Where to Stay 2 Extra Nights?

Hi;

I am looking for some advice.

My wife and I are spending 2 extra days in Jamaica after our friends leave. We are all at Treehouse for the time they are with us. We initially were just going to extend at Treehouse but have been considering other options. My original thought was CSA of Idle Awhile as I have always liked the look and feel of both resorts but both are booked. We have never stayed in the same hotel in Jamaica twice and like to try out new hotels.

We are now considering going back to Montego Bay with our friends when they fly out (transportation is part of the Treehouse package) and spending the last two nights on the hip strip. I know nothing about Montego Bay or the hip strip area but it sounds like it might be fun for a night or two.

Has anybody done this and can you recommend a decent hotel (close or on) that you can easily and safely walk to and from the hip strip? (I know it is the Negril forum but thought the multiple repeaters might have some suggestions)

If you were to stay in Negril at a hotel you never tried before, what would that hotel be? For reference we have stayed as economically as White Sands and as expensive as Beaches and Rockhouse. We mainly explore on foot when in Negril using thirst and hunger as reasons to stop, so location is not and issue.


Thanks

Catcha is an awesome place to spend the last couple of days of your vacation. But be careful, once that green gate closes behind you, you may never want to leave!

my opinion would not stay in mo bay. i have never enjoyed thought been many years.
other than those uu mentioned
beach wild parrot, nirvana or rooms
cliff blue cave or catcha

Don't know when you are going, but negrilonestop.com has a lot of pictures and information. They also have properties they work with in Montego Bay and can provide some recommendations. I would stay at a cliff property for the last couple of days for a change in vibe.

Stay on the cliffs it will be a great ending for your trip. Catcha or Seastar. I'm so bummed that Seastar was all book for my upcoming dates. I always feel safe and its strange to say it but it feels like home.

I second the recommendation to check out negrilonestop. I used to split my trips all the time between CoCo La Palm and Hedo. Both are really great places!

Do not stay in MoBay.....Do 2 nts at the OCF cottages at Xtabi.

2 nights cliffs -- Blue Cave Castle

Question about BCC. We had considered it once before and think we remember reading somewhere that not all rooms have in room bathrooms. It seemed odd but we were leaning towards Rockhouse so did not follow up. Is this the case?
For our dates they have Tower Lower and Superior 7,9,12, and 14 available. Any room recommendations????

I think that all rooms now have bathrooms en-suite...there may have been one of the towers in the past that did not have it right in the room. Of the rooms available, my choice in order of preference would be Superior 9, followed by 7, 12, 14, tower. If you go to the website for BCC you can view pictures of all of the rooms. The yard at BCC is private, secure, peaceful. Coffee is provided every morning, and is ready every morning around 5:30/6:00 a.m. ... The on-site restaurant, Teddy's Hideaway, serves some of the best meals in Negril. Petrona, the property manager at BCC, is the best... In my opinion you can't go wrong with BCC.

IF you stay at Idle Awhile you will become jaded and never want to stay elsewhere on the beach :)

While I love Negril much more than Mobay...I would not discount a couple of nights there. It is a completely different scene but it has some pretty neat places that are completely different than Negril. Pier One is an awesome night club and we have had fun at BlueBeat and Margaritaville late at night too...Mobay has a much more active night life. For dinner there are more mainstream places to eat including The Twisted Kilt and The Bobsled Cafe...both I have found to be very good. For an excellent meal, Marguerites is phenominal...just be prepared for a pretty large bill. For some really excellent Jerk there is The Pork Pit and Scotchies. Hotel wise we have stayed at three that are all on the Hip Strip. Toby's, Doc Caves and The Wexford. All perfectly fine for a night or two.

We always spend the last night of a Negril Trip in Mobay, it makes the travel day home that much less hetic with a 1.5 mile drive to the airport, not a 1.5 hour one. To me also it is about the experience...while I don't think I could ever spend a week there, I love the short stays.

We have done the first night stay in MoBay, rather than arrive in Negril after dark. This way we get up first thing on Sunday morning and breeze through to Negril. It worked out great. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree, which was pretty bad, but easy. Thanks for the info on the hip strip are places to stay. Will look into them for next trip.

