As all kids know, there comes a time in every young life when it's unfathomably uncool to be seen with your parents...unless you and the units are down in Jamaica, and you're traveling for free, mon.
The Half Moon Resort has a new package, "Hangin' With the Rents," that lets your rugrat stay free, as long as he/she is under 18. There's also 50 percent off meal plans for kids aged 3 to 11.
This is a massive resort sitting on more than 400 acres, with endless stuff to do, either as a family or just for kids--from tennis courts and horse-back riding to close encounters of the third kind with dolphins at the Dolphin Lagoon.
There's free snorkeling, kayaking, and floatie things available, and tons of sailing lessons, parasailing, glass bottom boat tours, and scuba, if you want to pay extra.
Or just play along the beach, or in the three huge pools (the hotel actually has 51 pools but most are part of villas, suites or cottages...but still...)
Suites are as low as US$380; two- bedroom suites start at $1,060, and the imperial suites are $1,100.
If you're looking at a stay in Montego Bay in Jamaica, the Coyaba Beach Resort comes up tops according to TripAdvisor reviews, and there's a few reasons we like it too. First, it's pretty small--just 50 rooms--which means you can avoid that overcrowded, too-busy feel of many larger resorts. And despite the small size, guests report that Coyaba Beach isn't lacking anything:
All the facilities of a large resort without the crowds. If you want a rest - this is the place. Food was good in all the restaurants and the staff very friendly and helpful.
Each room has large French doors that lead out to your own balcony, overlooking either the gardens or the ocean. There are three restaurants and bars on site, some casual and some finer, and the resort usually holds Seafood Night and Native Night (Jamaican cuisine) on two nights during the week.
Winter season rates run until April 15, and range from US$320 per night for the Garden Deluxe room through to $420 for an Ocean Junior Suite. You can add various meal packages to that or get all inclusive for an extra $115 per person, which includes all meals, all bar drinks and some of the sports facilities too.
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven NatalieWW visits Jamaica...in her mind. Enjoy.
While half the country is in the icy grip of a pre-White Christmas winter storm, I am sitting in my windowless cubicle dreaming of Jamaica. Specifically, the Rockhouse Hotel on the western most tip of Negril.
Nestled along the rocky cliffs of a pristine cove, the Rockhouse Hotel is the kind of mythical tropical oasis that lulls sensible folks into leave everything behind for. If transported for only a weekend, I would get a cliff-edge massage, visit the award-winning restaurant in my bare feet, and listen to the surf crash while I scanned the horizon for dolphins.
From the thatched roof octagonal rock villa to the live reggae music playing on the patio, to what most people say are the best sunsets in Jamaica, this could be the perfect cure for the winter blues. And at rates from $95 to $395, the Rockhouse is a dream that could realistically become a reality.
Jamaica has already been in the path of a hurricane this season, getting the island all over the news, which means hotel deals there are now coming out at a gale force pace to lure travelers back.
Half Moon Bay Resort is offering up special fall deals through October 31. This popular resort in Montego Bay offers a dolphin lagoon, golf course, equestrian center, tennis, and a variety of water sports over 400 beachfront acres.
The rates for two start at $149 a night for a standard, $179 for a deluxe, and $349 to $599 for the various one-bedroom suites. These include use of tennis courts and fitness center, managers cocktail party, kayaks, and more.
Children 3-12 sharing a room with two adults are free with a maximum of two children per room. The voucher code for Fall Break is HMFB07. To book call 1-800-626-0592 or visit www.halfmoon.com. (Note that it is still hurricane season throughout the length of this promotion, so you may want to get trip cancellation insurance.)
[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same destination and decide which one most deserves your hard-earned benjamins. Rates quotes here were captured August 7, 2007 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]
It always gets our attention when we see a Ritz-Carlton resort offering rooms at a bargain price and this Jamaica deal is worth getting excited about.
Stay between now and November 20 and get a room at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall for $199 to $249 a night.
