Negril Properties: Firefly & Catcha Falling Star - Charles & Mary - June, 2008
Having made two trips to Hedo 2 and a family trip to Pebbles, we were in the mood to see something beyond the all-inclusives, so we decided to check out Firefly and Catcha Falling Star in Negril. We spent three nights in Firefly, then three in Catcha during the first week of July. Firefly is a bit run down, but Catcha Falling Star is exceptionally nice.
We chose the Cozy Cottage on the Sand at Firefly. Firefly is at just about the exact middle of the Long Bay beach and the location is very good (other than the neighbors). It’s a great base to walk from. We’ve been to Hedo, but never wanted to walk through the great length of four large all-inclusives to get to the main beach, so this was new to us. It is a couple hundred feet from Margaritaville, which is also convenient. The beach is small, but very clean and sandy. It slopes off nicely and is deep enough to swim in. You can see the bottom all of the way out.
The location is very nice, but, unfortunately, Firefly feels much like a place that was once great, but has fallen into neglect. The room was cozy for sure. I would use the term “tiny”, but we rather expected that. We didn’t expect that the bathroom would require you to step into the shower in order to close the door. None of the doors had normal door hardware (like knobs), just sliding bolts and a deadlock on the front door. The bed was really a single bed and the sheets were very rough. The air conditioner did work pretty well though. We had a lot of trouble with mosquitoes and ants getting into the room and I was pretty eaten up while there. Next time I’ll remember to bring lots of Off. For some reason they built the cottage so it faces away from the beach and is on the other side of the bar. A veranda on the side does let you sit and watch the beach, but the ironwork surrounding it makes you feel a bit like you’re in jail.
The grounds reflected that “once great” feeling. They were nice, but did not seem well tended. I doubt there was a gardener on duty. There was only one other couple at Firefly while we were there and I get the impression they had been mostly empty. If you want to use the hot tub you have to request it in advance so they can turn it on.
The single biggest complaint about Firefly was the free morning coffee they advertise. It was awful instant coffee and canned milk. In Jamaica that’s just not acceptable and saving the pennies involved was really stupid. You could ask for brewed coffee, but it was “extra”, which is ridiculous. There is a bar, which was open sporadically. They advertise as a “pancake house”. I tried and watched them prepare instant Betty Crocker pancakes and Aunt Jemima syrup. Not exactly what I expected. They people were friendly enough, but you didn’t get the feeling they really cared. The office could not change money, which made tips difficult.
The Firefly site advertises a trip to Booby Cay. We asked about that and got two stories: first that the boat captain was on vacation, then that they don’t go to the island anymore. We then found Captain Moses on the beach who does the island thing. He took us and another couple out for $40 each and provided beer and cooked dinner on the island with fish they speared on the way out. I’m not sure how many laws were violated (we ate under the “private property, do not land” sign and there’s signs on the beach banning spear fishing and fishing on the reef), but it was a really nice evening. Be sure to tip and bring bug spray if you want to walk into the island trail. Unfortunately, it was a bit littered and there were several feral cats. One of the cats managed to steal the largest fish they caught and run off with it, which was cute.
We ate at Margariteville the first night. It’s not nearly as large as I expected, but the food was good. We also ate dinner at Irie on the Beach which had good seafood pasta. The best find was Selina’s across the road. They serve a great traditional Jamaican breakfast and Selina is so much like the hippy tradition often associated with Negril. She had a bird, cat, and dog and was often speaking to the bird. She was literally reading a book on Herbalism while we were there.
A major problem with Firefly, and the beach in general, is the late night music. The first night we were unable to sleep due to very loud music. After 1am we gave up and decided to walk to it. It was coming from Bourbon Beach and they should turn their speakers toward the road or the sea, because they were very loud. And, once you got there you could not see anything, since it had a big screen around it and was charging admission from the road side. There’s an acoustic phenomena that channels the bass from Bourbon Beach right into the Firefly cabin. It actually got quieter as we walked to it, then louder again. They played till 2am two nights we were there. The other night there was a band next door, but they were fun, if a bit distorted. They also had fire dancing, which was very cool and fun. We had deserts and drinks there that night. The night beach walk was pretty cool, since we saw some blue glowing sea creature on the beach which was really neat.
