Port Maria/St. Mary 4 Holiday apartments for your independent vacation close to the beach

It's my 3rd time in Jamaica and my 1st time in Port Maria. The apartments are very clean and comfortable and situated perfectly near the beach and town. The management was very helpful and give a lot of good tips. I enjoy the nice sandy beach with the local bars and people. No tourists at the beach and in the town but I meet a lot of nice locals. Also there is a lot of locals take aways and restaurants, which are serving fresh fish, seafood and typical local dishes. If you like the european standarts you have to go to Ocho Rios and there you will find all the tourists restaurants, night clubs and shops. You can also visit James Bond beach, Reggea Beach and the prospect plantation. Horse back riding at Prospect Plantation was a very special highlight of my holidays.

I will come back to Port Maria again because you get a lovely apartment for a small price.

Thanks to the management which let me experience Jamaica in a different way. Respect to all locals and people I get to know.

Irie
Hanny

This property is for folks looking for the 'real jamaica'. You *will* find it here, complete with local 'restaurants', shopping and nature. The owners are very helpful and responsive and the property is well kept, well built and comfortable. The town is interested and the residents seem to look out for the random tourists that arrive.

However, the above picture of the beach and description that accompanies it are misleading.

* The beach looks nothing like the above. It's piled high (2-3 feet in some places) with debris, trash and wreckage. As there are no resorts here, no one cleans it, because no one uses it. The above photo must have been taken 15 years ago, because that beach isn't here.

* The staff, Church and the driver Charlie brown, are responsible and nice, but not very communicative about what is around or what is offered, nor did we find them around that much. This could be an asset to many, but for us, we needed some guidance. But to say that 'they will ensure an unforgettable holiday' is inaccurate. When we set up a local hike in the hills, the negotiated rate with a local was exorbitant. 80$ USD for a 90 min hike. If you work everything through caretaker Church and driver Charlie Brown and take time to get to know them and trust em, your experience will be vastly improved.

* There was a woman on the property, who repeatedly badgered us to cook for us. In fact, she is related to the owner's wife; her house has a gate that opens up onto the property. We had been warned about her, but we decided to go with it anyways. Bad choice: she will inflate the price of groceries (3000J for 1200J worth of goods) and will repeatedly ask you to buy her alcohol. She is a decent cook, but it hardly worth the hassle; she will enter your apartment uninvited, often drunk and won't leave without being rude. Find another cook; don't engage her.

* There are NO 'tourist' restaurants in town, but there are 2-3 jamaican places that serve good jamaican food and of course the jerk stands and patty place near the large market. These range from a shack with 2 plastic tables to a larger place with fluorescent lighting. Want a sit down dinner? Take a bus to Ocho Rios.

* Again, the owners are responsible, responsive and cooperative.

* Best bet is to have an idea of what is around and plan accordingly and negotiate diligently for some inside knowledge of the real jamaica.

* This place is secure and we felt very comfortable.

Port Maria is a lovely town where I most likely will come back one day.But the beach is not good for swimming and the pictures about the beach have been taken propably years ago.Nowadays it is full of garbage.
Sunrise Apartments location is very good.
Yes there is a TV and stereo and other but none of these are working .In most days only cold water was running.Cleaning was once a week and there had not been done a very good cleaning for a long long time.