The lowest $199 rate is for a "garden view" room, so you'll have to take it up a notch to $249 to see the water. (Or just hang out at the water all day instead.)
You can expect the full Ritz rundown in the large 44.5 square meters/480 square feet rooms: CD player. marble bathroom with separate tub and shower, twin-sink vanity, and nice bathrobes.
We were able to plug in all kinds of dates and get this deal, both on Expedia and the hotel's own site, but there are blackouts on Aug. 9, 10, Oct. 23-28, and Nov. 4-9.
And if you have a new passport, you get another bonus. Here's what we found on the Expedia page: "Book a three or five-night minimum stay now - December 10, 2007 and receive either a US$100 or US$200 resort credit when you show your 2007 issued passport at check-in." (The $200 one is if staying five nights or more.)
Maybe that will make up for the 13 percent gouging charge, er...we mean "resort fee," you'll also have to cough up.
Also we gotta lay down our standard caveat here too - there's the usual Caribbean hurricane risk this time of year so get trip cancellation insurance.
[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same destination and decide which one most deserves your hard-earned benjamins. Rates quoted here were captured on August 7, 2007 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]
Sometimes paying half the price for a hotel room will get you far less than half the quality. In Jamaica you could pay $249 (plus a resort fee) for an ocean view room at the Ritz-Carlton (this week's Good Rate) or pay $140 a night for an ocean view room at a dump.
The latter would be the Beachcomber Club & Spa in Negril. At one time this hotel might have lived up to its billing as "The Jewel of Negril" not to mention it actually might have had a spa on the premises but no more.
Just read this catchline on the website of the Rockhouse Hotel and you really, really want to stay there:
In a house, on a rock, in a bay, on a reef, on an island, in Jamaica.
What better place to spend a relaxing holiday or a romantic long weekend. Despite being close to the big party town of Negril, its location makes is a secret hideaway; yet it's such good value that Budget Travel just listed it as one of the best "secret stays" of Jamaica.
Depending on how far your budget stretches, you can choose from a standard room with garden views, a studio with sea views or a unit right on the edge of the cliff with (obviously) spectacular views. All mod-cons like air-con, a safe and mosquito netting around the bed are included in each room type. The cheapest start at $100, although depending on the season many rooms can be up around the $300 mark.
Making the transition from a romantic couple to being parents is a real shocker when it comes time to take a vacation. Instead of the old vacation habits--sleeping late, lazing around on the beach, spending a day sightseeing--you're suddenly dealing with early rising, a stroller, and someone with a very short attention span.
So we're surprised more resorts haven't caught on to the heavenly (for parents) situation at Franklyn D. Resort and Spa in Jamaica, where a "vacation nanny" lets you get back to being a couple at least part of the time. This is no ordinary kids' club like you find at most big resorts. One dedicated staff person is at your service from 9:00 in the morning to 4:40 in the afternoon. For only $4 an hour you can have her babysit at night so you can have a dinner that doesn't involve chicken nuggets or a sippie cup.
There are 76 suites and the place is 45 minutes from busy Montego Bay, so it's not some sprawling mega-hotel where you get lost trying to find your room. The staff-to-guest ratio of 1:1 puts most other resorts in the Caribbean to shame. The stretch of beach is not huge, but most guests seem ready to overlook that: the hotel is the #1 rated one on TripAdvisor for Jamaica, out of close to 300 listings. A sister property, FDR Pebbles, is 30 minutes east of Montego Bay and has the same vacation nanny set-up.
We like the "no fine print hurricane policy" at this resort and here's something you don't see often at a beach resort: free wi-fi.
Published rates for the all-suite accommodations are $280 to $335 per person all-inclusive (kids 6 and under are free). Sometimes you can find empty spots available for bidding on Skyauction.com. The activities list of what's included is a long one, with tennis lessons, guided kayaking, glass-bottom boat tours, and of course a slew of diversions for the kids.
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by annie0007
