Pictures of Flowers in Jamaica

A few pictures of flowers taken in the gardens at the Jamaica Jewel guest house in Duncan’s Bay.

Mango Tree Negril Review

Location: The Mango Tree Resort is located between the middle of Negril (rotary) and the cliff area on Negril Jamaica.  Everything you need from food to groceries to nightlife is only a 5-30 minute walk away or a $1.00 taxi ride away. The Mango Tree Resort is located at the end of a road off of the West End road so while it’s just a 2 minute walk to the main road, it’s like being in a private jungle way from the noise and street traffic.

Booking a room at The Mango Tree Resort: Like many of the other places that I stay at in Jamaica, the booking process is casual but they treat a booking like a piece of gold so don’t worry about the casual part.

Checking in at Mango Tree: Simple!  Here’s my reservation details, here’s my cash, show me my room.  Since the resort only has a few rooms I did a self tour of the lodging area and the really nice garden areas that makeup 90+% of the property.

Room quality: Basic….very basic.  Since I’m use to having nicer rooms when I review a resort and the Mango Tree Resort has really nice rooms, I was sort of put off by getting a 6×9 prison cell to review when the other rooms were empty.  I can’t really say much about the room other than it was maybe 10′ wide by 15′ long with a bed, a table, a fan, a light and that’s about it.  For me and other budget travelers the room is perfect, but the resort offers really nice rooms that I can’t review in this review since I did not see them.   A note to resorts that have travel agents or random people like me who blog about our travels, put people that do on-line reviews that will show up on page #1 of Google in your best rooms!

The bathroom is was a 30′ walk away from my room and the shower was a 200′ walk away in the other direction but the walks didn’t bother me.  The shower area, bathroom area and my bedroom were all nice and clean so no complaints on my end.

Staff: Hedley, the on site groundskeeper, security, house keeping, and a dozen other titles did an excellent job doing all of his tasks.  Hedley’s personality and charm was without a doubt one of the only reasons why I would return to the resort.

Food: N/A, since one of my favorite places to eat in Negril (Miyard) was only 200 yards away I went there for most of my meals.  I’m not even sure if the Mango Tree offers meals but I give thanks to Hedley for letting me use his refrig to keep my beer and mixer cold!

Security: I felt about 95% safe since Hedley was always around and I was staying in one of the lowest room types in the country.

Overall Rating of The Mango Tree Resort: ” A nice budget place that has so much potential”.  While the grounds are really well kept, little stuff like an empty swimming pool and unfinished projects (dreams that were never finished) keep me from suggesting the resort to anyone except budget travelers that can strike a good deal with the resort.  Without Hedley being there I would of left when I checked in, nothing negative but then again nothing really positive to say.

Contact Information for The Mango Tree Resort:
Website: Mango Tree Resort

Facebook Page: The Mango Tree Resort on Facebook

Other Contact Info:  Email: Allan Fitzgerald afitzgerald@sympatico.ca Ed Rebane pirate_hideaway@yahoo.com 876 872 6260 In Jamaica, Call Hedly…876 275-6617

Added note Nov 2011, due to the comments here and on facebook by the current owner of the Mango tree Resort, I will not suggest it to anyone.  You can draw you own conclusions…book if you wish but I can not currently say it’s a place I would recommend.   In the same area Miyard and several other places offer cheap lodging and their owners have a professional image on the internet.  If and when the Mango Tree Resort is sold (hopefully soon) I will edit this listing.  Check out www.miyard.com for cheap rooms, great vibes, excellent food and a place that I’ve enjoyed for years.

Coral Cottage Review

Coral Cottage Oceanfront Villa in Little Bay Jamaica

Location: Coral Cottage is located about 25 minutes south of Negril Jamaica and a little under 2 hours from the Montego Bay international airport.  Set back about 100 yards from the ocean in a tropical garden, it’s truly defines the word paradise.

Booking a room at Coral Cottage: Booking a room was very easy, I sent an e-mail and within hours my stay at Coral Cottages was booked.  They also have a reservations page on their website but since I had talked to them back and forth by e-mail it was an easy solution for me.

Checking in at Coral Cottage: The check in process was quick and easy.  I got a 10 or so minute tour of the grounds, the common areas (giant full kitchen and dining area) and my room.  Once I paid for my  room  and deposit for the room key  I was checked in.  Generally I’m in favor of a really quick check in but in this case a brief tour was needed or I would of been lost not knowing everything the resort offers.

Room quality: Without a doubt, Coral Cottages is the nicest place I have stayed at in Jamaica and I’ve stayed at many places!  Everything from the fancy furniture to the lovely decorations is right in line with what a luxury resort should offer.  This is the type of place that I would suggest to picky travelers that want to get away from the big resorts.

