I recently stayed at Columbus Heights for one month and I have never been treated in such an unprofessional manor. With the passing of Hurricane Dean, all of Columbus Heights had no power for 7 days. As you may know, the property Columbus Heights occupies also contains apartments belonging to Skycastles. I heard from an employee of Skycastles that their guests were being reimbursed for the several days the property had no power while the rest of the city of Ocho Rios did have power. When I went to the office to ask for a refund, I was told to prepare a list of spoiled food and that I would be reimbursed for the spoiled food and the cost of my stay during the time we had no power while the rest of Ocho Rios did. This totaled $176 including $70 promised by the manager for spoiled food and $106 to reimburse us for the time we could not use any of the amenities we stayed there for (ie air conditioning, hot water, kitchen, swimming pool, ect.). This was agreeable to me despite the fact that my mother had also come down with a stomach virus from eating spoiled food or drinking bad water for which I incurred around $50 in medical bills. In addition, because we had no electric while Ocho Rios did, we were forced to eat out for an entire week for which they would not reimburse us anything. I would not have stayed at Columbus Heights if I knew that I would not be able to use the kitchen. There were far cheaper rentals without kitchens, however I was trying to save money by cooking. As a result, I went back to the US with the $30, not the promised $176, that the office gave me. They claimed we were never promised $70 for food and called us liars. In addition they kept the $106 for the rental, trying to justify it by saying that it was the cost of a plate and two glasses that we broke and to clean a couch that the maid had sprayed with bug spray and now had to be cleaned at our expense. Moreover, the staff of Columbus Heights treated us with absolutely no respect, calling us liars when we told them that we never received the message that we could be moved when the electric went on in some of the property. Also, as I was leaving with after picking up the $30, the assistant manager made faces at me as if she were an angry child. Now, they are threatening to fire a security guard who helped us during the hurricane for simply talking to us. I have NEVER experienced such an unprofessional staff at a hotel despite the fact that I have traveled to over 15 countries and stayed in many, many hotels.

My husband and I visited Columbus Heights at the beginning of July. We have stayed there many times and usually book a 2 bedroom apartment, which we've always enjoyed. Since it was just the two of us this visit, we chose a one bedroom with a lovely view. It was fine. As usual, the kitchen was spotless and well-stocked with plenty of cooking utensils and dishes. The bedroom, while being a bit small compared to the larger master bedrooms in the 2 bedroom units we've stayed in, was nicely decorated and cooled off quickly with the very effective a/c. The view was to die for....I never tire of the sight of the city lights at night or the gorgeous pink hues at dawn from there. The many birds, including one bold hummingbird, added delightful images and relaxing sounds.

Very nice visit..hope to return again this year soon.

Only negative I can think of after many visits is that there is a lack of patio furniture around the lower pools. Wish there were loungers everywhere. Other than that, every visit has been great.

My family and friends stayed at Columbus Heights for 8 days in July 2007 and we regret every single moment of the visit. The condos are fifty -- the appliances rusty and dingy, toilets broken, and the rooms were filled with lizards and bugs. We were told that all the rooms have a/c and to our surprise --only 1 a/c in the bedroom and it did not work properly. The roof leaked in the master bedroom -- of course it rained 3 times -- so they place a big blue plastic covering over our condo --very ugly !!
To top it all off -- the maid was rude and lazy --she did not clean the rooms properly or provide clean sheets or towels. She didn't even know how to cook. --Please do not waste your money or valuable vacation time --go somewhere else !!!

Just recently returned from a 3 week long holiday in JA. One of those weeks was spent in Ochie. We stayed at Columbus Heights off of Main St. They're basically condo/apartments you can rent nightly/weekly, even monthly if you prefer. We rented a studio apartment. The property is on the side of the mountain so the hill up to our place was extremely steep. We found ourselves, most of the time , at the bottom hitching our way up, which most people were kind enough to take us up for free, others we paid 50-100J's just because we were so grateful we didn't have to walk up it! Once up the hill the view is beautiful, looking down on the bay where the cruise ships pull in. The studio consisted of a king size bed, dresser, large closet area, 2 person dining room table, sofa, 1 chair, bathroom,with tub, and kitchen with full size fridge, sink, 4 top range, no oven, toaster and all utensils. There was also a safe in the closet area. We also had a patio complete with table and four cahirs. Laundry was available, but was broken at the time.However i reccomend the laundry facilities behind The Travelers Rest at the bottom of the hill on Main St. to wash/dry clothes.