with a move in the middle of our stay. It's already enough work checking in and checking out just once on vacation!!! (sarcasm but a little true). I thinking we might stay at Catcha again and check out all of these places on a day trip to the beach to plan & decide for the next stay. I'm making a list. :rolleyes:
Switching is very easy, don't let it scare you away. At Nirvana, there is no checkout and you can hang out there as long as you want past the checkout time. If you do it right, you won't lose more than a 1/2 hour of fun time (except for the packing).
I can certainly understand the hesitancy to switch. It was a very hard sell to my girlfriend. Logistically it is much easier than you think, though. Particularly in Jamaica where you tend to pack lightly and there is a van waiting at the front of every hotel. We woke up. Threw our stuff in the bag went down and walked right into a cab and were back in lounge chairs at the next resort within the hour. We didn't even have to put our Red Stripes down for the ride! It was seamless and totally worth the little adventure to experience both sides of Negril in one trip. I would be hesitant to split stays anywhere else but in Negril it is truly no problem.
We did 5 on the beach and 5 at Catcha last year and it was a smooth transition and a great time.Doing 9 on the beach this year but we will be cliffside for a couple of occasions
We have our first visit last year stayed 4 nights and seastar and 10 nights at coco no problem in chaning all done within 40 mins.When we go back again we will do the same thing great to see the two sides.