April 2003
My wife and I stayed at Negril Cabins with our two year old daughter from April 6 to 13, 2003. We have traveled to Turks & Caicos, Grand Cayman, Bermuda, Cozumel, Cancun and this was our fifth visit to Jamaica. Although all of the other places have their certain features that can be considered better than those found in Jamaica, I think Jamaica is the best overall island vacation destination for it’s diversity of landscape, the people, the history and the food. We chose Negril Cabins for it’s small size, the location and the unique accommodations.
ACCOMODATION – The cabins are up on 8 foot stilts that are spread out around the property. The rooms are very clean and comfortable and the grounds are lush and peaceful. Each cabin has a large balcony that looks out over topical plants and palm trees. My wife and I spent every night out on the balcony with a bottle of wine after we put our daughter to bed and we enjoyed it very much. It was so peaceful that sometimes we felt as though we were the only ones staying at this resort even though it was near capacity. The chirping of the tree frogs added the perfect touch. The only downside was that we could occasionally hear the muffled ‘thud thud thud’ of bad music that was coming from the RIU resort across the road.
BEACH – The beach is on Bloody Bay and it is great – uncrowded, plenty of space and lots of loungers. The sand is soft and plentiful and it extends out into the water for as far as you would want to venture. The water is warm and shallow which was great for our daughter. There is a beach bar and grill that serves up pretty good food – jerk chicken, burgers, salad etc… Next to our section of beach is where a small group of locals have set up shop. They call it "The Office of Nature". We walked down the beach to see them a few times. They may look a little intimidating to some, but they are very friendly – my two year old daughter even got in on a game of dominoes. It is these people that make a trip to Jamaica worth while. They will serve you up fresh grilled seafood, cold Red Stripe and just about any other thing that you would expect to find in Jamaica.
POOL – The pool was closed for repair when we arrived. They said that all of the travel agents were warned well ahead of time but we didn’t hear anything about it until we got there. It seems that the tour operator was told about the pool but they did not relay this onto the travel agents. Negril Cabins made arrangements for their guests to use the pool at the RIU resort across the road with food and drink at no extra charge. This worked out fine. We also got to have a good look at this resort and decided we would never want to stay there. The pool was fine but the resort is just too big and loud with a very crowded beach. It was like Jamaica in a can – you know that you are in Jamaica but everything just seemed fabricated, as though you were at Disney’s Jamaicaland. This experience made us appreciate Negril Cabins even more. The pool repair was finished the day we left (on time I might add). The pool looked great as we were leaving and I was dying to have a drink at the swim-up bar – maybe next year.
FOOD – The food was good. Local dishes and others that had a definite european flare. This is probably due to the fact that the majority of the clientele were european.
STAFF – Very friendly and accommodating.
ENTERTAINMENT – They had live entertainment on 5 of the 7 nights that we were there. All of the entertainers were local musicians and it was very low key. This fit in perfectly with the quiet ambiance that Negril Cabins exudes.
EXCURSIONS – We went on the Black River and YS Falls tour. It was $65 US each including lunch (our daughter was free). This trip was well worth the money. The crocodiles in the Black River were huge. It is a 1 1/2 hour bus ride but the scenery is amazing.
This was, by far, the most relaxing holiday my wife and I have ever had. I highly recommend Negril Cabins. We are already dreaming about a return visit next year. Even though the pool was not available, Negril Cabins had a lot to offer.