This vacation spot is a hidden treasure. You arrive at the airport and Antonio will take care of everything from there. He had our bus ready and fully stocked with beverages. He was a pleasure to talk to and told us all about Jamaica. The scenic hour and a half bus ride takes you along the coast line and through different towns. When you finally arrive at Moondance, there is a welcome crew waiting for you with Rum Punch and cool wet towels. As you are escorted to your villa, your mouth drops. The place is beautiful. I stayed at Azure Sky and it was amazing. It is a great place for everyone to meet up, have some drinks, and play pool. The bedrooms are all roomy. The bathrooms are spotless. The verandas give a great view, especially the master bedroom. Wendy was are bartender and she made some great drinks. I would highly recommend the hummingbird. She also makes some of the best bloody marys I have ever had. She was always there for whatever you needed with a smile. The beach is so clean and is protected by security(which helps to keep the vendors from approaching you while laying out).
If you are going there for a wedding, prepared to be blown away. It is the most beautiful set up and no detail is missed.
If you are interested in activities, the front desk will help you with whatever you want. Jet skiing was so much fun. I would highly recommend taking the Wild Thing sunset cruise over to Rick's cafe. It is a sight to be seen. You can watch the fearless cliff divers or try it yourself. I jumped off the tall one and it was the most amazing thing I have ever done. You have to try to jump. It is a natural high. The bar is also amazing there. It is a trip you have to make.
Moondance was by far the best vaction I have ever been on. It was non-stop fun and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!!! Thanks Moondance!!!!

Where do I begin with this review since I have SO many AWESOME things to say about Moondance!!! I guess I will try to be quick and straight to the point as not to repeat what others have already said…..Ok, maybe I cannot be too quick with so many great things to say!

Background Info- After extensive research on resorts all throughout the Caribbean; my fiancé and I decided to plan our wedding (along with 24 other guests) at the Moondance Villas in Negril. The manager and wedding coordinator, Linus, was very nice and helpful throughout the entire process! All I can say is WOW!!!! Great decision!!

Arrival- The moment that we arrived at the airport in Montego Bay we were greeted by a really welcoming driver named Antonio (who looks like Dave Chapelle….haha…he said that he has been told that on more than occasion!). After getting all of us loaded up into the van; he said “Welcome to Negril” as he passed out several ice cold Red Stripes out of the stocked cooler in the front seat. On the way to Negril, Antoinio entertained us with historical and cultural stories about the neighboring towns as we passed through them. When we pulled up to the Moondance each guest was immediately greeted with Rum Punch and a warm smile! I must say that the front desk staff was very friendly and organized in getting us all together and to our rooms that were spread out all over the resort.

Accommodations- When we arrived at Moondance it was already dark, therefore our external view of the resort was limited. All around the resort you could hear laughing, giggling, and other signs of happiness as each of my wedding guests came out of their respective villas to see how nice all of the other villas were. Each room was uniquely decorated and distinct in its own way. Little details such as the freshly picked hibiscus placed on the bed made each room all the more inviting. Even though there are several rooms in the same villa; there is still a great deal of privacy in each room, which was a concern to my guest when I initially chose the resort. Every Villa was immaculately clean and well maintained by a group of “House staff.” The house staff were ABSOLUTELY the best part of Moondance! Of course they were always willing to do anything and everything for us; but we absolutely refused to be waited on at times and instead offered them to join in our fun!!!!

Beach- the beach is absolutely beautiful and my only complaint about it would be the beach vendors that walk up and down the beach attempting to sell you anything and everything. From what I hear, this is the norm on 7 mile beach so I was happy that Moondance had very adequate security 24/7 to keep this from being too bothersome. The water is very clear and there are a great deal of activities for the adventurers (parasailing, scuba, snorkeling, jet skiing, etc..) However, if you are like me; you will want to just lay around and relax on the beach….there are always plenty of beachfront chairs! The pools and outdoor showers are beachfront as well.

Food- OMG!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!!! The food here is AWESOME! Can I please get a recipe book???!!! Our cook in the Lilac Mist (and personal friend!! ), Robert, made sure that we ate like kings and queens the entire time that we were there!!! The lobster and fresh tuna salads, the papaya, the pumpkin soup, fresh grilled fish, jerk everything, and the lobster thermadore (my favorite)!!!! Robert, you are a genius and would definitely give Emmeril Lagasse or Paula Deen a run for their money!! At Moondance they have a menu to choose from, however, you can also make special requests. All of the guests raved about the cooks in their own villas as well; and at the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception, the food prepared by all of the cooks, was first class! Definitely 5 star dining!!!!!!!

