Ok so this was another late deal so it was relatively cheap for Jamaica and after reading some of the negative reviews we got what we expected really, Rooms were average, clean enough with air con, sky tv and well equipped mini bar which is free until you have to refill.

Pools were cleaned every morning but we found that by afternoon the sports pool had gotten pretty dirty and people complained. The pool restaurant was brill serving chips, nacho's, hot dogs burgers etc and one of the chef's there was spot on. The drinks were good, espesh the banana banshees.....yummy!

The main restaurant serves buffet style meals which were in the main good and a decent variety but during our stay there was a biblical conference on over a wkend and also a large family reunion so not only did we have to q big time but we also never got food as the restaurant totally ran out as they could not meet the demand. The hotel also opens to local school trips during the day so a couple of times the place was awash with school kids and the pool bar also ran out of grub on these days.

The beach was amazing, beautiful and the little island was paradise, you could lie on a hammock for hours just lookin out over the carribean sea and enjoying the cool breeze. The sea tended to get a little choppy so not that great for either swimming or snorkelling. Word of warning-sand flies are a plenty so I got bitten to death, took a bad reaction and had to eventually steer clear of the beach altogether. Plenty activities to keep the kids amused during the day and the usual type of all inclusive entertainment on in the evenings.

Pauline the rep was fierce craic and kept us all right. We did the helicopter trip, brill and fantastic way to see a bit more of the country, also did the Dunns River Falls, not for the faint hearted and harder work than you may think but well worth it. Don't listen to anyone warning you off visiting Bamboo village next door, go visit, you can get your hair braided, nail extensions, and every sort of gift imaginable for a fraction of the price they charge at the stalls round the poolside. I also treated myself to a massage in the beauty salon, highly recommended.

We found the locals on the beach to be friendly and never encountered any hassle, and yeh they smoke weed, if your against it then don't visit Jamaica, easy eh!!!! Most of the staff were brill, espesh the entertainment lot, great fun but we also had a few probs with some of the staff but just the usual kinda ignorant stuff which you can encounter anywhere really.

Major gripe: everything kept breaking down from the cold drink machines to the coffee dispensers, to the toasters to the lifts, to the air con and the toilets in the rooms sometimes nearly overflowed-sometimes took a good few days to get these in working order again.

Overall we still had a great holiday, you get what you pay for here, to visit Jamaica on the cheap!

Loved: The banana banshees, the weather & the beach!

Hated: The mosi's, made me ill!

Just returned from Starfish trelawny. This is my second trip there. On our first trip the rooms were not ready. The same happened on this trip. This is unacceptable especially when you have 3 children aged 2,4 and 5. The minibar was empty and we faced reluctance of staff to fill it. The staff need people training. They are rude, they make you feel like they paid for your holiday. The hotel is dirty. Our room had cockroaches, ants, silverfish. There was faeces left in the public toilet for almost a week before it was cleaned. They even have cats to control pests. It you want a hot shower make sure you have it before 5pm or else cold water is all you will get. On a positive note the entertainment crew work very hard. This is not a hotel I would recommend to friends or family. The place needs the management to sort the staff or there will be less and less returning guests. No way will we be returning, not even if the stay is free.

This place is a dump! We have been to Jamaica before but stayed in Negril and had great service however, this time I wanted to check out another part of the island and because of this stay I probably would not go back for a looooong time.

In my opionion the hotel should be for locals only. FYI, their website is misleading and I've met some people that told me that their travel agent told them "do not stay at the Starfish", I wish our travel agent told us that!

Here is a list of the bad and good.

BAD:
- We didn't get any towels on Wednesday, July 8th after arriving back to our room around 6pm from being out on excursions. Asked to speak to the General Manager was told he was not on site so I spoke to the Hotel Manager and was told he was going to get towels for us so I told him to personally deliver the towels which he did around 9pm.

- Cups, straws, dirty water in the pools. FIm of grease on top of the water.

- Water leaks from the bathroom ceiling (from what I do not know). Shower curtain will stick on you even when the door was closed.

- Blood stains that were not cleaned on door handles.

- Had to call 4 times to 3 different departments to get extra pillows and on another day I had to call around just to get wash clothes.

- Friday, July 10th, I got random rude calls, the last call I got said "How many persons in your room? I said, "3" the caller said, "are there any black persons in your room?" I said, "no" and they hung up. What are they trying to imply?! RUDE!

GOOD:
- All the places that you had to pay for a meal was real good. Service was top notch, I just wished the hotel was ran the way the restaurants were ran.

- Beach had plenty of chairs and it was sandy. Just beware there are plenty of seaweed on the shore breaks once you pass that it was not bad.

- Great for kids since they don't know any better.

- Some staff were friendly and helpful.

We are not hard to please people, we just require the necessitys like towels, wash cloths, clean bathroom (thank goodness we brought lysol spray).

This place is not a real "all-inclusive" spend your money elsewhere.

We arrived on friday and made it through customs and immigration very quickly. We didn't wait long for the shuttle and the ride to the resort is easy in a nice van. The resort is old and does need work to make it more appealing. Check in was easy at noon (seemed worse at night) although the service at the desk was not great (communication seems to be the difficulty?). The staff works at their own pace so you have to be patient. The room was OK but was clamy from the high humidity but once you cool things down it gets better. Have to say that the king bed was very comfortable if you like firm.
The resort grounds are very nice and the staff works hard to keep it clean. The beach was always clean and the water was clean. Be sure to take the sail boat out. Its free and lots of fun. We also did the luminous lagoon ($28US pp) and that was really cool.
The food at the buffet is good and plentiful as long as you get there early. The crowds were crazy over the weekend but clear out by Tuesday. The restraunts are open air and there are some flies and some birds but wasn't a problem. The casablanca restraunt is indoor and air conditioned and we recommend that one at least once. The meal is free unless you order steak or lobster and you can;t wear shorts and t-shirts but that's what makes it nice. We also tried the italian restraunt and it was very good. We recommend the steak!
Be sure to take an excursion to the Dunns river falls. Be ready for a work out as you have to climb up the middle of a water fall. Carry some water shoes but don't carry a bunch of bags because you need both hands (and you do get completely wet!). We recommend using Trevor as your guide. He was awesome and we received great service and he was always exactly were he said he would be and we even left our valuables in the van with him.(no problem, mon!)(jamaicacruisetours.com)
We had read all the good and bad reviews so there were no suprises. The resort is nice but it is not a place for the high end crowd. You get good food, lots of water activities, and sun but no room service and most things are self service.
I guess my only negative is the locals hanging around the beach. The are not too aggressive but would like to walk the beach without the hassle. We did go to their shacks down the beach to look at their goods. It is a bit scary but they are very friendly and treat with respect. They do set up behind the snack bar so you don't have to go off the resort to buy stuff. Overall it was a good time and everything was just like the good reviews.