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Me and my wife and a buddy of mine are going to Jamaica in Febuary to celebrate his 60th birthday. Where is a good place to stay: Negril ,Ocho Rios, etc. and maybe a a hotel. Nothing fancy, considering an "AI". Is an "AI" worth it? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Mr Topless and I go to Couples Ocho Rios. Its a wonderful mix of young and old. It is a top rated resort, however one of the reasons we love it so is there is as much or as little to do.... depending on your frame of mind. Its an all inclusive, so if you drink alcohol and enjoy eating excellent food, snorkle, dive, sail, ski or golf, it is well worth the money. If you have any questions please drop me a PM.
http://www.couples.com

coronacliff wrote:My wife and a buddy of mine are going to Jamaica in Febuary to celebrate his 60th birthday. Where is a good place to stay: Negril ,Ocho Rios, etc. and maybe a a hotel. Nothing fancy and not an "AI". Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

I would suggest that YOU go along with your wife and buddy to celebrate his B-Day!

We have stayed at Sandals Montego Bay a few times. We love it there! Yes, it is by the airport, but we see that as an advantage- you don't have to ride a scary bus down scary roads for hours to get to your hotel! I would go AI. Once you get there, you lock your wallet in the safe and don't touch it until you are ready to leave or go in town to shop!

check out dunns rivers falls.. just be careful.. when i was little i almost fell down the falls.. its really cool.. check it out

My hubby and I went to Sandals Ocho Rios in November with my brother and sister-in-law. It's a beautiful resort and we had a great time and we felt the AI was well worth the cost. One of the best aspects of the trip was not having to worry about money while we were there. Hubby really enjoyed not having to whip out the ol' wallet (or even having to carry it) every time we ordered a drink. Also, we liked the security of staying at the resort as safety can be an issue in Jamiaca and is something to consider when choosing where to stay.

If you've never been to Jamaica and aren't into trying to figure the whole thing out, stay AI for sure. AI and Jamaica go hand in hand.

The suggestions of Couples and Sandals are fine - but the way I understand it, it appears that you are traveling with just the three people....the birthday boy, you and your wife. If this IS the case, and there is no Mrs. birthday boy, you can't stay at any of those resorts. Couples (get it? ) and Sandals allow two per room only, no singles, no triples.

Negril has the best beaches and it's a kewl area too. There are two Riu resorts there you might want to look into, Riu Negril and Riu Tropical Bay. If you want to stay close to the airport, maybe look into Sunset Beach Resort.

Dunns River Falls are very nice. I would suggest to get out and take a tour. The resorts are nice, but keep you isolated from the real island.

Thanks to the Mrs spending a few years in the travel indusrty we've been lucky to have been to a bunch of the AI's -
As said above, while Couples and Sandals are just that, couples only, this chain is not, you might try them -
http://www.superclubs.com/

How could you go wrong with a resort (Breezes Mo Bay) that has this restaurant ?

Jimmy's Buffet
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served buffet-style at Jimmy's Buffet, our air-conditioned dining terrace.

CapnK wrote:Dunns River Falls are very nice. I would suggest to get out and take a tour. The resorts are nice, but keep you isolated from the real island.

I agree completely! The people of Jamaica are what makes it such a special place. We took an especially awesome horseback riding trip up into the Blue Mountains and through an old spice plantation.....a wonderful experience with wonderful people. All our contacts with locals were extremely positive. I love the people of that island!

I've been to Ochos Rios last November and overrall it was a letdown.
I would not feel safe walking around at night and at times during the day I felt that way. My mother went to Montego Bay not too long ago and said the same.
We took a cab trip through the rain Forest that was really cool.
The Margaritaville was nice but every time I walked out to the beach I'd get surrounded by people peddlin' beads and what not. They can really be annoying and you almost have to be rude to them to get them to leave you alone. I was also offered ganja a few times. I must have that look
I've never been to an All Inclusive Resort before but that is probably the best way to go.

AI resorts are great if you don't want to get to know the real Jamaica, you are in a safe compound where everything is scrubbed clean of anything resembling Jamaica. In many ways you might as well be in South Florida at some resort rather in a wonderfully interesting foreign country.

