Baboo's Garden was a pleasant surprise during a 1 month tour around Jamaica. It is basic although a bit unusual (but works) accommodation of tents in huts. Incredible views of the surrounding mountains, especially while sipping coffee and chatting with the owner Tony during relaxing sunny mornings. Doadi is a great cook serving up typical local dishes such as the best cornmeal porridge anywhere, stewed chicken, etc. The place to stay if visiting the maroon village of Accompong Town about a kilometre away. The Appleton sugarcane/rum estate is in the surrounding lowlands 30 minute drive through the winding mountain road passing by numerous little communities.

Although we could see what the owner was trying to do with this accommodation, it's vital that you know what to expect if you stay there. It's much more akin to camping than to staying in a guest-house.

You sleep in a tent within a bamboo hut. The tent is big enough to contain a bed on the floor, and that's it. No room to put luggage, no furniture of any other kind and certainly no electricity or other services. You zip yourself into your tent and that's it - so no security either.

Central amongst the scattered 'bungalows', that is tents within bamboo huts, is a large bamboo shelter, open to the sides, where you can sit and eat, drink and talk in the evenings. (No electricity here by the way either - we were provided with head-torches so we could read our books. ) Part of this is partitioned off as a very rudimentary 'kitchen'. The standard of hygiene (and, honestly, we are not fussy types) is scary - our host cut fruit for us with a knife that had been used for raw chicken after a quick wipe with a dish cloth that was laying around, clearly rarely washed. Dead flies cover most of the dishes that are draining on a dusty board. I've travelled to many countries in four continents, drunk the water, taken ice in my drinks, eaten the street food - that is, broken all the rules - and after eating here for the the first time I had a stomach upset. It spoiled the last week of the holiday and didn't get better until after I was back home. I was probably lucky it wasn't a lot worse.

We were promised 'hot showers' - there was one shower in a concrete shed with no roof, open to the elements. Though there was a bottled gas supply, there was some problem with hooking it up so it was cold. There was one usable toilet too, a good walk (with your head-torch if you've remembered to take it to bed with you) from your tent - quite scary at night in this totally unfenced, unsecured, lonely hill top camp with just a couple of howling dogs roaming around, who may remember you're a 'friend' or may not.

Having said all that, we were looked after by a delightful young chap (Dodi) who couldn't have been better company. We were the only guests and it was worth getting covered in fierce, angry mosquito bites to spend the evening with him under the bamboo canopy talking about what means most to him in life. (He would probably be a fine cook if only he was allowed to go on a hygiene course.) He had some great stories to tell and I could imagine a group of young travellers, who didn't mind the basic conditions, would have a fantastic time here.

There is nothing but nature all around - it is fine and we're glad we stayed here (despite catching god-knows-what tummy bug) but we could only stick it for two nights and then moved on. If you read this and go, you'll know what to expect - and make sure you have a plan for insisting on food hygiene or cook your own.