After reading nothing but spectacular reviews of Firefly and the great service and wonderful staff I had my expectations set high as I looked forward to our first visit to this place. The reviews I have read were rather flattering and I am not sure what those writers were use to but this place has more than a few shortcomings . Ill list the ones that bothered me the most as the rest are not worth mentioning. We stayed in unit #17 on the 3rd floor of the penthouse this room has a full kitchen including a microwave and coffee maker The problem was both the microwave and coffee maker were unplugged and the only outlet was buried behind the refrigerator. The bathroom had NO outlets thus my wife had to dry her hair on the balcony. The steps leading up to the place had 8 1/4 risers and that may not seem bad but walking down these steps, barefoot while carrying anything, proved to be rather hazardous.
The hot tub is a residential type 220V SPA with a bottom that forced users to sit exactly they way the designer had in mind. The spa was virtually unused as I saw NO ONE in there during our 3 night stay. I t was nearly always covered with a $2 blue tarp that sagged into the water and looked like a poor mans hot tub cover. The place also had an excess of debris lying around that would only take a 60 yard dumpster and a few days to clear out of there. The place bills itself as nudist friendly but does not allow one to walk to the beach from your room naked yet you are allowed to use the hot tub nude and that is virtually in the garden where nudity is prohibited. The FREE coffee in the AM is INSTANT coffee however the place did serve sandwiches and pancakes in the morning that looked good. The rates are really low. And now I know why. The place is still a good deal given it is right on the beach and if your are expecting a very rustic, bare bones, room then you will get what you are expecting. I cannot speak for the other rooms as I never stayed in anything other than our room #17. The place falls short in my book for lacking attention to some of the most basic details. Talk on the beach was the owners are in dispute with their neighbors and no longer spend much time there It shows. I would be happy to answer any specific ? feel free to e-mail me Lowteck@comcast.net

I loved Firefly. I was there for 10 days in December and it wasn't nearly long enough. The gardens are beautiful, everyone who works there is very friendly and the rooms could not be closer to the beach! Every morning I woke up with a cup of delicious Jamaican coffee at Firefly's beach bar, then I spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach with a good book unitl it was time to watch the spectacular sunset.I also walked along the beach at checked out other resorts, but decided that Firefly is the only place for me.

The Firefly is a cool little place. There is a path from the cottages right to the beach. If you don't want to be bothered and do your own thing in Jamaica, this is the place to go. We met quite a few hippies there and some nudists, definately a diverse crowd. They even supplied incense in the cottages. The cleaning lady came every day and even washed our dishes. We had a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom cottage and went with some friends. Our cottage had a stove, refrigerator, dishes, etc. We brought a blender with us--that was a good idea, since there are fruit vendors on the beach and then we bought rum and made drinks in our cottage. Firefly is in a good area right in the middle of the beach.
Our cottage didn't have any A/C, it was a little hot but not too bad. I guess when you only pay $40 per person per night you know what to expect, and this was better than I expected!!

This was our first trip to the Caribbean. We were celebrating George's 65th (Medicare eligible) birthday and President's Day. After much research we selected Firefly Cottages. We couldn't have been more pleased. When we returned home we were not too surprised to find that it was listed in a Sunday Washington Post Travel Section feature article on the Caribbean as a recommended place to stay in Negril, Jamaica.

After a short non-stop champagne flight on Air Jamaica from BWI Airport in Maryland we arrived at Montego Bay and waited in customs lines almost as long as we were in the air. Fortunately, Firefly had arranged for Mr. Jerry to pick us up in his taxi and he was patiently waiting for us outside. It seemed everybody at the airport knew Mr. Jerry and Firefly. No hassles once we mentioned his name. He whisked us out of the airport after making sure we had something to drink (Red Stripe for George, bottled water for Michelle) for the hour plus ride. The poverty we saw along the road was a bit of a downer, but we soon realized that without tourists like us folks in Negril like Mr. Jerry would be in even worse condition. He stopped in a food shop in Negril to let us stock our cottage kitchen with some Blue Mountain coffee, rum cream, and other essentials. Cottage #5 was a delight with double bed, kitchen with sink, four burner stove with oven, full refrigerator, cookware, dinnerware, dining area, chest and wardrobe, and a full bath with a hot shower big enough for two (nice!), air conditioning, louvered windows, and a ceiling fan over the bed. A private full sized verandah was enclosed by grillwork and locked door. It had a lounge couch, two reading chairs, and a table with two chairs for outside dining; all enclosed by flowering garden bushes. The staff stopped by every day to clean and straighten the cottage. They even made sure we had candles and matches during a brief Negril power outage on Sunday night following an unusually hot day. (Drinking by candle light at the bar with the other guests was a fun experience.)

