Consumer Homes.

Question:

A few weeks ago I asked for information about the Firefly in Negril, Jamaica – with an accidentally munged e-mail addrress. I would like to thank all those who responded by posting and by e-mail for their helpful information and advice. I have just returned from a week at the Firefly – my first time in Jamaica – and this is a more or less brief report. I won’t say much about Negril since I was there during Spring Break and, I was told, Negril was not its usual self. The students were well behaved but there was a lot of late night entertainment – I was glad I took some earplugs. I used Air Negril ( $120 roudtrip ) between Montego Bay and Negril. They were running about a half hour behind both ways, otherwise, no complaints. USAir at Montego, however, was understaffed and although I was there in plenty of time, my flight was being called by the time I made it through their line. American seemed to having the same problems. Visit a Firefly web site, <http://www.beingees.com/ffmain.htm> for a fairly accurate description of the resort. Firefly is an interresting place on a very narrow property. No two rooms seem to be the same. I stayed in a Beachfront Penthouse. The room consists of a bedroom, a separate kitchenette and a bathroom. It is quite small. There is, however, a covered balcony which overlooks the beach. It has a light you can read by so that is where I spent all my waking time. The Penthouse View link at the web site shows the view from the Penthouse; the building in the picture is the bar and a rental unit. You must climb two flights of narrow, steep, exterior stairs to get to the room. Once there, I found it comfortable but cramped. The furnishings are nothing special and it has the only shower I have met that has a learning curve. I found the grounds attractive and the staff and management helpful and friendly. The portion of the beach that Firefly occupies is narrow but deep enough that you can be pretty well away from the beach traffic; there is a fair amount of shade and not enough lounges – grab yours early. I ate most nights at the Charela Inn which is about half a block down the beach. Not that it is anything special but it was not outrageously expensive, the service was good and, important to me, they start dinner service at 6:30 instead of 7:00. I also ate at the Box Lunch(?) ( a couple of pieces of pretty good chicken and lots of rice and beans ) and at the Best In The West ( very good jerk chicken and a couple of slices of bread but no veggies. I wished I had saved some of the rice and beans ). I took a cab into town once ( the driver recommended by the Firefly was good ). As near as I could tell, the grocery store is your best bet for everything including liquor. I didn’t find any groceries to speak of within walking distance. If you are a smoker take ‘em with you; American cigarettes are hard to find and outrageously expensive. I found it best to carry both US$ and J$. Firefly has a small bar on the beach with good prices; you can run a tab. You can get some