Intro & Questions re: Staying on 7 Mile Beach (Attempting to convert from AI)

Hellooooo from Michigan! New to the board and glad to have found you! :)

My husband and I have traveled to Negril twice - once in 2011 (CSA) and once in 2014 (CSA/CN Split). We have a looooooooong ways out for planning (In fact, I'm afraid I might get laughed at for my 'advanced planning' lol) but we are in the process of creating a "20 Nights for 20 Years" trip in 2021 to celebrate my 40th bday and our 20th anniversary. The tentative plan at the moment is: 5 nights at Couples Negril, 5 at Couples Swept Away, 5 at Catcha Falling Star (only if we can get Sagi; otherwise will probably end up at Rockhouse), and 5 nights in Ocho Rios at Couples San Souci.

We obviously love Couples Resorts and staying there is what made us fall in love with Jamaica in the first place. However, I'm extremely curious about trading in CSA for some other hotel or resort on 7 Mile. I've been lurking here & on TA and there are SO many places on the beach I'd love to check out without feeling like we were ripping ourselves off since we've already paid our way for food/drinks at an AI. I'd really like to explore a bit more of Negril this trip.

However..... I have looked at *I think* just about all of the options on the beach (as on TripAdvisor, NegrilOneStop, others mentioned in this forum & TA) and I'm just sort of unsure about them, which is why we stayed with the original choice of CSA. Websites only offer so much info so I just couldn't figure out who would have what we are after. What we are looking for is:

- $250/night or less budget
- Well-kept beach area with ample seating
- On-site bar
- On-site restaurant would be nice, but if not, good options close enough to walk to/from safely
- Would prefer to NOT do an AI for this part of the trip so we're not deterred from other places for food/drink
- Patio/verandah with privacy (This one is important to us. We don't want to be close to areas where a lot of people conjure {i.e. pool}. We don't want our neighbors sharing a balcony or stacked on us. We like to partake in ganj and although "It's Jamaica; No Problem", we would like to be courteous to others who do not wish to smell it on their balcony multiple times a day.)
- I would prefer to not have to cross the street to use the beach but I suppose it's not a deal breaker. Ocean view not a deal breaker, either, as we'll have plenty of that at Catcha.
- Would prefer villa-type accommodations as opposed to a standard "hotel"
- Something "different" would be cool, too - an outdoor shower or in suite hot tub or something of the like. This is going to be a very special trip and we've got four years to save in order to splurge. I did look at the Owner's Villa at... Nirvana, I think? It looked great except I don't think the balcony offers much privacy... correct?
- We will be coming from Couples Negril for this leg of the trip, so although wherever we end up doesn't have to be some fancy schmancy resort (In fact, too fancy would make me very uncomfortable; I'm a small town girl!), I do not want to walk in and have my husband ask my why the hell I talked him out of Couples lol. Would be nice if it was generally appealing and definitely clean.

If you've made it this far into my rambling...Thank you! Based on the above, does anyone have any recommendations for a hotel and/or specific room category to look into? Would truly appreciate any words of wisdom! And it's very nice to "meet" you all officially. I can quit feeling like such a Creeper now. ;)

Idle Awhile would be a great place to start your search!
peace

We've stayed in the Owner's Villa many times. Although the patio is not really private in the sense that people can see what you're doing, the resort is so small that it doesn't really matter. The whole place can only hold around 35 people. We've had no issues puffing on the patio any time. We'll be staying there again this December. It will not be in your budget though, just the room itself will be double your budget (depending on the time of the year), not including food and drinks. There are no on site facilities at Nirvana, but the White Sands is right next door with a great bar and Tony's hut is very close too.
Idle Awhile is nice, but the suites won't be in your budget, maybe the rooms, but don't get garden view rooms if you can avoid it, they are at back and can be noisy from the kitchen back there.
'

Have you checked out Nirvana?

Nice mid-beach location.

I have not stayed here though.

~Moose

Thank you very much for the replies! I think I'll check out Nirvana a little closer. Maybe I need to rethink the budget in order to suit our needs better. Like I said, we have plenty of time to save. Saeydoc, I was hoping you'd chime in here... Nirvana has my curiosity peaked and I've seen you referred to multiple times during my lurking as the "Nirvana Expert". :)

We've stayed in fancier places (The Caves, Idle Awhile), but we keep coming back to Nirvana for the unbeatable beachfront accommodations, great staff, huge uncrowded beach.

