Our 16th trip to Negril will be our first time at a non all inclusive. This will be interesting.....and fun!
We knew it was coming. Each trip we spend more and more time off the resort.
We will be at Idle Awhile in April.
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Our 16th trip to Negril will be our first time at a non all inclusive. This will be interesting.....and fun!
We knew it was coming. Each trip we spend more and more time off the resort.
We will be at Idle Awhile in April.
You're going to have a blast.
You will never go back to AI now. lol You will have a blast!!
Enjoy the freedom! Rent a scooter and explore!!
^^^There ya go!
You will love Idle Awhile!
Once we stayed off the all inclusives for a year we fell in love with that way of vacationing.We still usuallly do a day and night pass to Hedo to see all our old friends but it's so nice to just wander around Negril.
We are so excited we can't wait!
Soooo many great and inexpensive places to eat in Negril. Next time I'll have to explore the beach area some more. Though I did love the cliffs area.
~Moose
Welcome to the Real Negril gregandkelly63...coming on my 24th year visit come late January..ALWAYS bunking in the West End & can't wait to see my local friends again...dam miss them dearly!!!
Welcome to the Real Negril gregandkelly63...coming on my 24th year visit come late January..ALWAYS bunking in the West End & can't wait to see my local friends again...dam miss them dearly!!!
Hope you have a great time with lots of choices to eat and drink.
We always go non AI , Negril has so much to offer but you have to get out and explore. Enjoy .
You will love Idle Awhile. Great part of the beach, gorgeous verandahs, comfortable beds, and more. It's a whole new world out there, when you go non All-Inclusive.
Thanks for the well wishes and advice. Even though we have been at AI's all these years. We spend more and more time off the resort with each visit. It's time to take the plunge. We are looking forward to the adventure!
Even though it's already been said, I'll say it again, you will love Idle Awhile it's one of our favorite places.
We will be there at the end of April, maybe we will see you there.
You will. That's exactly when we are going!
No dis-respect to the AI's, as they hire ALOT of our Jamaican friends. Yes, we started out with the AI's, and actually it was a super cheap deal that we were able to capitalize on $1,100 pp. Flight, transfers, the resort {Riu} 7 nights MPS to JA. Do the math, it was super cheap. But after a few times we thought we'd try Cocolapalm. Loved it. Since then we have stayed at quite a few different places. Tree-house is our favorite. We have not been back to an AI. Probably never will. Our 14th Negril trip is coming up. 14 times in 10 years. gregandkelly63 enjoy the adventure. Walk Good. Cool Runnings. Respect, One Love, Irie.
Thank you rocknrollfarmer! We are so looking forward to this trip. It's like trying something familiar, but new!
gregandkelly63,
Dear friends (fellow Boardie's) The transition that you are planning is far easier than it seems you have anticipated. The majority of Jamaican 99.9999% are the most awesome people on earth. Shy, generous and honest by nature. The problem being the majority of JA'cans live a very tough financial reality, most of whom shake it off with a smile and a No Problem resiliency that defies the reality of their $$$$. But their hearts overflow with Peace & Love. We can dwell on the this and that of intimidation by some vendors some times, robberies and even killings. As John Donne (poet) said "No man is an island.
Take advantage of the tips and ideas from us fellow boardies and "Go for it" in Negril. Have a safe trip filled with Happy Thoughts and Irie Feelings!!
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Thanks to our friends we haven't met yet! :)
Here are some Idle Awhile teasers...
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Everything we have heard about it is great. Can't wait!
I'm sure I recognize your name gregandkelly63 from the Couples message board....we were die hard AI people, until we realized (like you)that there was so much more to see on a trip, and there's the "If we leave the resort, we are paying for meals/drinks twice" theory...really, the deciding factor mainly was price.....A valid argument can be made no matter the side you pick on whether a Couples vacation is "worth it". We have been enjoying ourselves since. Of course, you will feel quite at home at Idle Awhile, since the furnishings, chair floaties, (even use of the CSA sports complex) is the same comfortable charm. After 6 Couples trips (4 at CN) we may still go back, cause it IS great, but we don't have to feel like we are missing out if we don't.
After two trips to CSA, one to a villa in Duncans and another to Couples Sans Souci we decided to go non-AI back to our favorite place, Negril, and went with Idle Awhile. Same sensibility as CSA, but oh so much smaller. No need to worry about getting a spot on the beach. Though it is a narrow property, not a wide expanse for chairs, there is enough room for the guests. And once you find your spot, they have it all set up for you in the morning. And if you want they have great umbrellas. We loved our garden suite. We mostly did drinks on our own via our room. But the bar was good. Any meals we had were tasty. We had a wonderful late night dinner at Chill Awhile one night and we were the only diners as we sat on the edge of the deck, with the moon rising. It is a fine memory. But we enjoyed getting out and about and dining at several wonderful places. Easy getting around in a cab. Dining in Negril is reasonable. We enjoyed our trip to Idle Awhile. The next year we moved one door down to Charela Inn which is a nice wide beach that we found more to our liking overall. While there seems to be a number of great hotels along Long Bay and we love walking by each and everyone of them, most just don't have the kind of beach we want hang out on day after day. Idle Awhile was one, and when we walked past CSA during that trip we never felt any remorse for not being there. I think you will be very happy with your vacation at Idle Awhile. May I suggest that you head over to Charela Inn next door for dinner one night. We did their all inclusive plan when we stayed (husband travels 33 weeks a year and likes not going to the wallet for a vacation) and we found their pre fixe dinners fabulous. On Thursday night they have entertainment and it really is a nice night. We did not attend the Friday night bon fire and dinner on the beach at Idle Awhile, but next time I would attend. Make sure to head over to the cliffs for dinner at any one of a number of great spots for a delicious meal. We dined at The Rockhouse, Ivan's, Xtabie, Pushcart. On the beach we enjoyed a lunch at Cosmos and dinner at Kuyaba. Have a great trip!
A quick calculation shows that we would save $200/day over an AI. We drink and eat a lot, but not that much! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by lisapat
Exactly. And you'll have a much more authentic experience. We used to do AI's, but since we switched I really disdain them now. Just couldn't even imagine going back.Quote:
Originally Posted by gregandkelly63