Our Tropical Paradise

Having visited Negril, Jamaica in 1990, I fell in love with the people, and the country, and loved the place so much that I bought my first time-share condo through RCI in 1991 at the Negril Beach Club and have been vacationing there each year. It was like finding a "home away from home" experience.

In 1994 I met an old friend I had known since she was 17 years of age, and lived in the same town as I did which is located 35 km north of Montreal, Quebec. To my surprise, she had been going to Jamaica but to a different part of the island for some time. Well, from that encounter, the great conversations that followed, sparks flew, and in 1995 we got married on the grounds of the resort in the garden in front of the condo.

After moving to Mississauga, Ontario in 1997, we decided that it would be a good idea to be able to escape some part of the winter months and bought another time-share condo during our annual vacation in 1998 enabling us to spend three beautiful weeks of fun and relaxation on the beach each year.

In 1998 the hotel section where we stayed was sold to the Wallace Family, owners of the Mariners' Inn on the Cliffs. In order to protect our interest, in 1999 we founded and formed an association to represent the time-share owners at the newly named Mariner's Negril Beach Club. We decided on the name "COCONUT" (acronym for Coalition Of Condo Owners Not Usually Together) as it represented the friendship that has been cultivated over the years.

The members have shared Birthdays, Anniversaries as well as Sorrows together since we first met at the resort and have continued to do so either by telephone, mail and now through the age of computers by way of E-mail and this Website.

In the Spring of 2000 the Coconut club was taken over by two other time-share owners who volunteered their services as a team to continue with the operation of the Club and to act on our behalf with regards to any changes, conditions & improvements at the Mariner's Negril Beach Club & the Negril Interval Ownership Club (N.I.O.C.).

We would like to share our experiences about Negril from the little cottages to a world famous but indigenous all-inclusive, it's here for you. Just imagine! Secluded honeymoon cottages on the cliffs, beach villas complete with cook and baby sitter, small hotels where you are welcomed like family, condos, self contained apartments or the all-inclusive which aims to meet your every need...and children are especially welcome.

Negril, at Jamaica's western tip, extends from Bloody Bay in the Parish of Hanover to Negril Lighthouse in the Parish of Westmoreland.

The town stretches out along seven miles of uninterrupted, uncommonly beautiful beach--and an uncommonly uninhibited lifestyle. A place to kick up your heels and shrug off your blues. A turquoise sea presides over the cliffs carved with ancient caves and hideaway villas.

It offers a carefree, laid back ambiance, great watersports, and a wide range of accommodations, from modest Jamaican homes to luxurious all-inclusive resorts. (In Negril, by law, no building may be built higher than the tallest palm tree).

A short, scenic drive from Negril are the rolling hills, quaint towns and villages unspoiled beaches of Jamaica's South Coast, now being developed as the island's newest resort area.

There are few resorts where there is such diversity in the environment and the offerings. You may wish to roll out of bed and on the beach, splash in the enchanting blue waters of the Caribbean Sea--or climb down the craggy cliffs where man has assisted nature in making accessible the cool deep pools of crystal clear water.

And from any vantage point--the Negril Sunset will take your breath away.

The route from Montego Bay to Negril still offers stretches of sparkling seascapes on one hand and green fields and hills on the other. It also has many flat, fairly straight road sections --and irresistible temptation to most Jamaican drivers so remember, at all times, to drive defensively.

After arriving at the Sir Donald Sangster International Airport the first thing that we ask our friend Lloyd, and Juta bus driver, is to stop for a cold 'Red Stripe' beer at a restaurant called Lollypop located in Sandy Bay where there once was a sign on the wall which read:

SOCIAL, RACIAL, & RELIGIOUS BARRIERS ARE ALL MAN MADE
& CAN BE DISSOLVED INSTANTLY WITH A SMILE!

Since retiring and moving to an adult lifestyle community in Innisfil, Ontario, we decided to sell our time-share condos but hope to return to "Our Home Away From Home" in the near future. Of course, we shall continue to communicate with the many friends we have made over the years.

by Ray & Nicole Deegan