I would suggest staying outside of the really touristy areas and hire a car and driver and explore the island. The majority of crime occurs in the tourist areas because that's where the majority of rich tourists hang out. In my experience it is a far more interesting vacation if I actually meet the locals, experience their country as they do rather hide in an all inclusive compound, but that's just me.

ehh i've seen enough of the REAL jamaica for my life.. we cruised across the whole island... seen the shacks... check out the beaches though... yeah there will be a bunch of people begging to sell you s*** for cheap.. never asked to buy weed but i was only like 8.. i seen it on the ground though.. and i knew what it was


also just for shits and giggles i'll let everyone know i almost died in jamaica lol.. i was 8 like i said, everyone holds hands going up the falls, well i started to slip and my mom couldn't hold me up i would have fallen down the cliffs but this guy who worked there pulled me up... thank god for him.. wish i could have told that guy how appreciateive of him i was

I am one who likes to go out and meet the people of the area then retreat to my security of the AI.
I agree that you should hire a driver. Do it early in the week then if you like him, ask him if he is available for the next day and the next and so on. It really helped us get get around and the driver was always happy to know he was going to get a good fare for the day. Then offer to buy his lunch on one of the day trips so you can meet some true locals.
We got to eat a a real Jerk Shack and met some interesting characters, including a guy who was "running from the IRS" back home.
Just be open to the fact that it's not home and they do things differently.

You did say nothing fancy, right??

We went this summer and stayed at Decameron Montego Bay (formerly Jack Tar). Very close to the airport (but surprisingly not much plane noise), smaller resort, and it is AI. It is not a luxurious posh resort, but it is a very good value. It gets very good ratings on tripadvisor.com - check it out. The resort is on the "hip strip" and a fairly short walk from Margaritaville. The beaches are private (no peddlers) and fairly small, but then again, the resort is small, and we never had a problem with finding a beach chair in the area we wanted. Lots of activities on site, snorkeling, kayaking, games, evening entertainment, etc. Rooms are just basic, but the grounds are nice, and the water is beautiful.

We plan to return to this resort (unless we hit the lottery, then you can find us at the Ritz-Carlton , or at our summer home there).

CoronaMargaritahead wrote:ehh i've seen enough of the REAL jamaica for my life.. we cruised across the whole island... seen the shacks... check out the beaches though... yeah there will be a bunch of people begging to sell you s*** for cheap.. never asked to buy weed but i was only like 8.. i seen it on the ground though.. and i knew what it was


also just for shits and giggles i'll let everyone know i almost died in jamaica lol.. i was 8 like i said, everyone holds hands going up the falls, well i started to slip and my mom couldn't hold me up i would have fallen down the cliffs but this guy who worked there pulled me up... thank god for him.. wish i could have told that guy how appreciateive of him i was

I wondered about this!! I even asked our guide (who was probably the one who saved you because he said he had been working there as a guide on the falls for over 40 years). Of course he said no one has ever gotten hurt there. It does get scary in places ...

Blackjack and I have stayed in Runaway Bay, Montego Bay and Negril.

We are currently planning our 10th ann. trip in April and we will be returning to the Grand Lido in Negril. This is a great place - Very high end. The absolute best beaches on the island. 24 hour room service, 24 hour bars, laundry, spa services. NO ONE UNDER 18 YEARS OLD!! you name it they got it.

Grand Lido is a Superclubs resort and has a location in Bracco. They also run the Breezes and Hedo hotels. We stayed at the Breezes in Runaway Bay and, once the $20 million renovations are complete, we plan on returning here for a quick weekend trip.

As for MoBay, we stayed at Sunset Beach. Which is very nice but is a little on the young side. They recently built a waterpark so they have started to cater to families.

If you have any questions about Jamaica in gerneral, Tripadvisor.com is an excellant site to visit.

I liked the Decameron at MoBay, too. Nice, but not huge. Food fine. Walk or quick cab to M'ville, Hip Strip, downtown shops... take some tours. Dunns River Falls was great, after a LONG bus ride and a dumb shopping trip. Also went to a Great House to see village life and other sites.. even got dresses made there on the spot.

Snowparrot wrote:I liked the Decameron at MoBay, too. Nice, but not huge. Food fine. Walk or quick cab to M'ville, Hip Strip, downtown shops... take some tours. Dunns River Falls was great, after a LONG bus ride and a dumb shopping trip. Also went to a Great House to see village life and other sites.. even got dresses made there on the spot.

We took the tour without the shopping trip (it left later in the day) - guess that was a good thing.

What's the Great House??