Tweet
I stayed at Fun Holiday Beach resort Dec. 13th thru 20th, 2004 & it will now be referred to FHB... can't call it Fun Holiday!
I knew I was getting just a basic room for decent price but it was less than I expected...so I'll alert others before they stay here.
I paid $55 per night for oceanview single room with in-room safe included. $385.U.S. total & she waived the 16.25% taxes...not a bad price. I've since learned it can be as cheap as $50 per night including the safe & frig fees...
Now I thought I was getting a nice clean room with 2 beds, private balcony, bathroom with shower & tub, tv, a/c, in room safe, & refrigerator...for $55 per night single..no single supplement charge...1 of the reasons I chose FHB as it was my 1st time traveling alone...LOL girl friend decided to come along too at last minute. She needed the escape to JA like I did & was expecting more that we got. She booked direct thru Lisa/FHB (as I did) but was charged $65 per night without safe or frig! They told her winter rates had kicked in & it would only be gardenview...HA HA they have No Gardens!
They barely have ANY Plants or Trees or Grass...most of property is white chat rock that's dusty all the time. Not an attractive property & doesn't look as nice as the pictures do on website. When I get my pics back, I will show recent photos of FHB.
FHB will add $4 per day for safe use & $5 per day for frig use. FHB will nickle & dime you to death! If you book with FHB...make sure you get in writing that safe & frig is included in price. I had that safe was included so I didn't pay anymore but friend had to pay extra $28. I argued that the frig was to be included but I didn't print out all the emails so I didn't have proof. When Carlene emailed Lisa, she said we would both have to pay extra as we had cheap price already...HA HA not that cheap for what we got!
We did get Carlene at front desk to upgrade my friends room for free (hard negotiator) so she could be upstairs alongside of me as I had requested 2nd floor room with private balcony for oceanview opportunity ahead of time & had in writing. She was told she got Gardenview & I ask what gardens? There are only couple of trees & few green plants except in planters, barely any patch of grass.
There are NO Phones in FHB so you have to yell to friends rm or bring your Digicel phones. We could hear each other from next door or going on balcony can reach over to knock on her window. So the private balcony was within reaching or passing distance so Not Very Private! I didn't mind few other guests also being out on balcony since we were closest to ocean in rooms 107 & 108. Wonderful breeze blew all the time & I LOVED that but that's nature!
Only room 109 was closer to sea but it was never occupied. When we checked in, only 2 other rooms were occupied. So Not like it was a big deal to give my friend the room next to mine...besides she was paying $14 more per night than I was!
Carlene was not the friendliest person at FHB but later in wk after giving her body lotion & CDs she got a little friendly...said Hi to us as we passed in & out of FHB property. We tried to get at least 1 frig included but FHB would not give in (refuse to give them more $5 a day for frig) so we just used lots of their ice from ice machine (downstairs) instead. I did miss having a frig for leftovers or cold drinks.
I always save extra food for JahBs dogs as I couldn't stand to see how skinny they were & they loved chicken bones/goodies. Just love his dogs & he's a sweet Rasta man...who I consider a good friend. I recommend people stop by & chat with JahB or buy something at his store or visit JahB's restaurant across the street. He is located by Roots Bamboo & the New Cigar King store bldg. Just look for the tall thin rasta man behind the craft vendors by Cigar King. Hope to have a good pic of JahB to include later.
Back to FHB topic...1st room Carlene gave me had NO In-Room Safe. I think it's only smart to be safe & lock one's valuables when traveling (anywhere). So I walk down the 20 steps & walk across the rock to front desk so Carlene can resolve missing safe issue. Friends was bolted to floor in her room by the bed. When I switched from room 106 to 108, I had a safe bolted in hallway to floor. It was secure but took her 20 minutes searching thru box of unmarked keys. It amazes me that Jamaicans never bother to get organized to save themselves time but I had just arrived & wanted to settle in...Hadn't gotten into JA mode yet & wasn't impressed with appearance of rooms either. Room 106 had newer prettier bedspreads on beds than both of 107 & 108. Our bedspreads were nylon white with big roses & ruffle, I'd date them early 60s style or age! Then you looked at big wall of windows & door to outside balcony with homemade curtains with Easter Egg print. A huge wall of Easter Egg pastel print material curtains...which constantly got in the way of door going in & out! A poor design & didn't match bedspreads nor appear tropical...I expect tropical prints in my room...I'm in the Caribbean, don't think that's too much to expect!
