Charming, quiet mountain top villa: Experience Jamaica Like a Jamaican

We loved the property! Marvia, the property manager was awesome. She went above and beyond to meet and sur pass my expectations. I didn't want to leave. The peace and serenity was wonderful. I will be back. However, if you are looking for a oceanfront resort type of place, this is not the place for you.

Marvia was a phenomenal host. Views and food were absolutely amazing. If you are looking for a way to see the real Jamaica, away from the tourist traps. This is it!

If without host Marvia, I would give this property 1star. The host Marvia is living next door on same lot, she is very helpful and nice. And tried her best to help us. But there are lots of thing beyond her ability. The house in rental is in serious need to be updated and maintenance to be just livable. The house description says 4 bed rooms sleep upto 12 people. Actually it has only three bedrooms has queens. total 4 beds. The 4th bedroom is unfinished basement, nothing inside. Our group has 6 people , have no problem here. The biggest problem is NO HOT WATER in the whole house!!! we was told first it is solar heated, will have hot water 2nd day when sun comes out. But 2nd morning , still no hot water, we have to cancel the trip and leave earlier. When I contact with owner Megan, she claim the water is not so cold, we still can take shower without hot water???!!! We absolutely can not accept this excuse. We are family with two senior and two kids, I can not believe owner ask us take cold shower after whole water playing. Another big issue is the wifi is very very weak , on and off from time to time. I ask owner by message before booking, whether the wifi is working and can stream the football game since we have very important semifinal game that night. I only go ahead booked after getting confirmed information. But reality is the wifi is working, but very very very weak, can barely load web-pages. We missed that game, can only see short clips afterword. Beside these two unacceptable conditions, the whole house are in very bad conditions, exposed wire in the living room, open outlet box everywhere. No any cooking utilities . ( Marvia is great cooker, appreciate her great meal with reasonable price). Even with all this hassle, we still tried to communicate with owner, unfortunately Megan does not admit any of the above . And she even suggested us took cold water shower, which is not cold in her standard !! Beside all this issue, we paid $225 which is more than one day price, she refuse to refund the overpaid potion. She claim the payment will help local people. But that is not the reason to over charge customer with unlivable condition house. But it needs to be win win solution. Not only help local people but treat tourists like nobody. And not a good way to do business. You can cheat guests once, but no one will come back again. This stay is the only bad memory we experienced in two week Jamaica vacation. Stay away!

My host Marvia made my stay fun and inviting. Would definitely recommend to anyone! The views from the villa are breathtaking.

I had a great time visiting Jamaica while staying at Megan's place. I travelled by myself and always felt welcome there, starting with Marvia picking me up at the airport. She and her friend brought me to the a local place to eat which was wonderful. It was a short stay for me (5 nights) but we packed a lot in while I was there. We went to the beach in Negril, we went fishing with Blacks, went on a Catamaran ride where we went snorkeling and visited Rick's, and also visited some local places to eat. It was great because Marvia set them all up and drove me around when I needed it. The area is also beautiful where Megan's place is - not only the immediate landscape but the view from the mountains. The place itself is nice in a simple way. For me, I didn't want to stay at a resort - I wanted to experience and mix in with the people of Jamaica. This trip did not disappoint. Stayed 3/31 - 4/5

It's out there but it's so worth it. You need to be looking for the real Thing. The people of Jamaica are a lesson in love, peace and respect. Our host Marvia is one of the jewels of Jamaica. She is an angel. She Loves living on her mountain, doesn't want to live any where else. If you're looking for are adventure, off the grid, the real thing. Felt safe and secure in her care. Peace, love and respect. Can't wait to go back. love u Marvia

We stayed for 3weeks during the Christmas holidays with our two adult children, it really was authentic Jamaican country living. Marvia is an amazing cook and host. The villa is clean, and maintained to the best of their ability. She did what ever she could to cater to us. Her two children and family pets (dogs, pig and goat) enriched our stay. We felt very safe and welcome in the community. Marvia was able to show us the real Jamaica with many personal custom guided tours to waterfalls, beaches and local towns. We would recommend this place to a friend that is looking for a cottage like holiday in paradise.

My husband, three teenage kids and I stayed here over Christmas. One of the most interesting vacations ever! So nice to not be at a resort and be able to experience a bit of life with the locals. We were still able to enjoy the beach at Negril so it was really best of both worlds. The rental property is on top of a hill next to the home of Marvia and Jocko and their 2 young children who you can't help but fall in love with. :) My favorite thing about staying here was waking up in the morning and having a wonderful cup of coffee while sitting on the front porch feeling the warm sun and taking in all of the sounds. Chickens, goats, horse, dogs all roam around the property. You could often hear a radio playing from a neighbor across the valley or the sounds of someone out working. It was wonderful. Marvia is a gracious host and was brilliant about all of the local floral and fauna. We were able to sample many of the local flavors, right from their property. Fresh coconut right of the tree, gungo beans, turmeric, breadfruit and the best bananas ever. We were there for Boxing Day and they had a party, so that was a unique experience too. The accommodations are rustic but we embraced it and had a great time. Not only did we have a nice time enjoying the warmth and sun but we made new friends! :)

My wife and I recently stayed at Marvia's guest house and had a blast. This is definitely not like the typical all-inclusive resorts, and we were delighted with our experience. The quiet country area offered sublime views. We woke up early every morning and basked in the sunrise - which was amazing from the back porch. Sunsets were equally epic from the front. Marvia's family and neighbors were all super nice and friendly. The house is a 20-30 minute from the nearest touristy city - Negril. Marvia organized a driver to take us wherever we wanted. The driver that she used was punctual, polite, friendly, and professional. We most enjoyed going to the Half-Moon beach/resort. We weren't bugged by the parade of hustlers that we discovered at Negril. Marvia always knows about a lot of other hidden gems that aren't typically frequented by tourists. In particular - ask about the place with her favorite coco-bread and patties. Marvia is also a great cook. She prepared a couple dinners for my wife and I and they were delicious. The house was exactly as advertised and really we wanted for nothing. I really can't say enough good things about our experience. I'd be delighted to serve as a reference for Marvia and talk openly about the details of our experience

We stayed on the upper half of this house for a week. We were in town for a wedding at Beaches Resort in Negril - about a 20-25 min drive away. The host Marvia is wonderful and an amazing cook. All our favorite meals were the ones she prepared - delicious! So much better than the restaurant food in Negril. The upper half of the house has a very large bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen. It was more than enough space for our family of three. The view on the front and back porches is breathtaking (mountains in the back & ocean in the front). My daughter loved playing with Marvia's sweet children and seeing the baby goats and other occassional livestock that happened through. Marvia drove down to meet us in Grand Island when we first arrived. It took us a couple tries to learn the route up the mountain, but people were always very helpful if we missed the turn. The road up to the house (Marvia's neighbor's house) is a quite rugged but my husband managed well in our rental car. It was so nice to stay in this town away from the tourist trap of Negril. We were at the resort for a couple days for the wedding (day passes) but on the other days, there is a public beach (parking ~$4) right next to Beaches that was lovely. This was a great spot to stay and really enjoy Jamaica. Thank you Marvia for being such a wonderful host!!