Banana's Garden question

[TuffGong]

Does anyone have any thoughts on Banana's Garden?

My wife and I stayed at Catcha on the cliffs this past April and really liked it a lot. We stayed in Libra I believe, the one bedroom cottage near the Gate House (but not the Gate House cottage). We really, really enjoyed it. I stumbled across Banana's Garden and it looks like a neat place to stay, not to mention very cheap. We liked the Cliffs area which is also what got me looking around. I see many positive reviews on TA but not much discussion on this board (which, by the way, I found very informative prior to our trip, I also still "stay in touch" via this board".

The small cottage, the privacy, that's what we liked and what we really liked about Catcha. My wife would go back to Catcha in a heartbeat but I am eager to try somewhere else. Just curious what people think about Banana's Garden.

[Mike_D]

I have never stayed there, but please note that Banana's Garden is across the street from the cliffs, so there is no sea view or direct water access, like you had at Catcha. That being said, Banana's Garden is one of the highest rated places in Negril (on TA, that is).

[Rob]

TA also has Negril's 4 top "nightlife" places as 1) One Love Pub Crawl - a day event that ends after sunset, 2) Pelican Bar - not in Negril and a day time bar that closes before sunset, 3) Rick's Cafe - the sunset spot and 4) Drifters Bar whose afternoon show ends around sunset.

I am not dissing Banana Gardens, but take what TA ranks carefully and with a lot of salt. They have no one employed on the island to verify anything. Obviously...(grin)

[CosmicMoose]

TA also has Negril's 4 top "nightlife" places as 1) One Love Pub Crawl - a day event that ends after sunset, 2) Pelican Bar - not in Negril and a day time bar that closes before sunset, 3) Rick's Cafe - the sunset spot and 4) Drifters Bar whose afternoon show ends around sunset.

I am not dissing Banana Gardens, but take what TA ranks carefully and with a lot of salt. They have no one employed on the island to verify anything. Obviously...(grin)

And some white plate 'Taxi' drivers are also highly rated too. Caveat Emptor. Do your research beforehand!

~Moose

[Mike_D]

Great points, Rob and CosmicMoose. Often times, the TA rankings are baffling. For example, The Mirage is ranked in the top 50% of "B&Bs", behind a bunch of places that are kinda dumpy (and a few places that are now closed!). Why? Because a European guy trashed the place 2 years ago? Definitely take those reviews with a grain of salt and do your research from multiple sources.

[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.

[TuffGong]

I do understand that BG is not on the water, not a problem for me. I picked Catcha based off of TA reviews and posts I read on this board. I personally like TA though am experienced enough to read thru all of the posts and take several, if not many of them, with a pinch of salt. Many of the reviews on TA you can tell pretty quick that the person reviewing place X is not the kind of person I would take advice from nor want to hang around. If anything, the negative reviews further my positive perception of the place. Like when I read on TA that the noise from the dogs was "too much to handle" or the like. When I read that I knew the noise would not be a problem for me, as I am very easygoing and knew it was nowhere near as bad as that review made it.

I did find it curious how little info I found on this board about BG, which does seem to be both a nice place and what I consider cheap. Thanks to all, Jah bless.

[NikkiB]

Hi Tuff - we have stayed at Banana's Garden for the last two years now. We enjoy it - it's quiet and private and quite often when I want to just read (and have cocktails) by the pool it's usually just my husband and myself. Nicole and Kwame who own Bananas are very nice and the breakfast (included) is delicious. We've stayed at Catcha in the past and it's definitely apples and oranges but I really like both places. Feel free to PM me if you have any other specific questions.

[jsteil]

I've stayed at Bananas Garden five times since 2012. You can see my wife and I's review on TA. We love going there because it gives us all the things we like at a reasonable price. The hospitality given by the owner Nicole and her staff (Opal, Dennis, and Opal's sister) is what brings us back year after year. If you have any questions please PM me.