The beds were comfortable for me but friend next door hated hard as rock mattress. I wasn't sure how clean the bedding was, think it was just dingy from age.
Ceramic tile floor was clean & shiny! A minimal hilight of FHB. Workers were working all week every day from early till late as 11pm on FHB white bldg they are completing & adding tile over concrete steps & patios in our bldg.
Another issue I have with Lisa, I knew in July they had been adding 2nd floor to 1 of their bldgs & ask if construction was done. She said YES it was winding up as they had to complete for Winter rush. This was an outright LIE, I ask others & construction at FHB is an ongoing issue.
I don't know about you but I don't want to listen to construction noise on holiday. Banging of hammers, paint smells, tiles laying around as they moved very slow getting work done...these guys needed more supervision or motivation. I teased them all week about spending too much time watching TV or taking breaks or just plain farting around! Rarely did the mgr. get onto workers to complete a task, they would jump from 1 area to another without completing 1st tile job. Paint was so thin they would have to paint over 3 times to cover & still looked like it needed a coat of paint. FHB filled cracks in our lime green bldg with white plaster & never bothered to paint over patching...another little thing that detracted from FHB.
Rooms were not large, just space for 2 beds, tv on table & small dresser (with bugs) in room. Hallway had hanging/closet area & bathroom. This was nice & did have hangers. Bathroom needs updating & better finishing off. Mirror was grotted into wall with no frame & looked tacky. Old fixtures & minor mold (common in tropics) & worst design of where toilet paper dispenser was! Right behind the toilet in middle of wall, impossible to reach so the edge of sink became tp holder. Sink counter was not large so I was glad had room to myself...barely room for me to put my stuff on counter.
Does have plug by sink, bring your own hairdryer & be prepared for lights to dim when you use it. No place to hang my travel bag in bathroom, wish they had at least 1 hook in room. 2 towels that looked nice 1st day, they weren't so nice or new after 1st day.
Had a sewage smell sometimes when I used bathroom sink, not a pleasant smell! FHB does have Hot water but you must be patient, takes about 10-15 minutes for it to come thru shower pipes. They have a shower miser head so not a powerful shower but works to rinse off the sand & salt.
Funny story about bathroom, locked myself out of my bathroom several times. Had a button lock on inside that I seemed to hit by accident & if door shut, it's locked & Needs a Key to open. Back to the front desk & wait to search another box of unmarked keys...Carlene would not allow me to keep the key. If she had, wouldn't have died at 4am 1st night when I was locked out of my bathroom.
I had put packing tape on door lock (brought along) to prevent getting locked out after this happened 1st time. I like to sleep with bathroom light on & shut door so when I get up in middle of night I can find my way in strange room.
Thought the tape would prevent lock from locking but it had popped off when the wind blew door shut from great cross breeze in room. Breeze was great but I was so ****** (no pun) when I couldn't get into my bathroom & knew no one would be at front desk at 4am. Closes 10 or 11pm & doesn't open till around 9am. 1st night & I had no idea where or if there were any bathrooms that I could get to & didn't want to awaken friend at 4am. I was ready to pee on beach at this point but held off till 6am. Went downstairs hoping to find front desk help but of course no one was there. FHB guard saw me wandering & ask what I was doing. Explained that I'd locked myself out of my bathroom & was desperate! He said he could unlock door & then I noticed sign for outside bathroom. Quick run to pee 1st & then guard got his big knife & wedged it between door frame & lock, few seconds later he popped the lock open!
Yeah he's my savior but doesn't make me feel very safe when I see how easy these locks open...Same lock on front outside door entrance.
Friends outside door frame had 1 inch gap between wood & lock, an easy breakin opportunity & mine frame looked like door had been kicked in before. I do NOT think FHB has secure rooms...guard sleeps all night downstairs near beach but No One is at front of property. Anyone can walk on FHB without being stopped at night although in daytime front desk may speak with people who visit.
