WOW

I went to Jamaica with two co-workers and we were debating where to staty for a week or two before we booked. After reading some reviews here and comparing prices we finally ddecided Coco La Palm would be our choice.

And what a good one.

The staff was amazingly friendly and willing to help us with any need. Chester, the bellboy, was a great help all week (we even seen him at some partys)

At one point my friend had fallen asleep while tanning and had some money hanging out of his pocket. A local "working" girl came and attempted to take it but fortunately the security of Coco La Palm came to the rescue and grabbed her arm before she reached the money!!! (about the only bad thing that happend on our entire trip) They do not play and take their job very seriously. If any of the vendors walking by stayed too long trying to sell you anything the guards would shoo them away very quickly.

The resort itself was excellent, the pools and hottub clean and the rooms immaculate. I would stay here again any day.

Some advice:
Ricks Cafe was awesome and had the perfect sunset view.

The Jungle while fun had too many "working" girls that were overly persistent, so much so I left. We were there early so maybe it's better (or worse???) later at night.

Margaritaville, which is only four or five resortts away was great. The floating trampolenes were so fun we went three days in a row. Also they had $25 all you can drink from 9pm-2am the Friday we went. We also helped Richmond College win the "College Drinking Olympics" during the day. If you've ever seen "Beerfest" I was the one who had to drink das boot....

I would also recommend the jerk chicken shack across the street from Coco. (just to your right if your looking away from the hotel) The food was cheap and extremely tasteful and the beer was cold.

Next door and directly across the street was a little shop run by Steve, an incredibly nice local. Beer was slightly more expensive then in town but if you factor in the price of a cab ride (plus tip) it may actually be cheaper. I'd rather support him then whoever owns the local grocery store anyway.

The only thing we regret is that we met some awesome girls from Amsterdam that were staying at Samsara, our other choice, but who knows. If we stayed their we proabaly would have met some girls that were staying at Coco....

Overall we had everything we were looking for out of our trip and our lovely stay at Coco La Palm.

First trip to Jamaica and it couldn't have better. Everything from the location to the cleanliness was absolutely perfect. All but just a few rooms(the 800 #'s) are very nice. The people who work there are friendly and helpful. The breakfasts are really good and only cost $5.00 for 2 after applying the complimentary breakfast coupon. There are many other places to try within walking distace along the beach. Chances 2 for1 lobster, Kuyubas and Margaritaville were great. Be sure to book a sunset cruise with Myrna, who walks the beach, on The Red Stripe . We had a blast. The sunsets were gorgious and when looking at our pictures we saw the famous green flash! The pools and hot tub were always clean and refreshing.The gardens beautiful and well kept. The Monday night welcome party and Sat. night beach party were so much fun and the Reggae band was really good. I would definatey go there again and highly recommend CocoLapalm to others.

To reiterate many previous postings, the beach at Cocolapalm is outstanding! The water is perfectly clear (no rocks or seaweed at all) and calm; the sand is so soft it's like walking on velvet; the beach is never too crowded (and there were always plenty of lounge chairs); and because the location is so centralized, there's plenty of food, drinks, and activities available. On one hand, it's peaceful enough to just read or nap, on the other hand there's so much going on, you could spend the whole day just people watching (and buying things - fresh fruit, juice, and patties from the beach vendors). We camped out at the "adult" pool most of the time - you get your space and added privacy, but the view is just as beautiful. We did the hotel's glass-bottom boat tour one day ($20 US) and did some snorkeling (very low-key situation). The guys who took us were really great. They offered to take us out again another day early in the morning to see if we could see some dolphins.

As far as rooms go, we had originally booked a "standard room." But when we arrived, the room smelled awful - very musty/moldy and it wasn't very clean. We told the front desk, and they immediately updraded us to a "superior room." This room was a nice size (and we were very grateful for the upgrade), but still had some minor drawbacks. For example, the beds were hard, the television reception wasn't great, the shower had a weak stream, and there were no alarm clocks or hair dryers in the rooms.

Overall, the hotel staff were wonderful. The grounds/security staff as well as housekeeping/restaurant folks were incredibly sincere, helpful and friendly. It was nice getting to know some of them. You immediately feel welcome and safe at Cocolapalm, and it doesn't take much time at all to feel like you belong. I was happy to tip the staff well. The front desk folks, however, weren't as warm, and we were sometimes met with blank stares. One day we decided to do the horseback riding trip at Rhodes Plantation. The front desk people said they would arrange it, but they apparently just forgot or something. It would have been nice to have someone not just check us in, but spend some time to orient us when we got there.

Some other observations: breakfasts at the resort were great and a nice way to meet other vacationers (coffee can be very strong); dinners were just okay; drinks were just okay (drinks were stronger/cheaper next door to the right). The manager's party on Monday night was a lot of fun - music and free strong drinks. Aside from jerk, there's a lot of lobster around at the different restaurants down the beach. The Italian restaurant down the beach to the left was excellent. And the pizza at "Choices" was very good.

Negril is very casual - you can go barefoot most places (and topless on the beach). If you take a taxi (the hotel will arrange taxi's for you - don't pay more than $20 US round-trip ) up to the restaurants at the cliffs, you will want to have something on your feet, however. We liked the "Rockhouse" and the "Hungry Lion" out that way. And there were plenty more we didn't get to (like "Sweet-Spice" and "Chicken Lavish"). Lastly, have a lot of "tip" money on hand.

The final comment I will make is more about Negril as a whole. If you walk down the beach (which you will want to do) you won't be able to go 3 steps without being approached by someone who wants to sell you drugs. The first night we were there, this happened 12 times. The "sellers" tend to be friendly but aggressive and will keep pushing if you try to just ignore them. You must make eye contact and say "no." I never feared for my safety, however. It was more a matter of, as an introvert, I was really tired of having to interact with them all the time. It became impossible to have a nice quiet walk on the beach. For some this might be simply a minor annoyance, for others intolerable.

I definitely plan on returning to Negril and staying at Cocolapalm! Jamaica is cheaper than many of the other caribbean islands, and the beach at Cocolapalm is the best we've been to. If you're looking for a mellow vacation where beach culture is the main activity, this is the place for you.

We stayed at Coco from December 19th to the 24th. We spent out first 2 nights in Suite B (2 Bedroom) and the other 3 nights in Suite A (3 Bedroom). Since there were 5 adults, Mom & Dad with son 21, daughter 20 and her boyfriend 20 we needed a place we could stay together. This arrangement worked out fine. Jillian kept our rooms very clean and left us some extra towels when asked. The rooms were large with several small fridges and a large fridge. We had picked up a case of water, cokes and Heinekins for our room, in advance so we had plenty of space to keep them cold.

We arrived very late, approx. 9:30 PM due to major travelling issues and we were hot, tired and very hungry. Since the restaurant closes at 10:00 PM, Coco made efforts to get us to our rooms immediatley and called the restaurant to warn them we were coming and to take care of us, which they did.

It's not hard to make friends at Coco. Big up for Charlton and Stevie who made sure that our chairs were placed and always ready with a warm greeting. Also kudos to security, Andrew and Jason. They always ensured that the beach vendors kept their distance.

We went next door to Charlea Inn for dinner, which has a live show on Thursday nights. Robin Banks played the first set and Otis Ray was on the second set. We had a great time up and dancing with the staff at Charlea.

Coco's atmosphere is relaxed and caring. We hope to return in the very near future.