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.