STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

member · Hermes

Jamaica

JoceyBaby23 · Gucci

Jamaica, from what I hear is pretty beautiful.. But VERY dangerous.

I have heard that staying on the resort property is fine and can be fun, but it gets very dangerous, even if you just have to cross a public street to get to the beach or something.

My dad, who is a tough guy, went to Jamaica a few years ago.. and was pressured into buying a ton of crap: trickets, straw hats, just junk. The people who live there make a living on "forcing" people to buy their wares. (I think he came home with 7 straw hats, one for each day he was there.) The Jamaican men there were VERY threatening and my dad actually said he feared for his life if he didnt give into the vendors, give them money and buy their junk.

He did say the resorts are beautiful but Do NOT step foot off of them, because you never know what could happen.

I don't think I would ever go there for fear that I could not comfortably walk down the street on that island.

Elle · Hermes

I agree with everything Jocey said! If you are planning to go and stay in a resort and not leave the property - Jamaica would be great! Otherwise choose somewhere else, definitely!

We went last fall, and it truly was scary. You have to make sure the 'taxis' have the official license plate (so imposters don't kidnap you or demand that you pay them $100 for the ride, etc). Even our 'official' taxi drivers offered us drugs that I'd never even heard of . Some guy grabbed us and tied bracelets around our wrists while we were shopping, and then demanded to be payed even after we said we didn't want them, so we had to struggle to untie these bracelets while he stood there and yelled at us. The cruise ship also warned us not to wander onto any side streets, because you WILL be mugged.

It was just all-around scary. Not really my idea of a fun time, since you had to be constantly on the lookout for someone who was trying to 'get' you.

member · Hermes

My BF went a few years ago and said the same thing - that you pretty much have to stick to your resort otherwise it's scary. I think we'd be fine since he's been there before. We'd plan on staying around our resort anyhow.

LMonet - what island did you go to? We were looking at Montego Bay...also what resort did you stay at, etc? Any details you could give me would be great

Elle · Hermes

shopchicago33 wrote:

LMonet - what island did you go to? We were looking at Montego Bay...also what resort did you stay at, etc? Any details you could give me would be great

We actually went on a cruise and were diverted to Montego Bay as a port because of the hurricanes.

.

NCshopper · Hermes

One of my friends is getting married here in June of next year and we're going. She and her fiance went over the summer to check the place out and they LOVED it. http://www.rockhousehotel.com/

laken1 · Hermes

I went several years ago & we stayed in Ocho Rios - it was about a 2 hour drive from the airport, but definately worth it because of the apparent danger in Montego Bay. We went off the resort several times and never felt that our lives were in danger. Yes, the vendors are very pushy & yes we were offered drugs, but they went away with a few no's. We stayed at this resort & it was LOVELY!!!! Private pool, your own villa, etc. But it wasn't the best deal by any means. You can stay in the "hotel" for less money. Also, when we went Sandals hadn't taken it over yet, so it may be different, but it was GORGEOUS! I loved it & would go back in a second. But I wouldn't stay in Montego Bay under any circumstance.

http://www.sandals.com/main/ochorios/or-home.cfm

BTW, I think that hotel that NCShopper linked to was in How Stella Got her Groove Back

Editted because I keep linking you to my VW Beetle picture for some reason! Operator error no doubt

-- Edited by laken1 at 17:40, 2005-11-03

member · Hermes

I'm having trouble finding any good deals to Jamaica for December. Do you guys think prices would be better if we went in Jan/Feb. or late April/May?

laken1 · Hermes

Now that you say that, i remember that december is the height of their tourist season. Also I wonder if they got some hurricane damage? Seems like Rita was settled near there for a few days?

sfcaligirl · Dooney & Bourke

laken1 wrote:

I went several years ago & we stayed in Ocho Rios - it was about a 2 hour drive from the airport, but definately worth it because of the apparent danger in Montego Bay. We went off the resort several times and never felt that our lives were in danger. Yes, the vendors are very pushy & yes we were offered drugs, but they went away with a few no's.

i went to jamaica in college with my family and we spent most of our time on our resort. we did leave to go to ocho rios (there are beautiful waterfalls nearby, which unfortunately have become a tourist trap). there were a lot of overeager street vendors and some sketchy characters selling weed, but i never once felt like we were in any danger whatsoever.

jamaica is really beautiful- i think you should go. maybe just stay away from montego bay?

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

LMonet wrote:

I Some guy grabbed us and tied bracelets around our wrists while we were shopping, and then demanded to be payed even after we said we didn't want them, so we had to struggle to untie these bracelets while he stood there and yelled at us.

LMonet! The same thing happened to me in Mexico and it was really quite frightening!

jj · Kate Spade

shopchicago33 wrote:

I'm having trouble finding any good deals to Jamaica for December. Do you guys think prices would be better if we went in Jan/Feb. or late April/May?

It will probably be expensive through April - prices in the Caribbean/Mexico usually drop in May.

kisa · Dooney & Bourke

The last week of March is always cheap to the carribean. My parents go every year, booking last minute. First week of November, and last week of March.

needsfashionadvice · Kate Spade

My dad lived in Jamaica for about 10 years so I visited a lot of times. He lived in Mandeville which is not near a beach but when we did go to the beach on weekends we always went to Negril. I never felt in any danger although I haven't been in about 4 years so it may be worse now. Negril is beautiful and in my experience the people were really friendly. If you stay in a resort on the beach, there are beach concerts going on every night which are really nice. People definitely will try and sell you stuff though. I never had a problem just telling them "No thanks" and they'd leave me alone. Negril isn't generally as touristy as some of the other places. Last time I was there, Negril has absolutely no American restaurant chains, just really good Jamaica restaurants (very affordable too). I never stayed in an all inclusive resort, so we always went out for our meals, even walked around the streets and stuff and never felt in danger. If you go to Negril, you have to eat at Sweet Spice, it's a little hole in the wall place but the food is so good. Also there's a man that rides a bike around town all day selling Conch soup, get some if you see him, or order some in a restaurant if you see it on the menu, it's really good too.

I've heard that Kingston is a really dangerous place but I doubt you'd wanna go there anyway.

Have fun if you decide to go!

halah · Kenneth Cole

I stayed at Super Clubs Grand Lido Braco Jan 1999 the week after new years (we got a great deal because it was slow right after new years). I loved it. Things are a little sketchy off the resort but we did two trips (site seeing/shopping and to dunn river falls) they were well guided and we were with a group so I felt safe the whole time. I feel that if you are going to visit another country you should try to get off the resort once to visit some other areas it's very interesting and worth the experience just make sure you're with a group or a guide if you want to feel safer.

As for deals I started out searching online then found a travel agency that advertised exclusive deals at this resort. I priced out a trip with the agency and on my own online. The agency ended up being a better deal because they could get room upgrades and other extras. It doesn't hurt to price it out with a couple of different agencies and online venues.

Good luck and have fun I'm jealous, I want to go back!