04-18-2014, 01:22 PM
Some people in our group had Tingalaya (all of it) this trip, they stay there a lot. Jube is a good friend to them, he came to the shows and I met him but only briefly. One of the weddings happened at Tingalaya as well (there were 2 honeymoons, one engagement and two weddings amongst our group, that I know of!)
This time we were very spread out. We had 150 or so people staying at...Crystal Waters, White Sands, Fun Holiday, Merrills, Aqua villa, Bar B Barn, Llantrissant, Negril Escape, Catcha Falling Star, Catcha Gardens, Tingalaya...I think that was it. Made me really glad I bought a phone to coordinate meetups and rides!
I spent a little time at Tingalaya, a lot of time at Llantrissant (that beach got nice and sandy since last time, it was lovely to swim and play croquet and just hang out there) and a day at Aqua (the old Aqua Moon Villa that turned into a boutique hotel for a bit is a villa again, called just Aqua now). Loved to hang on their beach and eat dinner with our friends who rented it, they had a ridiculous amount of delicious food. Chef there is Elvis and he is TALENTED.
A lot of the group booked Catcha Falling Star this trip, as we have in the past, but the vibe is not the same there now for this type of trip. Too many "other" guests who don't want to hear people hanging out late, playing (live, acoustic) music or just talking. I won't stay there again with this group and will discourage others from doing so. Though the staff is as awesome as ever - so many of the same faces over many years - the type of guest has changed. Place just got too damn popular
Even though we had fewer rooms at Gardens than we did at seaside Catcha, the "other" guests at Gardens were very cool, not only didn't mind us hanging out late by the pool but joined in and became friends. I guess that's your $60/nt traveler vs $300/nt traveler, or we just got lucky.
This time we were very spread out. We had 150 or so people staying at...Crystal Waters, White Sands, Fun Holiday, Merrills, Aqua villa, Bar B Barn, Llantrissant, Negril Escape, Catcha Falling Star, Catcha Gardens, Tingalaya...I think that was it. Made me really glad I bought a phone to coordinate meetups and rides!
I spent a little time at Tingalaya, a lot of time at Llantrissant (that beach got nice and sandy since last time, it was lovely to swim and play croquet and just hang out there) and a day at Aqua (the old Aqua Moon Villa that turned into a boutique hotel for a bit is a villa again, called just Aqua now). Loved to hang on their beach and eat dinner with our friends who rented it, they had a ridiculous amount of delicious food. Chef there is Elvis and he is TALENTED.
A lot of the group booked Catcha Falling Star this trip, as we have in the past, but the vibe is not the same there now for this type of trip. Too many "other" guests who don't want to hear people hanging out late, playing (live, acoustic) music or just talking. I won't stay there again with this group and will discourage others from doing so. Though the staff is as awesome as ever - so many of the same faces over many years - the type of guest has changed. Place just got too damn popular
Even though we had fewer rooms at Gardens than we did at seaside Catcha, the "other" guests at Gardens were very cool, not only didn't mind us hanging out late by the pool but joined in and became friends. I guess that's your $60/nt traveler vs $300/nt traveler, or we just got lucky.