Our first night at Firefly Michelle made George famous (or infamous) when she had Mr. Sykes, the owner, the security guard, and several others looking for him. She thought he had gone for a swim when he had actually gone for a long walk down the beach. For the rest of the week George was known as "Da Mon who made da nice lady cry." Despite the embarrassment it was reassuring to know the staff was so concerned about their guests. We felt completely secure all week, day and night.

We hung around the beach for most of our stay, Michelle in her swimsuit and George in his birthday suit (after all it was his birthday.) A few folks walking by Firefly did a double take when they saw the guest skinny dipping and sunbathing nude. Topless is fairly common on Long Bay, but Firefly is the only place except for all-inclusives like Hedonism II that permits nudity. The bar (which requires at least a thong for service) let us run a tab and we settled up when we checked out. We also rented a float for the week, called our son on the 24 hour international phone outside the office, rented some Internet time to send a "everything is fine" e-mail to our family, and tried out the hot tub a few nights. The seawater was great, clear, about 80 degrees F, with light surf. We met many repeat guests, including three single men who stayed in the "Secrets" cabins. They helped us get acclimated to Negril. The get acquainted bonfire party on the beach Tuesday night with popcorn and rum punch was very enjoyable. We made our own Blue Mountain coffee with Rum Cream each morning because we liked to get up early before the bar opened at 8:00 AM for coffee and breakfast. The bar pancakes were the best we have ever had anywhere. And the fruit lady walked by the cottages and out to the bar every morning. One morning we bought a fresh pineapple, which she cut up for us. It lasted three days. Rose, another vendor, ran a fruit and vegetable stand about 100 yards up the beach where we bought fresh squeezed orange juice in recycled rum bottles several mornings. It was much sweeter and less acidic than Florida or California juice.

We went on a few excursions, including a Valentine's Day evening boat ride to the cliffs for snorkeling/swimming in the caves. Red Stripe, rum drinks, soft drinks, and jerk chicken with rice were included. We also had dinner at the Rockhouse and Xtabi on the cliffs. Good food and sunsets both nights. We walked up to Margaritaville for some lunches and dinners. Good atmosphere, food, drinks, and service at reasonable prices. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner next door at Coco La Palm were also good and reasonable. We went on a small shopping spree in West End and ate lunch at Pirate's Cove on the Cliffs while a ring Michelle bought was being sized. We took some beautiful digital pictures of snorkeling boats in the turquoise water. We even took a day trip ($65 each, 10 AM to 5 PM) to Hedonism II to see what all the raving was about. We spent a relaxing late morning and afternoon around the clothing optional pool on the nude side. We never saw self service Pina Colada and Daiquiri machines before. No one hassled Michelle for keeping her suit on. The guests were friendly and playfully well behaved. We shared a picnic table for lunch at the beach grill with a nice young couple who was there for the first time. We left early when it clouded up and started to sprinkle. The grounds at Hedo II are beautiful and well kept, but the resort is large and a little overwhelming. We were glad to return to the relaxed intimacy of Firefly.

Credit cards, US$, or AMEX Travelers Checks were always accepted. There was a Cambio about 15 minutes down the beach from Firefly that exchanged Jamaican$ for US$ or Travelers Checks. Mr. Jerry or another licensed taxi was always at the entrance of Firefly literally within seconds of our appearance to take us anywhere and bring us back for very reasonable fares. Several of our drivers walked us into our destination to make sure we would be taken care of properly before they left. We met some wonderful Jamaicans, including vendors on the beach who always accepted "no," or "not now," for an answer. Michelle bought some lovely Pareos for friends and George bought a Jamaican flag towel from Ron, a vendor who set up in a vacant lot next door. We were made to feel most welcome by the Franciscan pastor and parishioners at the 9:30 AM Mass on Sunday at Mary, Gate of Heaven, Catholic Church, right across the street from Firefly.

After checking out on Thursday we had lunch at Margaritaville before Mr. Jerry drove us back to the airport. We missed "the snow storm of the century" which had shut down most of the East Coast that week. Talk about timing!

There were a few things we planned to do that we never got around to, but that just gives us an excuse to go back. We are already saving our money for another President's Day vacation at Firefly and maybe Hedonism II as well. Next time we would like to try the beachside Penthouse suite. Thanks Mr. Jerry, Nicola, and everyone else for a wonderful vacation in beautiful Negril.

We can provide a link to some of our trip photos to anyone who sends us an e-mail request.

George and Michelle 13-20 Feb. 2003