Jamaica Hotel

Hi all,
Managed to bag two PE rewards for next April, using CC vouchers in reward recent sale.
First time to Jamaica, does anyone have any recommendations for hotel? Best area to stay?

It depends what you want to do. If you want to take trips out (Dunns River; rafting on the Martha Brae etc) then you are better to be near Ocho Rios. We have stayed at Couples Sans Souci there and enjoyed it. Our friends stayed at Jamaica Inn which they highly recommend. However, the sea on the north coast can be choppy, so if you want calm, shallow, warm water and a white sandy beach then Negril is the place to be. We have stayed at the two Couples resorts there (Swept Away and Negril) and had a great time at each. Of course, the Couples hotels only work if you are a couple! I hope this is of some help.

I know it's too late now but I've found with Jamaica that the best value is booking flights and hotels together with, for example, VH (even a spend miles trip in UC I looked at 2 years ago, just pay taxes, then book hotel seperately worked out cheaper without spending any miles on VH using FC Gold 10% discount).

Things may have changed but in past years I got worst prices on Carib hotels' own websites as targetted at US short break market, best prices in general from the likes of booking, ebookers, and hotels websites BUT best deal I got was wiol (West Indies Online) where we got a great villa in Jamaica one year and St Martin another year.

I've stayed at Secrets in Montego Bay several times - very expensive (but really luxurious, even room service included) but got a great deal with VH and BA at time we went - but definitely preferred the St James end rather than the Wild Orchid end (Wild Orchid noisy as alongside shared bars/restaurants plus the balcony lights don't work).

If you want simple, friendly, cheap and no resort hassles have a look at Half Moon Beach at Green Island, around total US$50-85 per night for two adults - great private beach with trips out to the island and great local food at very reasonable prices - can book on their website (which does actually offer these good prices unlike other hotel own sites). Even if you don't stay there it's definitely a great stopping off point for a tasty lobster lunch at great price!

Stayed once at the Gloucestershire Hotel in Montego bay but found the central Montego Bay location just too noisy and beach areas very limited so I would not recommend the central area hotels there.

Many congrats on bagging the tickets, though, it will be fabulous in April - thoroughly enjoyed trips there in November, March and April in previous years with maximum of 1 hour rain during any day and totally clear & sunny on more than half of the days.

Like TimCrawley we have stayed at Secrets Wild Orchid (March 2014) & thought it very good, we stayed on the Club of the hotel (thats not what it is called but cant remember what they call it), much quieter area of the hotel with lovely beach & pool.


oldboy

We stayed at the Cocolapam in Negril, its a lovely long beach, and a separate tourist area. We choose that lovely place because we didn't want all inclusive, and wanted to eat local (fly all the way to Jamaica and don't eat the food, might as well be in spain?) Middle of the big beach there.

It did cost me 80 quid a night for that, but looking on hotels.com for a random week next year its much more expensive. Might be worth checking regularly. We did go low season too...

Negril is about an hour by car away from Montego Bay.

Thanks everyone, will have a good look at your recommendations this weekend, maybe book somewhere with a refundable rate and keep looking for the rates to go down!

Id suggest Couples swept away in Negril, we are going back there end of november and its fantastic. Negril is far nicer than Mo bay which imo is a bit of a dump these days.

Id also recommend the YS falls instead on Dunns river falls, its so much more fum and beautiful.