FHB is directly across from The Jungle disco & if you're young & want to be within walking or stumbling distance of many local bars then FHB is great location. I didn't like listening to the beat of Jungle sounds that we could hear in our rooms...EarPlugs solved this problem.
Roots Bamboo is 1 bldg down beach & Alfred's Ocean Palace a easy walk. We did close down both of these bars & Margaritaville & CLP bar too! This was fun & love hearing the Reggae bands although drinking is getting pricey at these places!
My FHB room had a lamp & bare bulb light & picture on wall, friends room was missing the lamp & no picture on wall. Bare bones basic rooms but I think a lamp s/b included so we ask & got one next day. Everything at FHB is outdated or mismatched but it did have a charm about it. SO let me tell you some of the good things also...
Marlene is FHB beach bartender & she's wonderful lady & bartender. Makes a good strong drink with their limited bar ingredients. Since they had so few guests, bar was not fully stocked. We really enjoyed her free welcome rum punch & sat to watch our 1st sunset with her at beach bar. The benches are elevated so sand flies didn't eat me alive & did appreciate that. I don't know if it was post hurricane or season or different bug spray but didn't get totally bitten up on this trip.
FHB does have a 2 for 1 happy hour deal everyday & it's worth a stop for drink & chat with Marlene.
FHB shows in website a bar by swimming pool & hot tub. This bar was never open. One of the other reasons I chose FHB was their Hot Tub. Perfect location by pool, bar & overlooking ocean/beach of 7-mile. Would have been great to sit in warm water of hot tub had it been working! Found out hot tub had not worked for 2 mos. & they only filled it with water because I ask to use it. I had No desire for a Cold Water whirlpool. It was a little cooler in JA this trip, down to 70s with strong breeze so Hot water was needed (at least part of week)! So don't count on the Hot Tub working, don't think it will be!
Nice tables & chairs or plastic lounge chairs available on beach. The beach area was clean & nice. FHB is next door to Whistling Bird & Aqua Moon. Both properties have lush tropical foliage, trees & plants. FHB is really missing the boat without plants on property as rock is Not attractive.
FHB balconies are wonderful with 2 plastic chairs & table, mine even had a red cloth table cloth on it! Later when the wind blew off table cloth, saw the huge burn hole thru table & reason for table cloth...LOL The breeze blew thru FHB property all the time & sitting outside was a pleasure. If you look over the rooftop you can see the ocean & 7-mile beach view. A definite plus for FHB!
If the newer bldg had been done, it had more direct view of beach & pool on 2 end rooms. Otherwise their balconies are like ours...
FHB does have good location, little mkt across street along with Miss Sonia's & JahB's restaurants. Within easy walking distance of many good places to eat & had the BEST Jerk Chicken across street from road vendor setup by Jungle. His name was Jerry & goes by Blue Dandy...$4 for qtr of Awesome Hot Jerk Chicken with delicious bread & jerk sauce! The best we had all week & we tried many places!
Sad thing is that FHB does have some good architectural designs & has possibilities of becoming a charming hotel...IF they would invest some money into property to updating & beautifying the grounds instead of making rock parking lot. The place grew on us & as the week progressed & we resigned ourselves to as I called it "Camping in JA". Was like going camping or staying at old small outdated motel...at least that's the way I chose to look at this trip.
You probably thinking why didn't we move hotels?
FHB has a costly cancellation policy that you sign upon checkin. They would have charged us each for 3 days of room rate if we cancelled our 7 day stay. Couldn't see paying same rate elsewhere to share a (nicer) room & still pay FHB for NOT staying there! It was principal & decided to make the best of not so great hotel situation.
So if you're looking for cheap basic room or what I would classify as a "Spring Break Hotel", then FHB is your place. I think kids wouldn't care about FHB issues cause it's a good location for Partying! (unless they don't open other bars or fix hot tub)
I'd rather spend a few more bucks & get a nicer hotel...many other hotel choices that could cost same & would be same or better standards. Don't think I'll ever stay at FHB again nor would I put it on my list of recommended hotels in Negril.
