all inclusive is great...just cant get myself to like ht pay so much...and because of so much family and friends in ja is not a good option for me as i would feel like im wastng my money as i wouldnt be there much other than to sleep

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Yeah I hear that.......

..........and if you stayed AI I couldnt imagine you being restricted at all

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I have to agree with Teach about the son thing. Some of my BEST Ja memories are the trip I took my son, and we're gearing up for a reunion trip almost 7 years later in January. He wants to come back.

The first time I went with him we stayed in the littlest rustic wood cabins though, no resort for us. He loved it but in his ripe old age now he's a little more finicky so I'd probably book them in at Rooms or something. His girlfriend wants beach.

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I don't like the atmosphere of resorts. I mean the all inclusive is great..and for some perhaps cheaper. But for me...I love guests houses..the atmosphere. I love seeing the daily bussel of every day life all around me....to hear regular noises at night of cars and people and music....to come and go as I please without the security of resorts. I love the new things I see, and people I meet because the guest house we stay at is in a local residential area! I find hidden bars/clubs, local spots etc because people while they still may treat you as rich foreigners....are more inclinded to show you things because you stay local and they assume your genuinely interested..which we are.. and they know your not just looking for directions to marguritaville!

Now on the flip side...resorts have many benefits and not everyone who stays at them is " just looking for directions to tourist night at marguritaville". Many Jamaicans who are visiting home...or people who love Jamaica stay there...and they may be just as adventurous and unhabitited as those staying in a guest house. Its nice to not have to worry about anything on vacation and to know its all covered even if you spend all your money!

However for me..the atmosphere is different and I prefer the amazing atmosphere of the local guest houses. To me its a totally different experience!

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Yeah I do love a good guest house as long as its comfortable, I have stayed at a few in JA, Hanover, St Thomas and Manderville and all were quaint and had really nice cosy feel to it.

As for getting out and about in JA, I have no problem, neither do I have a problem mingling with my people, I find that I am just accepted for who I am, that has more to do with how I behave and how I treat people, if you behave like a rich foreigner odds are you'll get treated as such and some people do go to JA and behave that way and then complain about their experience.

I accept though that if you have no obvious roots in JA, your experience will be different in many ways to mine, particularly if you are staying at a resort. However I am home when in JA and although some folk who don't know me may at first try to treat me like a tourist LOL that really does not last very long, i'm very forth right and wont hesitate to remind them that I am HOME and the place from which I came have no streets paved in gold, the speed of the patwah in which they are told combined with genuine humour is enough to stop them DEAD in their tracks "bwoy yuh nuh easy" is the usual response, followed by much laughter....then they know who I am and all is good.

The hunger for cultural experiences is more important I think to people who are not of Jamaican origin or those who are but are not surounded by the same where they live, therefore its something new to seek out, and so it should be! that is an important part of a good holiday IMO. Its not such a biggie for me though as I was raised to maintain my roots and culture its nothing new when being in JA the best part for me is the beautiful sights, magical places and the fact that there I am not any "ethnic minority" anything, I'm in the majority with my peeps and that gives me the biggest buzz ever

What has your experience of resorts in JA been like, did it restrict what you wanted to do?

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yes... 3500 feet above kingston, the views are breathtaking...

i'm not a beach person tho, so the mountains are my paradise sand just gets places it need not be!

we cheated at strawberry hill b/c we did the "local rate" thing (it's only bed and breakfast) and it's not a true full service AI, but rather just food/drinks included...)

it was truly a phenomenal experience tho... and we got some really nice chinese food from papine just about every day

Strawberry Hill official site - Luxury Mountain Spa in Jamaica





lol... and chicken and rooster and pig and dog and goat and... my gwad, the night doesn't shut up! resorts are nice and quiet...



IMO the best of both worlds is staying at an AI and having a car to get around... we laze when we want and go when we want... this is the way we've done it and it's been perfect

i love the ones like daydreams and such... they keep from about 2 til 8 or 9...

everyone gets warmed up, relaxing, getting the drinks flowing during the day hours, and things start to get crazy as the sun sets..

those are AI parties, but not on AI resorts...

OMG it looks AWESOME......... yes mi can do wid out di beach fah a little of dat WOW.

For real LOL not really something I miss at all

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I looked.....don't check because you don't wanna know...lets just say I would have to sell the cow the goat and couple chickens just to pay fi one night!

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Well I am yet to drive in JA but I love being driven, so I 100% agree with you about the best of both worlds, maybe its the none AI thats restrictive hey

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strawberry hill is on my list for this trip...

i love driving there.... love the windy roads

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hahaha yeah, it was a bit of a treat for us... and the "local" rate is only half the rack rate....

but it's all relative, this place can go as high as 10k US... A NIGHT...

Rio Chico Ocho Rios Luxury villa, Jamaica Luxury Villa rentals, Villas in Jamaica, beachfront villas in Jamaica, Jamaica Rentals, Vacation villas in Jamaica

How much HT tell mi nuh........Chelby yuh ah money gyal......an Sking.......yuh single Bro?

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those roads are phenomenal... i think gustav tore them up a bit since i was last up there, but hopefully they're fixed up... maybe they even managed to patch up some stuff that was bad pre-storm...

ahh jamaican... only place i ever been with potholes on bridges...