keepitjiggy.com: Where to Stay

Where to Stay

Jamaica's Small Hotels, Inns, B&Bs, Cottages and Guest Houses

The beauty of Jamaica is in the details – her warm and welcoming people, her spectacular scenery, her delectable food, and the small everyday things. Branch out! Broaden your horizons! Experience the real Jamaica!

While we love the big all-inclusive resorts that have every amenity imaginable, we think they isolate visitors from experiencing the real culture of Jamaica. So, you will not find more than a passing mention here of a Beaches, Sandals, Riu, Hedonism or Couples resort! They are fabulous, but you don't have to spend US$700 per night to enjoy and learn the culture of this island and meet some outstanding Jamaican people. If you don’t venture out beyond the walls of the mega-resorts, you will hinder yourself from enjoying the quiet, unhurried, unpretentious beauty of this tropical paradise!

The accommodations are listed by Parish, so select a Parish you're interested in from the menu you see on the left. We have personally visited some of these properties and share the others with you based on recommendations from family and friends. We'll continue adding great places as we discover them.

Jamaica’s small hotels, inns, bed & breakfasts, guesthouses, farmhouses, and cottages will give you a taste of the non-commercial, non-touristy side of Jamaica. These places offer you the intimacy and personal interactions that create the sweetest vacation memories. Some are lovely & luxurious hideaways. Some are funky and kitschy. Some of them are pretty rustic and are not for the timid traveller! But we believe that sometimes in life a person needs to travel off the beaten path to create unforgettable experiences and memories that last lifetimes. And many of these properties offer rates below US$100 per night, enabling you to stretch your vacation dollars further than you thought possible.

Jamaica has recently begun to promote her unspoiled, natural beauty with eco-tourism, focusing on her plant life, animal life and rich cultural heritage. This responsible approach will hopefully minimize the negative impact that conventional tourism has had on the environment in some areas of the island. Eco-tourism is the focus of some of the accommodations we list here. If you are a lover of nature, birdwatching, hiking, or mountain biking, some of these places put you in the perfect spot to do what you love most.

If you're not particularly adventurous, and if a bland, mass-produced place beside a highway is your idea of a great vacation, these places may not be for you. If you need the Ritz-Carlton or the finest Egyptian cotton bed linens, please look elsewhere. At least 30% of Jamaica's citizens live in rural areas. About 15-20% of the population lives in extreme poverty, in zinc-roofed shacks with no food, no water and no light. Many try to survive on US$100 per month. So, if you find poverty distasteful, this is not the place for you. But know that you'll miss out on meeting some of the warmest, good-natured, fun-loving, welcoming, generous (and...yes...loud!) people on our planet. Some of these small, family-run, intimate lodging choices will help you get to know them and make lasting friendships. Give them a chance to make you feel at home in their home!

And, yes, Jamaica has critters – ants, grasshoppers, tree frogs, fire flies (a.k.a. peeny wallies), geckos, land crabs, crickets, sand flies, mosquitoes and more mosquitoes - you are in a tropical environment for heaven’s sake! Wherever you stay, whether you pay US$50 or US$700 per night, you can expect to share a tiny bit of your space with them!

So... come on, branch out and immerse yourself in the beauty and culture of this Caribbean jewel. You'll thank yourself! The real beauty of Jamaica is in her people - meet some of them today!

"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is."
~ H. Jackson Browne

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Where to Stay

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