Remember you get what you pay for...or less in FHB case!
I knew I was getting just a basic room for decent price but it was less than I expected...so I'll alert others before they stay here.
I paid $55 per night for oceanview single room with in-room safe included. $385.U.S. total & she waived the 16.25% taxes...not a bad price. I've since learned it can be as cheap as $50 per night including the safe & frig fees...
Now I thought I was getting a nice clean room with 2 beds, private balcony, bathroom with shower & tub, tv, a/c, in room safe, & refrigerator...for $55 per night single..no single supplement charge...1 of the reasons I chose FHB as it was my 1st time traveling alone...LOL girl friend decided to come along too at last minute. She needed the escape to JA like I did & was expecting more that we got. She booked direct thru Lisa/FHB (as I did) but was charged $65 per night without safe or frig! They told her winter rates had kicked in & it would only be gardenview...HA HA they have No Gardens!
They barely have ANY Plants or Trees or Grass...most of property is white chat rock that's dusty all the time. Not an attractive property & doesn't look as nice as the pictures do on website. When I get my pics back, I will show recent photos of FHB.
FHB will add $4 per day for safe use & $5 per day for frig use. FHB will nickle & dime you to death! If you book with FHB...make sure you get in writing that safe & frig is included in price. I had that safe was included so I didn't pay anymore but friend had to pay extra $28. I argued that the frig was to be included but I didn't print out all the emails so I didn't have proof. When Carlene emailed Lisa, she said we would both have to pay extra as we had cheap price already...HA HA not that cheap for what we got!
We did get Carlene at front desk to upgrade my friends room for free (hard negotiator) so she could be upstairs alongside of me as I had requested 2nd floor room with private balcony for oceanview opportunity ahead of time & had in writing. She was told she got Gardenview & I ask what gardens? There are only couple of trees & few green plants except in planters, barely any patch of grass.
There are NO Phones in FHB so you have to yell to friends rm or bring your Digicel phones. We could hear each other from next door or going on balcony can reach over to knock on her window. So the private balcony was within reaching or passing distance so Not Very Private! I didn't mind few other guests also being out on balcony since we were closest to ocean in rooms 107 & 108. Wonderful breeze blew all the time & I LOVED that but that's nature!
Only room 109 was closer to sea but it was never occupied. When we checked in, only 2 other rooms were occupied. So Not like it was a big deal to give my friend the room next to mine...besides she was paying $14 more per night than I was!
Carlene was not the friendliest person at FHB but later in wk after giving her body lotion & CDs she got a little friendly...said Hi to us as we passed in & out of FHB property. We tried to get at least 1 frig included but FHB would not give in (refuse to give them more $5 a day for frig) so we just used lots of their ice from ice machine (downstairs) instead. I did miss having a frig for leftovers or cold drinks.
I always save extra food for JahBs dogs as I couldn't stand to see how skinny they were & they loved chicken bones/goodies. Just love his dogs & he's a sweet Rasta man...who I consider a good friend. I recommend people stop by & chat with JahB or buy something at his store or visit JahB's restaurant across the street. He is located by Roots Bamboo & the New Cigar King store bldg. Just look for the tall thin rasta man behind the craft vendors by Cigar King. Hope to have a good pic of JahB to include later.
Back to FHB topic...1st room Carlene gave me had NO In-Room Safe. I think it's only smart to be safe & lock one's valuables when traveling (anywhere). So I walk down the 20 steps & walk across the rock to front desk so Carlene can resolve missing safe issue. Friends was bolted to floor in her room by the bed. When I switched from room 106 to 108, I had a safe bolted in hallway to floor. It was secure but took her 20 minutes searching thru box of unmarked keys. It amazes me that Jamaicans never bother to get organized to save themselves time but I had just arrived & wanted to settle in...Hadn't gotten into JA mode yet & wasn't impressed with appearance of rooms either. Room 106 had newer prettier bedspreads on beds than both of 107 & 108. Our bedspreads were nylon white with big roses & ruffle, I'd date them early 60s style or age! Then you looked at big wall of windows & door to outside balcony with homemade curtains with Easter Egg print. A huge wall of Easter Egg pastel print material curtains...which constantly got in the way of door going in & out! A poor design & didn't match bedspreads nor appear tropical...I expect tropical prints in my room...I'm in the Caribbean, don't think that's too much to expect!
