Brasi - I've never seen Hilltop so I can't help there. Sorry.

Rastagal - you'll love Catcha Gardens. By "guest friendly" both "gardens" and "star" are committed to the privacy of their guests that are staying there so they do not allow folks to just come in and hang out there randomly by the pools or the sea - "star" opens to the public at 5:00pm for sunset and dinner and closes at 9:00pm. If you personally have a guest you'd like to invite to your room or to hang out by the pool I don't see a problem walking them in and letting management know they are there.

Personally if I were to stay at a hotel now in Negril I'd pick one with policies similar to Catcha Falling Star/Catcha Falling Gardens. That was not the case 20 years ago for me but it would be a priority now.