Montego Bay, Jamaica

Timea S

Lodging Option 1: Round Hill Hotel & Villas

    One ocean-front room at the Round Hill Hotel costs $620 a night. A 6 nights and 7 days stay, per room, costs $3,720. So two rooms for 7 days and 6 nights costs $7,440.      This beautiful ocean-front room comes with a king size bed, a comfy, thick matress, white drapes and white upholstered lounge chairs by Ralph Lauren to match. There is also a radio with a CD player. The bathroom comes with two sinks, a fairly sized bathtub, and a seperate rain shower.     The location of the Round Hill Hotel can be seen clearly through the windows. It is a remote little place that has been built to beautiful perfrection. The hotel provides a lunch and breakfast buffet and luxurious candlelit dinners. There is an on location spa and the beach is practically at your feet.

Round Hill Hotels & Villas Review     All of the reviews for Round Hill that I read were written by very satisfied customers, who say they were treated as if they were royalty during their stay. I decided to share this particular review with you because even though the woman seemed like a happy customer, she also mentioned the minor negative details of her stay at the hotel, which makes her review sound more realistic.  

      "Great- but could be better"    We returned two days ago from a one week stay in an oceanfront room in the Pineapple House at Round Hill. I have been going to Jamaica since 1965 and in recent years have stayed at all of the deluxe properties in the Montego Bay area.Round Hill truly brought me back to the "Old Jamaica" of my childhood, with it's intimate "clubby" feel. The property is beautiful, and the staff friendly and courteous. The high points of the week were the Monday night beach barbecue, and the Friday night Jamaican buffet with limbo, fire dancing, etc. We found the dining very good and reasonably priced compared to other places we've stayed in the Caribbean.   

Round Hill Hotels & Villas Review Cont.A few of the things we did not like -I had contacted the property several times over the months prior to our stay, and had requested a first floor room with balcony (as opposed to a second floor with only a window). Upon check-in I was told that a balcony room was not available until the next day, even the property was empty. After being very disappointed by this news, my husband handed over a nice bit of money to one of the employees, and guess what? A first floor balcony room was available! As it was the last week before the holiday season was beginning, the Seaside Terrace, where all meals are served, used the same menu for dinner every night of the week, except for the buffets. We noticed at the bottom of the menu it said "week 2", whatever that meant. No variation became quite boring. We even noticed that on the buffet nights the only desserts they displayed were the exact same that were on the menu the a la carte nights.Lastly, I tried for the entire week to get decaf for my in-room coffee maker. My husband & I are up by 5:30 a.m. and like to make coffee in the room. Each day I was told it would be brought to the room, but to no avail.One employee told me I would have to wait until 7:30 and order it from room service. We had a wonderful time and would return to Round Hill, but despite it's reputation, I don't feel that the little problems were addressed at all by the staff. I would give it 4 stars, but not 5.

Lodging Option 2: Sunset Beach Resort and Spa

    A 6 night stay at the impressive Sunset Beach Resort and Spa costs $1,533.60 for two people, that is with tax included. The rooms come with soft king sized beds. It has wonderful ammenities such as private balconies, full baths, cable TV and more. This is an all inclusive package, which means it comes with an all access pass to many more luxurious accomodations.       The Sunset Beach Resort has a unique location. It is nestled in on its very own penninsula. The hotel itself is made up of two large towers surrounded by three swimming pools and a jacuzzi. The hotel has a 3 and a half star rating. It has an on location tennis court which is open 24 hours and it has its very own water park! The resort also provides a lot of water related activites to do at the beach.     

Sunset Beach Resort and Spa Reviews

There seems to be a lot of mixed feelings on this place. Some reviewers say they hated it and others say you shouldn't listen to the bad reviews; it is truly a great place.  

"Had a great time- will come back!"My wife and I just wanted to get away for a relaxing trip with no worries, and we got it. It takes a while to get used to not carrying a phone, car keys, or wallet, but got used to it we did. We had a great time.

 "Don't listen to the bad reviews!! This resort is great!!"

I just returned from Sunset Beach. I went with 3 friends and all of us had a great time! We were a little worried after reading some of the reviews but ended up laughing about some of the things that we had read once we got there and found that they were all wrong. We have absolutely no idea what people are complaining about.

My Choice: Sunset Beach Resort and Spa

    Despite what some lousy reviews say, I have decided to stay at the Sunset Beach Resort and Spa. It just seems like there is so much more to do. I think it would defenitley be worth the money. Speaking of which, the Sunset Beach Resort costs much less comparitavley, and it has more to offer! Sure, the hotel rooms may not be as fancy as the ones at Round Hill but I don't see the point in paying so much more just to sit on Ralph Lauren reading chairs. A decent hotel room is just enough for me and the Sunset Beach hotel rooms are more than just decent. I look forward to staying at Sunset Beach.

Activities Option 1: Rocklands Bird Sanctuary    

    This is a great family activity for bird and nature lovers. This is a place where visitors have the chance to learn about and feed many different types of birds, one of which is the hummingbird. Fritz is the man behind the curtain who runs the sanctuary and is also the tour guide. He is known to be an expert on birds and can tell you a brief description of each bird and answer all your questions. Yet he is known to be a little eager with prices. Some reviewers have said that he tried to charge them $15 per person and others say he asked them for $10. I think those fees sound a little overpriced for just a half hour tour. But the experience must truly be amazing.

Activities Option 2: Jamaica Zipline Adventure Tours

    The Jamaica Zipline Adventure Tours are said to be a funny and entertaining adventure. The tour guides are all very friendly and informative. When you book your tour over the phone they provide taxi accomodations from where the boat comes in to drop off the travelers. From where the taxi drops you off, you have to walk a short way to a vehichle that takes you up the hill to the zipline. The tour guides sing with you, make you laugh, and tell you knowledgable information on the way. They even stop at a kiosk and offer you various fruits and tell you a little bit about them. Once you finally get to the zipline, you are given you your gear.The ziplines consists of 5 zips ranging from 85ft to 1600ft. Reviewers say it's an experience that no one should miss while they're in Jamaica.

My Choice: Zipline Tour

    Even though both activities sound like a blast, I chose the Zipline Tour because it appealed more to me. I'm not afraid of heights and I love going fast. I have never been ziplining before, and it seems like something I really shouldn't miss out on. The way the whole thing is manages seems a little more professional but still lots of fun.