Rondel 1 bedroom villa vs Coco jr suite for 2 ladies, or????

Or Charela seaview room with 2 beds?

I'll be visiting Negril for the third time (in 13.5 months!) in April (16 - 23) to celebrate my 50th birthday. I will be taking a newbie along. She hasn't been on a tropical vacation....just separated from her husband within the last year....likes a nice place but has also gone camping....want to impress her with Negril and do my best to plan a nice holiday for her (us). Budget however, is a concern.

So...have booked cottage #4 at Xtabi for the first two nights....I have visited and love the views (and dirty bananas!) and am looking for a beach property for the remaining 5 nights. My first two trips were both spent at Country Country (loved it). I do love the beach and I think my friend would want to be on the beach the majority of the time, so I initially planned to wait until negrilonestop's Coco mad sale for stays after April 15th comes out the beginning of February to book either a Superior room or jr suite. Then I started looking around a bit (getting antsy waiting for the sale and a little uneasy as prices have gone up at Coco - maybe it won't be near as good a deal at last year...). I like the idea of the the 2 level cottage at Xtabi with 2 bathrooms - great for 2 gals! They'll bring in an extra bed for the living area so each of us will have our own sleeping space. So then I found a pretty good deal on otel.com for a one bedroom villa at Rondel - $158/night inclusive of all taxes and fees. It's not the beachfront villa, but directly behind those, beachfront is booked for our dates :( But...would be a nice setup with a separate bedroom (with 2nd tv) and bathroom, powder room, and a murphy bed in the living area and a nice big verandah with a hammock, private hot tub, kitchenette... :cool:

Anyone stayed at both that can help me make a final decision? I already booked the villa at Rondel as I can cancel with a refund on otel.com up to the beginning of April, so I've got that for "security".

Being close to the sea is important...I realize I wouldn't have a seaview at Coco either (was very fortunate to have the 2 seaview rooms at Country Country on my trips!).

I did find one sea view room with 2 beds at Charela but it looks like it would be a small room. I just tentatively booked that as well! (help!)

Opinions/suggestions please and thank you!

We stay at Rondel every year, the one bedroom villas are nice with the full kitchen, should fit your needs. I can't say about the other places.

I like Coco for the location and the size of the beach and the opportunity of plenty of shade if required. I have stayed there but not in a Junior suite. Not much privacy in the room so you need to be very compatible.
I also stayed at the Rondel - 1 bedroom beachside villa and must say this is a great option with a full size kitchen - equipped - living room area - second small bathroom - private hot jacuzzi and separate bedroom and bathroom. Nice beach bar and restaurant too.
Gotta love the many options that strip has to offer.

I have stayed at both and love rondell best

Can't beat the Beach at Coco.

coco best beach and location

Been to Coco, not impressed. Rondell is good for the $ and spacious. My new favorite place is IDLE AWHILE but you would have to share a bed and bath. This boutique hotel is very very nice, private, great beach and food is great and Best of the West across the street and Charella next door for a change of food. My next trip they were sold out so I am trying ROOMS for the first time. Should be good since it is a Superclubs. Enjoy your trip. Soon come, 44 sleeps. Happy Holidays:cool:

If you can get a room at Idle Awhile and it's in budget then hands down stay there.

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Originally Posted by LadyK

Been to Coco, not impressed. Rondell is good for the $ and spacious. My new favorite place is IDLE AWHILE but you would have to share a bed and bath. This boutique hotel is very very nice, private, great beach and food is great and Best of the West across the street and Charella next door for a change of food. My next trip they were sold out so I am trying ROOMS for the first time. Should be good since it is a Superclubs. Enjoy your trip. Soon come, 44 sleeps. Happy Holidays:cool:

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Thanks all - I just updated my post, as Charela has accepted my offer for their 2 bed sea view. The room patios don't look the nicest I've seen (in photos) and as mentioned, I'm concerned that we'd find it quite small compared to Xtabi #4, and in comparison to the space in a Coco jr suite or the Rondel villa. Anyone stayed there? Comments?

I know Idle Awile is the ultimate but to get a room with 2 beds, we'd break our budget...really want to keep it below $175/night....maybe some day...