Nirvana beach veranda is amazing. For a little more privacy on the patio, do the upper level, but that takes away the "steps away" feel of being so close to the waters edge. Attachment 49347

we stay at Rooms On The Beach , great location, on site bar, restaurant, lots of great places to eat nearby,about 150 u.s. a nite, this will be our 9th time at Rooms, very clean, great security, GO WINGS GO, soon come

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Originally Posted by 3LittleBirds

Thank you very much for the replies! I think I'll check out Nirvana a little closer. Maybe I need to rethink the budget in order to suit our needs better. Like I said, we have plenty of time to save. Saeydoc, I was hoping you'd chime in here... Nirvana has my curiosity peaked and I've seen you referred to multiple times during my lurking as the "Nirvana Expert". :)

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Nirvana is a great spot, especially if you prefer to self cater. I have stayed in numerous cottages, the Owners Villa several times, and Sundeck studio II. All rooms were fine, however I would suggest spending the extra coin and staying in a beachfront room. If you get a cottage or the Owners villa they will cook one meal a day for free. We prefer a big breakfast and they will show up at your time of choosing.

Wow... 2021, huh? That's a long timeframe in a dynamic economy like Negril's. There are some constants along the beach, but there are also a lot of "here today, gone tomorrow" operations as well. Owners change, properties are abandoned (sometimes for years), others are purchased for development, business ventures fail... it happens all the time, and we can offer examples of all of those things happening in just the last two years.

We have stepped out a few times from the AI scene to extend our JA budget, and it certainly can be done. You simply have to put yourself in the mindset that you are moving from the land of "Yes!", to the world of "Where to next?".

While the beach near Swept Away is amazing, there are other places we've enjoyed staying on that end of Seven Mile that have the same vibe on the beach... Palms and Tree House come to mind, and Country Country is right there as well.

Good luck on your planning. Frankly, I would recommend that you don't reserve any portion of your non-AI itinerary until later in the planning effort.

of course we have always been partial to Rondel Village . diffenatly another property you should look into.

Wow, thank you all for your words of wisdom! Greatly appreciated! I definitely will look harder at your suggestions here, as I have lots of time to do that. Also looks like I need to price out the beach hotels a little more carefully. I was just rolling with an average figure after looking at places on the Cliffs, and we travel during the slower season (Oct-Nov), but I should have considered that the beach resorts would be pricier (duh!). Also need to figure that they will most likely increase before we travel.

Again, THANK YOU! :)

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Originally Posted by Chris B

Wow... 2021, huh? That's a long timeframe in a dynamic economy like Negril's. There are some constants along the beach, but there are also a lot of "here today, gone tomorrow" operations as well. Owners change, properties are abandoned (sometimes for years), others are purchased for development, business ventures fail... it happens all the time, and we can offer examples of all of those things happening in just the last two years.

We have stepped out a few times from the AI scene to extend our JA budget, and it certainly can be done. You simply have to put yourself in the mindset that you are moving from the land of "Yes!", to the world of "Where to next?".

While the beach near Swept Away is amazing, there are other places we've enjoyed staying on that end of Seven Mile that have the same vibe on the beach... Palms and Tree House come to mind, and Country Country is right there as well.

Good luck on your planning. Frankly, I would recommend that you don't reserve any portion of your non-AI itinerary until later in the planning effort.

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You are absolutely right, Chris! Nothing made that more apparent than when I was scrolling through the PDF map of Negril from 2011. SO many changes. We definitely aren't planning on booking out so early because let's face it; a lot of things could change in our OWN little world in 4 years. But part of the excitement for me is the planning....the researching....the daydreaming....etc. I want to at least have a general idea of where we might end up so I can "research" the surrounding area. I'm kind of a nerd like that, lol.

I have read great things about TreeHouse and Country Country as well - I will check them out! Thanks again for your honest opinion.

Make sure you keep in mind tax and service charges, they add up quickly.

Check out Charela, beach side, second floor. Private yet in the middle of the 7 mile beach stretch. Nice wide private beach.

http://negril.com/hotels/charela.htm

http://www.charela.com/

We like White Sands but all recommendations above will be good. White Sands is not a fancy place but it is clean, comfortable, and always has hot running water for a good shower.

White Sands has a very nice bar on the beach. Due to mid-beach location of all recommendations above, there are many restaurants of all different kind within short walking distance (like Best of the West for bbq, Cafe Goa for breakfast, and Kuyaba for higher end dinner).

Wherever you decide to go, I would make reservations about 15 months before you want to go.

agree with rooms, nirvana and idle awhile . have stayed at all 3 .
going from sandals to csa to me though does not make a lot of sense . very similar so why make the move.

You guys are fabulous! THANK YOU!

Saeydoc, great advice re: taxes, etc - always forget about that! vucko, I will give Charela another look, too, as well as White Sands, frankk! (And thank you for the tip re: when to book!)

Also keep in mind food will be pricier 'pon da beach as well.

