Our family of 9, ranging in ages 9 to 76 had a most memorable vacation at Tryall! The resort is beautiful, spacious and friendly. We were there for a total of 9 days, and there were enough activities to keep everyone busy. Great golf for the gents, the caddies special! They played everyday, and would often get the same caddie. My husband adored Baltimore. The rest of the gals enjoyed swimming in our resort like private pool at our villa Windrush.

Where do I start. The villa itself is lovely, consisting of a main building, and three smaller buildings with bedrooms. Remote control air-conditioning was a delight at night as well as cable tv in all rooms.. The villa has an incredible outdoor living and dining area. The view of the resort and water, lovely. The pool is huge, and could accomodate all with lounge chairs etc. Linda Smith web site has nice photos, but until you are there, you cannot believe the beauty. The gals would swim, cruise around the resort on the golf cart admiring the beautiful views, other villas, go to the beach, and visit with the charming people of Jamaica.

The people made our stay most memorable! We adored our staff at the villa which we consider our friends. Nadine and Andrea who made our beds so beautifully each day, refresh our towels, and straighten sooo maticulously. Marcia, who cooked delicious breakfast , lunch, and dinners. Jerk chicken, lobster, pork, snapper, and mouth watering desserts. The charming gardners who greeted you every morning with big smiles on their faces, and Maxie the butler. Maxie would be sure the bar was refreshed everyday, serve us our delicious meals, educate us about Jamaica, and make any travel arrangements for tours,etc. He is a classic fella who has been at Windrush I believe for 13 years. He took incredible care of all of us. He even played a round of golf with the guys.

One afternoon, my sister, daughter and myself took the golf cart to find the old sugar mill which is located on the golf course. No one was around, we were admiring the beauty, taking photos etc. All of a sudden, it seemed out of no where a jamaican man approached us. I must say I was a little startled, but he immediately began telling us all about the history of the wheel, how it worked etc. He found some sugar cane growing, cut a stalk, broke it open so we sould all taste the sweet water. He was so kind! Jamaicans always had a big smile and friendly wave.

My 9 year old was thrilled to have her hair braided, the teens kept busy at the beach and pool, with a few day trips, the guys loved the golf and red stripes, nana loved the beauty, and my sisters and myself loved the sun and the delicious rum punch!

Each morning my brother in law would get his first cup of delicious blue mountain coffee on the veranda and would be greeted by Maxie. He would always ask Maxie, " How are you this morning?", and Maxie would reply, "Sparkling!" We all had a SPARKLING time, and are already working on returning to Jamaica, and visiting our friends at Windrush and Tryall!

Linda Smith has a great website with the best photos and descriptions of each villa, but we decided not to make arrangements with them because they require you to pay your food cost up front. Marcia shopped at the resort. Before our departure we got detailed receipts. We paid the resort with a credit card. Very easy.

To add to the very-detailed August review...we stayed for ten days at Pinnacle in July and enjoyed every minute with our three teens. The view was too beautiful for words. One morning I awoke early to the most gorgeous sunrise I've ever experienced.

It would have been too quiet for our teens had we not planned many activities. We would normally sleep in, jump in the pool for a swim, gather around the table when Rose announced "Breakfast is served", and then be off on an adventure. Having a full-time driver worked out well for us as John was available anytime...one less detail to have to worry about to make it truly relaxing. The entire family enjoyed jet skiing, cliff-diving and parasailing in Negril; the Rockland Bird feeding Station; the Canopy Tour and River Tubing experiences available through Chukka Blue; and the Dolphin Swim in Ocho Rios. We would return "home" to Pinnacle tired, but happy. Refreshed with an afternoon swim, we would play games until we enjoyed a delightful dinner prepared by Beverly. Some evenings we would take a golf cart ride to see fireflies and bullfrogs out on the golf course.