Service- I cannot say enough about how AMAZING the staff was at this magical place. It did not matter which villa that I was in; each person greeted me time and time again! There were times that we would go behind the bar and fix our bartenders and house staff some juice or wine just so that we could show our appreciation (they never accepted of course, and just laughed at our persistence). In addition to Robert; I would like to especially thank Everall, Kristine, and Glen; for they left a permanent imprint on my heart! I wish I remembered everyone’s’ names from each of the villas; everyone played such an important part (even those behind the scenes). Funny that I remember those three…..maybe because they made me the best drinks…..hahaha…..Kristine’s hummingbird, Glen’s Miami Vice, and Everall’s wedding special (made with fresh coconut water!)…..all of the wait staff and bartenders were phenomenal!!! I miss hearing Glen sing and waking up to Everall’s cheerful smile!!!! I wish I could personally thank everyone for leaving an imprint in my heart and on my life!!!! I cried when I left Moondance!!!!

Wedding- The weddings that they put together here are so classy, elegant, and fun! Linus takes care of everything so that all you have to do is show up!! The only thing that I handled once I was there was the food selection. The flowers, cake, and band were incredible!!! The ambiance on the beach with the tiki torches was so romantic! The only slight disappointment was the position of the sun and the humidity that day (it was so hot and the sun beat right on us during the ceremony), but in any case I was glad that it did not rain! Also, I provided my own ceremony (which probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do) and the cute little minister had a very thick accent when he read the ceremony….he mispronounced just about every word and sounded like the minister from the Movie, “the princess bride”..”we are gavered hewe tewday”…haha….bless his heart though, because he was such a cute little man (just under 5 ft tall) that we just all had to laugh after the ceremony…..but if you are an anal bride; you may want to go with the ceremony they have scripted..haha… The band that played that night was PHENOMINAL!!!!!! We bought their CD (The Frontpage band) and would definitely recommend seeing them if you can as they were the best live wedding band I have heard ANYWHERE….. I am not a cake person either, but our cake was to die for!!! Robert even wrapped up the top for us to take home! The staff was very active during the reception also. They danced with us on the Dollar Wine song! So much fun!!!

Tips when you go- bring bug spray…..there are sand fleas that will bite you…I did not have a problem until I went further down the beach. Next, rent a motorcycle or a car if you leave the resort….public transportation is ridiculously priced in Negril! Oh, and on the drive up from Montego Bay to Negril do not drink too many Red Stripes...it’s an hour and a half drive! Also, be prepared to tip more than you thought you would….you will see why when you get there!!! Last, kick back, relax, and enjoy visiting with all of the staff….they are some of the greatest people you will ever meet!

All in all I cannot wait to go back for my anniversary!!! We will need to save up, since this is a pretty pricey resort….BUT WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! It is the only place in Negril that I will visit again!

Just like coconut water; Moondance will go straight to your heart!!! Thanks again Moondance for the amazing vacation, wedding, and experience!

With much expressed love and gratitude for the absolute best week of our lives,

Kristina & Chuck

After staying at the Azure Sky Villa, I can say all my previous travel experiences were just trips....not vacations. A stay at Moon Dance changes your perception on what a true vacation really is. We just enjoyed a 5 day stay at this wonderful place, and we have declared it to be our #1 vacation destination. Our party of 7 were spoiled like never before. The wonderful staff never allowed us to want for anything. Our server/bartender, Carrie, kept the cool beverages flowing as we played in the ocean or relaxed on the beach or poolside, and the gourmet meals prepared by our chef Robert were delicious! The villa was always spotless thanks to Lorraine. The accomodations were top notch, and we never worried about any security issues. There were guards patroling the property 24/7. Our personal concierge greeted us every morning, and arranged any activities our hearts desired, with a smile, and a no problem. I highly recommend this villa to anyone who is seeking a relaxing, first class vacation. You will feel like a million bucks while you are there, and will never think twice about the cost. As someone else stated, it is worth every penny!