~Moose

Well hello 3littlebirds. Minnesota here. All the recommendation here are spot on, I'm just a little surprised no one has mentioned the obvious, you will not be on an AI. I've been to an AI before and as much as you may love Jamaica now, if you spend 20 nights on the beach in Negril it will be your religion by the time you leave. The fresh delightful Jamaican food, the people, the fresh juice, the people, chicken from the corner bar or best in the west, the people, evening boat tours, and did I mention the lovely people? You are in for such a treat. Ask a random Jamaican to teach you how to play dominoes and you won't stop laughing (and swearing) the entire evening. We spend on average 3500 dollars for two weeks all in when we go, so your budget will allow plenty for excursions and food. You can eat well on the beach and surrounding area for $25 to $35 a day, for two! Of course you can always spend more but you sure don't have to. We as well as some others above I have stayed at the White Sands my last few reaches because the bang for your buck, location, vibe, and great beach. Have a blast!!!

The Negril Beach Club Condos offer, standard, studio and 2 room condos. All modern with Wi-Fi, Cable TV, AC, and kitchenettes plus a balcony. We are about 3/4 miles from the Negril Roundabout on the 7 mile beach road, so there's lots of beach to walk. Let us know how we can help you, we enjoy treating our customers as friends, and have always found that this works best.

http://negrilbeachcondo.com/index.htm

It was mentioned that there's a lot of change with hotels, owners etc. and 2021 is a long way off. Nirvana has been a steady during this. I believe the current owners have been there for decades

I would recommend Nirvana, Idle Awhile, or idle awhile villas (depending in your price range). Coco La Palm might also work well. All have a great mid-beach location for exploring.

Hello from Ohio. We like to try different places on the beach. This Nov will be our first stay at Idle on the beach. Check it out. Jamaica has taught us to go small, no concrete jungles. It works for us. We stay at Catcha every year. We love the saggi room , we snagged it this yr. I will highly recommend the Coral room at Catcha. It has a wrap around porch with lots of comfy furniture. Lots of shade so you get lots of use out out it. The staff at catcha is awesome. Another suggestion : is do 3 hotels. Then take 1 full day with a driver and go to YS falls and Pelican Bar and Black river. This way you have more chill time.

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Originally Posted by Irine

Well hello 3littlebirds. Minnesota here. All the recommendation here are spot on, I'm just a little surprised no one has mentioned the obvious, you will not be on an AI. I've been to an AI before and as much as you may love Jamaica now, if you spend 20 nights on the beach in Negril it will be your religion by the time you leave. The fresh delightful Jamaican food, the people, the fresh juice, the people, chicken from the corner bar or best in the west, the people, evening boat tours, and did I mention the lovely people? You are in for such a treat. Ask a random Jamaican to teach you how to play dominoes and you won't stop laughing (and swearing) the entire evening. We spend on average 3500 dollars for two weeks all in when we go, so your budget will allow plenty for excursions and food. You can eat well on the beach and surrounding area for $25 to $35 a day, for two! Of course you can always spend more but you sure don't have to. We as well as some others above I have stayed at the White Sands my last few reaches because the bang for your buck, location, vibe, and great beach. Have a blast!!!

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Nice to meet you, Irine! Your post brought a smile to my face - thanks! What you said re: the people, etc. is exactly why I don't want to spend the majority of our trip at an AI. We'll still be starting/ending with two different Couples resorts for some laid-back pampering, but the 10 days between are what I'm most excited about! We've only thus far had a tiny taste of life in Negril on 7 Mile beach and the One Love Pub Crawl we did on our last trip made us want to explore the Cliffs much more! It will be interesting after this trip to see how we feel about the next one... I have a feeling we will be hooked on staying at a smaller place and doing our own thing. Thank you SO much for sharing your budget as well!

Gwhizman, I will check out your link; thank you!

John, that's good to know about Nirvana - thanks! It really is a long way off; I'm thinking maybe we need to have a "back up plan" or a second choice for a place to stay. Worst case scenario, I spend a bunch of time choosing and end up at square one again. No worries.

Thanks for your suggestions, too, Sam!

Miss Honey, Thank you for your input also! Really appreciate the room suggestions for Catcha, too. I know Sagi can be hard to book and was planning on having a second and third room choice, just in case. The only excursion we've really done is the One Love Pub Crawl and we are definitely thinking about exploring more this time, so I'll write down your suggestions and look into them... thanks! :) The day we leave the Cliffs and drive to Ocho Rios, we were going to hire a driver and stop at a couple of places along the way. Possibly Half Moon Bay/Calico Jack's (should it still be there in 4 years, of course!). We were going to let our driver choose a place for us to buy him lunch and have him stop for anything he thinks we might like to see.