nirvana

We just booked ticks to Montego Bay for the Thanksgiving weekend (5 days). Are thinking of doing the all-inclusive again - we were at Couples Negril last year and had a blast but are open to other suggersions as well. Any good recommendations?

Was also wondering if anybody here had done both the all-inclusive as well as going around on your own (non-all-inclusive) in Jamaica and how the two compare.

Thanks.

akhullar

Not much of a fan of all-inclusives because sometimes one misses the local flavors. Montego Bay will offer quite a few local options so I'd go that route.

svenskaflicka

How is Montego Bay these days? I was there a few years ago and found it to be quite scary. Some man staying at the hotel knocked on my door several times and when I asked him what he wanted he said that he was in the room a few days before and left something in the drawer. I had been there in 1988 and never felt scared at all, but this last time made me swear off that place. I had a sense of forboding this last time. Many little weird things happened such as coming back to my room and finding that the maids(?) had gone through my things. Then another time I came back to my room and the slider was open and I was on the 6th floor at the Wyndam. The manager tried to tell us that we owed more money when in fact we had paid in full upon check-
in. That place remided me of Haiti with the children who run up to you wanting anything you may have to give them. I felt so bad for them.

I gave up on that place with my last trip there.

nirvana

That is one the reasons to do the all-inclusive thingie for the less adventurous. You get to experience the beauty of Jamaica and at the same time are sheltered from the real world.

Generally, Montego Bay is considered much safer than other places like Kingston. Ofcourse, it's all relative.

taupo

Mrs T and I stayed at Sandals Montego Bay a couple of years ago. Beautiful resort, excellent facilities, the only negative is the proximity to the runway of MBJ.

For local favour, rent a car for the day. Everyone told us not to, that alone was a good reason to do it. We had a blast, saw many things that the average tourist would never see. We drove to Negril and drove through the middle of Montego Bay, parked, went to the market. The locals were fine.

Enjoy your holiday.

nirvana

We are thinking along the same lines. Sandals Inn seems to be much more cost effective but the dining options are pretty limited there. We will have to make trips Sandals MB or RC which are about 5 mins away for food. The other option is to split the trip between Sandals Negril and Sandals Inn - maybe come back to SI for the last couple of days which will make it a little easier to catch the return flight.

Thanks.

princessmom

I personally would book an AI in Negril rather than Montego Bay. The beach and the sunsets are to die for. I personally think Sandals resorts are over-rated and over-priced. We were at Beaches Negril with the kids, great for them, I felt they were very safe.

I would try Riu Tropicale if I ever get back to Negril.

[This message has been edited by princessmom (edited 09-23-2003).]

GoPro

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nirvana

Ya, we stayed at Riu one night because Couples was overbooked the first nite. The breakfast was just awesome there compared to Couples. But it looks like Riu is sold out for the Thanksgiving weekend.

GoPro, the AA rates for the hotels are the same as you would get on the hotel websites themselves.

jonesing

We stayed at Round Hill www.roundhilljamaica.com in a Master Villa Suite thanks to a free upgrade from Liberty Travel. We didn't do AI but it is an option. Rather, we dined on-site for 3 of our 5 dinners. We opted for the breakfast meal plan which was well worth it. Nothing quite like being served fresh squeezed OJ, bacon, sliced fruit and freshly baked bananna bread every morning--except that the cook reminded me of my grandmother...and she didn't mind swatting my hand when I tried to reach for the fruit and serve myself The other meals we ate in town so we could try some local fare (in between shopping sprees )

BeautifulFeet

We enjoyed the Sunset Beach.

Montego is not my favorite place. I enjoy exploring the back roads of other cities, Santo Domingo, Cozumel, etc. Not Montego.

taupo

Two heads up for SI. It is at the end of the MBJ runway. It is not on the beach. It is across from the beach. The beach is very small and facilities limited. Bearing budjet in mind, inquire about staying at SI but being able to use all the facilties of the other Sandals resorts, I think you can do this, they have a free shuttle.
Good luck

charles

Without suggesting a specific hotel, I find Negril (and the other regions of Jamaica) loads more interesting than Montego Bay. With the new highway between MBJ and Negril the car ride is only a little more than an hour......

MIKESILV

I used to drive the "old" highway under an hour. Yes it will get to Negril quicker but the new road elimates most of the beauty of the drive.
In my opinion the most interesting/ natural beauty of Jamaica it the north eastern section (St Mary/Portland) going east of Ocho Rios. Portland has a 180' deep Blue Hole, some interesting off-shore island, great scuba and lots of private houses and villas for rent, also good blue marlin fishing and the exciting raft trip down the Ri Grande. Suggest Dragon Bay Hotel as a nice alternative to the all-inclusives.
mike