The beds were comfortable for me but friend next door hated hard as rock mattress. I wasn't sure how clean the bedding was, think it was just dingy from age.
Ceramic tile floor was clean & shiny! A minimal hilight of FHB. Workers were working all week every day from early till late as 11pm on FHB white bldg they are completing & adding tile over concrete steps & patios in our bldg.
Another issue I have with Lisa, I knew in July they had been adding 2nd floor to 1 of their bldgs & ask if construction was done. She said YES it was winding up as they had to complete for Winter rush. This was an outright LIE, I ask others & construction at FHB is an ongoing issue.
I don't know about you but I don't want to listen to construction noise on holiday. Banging of hammers, paint smells, tiles laying around as they moved very slow getting work done...these guys needed more supervision or motivation. I teased them all week about spending too much time watching TV or taking breaks or just plain farting around! Rarely did the mgr. get onto workers to complete a task, they would jump from 1 area to another without completing 1st tile job. Paint was so thin they would have to paint over 3 times to cover & still looked like it needed a coat of paint. FHB filled cracks in our lime green bldg with white plaster & never bothered to paint over patching...another little thing that detracted from FHB.
Rooms were not large, just space for 2 beds, tv on table & small dresser (with bugs) in room. Hallway had hanging/closet area & bathroom. This was nice & did have hangers. Bathroom needs updating & better finishing off. Mirror was grotted into wall with no frame & looked tacky. Old fixtures & minor mold (common in tropics) & worst design of where toilet paper dispenser was! Right behind the toilet in middle of wall, impossible to reach so the edge of sink became tp holder. Sink counter was not large so I was glad had room to myself...barely room for me to put my stuff on counter.
Does have plug by sink, bring your own hairdryer & be prepared for lights to dim when you use it. No place to hang my travel bag in bathroom, wish they had at least 1 hook in room. 2 towels that looked nice 1st day, they weren't so nice or new after 1st day.
Had a sewage smell sometimes when I used bathroom sink, not a pleasant smell! FHB does have Hot water but you must be patient, takes about 10-15 minutes for it to come thru shower pipes. They have a shower miser head so not a powerful shower but works to rinse off the sand & salt.
Funny story about bathroom, locked myself out of my bathroom several times. Had a button lock on inside that I seemed to hit by accident & if door shut, it's locked & Needs a Key to open. Back to the front desk & wait to search another box of unmarked keys...Carlene would not allow me to keep the key. If she had, wouldn't have died at 4am 1st night when I was locked out of my bathroom.
I had put packing tape on door lock (brought along) to prevent getting locked out after this happened 1st time. I like to sleep with bathroom light on & shut door so when I get up in middle of night I can find my way in strange room.
Thought the tape would prevent lock from locking but it had popped off when the wind blew door shut from great cross breeze in room. Breeze was great but I was so ****** (no pun) when I couldn't get into my bathroom & knew no one would be at front desk at 4am. Closes 10 or 11pm & doesn't open till around 9am. 1st night & I had no idea where or if there were any bathrooms that I could get to & didn't want to awaken friend at 4am. I was ready to pee on beach at this point but held off till 6am. Went downstairs hoping to find front desk help but of course no one was there. FHB guard saw me wandering & ask what I was doing. Explained that I'd locked myself out of my bathroom & was desperate! He said he could unlock door & then I noticed sign for outside bathroom. Quick run to pee 1st & then guard got his big knife & wedged it between door frame & lock, few seconds later he popped the lock open!
Yeah he's my savior but doesn't make me feel very safe when I see how easy these locks open...Same lock on front outside door entrance.
Friends outside door frame had 1 inch gap between wood & lock, an easy breakin opportunity & mine frame looked like door had been kicked in before. I do NOT think FHB has secure rooms...guard sleeps all night downstairs near beach but No One is at front of property. Anyone can walk on FHB without being stopped at night although in daytime front desk may speak with people who visit.