I would also highly recommend Villas by Linda Smith. The site was truly informative and user-friendly. The people we dealt with online were extremely helpful and detailed. Food is very expensive in Jamaica. One lunch with drinks at the Beach Club, albeit delicious, cost us about $115, so that paying for groceries once we arrived seemed an incredible savings to me. In retrospect, I would have prepaid for groceries in advance. Again, one less detail to have to worry about in paradise!

If you want to be pampered in a beautiful spot … try Tryall. The villas are spacious and come with private pools (a delight for early morning and late evening swims). The views are incredible. But the best part is the staff. They were delightful, friendly, anxious to please, accommodating, not overbearing. They greeted us on arrival with a tray of ice-cold fruit juices and big smiles.
Our chef’s cuisine was simple which meant the kids liked it. I loved the fresh fruit (a platter of papaya, mango, pineapple, banana, melon every morning), the fresh-squeezed orange juice and the salads. She offered us quite a few Jamaican specialties including pumpkin soup, ackee with saltfish, callaloo, stuffed cho-cho, plantains, key lime pudding. Amazingly, my picky 18-year old tried everything. The main courses and desserts (many from a boxed mix) were just ok, and we missed having good bread and rolls with our meals. She charmed the kids by leaving a plate of peanut butter brownies out the night we dined out, and she won us over with a Jamaican fruit cake with lemon and rosewater icing (the traditional wedding cake there) with Happy Anniversary on it for our celebration. I read some complaints online about receipts for food. We had no problems on that score. Our chef gave us a handful of receipts and some change the night before we left.
Our housekeeper kept everything immaculate and provided fresh towels twice a day. There were new arrangements of flowers every day, too. The laundress was a treat. Our fresh-smelling clothes arrived neatly folded on a tray or on hangers. Our gardener had a smile every morning as he cleaned the pool area. The landscaping was gorgeous.
Our villa was the Seafore. It’s ranked superior – in the middle of the rating scale. It’s not luxurious or huge but is comfortable. The four bedrooms are in two wings, each with its own bath. We were able to rent it with just two bedrooms for a slightly reduced rate. The staff had set up the two bedrooms that opened to the pool area – though we had requested bedrooms in separate wings for privacy, those two were a bit larger and nicer since they had glass doors and a view. They were separated by a small hallway, and we were quite happy there (they did offer us the chance to use other bedrooms). We used the air conditioning at night. The mattresses were firm; the pillows soft. The beds were made with two top sheets and nicely turned down each evening. The towels were huge, soft and absorbent. There were beach towels for the pool (and other towels available at the beach and main pool at the Great House). There was a television with cable channels in the living room. Lots of puzzles, decks of cards, and a good selection of books … but no board games or videos. The outdoor spaces were huge and comfortable. There were two couches at one end, 7-8 big chairs with a coffee table, a dining table outside (and a more formal one inside), a wicker table with chairs and 7-8 pool lounges. Plenty of lights everywhere.
Security was evident everywhere. Guards patrolled the grounds at night, and there were kiosks dotting the facility. We even spotted guards checking the trunks of the workers’ cars on the way in. We felt very safe. We had inquired about a safe (for cash and other valuables) before we went, but we never asked about it there. We trusted our staff completely and never worried about anything.
The beach, though small, is immaculate (we watched them rake and clean it early in the morning) and comes with a wide variety of sports equipment. The trampoline was most popular with my kids, but we also snorkeled and kayaked and contemplated the hobie cats (the sunfishes were unavailable). The basketball court had seen better days (don’t bother packing the b’ball shoes), but the croquet area was enticing. There were even lacrosse sticks to borrow. There were ample lounges with comfy pads and foam mats for lazing in the water. Plenty of towels and waiters from the nearby bar and restaurant came by periodically to take drink orders.
Our villa came with a golf cart. You need one at Tryall to get to the beach (3 minute ride or 10 minute walk) or the Great House (about the same distance) which houses the commissary, the duty-free shop, the main pool (spectacular view from the almost-infinity pool and steps), the internet room and more. It would have helped to have had two. Our staff needed the cart periodically which meant we had to wait for it to be returned. I’d look for a villa with 2+ carts on a return visit.
