Trip report - March 2018

[OUV11112]

This board was very instrumental in helping us break out and enjoy Negril a few years ago so I am writing this report in the hope that someone else can be inspired to step out a bit from their comfort zone. Thanks to Rob for keeping this board a nice place to do research on and get feedback from.


This was a report from our first visit to Negril - http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...-the-last-one!

Once we were bitten we went back again - http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...highlight=made

And then the last trip - http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...ght=compulsive

We had not been away for a couple of years and our previous trip was to Mexico, we sat down and decided where we should go this year. The allure for us to visit Mexico is strong because of a number of great trips there in the past, it is much cheaper than Negril and we do like the culture. The only problem is that it is not Negril. We also wanted to do a 10 day trip instead of 7 days. I eventually found a deal for CoCoLapalm and pulled the trigger.

You all know what leads up to a trip to Negril. Visiting negril.com multiple times per day. Making lists of things you want to see and do. Checking on 2 for 1 drink specials and entertainment. Finding out what restaurants you need to visit, etc. etc. It does become obsessive for some reason versus going on other vacations. Part of it is seeing the great pictures that everyone always posts and imagining being in that same spot.

Day 1

We went from Friday to Monday. I booked Club MoBay for the arrival as we were coming in at 1.20 and there were multiple fights around that time. I know that there are debates about whether this is a worthwhile cost, for us it pays for itself in the reduction of stress at the airport. The arrival hall was about half full but it was filling up quickly. We were in the Club MoBay lounge in about 15 minutes having a cold beer, some snacks, and were able to get changed into shorts. Grabbed some bottled water, more beer and out to our awaiting ride that they had alerted for us.

We have used Joe Cool numerous times in the past and have always had awesome service. We were lucky enough to have Latoya drive us this time. She is a great, safe and friendly driver. A quick stop at Mega Mart to stock up on beer, wine and snacks for the week and off we went to Negril. Being Friday afternoon traffic was fairly heavy through MoBay and also Lecea. One checkpoint just outside of MoBay. They just tool a quick look into the car and waved us on. Arrived safe and sound at CoCoLapam.

We had chosen CoCoLapalm because of its central location and the excellent reviews that it gets everywhere. We also liked the size of the beach and the availability of shade. Our room was a standard and we were more than pleased. Modern, clean, nice TV, good sized bathroom and it was located on the ground floor steps from the beach. There was some noise from people having their doors slam closed but other than that we did not hear anything else. I understand that they still have some older outdated standard rooms that are closer to the road.

Dinner was at Best in The West. The service was excellent and the chicken was okay. A little dried out. The downer of the meal was that one of the ladies that served us then launched into a spiel on the Royalton and the time share options and will we go for an information sessions. It was not pressure packed but still not welcome. The Royalton also has people walking the beach trying the same thing. It is a shame that a company with Canadian roots is doing business in this manner, not to mention the Elephants Ass of a building they have put up.

We went back to the hotel to hear the band playing. I found a “Negril Wallet” with $80.00 US or so in it. Now you might ask what a Negril Wallet is. It is a Ziploc baggie with cash in it. You know what you carry around on the beach so that if you go swimming your money does not get wet. We were wondering how we could find the owners and took it back to our room for safekeeping. A little while later we were sitting on the steps leading up to the pool having a drink and a couple was searching in the sand with the flashlights from their phones. We asked what they were looking for. Guess what? They had lost their Negril wallet. I told them to hang on for a minute and went back to get the wallet we had found. They were so pleased and offered a reward but we just asked them to play it forward sometime. I really believe in Karma so I know that it will come back to us in some form.

Day 2

This was a beach day. We had nothing planned but taking in the sights, sounds and food on the beach. There is a continental breakfast included at CoCo. It includes fruit or fruit juice, coffee or tea and a basket that has banana bread, toast, muffins, a croissant and a pastry. After breakfast we went for the first of many walks. Our goal was to cover all of the 7 miles plus Bloody Bay. Today we went down to the river so we could see the fishing boats.

We then settled into a nice spot on the beach. There was always somewhere to sit even though a lot of people reserved their spot early on. The security guards will also look after you in setting up a couple of chairs in your favorite spot. We started to play the towel card game at this point and accumulated 10 cards during the course of the week. Do people really steal a beach towel? We had sour sop juice from Flex, fruit and then patties from Norman.

Dinner was at Vinnie’s across the street and down a little from CoCo. Red is cooking there now and the food was great. We had steamed fish and jerk chicken. There was a bit of a wait for the fish but the staff was kind and let us know that is was on its way. We went back later in the week.

Had a couple of glasses of wine on the upper deck and called it a night.