Contrasting Caribbean Islands: Tobago & Jamaica
I don't think we made the best of Jamaica. We stayed at a very nice all-inclusive hotel in Montego Bay, which sounded glamorous because I always think of the song. The staff we encountered were friendly and the food was pretty good. I'm not sure why 'very nice' was disappointing. There was an uninspiring shallow beach which we had virtually to ourselves because guests seemed to prefer the pool areas and security staff guarded the beach perimeters to ensure that the private beach stayed private. And I think that was the problem, we felt like prisoners - might as well have been guantanamo bay as montego bay. Of course, we were allowed out of the hotel but always with an underlying message of lurking danger which, if you have children with you, you take no chances. To join escorted tours and even to hire a taxi was priced astronomically high per person, so we elected to remain in our open prison. Thank goodness it was only for a week. (Montego Bay : Bobby Bloom)