My wife and I, and often our kids, have been going to Jamaica since the late 80's and have stayed at a lot of different resorts, A-I and Non. We like both at differnt times for different reasons.
This type of discussion (A-I v Non) comes up periodically over and over again. The part of it that seems just silly to me is when people who don't like A-I resorts start saying that when you stay at one, "You can't see the real Jamaica" or "When you stay at at A-I you are fenced inside your resort". I have even read posts by people who have said they think you are not allowed to leave your A-I resort. It just makes me want to scream sometimes. ou xcan have a really good and valid discussion about which costs more or less overall, but as for seeing Jamaica they can be exactly the same. The truth is that both A-I and Non can provide an awesome vacation. When it comes to seeing Jamaica, or meeting and interacting with Jamaicans, etc... staying at an A-I is NO DIFFERENT than staying anywhere else. If you are at an A-I here is the trick... walk on the front entrance head downt the road, or grab a cab... or head down the beach on foot....and go wherever you want. You know... just like when staying at a Non-A-I. Your hotel is a base of operations. From there you do what makes your vacation awesome for you... no matter where you are staying.
It's awesome either way.
Roy