Tryall is a golf resort. We all tried the driving range, and my husband and son played one morning. The course is spectacular, pristine, never busy (we were there in the low season), and again, the views are amazing.
If there’s a downside to this paradise, it’s no night life. We went to the beach BBQ on Wednesday night, and there were a couple of Jamaican musicians. Other than that, we amused ourselves. We all read quite a bit (that’s my definition of a real vacation) and played cards. We borrowed a backgammon board from the guest services coordinator for the week.
My husband had a massage the day we came. The masseuse arrived at our villa. It was difficult to keep the curtains shut (the wind blew them open), so there wasn’t quite the privacy they would have liked, plus he described the massage as just ok. Later, we went to Round Hill with my daughter. That spa is quite lovely (and expensive). His massage was heavenly (John, the Australian masseur) as were our facials. Only wish we’d brought our bathing suits and enjoyed the beach and pool there for a few hours.
We had a driver for the transfers to/from the airport. He was provided by Ken Smythe and was on time for both trips. Mr. Smythe offered us the use of a cell phone for the week so we could reach him for any other transportation needs. We were able to buy phone cards to use with the cell phone to call the USA (cheaper than using the villa phone). We hired a driver for one other day ($120 + tip) – that van was very nice though the driver hardly talked to us (we’d hoped he might give us a tour or some insights into the area). Still, he got us around safely.
We found the best shopping was at the airport on our way home. We’re glad we arrived early. We had virtually no lines for check-in or security and had time to shop and have lunch at Margaritaville (this time, the burgers were great, especially the jerk burger). We’d advise against having any vendors come into your villa. A few arrived at ours the first day, and we should have said no. We ended up paying premium prices (more than even in the gift shop at the resort) for items that were readily available many places.
There is a quite a bit of construction at Tryall now. We heard that 130 more villas will be built eventually (there are about 65 now). We never heard construction noise though (except for the last morning when some repairs were being done on our villa). It appears that the lots are all at least an acre so it’s unlikely the villas will be crammed together. In the high season, the beach, the golf course and other facilities are probably more crowded. I took the villa tour (though it was cancelled once – and I was the only one on the tour the day I went), so I saw a Great House villa (1 BR, nicely appointed but only comes with a housekeeper), the Villa Stella (truly luxurious, easy to understand the difference in price) and Merryland (up for sale, spacious and lovely). It was fun to see what else was available.
Linda Smith’s website offered photographs and accurate information about the villas, and her staff patiently answered my many queries before we left. I felt we were in good hands. You can also book through Tryall and through some of the villa owners directly.
The cost of all of this was about what we would have spent at an all-inclusive, but we had the luxury and privacy of our own home and own staff. Plus, no buffet lines, no camp counselor-types encouraging us to do pool games, no silly entertainment shows. We ate and drank what we wanted when we wanted. It was truly relaxing.

We stayed over the Christmas holiday at Mahogany Hill Villa with a total of 11 family members. Views from villa were out of this world. It was our very first villa experience. We found the staff friendly and helpful. I would have to agree with the previous post that we had MAJOR issues with the grocery bill. Our cook just went ahead and purchased many food items at the club's commissary without our prior approval. We found this plain wrong. Tryall itself was topnotch. We enjoyed the afternnon tea at the Great House and the beachside BBQ. We found the beach staff friendly and helpful, always ready to prepare a lounger upon arrival. I am not a golfer but I can comment on the tennis facilities and I highly recommend them. They are the best I have ever used. Tennis staff were great. I would totally agree with the previous post in that next time we will book directly with Tryall Club itself and not through the villa rental agency. I am still trying to figure out how I should have handled that grocery thing...