Banana's Garden question

[Accompong]

I have never stayed there. That being said, Banana's Garden is one of the highest rated places in Negril (on TA, that is).

As a person who knows more about Jamaica than I do about Negril, I usually just hang back and read. I know who has been there before and the type of traveler they appear through their posts to be. No offense Mike_D but I would rarely if ever take a recommendation on a property from someone who has never "first hand" stayed there or from Trip Advisor recommendations alone. I do appreciate the fact that you did make a disclaimer about never staying there before so I didn't need to go to TA

I often see posts of places that I have stayed and would never stay again and hear how great they are. Not everyone thinks that paying $100 a night or more for any place is worth that price. I have personally never done that and would rather spend $50 or less for a place to sleep and use the other $50 to eat, drink and be merry.

Funny I have never seen a trip report about Banana's Garden. Anyone on here ever stay there? I would trust their word (probably) more than TA.

Peace and Guidance

[Mike_D]

No offense Mike_D but I would rarely if ever take a recommendation on a property from someone who has never "first hand" stayed there or from Trip Advisor recommendations alone. I do appreciate the fact that you did make a disclaimer about never staying there before so I didn't need to go to TA

Absolutely - I wouldn't either. My intent was not to provide a recommendation, but to point out the amenities (or lack thereof) at the property in question. Since the OP seemed to be comparing Banana's Garden to Catcha, I thought it was important to point out that BG lacks 2 of the amenities that they probably enjoyed most at Catcha - sea views and access to the cliffs. I would hate to see somebody regret booking a stay at a property because it wasn't what they thought it was going to be.

We do frequently stay in that neighborhood, and I have been on the property at Banana's Garden (and Banana Shout) as well as Catcha, so I wanted to make the lack of a seaside location known in case it wasn't evident on TA or the property's website.

ETA: Also, I was not suggesting that a high TA rating means that it is a great place (if that is what you got from my post). I included the reference to TA as a "For-what-it's-worth" footnote. By no means do I put much stock in TA reviews. I think my second post in this thread proves that. Heck, The SPA Retreat is rated #1 and I think the place is pretty soul-less.