We were seeking the PERFECT HOLIDAY. And truly found it here.
Glowing Recommendation:
If like us you seek a non-pretencious hotel of charm; demonstrating island character with boutiqe style, with golden sands and gentle caribbean waters, blended with a genuine warmth of staff, then look no further.
We were blessed with 17 nights at this sanctuary and like so many guests before us, can guarantee that we will return. The management have put together a fine team of staff and again like so many before us, we left feeling they were not staff, but special friends. (Hello :>))) Amadean, Romaine, Shana-Kay & Super - you can't know how much we miss you all)
Food:
Breakfast and lunches are great at Country Country (& remember we were here for 17 days). Supper was a little disappointing but the Negril area has much to satisfy within a short taxi ride: Hot recommendations for dinner, Catcha Falling Star (best food of our stay and stunningly beautiful setting) / The Hungry Lion (boutique style restaurant within local art gallery) both charming & unusual / The Rockhouse (great food & super setting). Sweet Spice was outstanding for simple local foods but it is "dry". You are however permitted to take your own wine or beer with you. So do. :>). If you're just walking up the beach - do not miss Norma's for supper - fantastic. And for a great pizza, try Chances, also on the beach. Oh and for lunch, there is a little beach hut to the right of Country Country that do little patis that are, to die for - don't miss them.
Room for Improvement:
This is the real world and of course, no where is absolutely perfect. The observations I make reference to below are for the benefit of the travellers yet to come and equally I hope, tips for the hotel which if embraced, will put the perfect stay quite beyond reproach:
1) Trolleys serving the restaurant rumble past the cottages on the paved pathway. The heavily laden carts particularly at 6am and 10pm are a nightmare and were the subject of much discussion on the beach amongst the guests. You need only to put wheels on with inflated tyres and guess what - problem solved! Please do it.
2) I would not advocate that you stay here during some of Feb/most of March. This is the Spring break and the dates vary a little each year - so book with caution. We were lucky because our first night (28/3) was the last night of 'Margaritaville' in all her glory. This is the club-from-hell (unless you're a teenager) further up the beach. The negative comments on this subject you may have read from a couple of previous guests are truly no exageration (although prior to experiencing it for ourselves, we thought it might be). At 2am we had to shout to each other, within our cottage, with all the doors and windows shut, in order to be able to hear one another. And quite literally, the vary foundations of the property vibrated from the heavy base. Solution simple - don't stay here during Spring Break.
3) This next comment really only affects guests staying in the two beach front properties and only when the 'team' are setting up the restaurant for breakfast. Please, please bear in mind, we are here on holiday and because of that, we do not need to wake up at 6.30am. And certainly not to the sound of clattering cutlery, china and hoots and howls of laughter. Don't get me wrong - it's delightful to hear people clearly so very happy in their work (and so early in the day!) but we don't want to hear any of it, until we're "up" and certanly not before you even open the restaurant at 7.30.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.