The biggest problem with Negril is the constant barrage of people trying to sell you boat trips, Jet Ski rentals, stuff, and, of course, ganja. Right next door to Firefly is a squatting place for half a dozen of them and you had to deal with them every time you go outside. We really got tired of it. We did rent the Jet Ski, which was fun and seemed to make one of them happy and leave us alone. Also, you can smell ganja just about all of the time. We’re not into that, but we are tolerant and it didn’t bother us, but the salespeople really did annoy us.
You can be nude at Firefly and I did sometimes, but you’ll be alone and there’s lots of people on the beach all of the time and a large catamaran docks about 50 feet away. They do seem to be pretty used to it, though, and never gave me a second glance. But, the constant traffic made it too uncomfortable to really enjoy.
Would we go back to Firefly? No way. Between the neighbors, the run-down feel of the place, the tiny room, and allowing half the insects in Jamaica to traipse through, I think we can find a nicer place on the beach.
After three nights we moved to Catcha Falling Star, which is the next to the last resort before Rick’s on the cliffs. The difference could not be more astounding. The grounds were meticulously maintained and magnificent! We stayed in Virgo and the suite (living room, nice size bath, bedroom, and two walk-in closets) could swallow most of Firefly. The room was exquisitely decorated with lovely art pieces and hand-made furniture. As a cliff location I doubt it can not be beat. There were some minor nits, but the overall quality of the place really made up for them. It’s a great base for visiting Ricks and a fabulous place to jump into the water from all kinds of heights. There’s a cove and the waves constantly crash against the cliffs. You can jump in or climb down a ladder to swim. It was sometimes too rough to swim there, so keep that in mind; the cliffs are not as sheltered as the beach. There’s a nice bar and restaurant just for the resort and they deliver a breakfast to your room every morning and you can eat on the terrace. Though we were next door to Rick’s, who had a band every night, the music outside was not that loud at all and you could not hear it in the rooms at all. It’s a first rate place.
There was a lot of work going on there. They are still rebuilding following the destruction from Ivan in 2004. They are also planning a swimming pool, though I would not expect it anytime soon. The waitress said they are going to use dynamite to blast a hole in the rocks for the pool. There is a secluded area where you can be nude. There is supposed to be a ladder to swim from there, but it was missing, so you can’t swim nude unless you go in with a suit and swim over, but I was told that is only temporary during a current round of construction. But, you can hang around nude and nobody will bother you over there. We had dinners at Rick’s (don’t expect a conversation there; the band was very loud), the Rockhouse (excellent food and they will send a taxi to pick you up for free), and at Catcha. We ate breakfasts and lunches at Catcha each day. The food everywhere we went was excellent. There’s a grocery store across the street, so we bought Red Stripes and kept them in the refrigerator in the room.
Minor nits about Catcha: The missing ladder in the nude section, missing light bulbs in the room, and the bathtub stopper did not work. The biggest nit for me was that you could not add a tip when signing to the room. That meant you had to keep money around and that was a bit of a pain. It’s an easy fix and the waitresses will get a much better income if they did so.
Vincent will stop by and pick up with his glass bottom boat and take you snorkeling for $25 each. I can’t recommend him enough. His snorkel trips are more of a guided tour of the reef and he stops in a cave on the way back and points out the dolphins you can see around the cliffs. He’s just in general a really nice guy as well. He’s the first Jamaican who ever offered me change and didn’t assume any extra was a tip. He’s cheaper than most of the other boats as well. Just ask at the tour desk and they will call him.
We’ll be back to Catcha. I think a mixed beach/cliffs trip makes a lot of sense, though I’ve not figured out the best beach location, yet, and Catcha Falling Star is fabulous. They are not all-inclusives, so you have to pay for meals, drinks, and transfers, but if you’re not a big drinker it’s definitely less expensive. Catcha’s a great place to relax and just chill out with no concerns. Note that it was full while we were there in low season, which definitely says something.