Melody,
I stayed at Charela in September with a girlfriend in the Oceanfront, lower level with patio. The rooms are fine and spacious for 2 people with two full-sized beds. The upper rooms have a smaller balcony. If you crave more space than just somewhere with a bedroom, bathroom and patio, then you may consider someplace with living space as well. When I travel with my kids I always get somewhere with living space. Charela has one of the best beachfront as well.

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Originally Posted by NYCGirl

Melody,
I stayed at Charela in September with a girlfriend in the Oceanfront, lower level with patio. The rooms are fine and spacious for 2 people with two full-sized beds. The upper rooms have a smaller balcony. If you crave more space than just somewhere with a bedroom, bathroom and patio, then you may consider someplace with living space as well. When I travel with my kids I always get somewhere with living space. Charela has one of the best beachfront as well.

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GREAT to hear! I may have reserved the same room (unless they have more than one with two beds on the lower level). Was the bathroom nice? My friend really enjoys having a bath vs. shower and I understood that the bathrooms have a bathtub, was it appealing? What did you think of the patio/view? Did you have their continental breakfast? Does the room have a coffee maker? It does have a small bar fridge?

It will be a tough call weighing in preferences for "one of the best beaches" at sea view room (Charela) or jr suite (Coco) vs. villa (Rondel).

Thanks!

Hello Melody,

There are about 5 rooms at Charela on the lower level with either a king bed or two double beds. You could also stay on the upper level which has a balcony. I also liked that the ground floor rooms provides direct access to the beach where you don't always have to walk through the restaurant/bar area. The bathroom in our room was just basic, not grand; it had a tub/shower combo that you normally find in most homes. If I were to critique Charela it would be about them upgrading the bathrooms a bit on the lower level to match the rooms.

When I asked about the room types via e-mail, I was told that the upper level also contains deluxe rooms that contain larger bathrooms with whirlpool jacuzzi tubs, however, these rooms only carry king beds.

The patio views are great because the rooms are really what you would call "ocean front". Your view is totally unobstructed. I could still see the water while my head was on the pillow.

I had what Charela calls their ROH meal plan which provides you with breakfast and dinner only. Did not need lunch since we were off premises doing tours much of the day. The rooms had a small fridge and coffee maker. We had the Jamaican breakfast every day.

If you do go with Charela, just tell them not to put you in the room closest to the restaurant.

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Originally Posted by NYCGirl

Hello Melody,

There are about 5 rooms at Charela on the lower level with either a king bed or two double beds. You could also stay on the upper level which has a balcony. I also liked that the ground floor rooms provides direct access to the beach where you don't always have to walk through the restaurant/bar area. The bathroom in our room was just basic, not grand; it had a tub/shower combo that you normally find in most homes. If I were to critique Charela it would be about them upgrading the bathrooms a bit on the lower level to match the rooms.

When I asked about the room types via e-mail, I was told that the upper level also contains deluxe rooms that contain larger bathrooms with whirlpool jacuzzi tubs, however, these rooms only carry king beds.

The patio views are great because the rooms are really what you would call "ocean front". Your view is totally unobstructed. I could still see the water while my head was on the pillow.

I had what Charela calls their ROH meal plan which provides you with breakfast and dinner only. Did not need lunch since we were off premises doing tours much of the day. The rooms had a small fridge and coffee maker. We had the Jamaican breakfast every day.

If you do go with Charela, just tell them not to put you in the room closest to the restaurant.

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Thanks again! They only have one sea view with two beds available, so no choice as far as that goes. I was just told it was lower level, but I could ask if it's the room closest to the restaurant. Going to be interesting trying to make a decision between the 3 hotel options (so far!), will have to present the choices to my friend. I still have lots of time before I'd have to cancel either Charela or Rondel...will be able to wait until after the applicable Coco mad sale comes out to see if that is an option, but will have to have a good idea by then of the two top contenders as I'll likely have to book quickly if it ends up being Coco.

Any further comments are appreciated. Merry Christmas everyone!

If I had to share a king bed at Idle Awhile with a friend to be able to stay there I would. Just sayin'. Coco, IA and Charela all have a great beach though.