So...we have decided against MoBay but are still trying to decide where in Negril. We want to be on the cliffs. We are considering BCC but thinking about pampering ourselves for a couple of nights. Idle Awhile was booked but their response indicated that Hide Awhile is available. We want to do Rockhouse or Pushcart Friday night and Seastar on Sat.

I am not sure how far out Hide Awhile is. I have been as far as Whoppie's on One Love Drive. I don't remember seeing Hide Awhile in our travels so assume it is further out? Can someone tell me how much further out it is?

It is further out, next to Moon Dance Cliff Villas. We visited when we were staying at Idle Awhile last year. They provide transportation, between the two. So, when you stay at Hide Awhile you can have Idle Awhile be your home base on the beach for the day. The pool is nice at Hide Awhile, and if you like quiet, it would be great. Too quiet for us. Limited items on the lunch menu. We had a cab come and take us back to the beach after a few hours. Exactly how far, can't say, too busy looking out the window to estimate the time.

Stay at Catcha in any room that is available. If they have nothing look at Rockhouse or Tensing Pen. All three are nicer places than Blue Cave Castle, which I have stayed at and enjoyed, and offer more options. You said you want pampered, and the Caves would be the ultimate option if money was no issue. Keep in mind that the Caves is All Inclusive while the other options are not.

this link for map was posted here some time back...

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=18.2905287...6&z=18&l=0&m=b

(I hope I did that right...)

There's also a less involved map at negrilonestop.com that can give you a more simple perspective...

Try Catcha Gardens for less $ or stay at SeaStar and you dont pay for the drum show as a guest.

A million choices and a million opinions but most will tell you to NOT stay in MoBay if at all possible.

Of the cliff hotels mentioned I stayed at BCC and Catcha. This last trip we stayed in the upper tower room at BCC and loved it. Most of the frequent guests will tell you there really isn't a "bad" room (unless you need AC). We stayed in Little Capricorn at Catcha and would not recommend that room. Any of the other rooms would be nice though. If you read my trip report "Jesus and Snoop do Negril, you might find it helpful. I'll be posting about our stay at Catcha soon.

Catcha is booked. Seastar is also booked. Pretty much choices 1-6 are booked. I guess that's what you get for a last minute decision to extend!

New First Choice - BCC has rooms available but the on line booking indicates a 3 night minimum. I have asked via email anyway. If it is available for 2 nights we will stay there.

New Backup - I have emailed Rockhouse for availability and will stay there if available and BCC is not. We loved Rockhouse but it would go against our informal "never stay anywhere twice policy".

I am still trying to find out how far past Whoppies that Hide Awhile is located, if anyone knows. We want to be able to walk back in to LTU, Sir D's, Seastar, and other regular stops. I am guessing about 1/2 kilometer based on google earth and the negril cliffs map

If all else fails we can stay on the beach. What a great problem to have!!!

I posted a link to a map a couple of posts up... I should have included that it's an interactive map and you can drag it (take a virtual walk), and/or search what you're looking for. I did this and see that Hide Awhile is, in my opinion, pretty far out. It is quite a ways past the Lighthouse, but I can't for the life of me place where Whoopie's is along the way ... I've been there, but can't remember. Sorry. - k

:) I should really learn to read. It looks like you did look at the maps, and I'd agree with your 1/2 km guess on distance. After I posted the useless message above, I looked and found the negril map and it shows Whoopie's and Hide Awhile...

Good luck with the rest of your planning! - k

We stayed at Idle Awhile in January, as we do ever year. Spent a few hours at Hide Awhile and it was beautiful, the rooms were magical, with the most beautiful blue tile work (We asked for a tour) . It was very quiet, but I could definitely do it for 2 nights, just for the experience. If you haven't stayed at Idle Awhile, I would definitely take the free shuttle and spend an afternoon there.

I love Blue Cave Castle, but the places that you've mentioned you want to walk to are definitely in closer proximity to Hide Awhile...

And the winner is.....Hide Awhile. The rooms look beautiful. They had availability and we can go to Idle Awhile through the day if we want

Thanks for all the great advice. BCC is on the list for future trips although next year is Port Antonio.

We don't mind quite. We spend our day off resort "sightseeing" and usually go out to dinner. Peaceful at nights is not a bad thing. I have had many nights on the beach where I have listened to a band into the early hours of the morning and I was not at the concert!!!