FHB is directly across from The Jungle disco & if you're young & want to be within walking or stumbling distance of many local bars then FHB is great location. I didn't like listening to the beat of Jungle sounds that we could hear in our rooms...EarPlugs solved this problem.
Roots Bamboo is 1 bldg down beach & Alfred's Ocean Palace a easy walk. We did close down both of these bars & Margaritaville & CLP bar too! This was fun & love hearing the Reggae bands although drinking is getting pricey at these places!
My FHB room had a lamp & bare bulb light & picture on wall, friends room was missing the lamp & no picture on wall. Bare bones basic rooms but I think a lamp s/b included so we ask & got one next day. Everything at FHB is outdated or mismatched but it did have a charm about it. SO let me tell you some of the good things also...
Marlene is FHB beach bartender & she's wonderful lady & bartender. Makes a good strong drink with their limited bar ingredients. Since they had so few guests, bar was not fully stocked. We really enjoyed her free welcome rum punch & sat to watch our 1st sunset with her at beach bar. The benches are elevated so sand flies didn't eat me alive & did appreciate that. I don't know if it was post hurricane or season or different bug spray but didn't get totally bitten up on this trip.
FHB does have a 2 for 1 happy hour deal everyday & it's worth a stop for drink & chat with Marlene.
FHB shows in website a bar by swimming pool & hot tub. This bar was never open. One of the other reasons I chose FHB was their Hot Tub. Perfect location by pool, bar & overlooking ocean/beach of 7-mile. Would have been great to sit in warm water of hot tub had it been working! Found out hot tub had not worked for 2 mos. & they only filled it with water because I ask to use it. I had No desire for a Cold Water whirlpool. It was a little cooler in JA this trip, down to 70s with strong breeze so Hot water was needed (at least part of week)! So don't count on the Hot Tub working, don't think it will be!
Nice tables & chairs or plastic lounge chairs available on beach. The beach area was clean & nice. FHB is next door to Whistling Bird & Aqua Moon. Both properties have lush tropical foliage, trees & plants. FHB is really missing the boat without plants on property as rock is Not attractive.
FHB balconies are wonderful with 2 plastic chairs & table, mine even had a red cloth table cloth on it! Later when the wind blew off table cloth, saw the huge burn hole thru table & reason for table cloth...LOL The breeze blew thru FHB property all the time & sitting outside was a pleasure. If you look over the rooftop you can see the ocean & 7-mile beach view. A definite plus for FHB!
If the newer bldg had been done, it had more direct view of beach & pool on 2 end rooms. Otherwise their balconies are like ours...
FHB does have good location, little mkt across street along with Miss Sonia's & JahB's restaurants. Within easy walking distance of many good places to eat & had the BEST Jerk Chicken across street from road vendor setup by Jungle. His name was Jerry & goes by Blue Dandy...$4 for qtr of Awesome Hot Jerk Chicken with delicious bread & jerk sauce! The best we had all week & we tried many places!
Sad thing is that FHB does have some good architectural designs & has possibilities of becoming a charming hotel...IF they would invest some money into property to updating & beautifying the grounds instead of making rock parking lot. The place grew on us & as the week progressed & we resigned ourselves to as I called it "Camping in JA". Was like going camping or staying at old small outdated motel...at least that's the way I chose to look at this trip.
You probably thinking why didn't we move hotels?
FHB has a costly cancellation policy that you sign upon checkin. They would have charged us each for 3 days of room rate if we cancelled our 7 day stay. Couldn't see paying same rate elsewhere to share a (nicer) room & still pay FHB for NOT staying there! It was principal & decided to make the best of not so great hotel situation.
So if you're looking for cheap basic room or what I would classify as a "Spring Break Hotel", then FHB is your place. I think kids wouldn't care about FHB issues cause it's a good location for Partying! (unless they don't open other bars or fix hot tub)
I'd rather spend a few more bucks & get a nicer hotel...many other hotel choices that could cost same & would be same or better standards. Don't think I'll ever stay at FHB again nor would I put it on my list of recommended hotels in Negril.
Remember you get what you pay for...or less in FHB case!
Comment