My parents want to go to Negril – Need advice on where to stay.

[Clarity]

I just returned from a last minute 5 day trip to New York to be with my family. (My father was rushed to the emergency room because He injured himself at work. It affected his sciatic nerve and he will have to be in bed for a while. The doctors said it’s “Sciatica” but with physical therapy he should fully recover after a few months)

During my time at home, I spent a lot of time with my father. I showed him the pictures from our travels to Negril and read him our (still-not-finished) Trip report. My Father shared his stories from his time in Kingston + Negril during his childhood with me and talked about my parents first honeymoon in Ocho Rios.

All this Jamaica-talk got them thinking.
Now My parents want to go to Negril for their 37th wedding anniversary in August! Hopefully my father will be back on his feet, if not they will schedule it for 2012. Their last visit to Jamaica was 37 years ago so they asked me to give them some suggestions on where to stay and what to do. I told them I would do some research..

Do you have any recommendations on a hotel(s) they should stay at? It will be a seven night trip. Have you traveled with your parents to Negril? If so, where did you stay? How did they enjoy it?

Here is some background
1. My father just turned 60, my mother is in her late fifities.
2. Due to my father’s recent injury, He will need a really comfortable bed.
3. A hotel without too many hustlers or aggressive vendors would be best for them. I enjoyed the colorful crowd on the beach but it might be upsetting for my parents.
4. They don’t really drink much. My mother loves to dance though and my father enjoys live music. They both love good food.
5. A pool and a view would make it perfect for them.

I was looking at Couples-Swept Away, Riu Tropical Bay and Catcha Falling Star. Also Idle A-while looks really beautiful. I just don’t have any experiences with any of these places. I want this anniversary to be very special for them. They haven’t been on a vacation in a while…They deserve this more than anything. I think it will be a healing experience for them. Both physically and emotionally. I want my parents to experience just floating in crystal clear warm water like this…



Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated.


Thanks!
Daisy

[Ras Walleye]

My recommendation would be the Charela Inn. Nice smaller property. Excellent staff and service. Very nice restaurant. Clean, wide section of beach and security will keep the roaming higglers away. Also a wonderful masseuse on the property. Right next door to Idle Awhile. Check out their website.

Bless...
Ed

[marley9808]

Catcha - Hands down!

So exciting for your folks, and I hope your Father gets better soon enough to go this year!

[Yardie]

Idle Awhile is a very special place and they have access to the Sports Complex at Couples Swept Away.

http://www.idleawhile.com/

[Honey518]

Think it depends if they wanna do beach or cliffs... IF I ever get my hubby to go, Catcha and CSA were my top continders. That's a tough one!

[rastagal]

Idle Awhile is such a great place. The rooms are so inviting and big, and you can't beat the hammock on the huge patio/balcony. I wouldn't even call it a patio or a balcony...more like an extension of the living room. The 1 bedroom rooms are fabulous...just to die for.

I stayed at Couples Swept Away once just to pamper myself and I have to say I did not enjoy myself. Nothing wrong with the hotel, I just felt like it wasn't me...too uppidy? So depending on what your parents like, it might work for them. They did have really good food.

RIU is ok, kind of in the middle class range of all inclusives I would say. It is more fun there, the entertainment is always entertaining...lol. I haven't been there in many years but it seemed to have more of a party crowd...bartenders are fun, lots of music..you get the idea.

So I guess it all depends on what your parents are in to.

[Bnewb]

I agree with all the above choices....LOL!

[Col. Andy & Wildcat Pam]

Considering you father's injury, I would think a beach property would be best. I love the cliffs, but getting in and out of the ocean can be difficult, . On the beach you can wade right in.
This is the reason that if we ever can return to Negril, we will split between a few days on the beach, and a few on the cliffs.

Respect,
Andy & Pam

[likkle red]

Have you thought about Coco La Palm? Several years ago my 80+ year young father, who walks with 2 fore arm crutches, spent 2 weeks there with the entire family. It was easy access for him to walk into the sea and there are 2 pools there if the sea is rough. The staff there is lovely and security keeps all higglers away from their guests.

Coco is right next door to Idle Awhile and Charlea Inn for nice dinning and both have live music different evenings of the week. I think Idle Awhile has music on Friday and Charlea has it on Tuesday and Thursday or perhaps it is Wednesday and Thursdays. Either way you would be close to 2 very nice properties to eat at.

You can go to coco's website and they have different views of the rooms and even 3 different web cams for your parents to look at.

I hope your father recovers quickly and is able to celebrate his anniversary in August in Negril.

[Clarity]

My recommendation would be the Charela Inn. Nice smaller property. Excellent staff and service. Very nice restaurant. Clean, wide section of beach and security will keep the roaming higglers away. Also a wonderful masseuse on the property. Right next door to Idle Awhile. Check out their website.

Ed

Ras - I looked at Charela Inn and it looks beautiful! I like the fact that there is a pool on the property and the rooms look incredibly comfortable! Right now it's been moved up to top choice. Thanks for the tip! How did you like the beds there?

Marley - Catcha looks amazing, Especially after reading two recent trip reports about it! That's second place choice. It sounds like it would be very peaceful too and I imagine there aren't many pushy vendors trying to sell anything on the edge of a cliff.

and the view...

My first thought was that it would be great for them to split their vacation up between cliffs and Beach. My parents aren't too enthusiastic about that idea and I realize with my father's health problems right now it would be difficult for them. Also like Col. Andy mentioned... it would be hard for him to get in and out of the ocean with the ladder if he stayed on the cliffs. I hadn't thought of that until this was brought up..

Yardie and Rastagirl - Idle Awhile looks like a tropical paradise, but I just learned that it doesn't have a pool. It would be a nice option for my parents to have a pool to lounge at when they don't want to deal with the salt water and sand.... but they would love the hammocks and garden..

Couples Swept away seems like a great place for my parents to be pampered. They have never experienced an "all-inclusive" hotel before. On the flipside, they rarely drink. So the unlimited drinks wont really be a selling point.

Riu doesn't sound like their cup of tea after reading about it being for a "party crowd" - They're not really the "spring break-type". While my mother would be amused...My father would frown at the sight of a drunk girl laying on the bar while a bunch of guys take a shot out of her bellybutton or anything like that. I went to a Riu hotel in Mexico for three days. The drinks were great... but in retrospect,the beds were very hard and uncomfortable. Also it was two double beds pushed together with vinyl cover sheets...

Likkle Red - I stayed at the Coco La Palm on our last vacation. It was so wonderful. I agree that the location is great. Most beautiful stretch of beach... My hubby and I will definitely be going back. It's such a chill place...I'm just not sure if it's the right fit for my parents for their 37th year anniversary. Maybe it IS though...

ACK! It's so HARD to decide!!
I guess I'll just put the best choices on the table and see what my parents choose. Am I leaving out any potentially great hotels that SHOULD be in the line up?

Thank you so much everyone for your helpful suggestions and thoughts on places to stay! I truly appreciate it!