We stayed at Moon Dance in the Lilac Mist Villa for 7 days during the month of June. Let me get the very few negatives we encountered out of the way first so I can talk about all the positives. During our trip to Jamaica, our first plane was delayed due to weather, which caused us to miss our next plane. We had to be rerouted and landed about 5 hours later than planned. We proceeded to call the resort (this was a Saturday) to let them know we would be late and what time we would arrive so the driver picking us up would be aware of this. Well, we called the one and ONLY number on the website and every time we got their voice mail. We left about 8 voice mails, had my husband’s cousin e-mail them while my dad was trying to fax them when we realized no one was answering b/c this is the Chicago phone number and of course no one was going to be there on a Saturday. So we tried to get a hold of an international operator and were told by the US operator that we had to be on a land line to do that. So my dad (luckily who was home) had to call the international operator to get the resort’s phone number. He was given two numbers and called both…no answer. He called us and gave us the numbers so we could begin calling ourselves. Luckily, when we called someone happen to have come inside (they were working on a wedding outside) and answered. We let them know and they were able to contact the driver and let him know. It was just really very frustrating b/c we had no idea whether or not someone was going to be there to pick us up or not since we were 5 hours late and if no one was there, how we would get there. Moral of the story: if you go here, especially on the weekends, get the actual resort phone number in case this happens to you. Second, while we were there, it was our 2nd anniversary and my husband had e-mailed (Chicago of course) about doing something special to surprise me for our anniversary (and to also change a food/drink preference.) Long story short – they never forwarded it on to the resort b/c the day of our anniversary my husband asked our bartender about it and she had no idea what he was talking about. (They were able to throw something together though.) There was an air conditioning problem for about 24 hours that made it very uncomfortable during the night but it was fixed decently quickly. There were also a few broken things in the room that you would have thought would have been fixed for the overall look of the place and b/c it’s a more upscale resort. But really, our main issue was with their communication.
Now for the positives: The villa was clean, beautiful and spacious and we really loved it. The housekeeper did an excellent job. The room has a safe for your use and snacks and drinks in case you get hungry. The internet is very slow but usable if you need it (my husband only used it to do practice questions for his medical boards while I was still sleeping in the morning). The food was very, very good (it wasn’t the best we’ve ever had in Jamaica but we never had anything remotely close to a bad meal). They have a menu for you to choose from which is all very good and if there is something that you want that’s not on there, they have no problem fixing it for you – like the evening I had a craving for crab cakes for example. The two-bedroom villa is currently under construction/expansion (so that each bedroom is a suite) but we never heard the construction. I don’t know how they did it so quietly but we never heard it. The pool was very nice but we never used it b/c the water was warm and the view couldn’t match the beach. The beach was beautiful and large (or maybe it seemed large b/c we basically had it to ourselves) but either way it was beautiful. Wensley will take care of all of your beach needs – chairs, snorkeling equipment, sailing, kayaks, etc…. There are lots of people trying to sell you stuff but you just have to tell them no once and they leave you alone. There seems to be this imaginary line along the beach and if anyone (it only happened twice) comes too close to you trying to sell anything or is too annoying, Wensley gets all over them. There is also 24 hour security. They make sure no one besides Moon Dance guests are on the beach and they want to know if/when you leave the property to keep accountability for you. We went snorkeling one day (besides in front of the property) and did the horseback riding (both of which I highly recommend) and went shopping one afternoon (got a great set of Movado watches). Moon Dance set it all up for us. About every 30-45 minutes Wendy, our bartender, was there with an awesome cocktail to cool us down (try the mango and banana daiquiris and the rum punch). Her service was impeccable. Plus, she was the one who threw together our anniversary surprise last minute. We were going to have dinner on the beach but it began to rain. We were coming in from the beach and I opened our villa door and there was a flower petal trail from the door entry to the bathtub and to the bed. It was beautiful. We got ready for dinner (which was set up inside our villa instead of outside in the gazebo) and was brought an appetizer and champagne. We had dinner and for dessert they baked us a cake which said “happy anniversary” on it. It was so special. She made the evening and our entire trip what it was.
It was an incredible trip and we are considering going back soon. If you have any questions or want to see more pics than what is posted, please feel free to e-mail me. tgleaves1@cox.net