Jamaica...Meh.

Returned from 5 days in Jamaica on Sunday evening.  I give Jamaica 3 stars out of 5.  It was pretty and the locals were some of the friendliest people we have ever met in the Caribbean but I still prefer the Virgin Islands over Jamaica.

The trip started out great.  We had an early flight to Miami on Tuesday morning and given that this is one of the busiest travel weeks I didn't expect to get any upgrades as requested.   We were actually upgraded to first class on both legs of our flight so that was a nice surprise!  After a short delay, we made it to Miami and settled into the Admiral's Club for a beer and Bloody Mary during our 2 hour layover.  Always a great way to get a vacation started.

Admirals Club Beverages

Our flight to Jamaica was on time and we breezed through customs in about 15 minutes flat.  We met our driver outside customs and waited at the outdoor airport bar with our first Red Stripes while he went to pull the car around.  This is when we were first approached to buy a certain illegal substance.  We poiltely declined.  He pestered us a little more by asking us if we "like to party" and why we didn't "want to party" so I finally just told him that we were old and had no interest in "partying" and he finally got the hint.  It was pretty much like this the whole rest of the trip - everywhere you went, you would be approached to buy something green so you could "party."  I'm really not judgmental about other people using it but no thanks.  It doesn't interest either of us.  As I like to say, I graduated college over 15 years ago so I am over that holding any allure for me.

It was a looooong drive from Montego Bay to Negril along a very bumpy and windy road.  I got a little motion sickness at one point but was fine.  We ended up sharing the van with another Dallas couple going to the same resort.  They were...kind of strange.  Not very friendly or talkative at all.  Even more annoying, after we arrived at the hotel, they jumped out of the car and ran off without tipping the driver.  SO rude!!  We saw them later in the week, enjoying said "party" substance on the balcony of their room and acting like weirdos.  Nice.

Sorry - having issues getting the picture the right direction

Anyway, Negril was very beautiful and the sunsets there are amazing as you are on the west side of the island.  The resort, The Caves, was fine but didn't blow me away.  The views from the cliffs were great but I really prefer a beach.  I am also terrified of heights and you have to jump off said cliffs to get into the ocean and that was not my cup of tea.  My highest jump was about 10 feet and I stubbed my toe on the swim ladder on takeoff so I was pretty much done with cliff jumping after that.  Not that it mattered b/c the next two days the water was so rough that no one could swim in the ocean.

Not me and no thanks.  Too high.  This is a photo from the actual resort, though.

After 3 days in Negril, we were off to Montego Bay and the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Ritz Carlton Pool

The hotel itself was gorgeous.  Beautiful common areas, great ocean views and really friendly staff.  We were also given a fantastic ocean front suite that was huge!  We had two full bathrooms, a huge living room, two balconies, a walk-in closet and a massive bedroom with king bed.   The biggest disappointment was the beach and the pool.  Yes, the pool looks nice (see above picture) but it was the only pool for a 500 room hotel that was almost at capacity.  This is one of those places where annoying, selfish people will get up at 6am and put their towels on chairs by the pool to "save a spot" and then not show up until 10 or 11am.  I hate that and think it's rude. I won't do it myself so each morning, by the time we rolled out to the pool around 9 or 10am, every spot was taken or "saved."   Steve wanted to just move people's "saving" towels but I told him it wasn't worth having a scene with someone an hour or two later.  Some people just have no manners.  The beach was super rocky and with rough waves so you really couldn't swim in it.  Oh well.

Our first night was wonderful.  We relaxed on our balcony, walked down the beach and hung out on some chaise lounges that afternoon.  We then each got a nice hot shower (our 1st one in 3 days as The Caves had hot water and water pressure issues in our room) and took a shuttle bus to The White Witch Restaurant located on a huge hill above a golf course.  It's also where the Rose Hall Plantation House is located and that is one eerie looking place lit up at night.  It's supposedly haunted and they do ghost tours.

Rose Hall Plantation House

White Witch Restaurant View

The White Witch restaurant was amazing.  I had a great crab cake appetizer and Steve had a goat cheese terrine appetizer and we each had steaks for our entrees.  We also had a nice bottle of wine - something else we couldn't get at The Caves.  It was pricey but worth every penny and it was the best meal we had in Jamaica.

Overall, the Ritz was nice but it was a little too sanitized for us.  We almost wanted something that wasn't quite as rustic as The Caves but not as pristine as the Ritz Carlton.  It seemed that most of the resorts in Jamaica cater to either families or the all-inclusive crowd that never wants to leave their resort.    We ended up hiring a cab driver for half a day and he took us to Scotchies, a very rustic restaurant known for its traditional jerk BBQ.  Scotchies was definitely my second favorite meal - the jerk chicken was juicy and had a wonderful smoky flavor.  The jerk hot sauce which they gave is in a squeeze bottle would put hair on your chest - it was SO hot and we love spicy being from Texas.

Scotchie's  Jerk BBQ

We also spent some time in an area of Mo'Bay called The Hip Strip.  It's not much a strip and it's definitely not hip unless you consider junk store after junk store to be hip.  Margaritaville is also located there but it was closed for renovation, which was disappointing as we are Jimmy B fans and we actually kind of like his corny island schtick.  We paid (yes, paid) to go into the area's best beach called Doctor's Cave Beach.  It was a nice beach but by the time you pay admission, get an umbrella and two chairs, you have spent almost $40 before even sitting down.  Seemed like a bit of a ripoff if you ask me.

The trip home was uneventful.  We didn't get upgraded but we did have a direct flight from Montego Bay to DFW, we left on time and were through customs and on our way home by 7:00pm.

So, overall, I would go back to Jamaica and try a different area, like maybe Port Antonio or Ocho Rios.  I'm definitely not clamoring to go back and would rather return to the Virgin Islands or perhaps try some other islands instead.  I still have so many places in the Caribbean to visit -- St. Lucia, Anguilla, Antigua, Nevis, Grenada, St. Martin and St. Barts are all on my list.

Over New Years we will be spending a week on St. Croix with some friends.  It's our first time to St. Croix and our last Virgin Island to hit.  Can't wait.....