Staff: Richie and Teresa were both very nice.  Since I wanted to eat the local food, explore Little Bay and do my own thing they didn’t see much of me.

Food: N/A, I didn’t eat there.

Security: Everyone in the village knows each other and nobody is out to mess with tourists or Richie’s guest so I was not concerned about my own safety or securing my belongings.  The same goes for the village, I walked all over the place exchanging greetings and small talk with people and EVERYONE was extremely friendly.

Overall Rating of the Coral Cottage: Too nice!  This is the type of place I would go for a honeymoon or to impress a special person.  This is also the only place that I have ever stayed at in Jamaica that is “finished”, as in all of the construction is done, the check lists are complete and everything is fine tuned.  It’s really shocking that the Coral Cottage can deliver so much for very inexpensive room rates.  Their commitment to being “green” was impressive as well, from the dual flush toilets and other plumbing to the use of natural products, they really get a thumbs up in my book of being green!

Another cool thing about the resort is that it’s located off the beaten path and their are all sorts of cool things to see around it.  A few minutes down the road you can swim in Bob Marley’s mineral water bath or view what remains of his summer home.  A 5 minute walk will bring you to a bat cave that is so large you could park a good sized plane in it.  A 10 minute route taxi drive away is the Blue Hole which offers diving and swimming in a 25′ deep hole in the earth or in their heated mineral water above ground pool.  A 10 minute taxi drive in the other direction will bring you Farmer Debbie’s farm where you can take a tour.  I can go on and on….. better yet, go and enjoy the Coral Cottage and all that the town of Little Bay has to offer.

Contact Information for Coral Cottage:
Website: Coral Cottage Little Bay Jamaica <– click to view the Coral Cottage Website.

Facebook:  Coral Cottage on Facebook

Phone contact:

806-898-3826 – Marsha – USA
876-420-4722 – Richie – Jamaica

Prince Valley Guest House Review

Prince Valley Guest House in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica

Location: Prince Valley Guest House is a little over an hour above Kingston in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. While it’s in a remote location, bars and places to eat are well within walking distance (2-5 minutes) and the city is only a cheap $2 route taxi fare (each way) away. It’s sort of the best of both worlds, you get the feeling that you are in the middle of nowhere but everything you need is at your fingertips.

Booking a room at Prince Valley: It was a pretty easy process, I contacted them through either Facebook or their website and got a response the same day.

Checking in at Prince Valley: Casual! It was more like staying with family, here’s your room, here’s your key and the check in process is complete. After experiencing less than pleasant check in experiences at other places (Rooms on the Beach Ochi) I love casual check in’s that doesn’t take days to complete.

Room quality: The rooms are very nice in my opinion, while not fancy they are not in need of any repairs or updates. When I say “not fancy”, I don’t mean the are plain and boring! Jackie and Bobby have painted and decorated the rooms in a fashion that would let a blind person know that the hands of an artist has touched the place. Currently, the two rooms have 3 beds, a couch, a hammock and a shared bathroom. Note- the rooms are attached (you have to walk through the room with the small bed to get into the larger bedroom).

Staff: While everyone of my reviews rates the “staff”, the term really doesn’t apply to my experiences at Prince Valley. Bobby, one of the owners is quick to size up how much you want to interact with him. If you want to be left alone you will hardly see him, if you want someone to chat with or someone to show you around he will be there. I guess this sort of defines a “guest house” and not a motel, hotel or Holiday Inn.

Food: Prince Valley wants their guests to explore the village of Settlement (2-5 minute walk up the road) and RedLight (20 minute walk) for their food and bar needs so they don’t formally offer either on site. In a way it’s more of a meet the culture type of lodging experience than a never leave the compound experience like at the jails….I mean all inclusive resorts. With that said, Bobbie cooked a great dinner that he shared with me!

Security: I felt 100% safe both at the guest house and in the village. When I left the guesthouse to explore I didn’t feel the need to hide my stuff or even lock my door.

Overall Rating of the Prince Valley Guest House: I was really impressed with the interior art decorations and the flower gardens that are all over the place. Everything was in perfect working order and I would stay there even if the price was double it’s current rate (way too cheap in my opinion). The people in the community around the guest house are really warm and welcoming, everyone will exchange greetings with you, chat if they have the time and they don’t treat you like a tourist in a resort town (that’s a good thing if you have never been to the island)!

Contact Information for Prince Valley Guest House:
Website: Prince Valley Guest house

Facebook Page: Prince Valley Guest House on Facebook

Robert Williams –Owner
Jamaican Cell Phone:
1-876-892-2365

Email:
jaqdes@netstep.net