I have vast experience travelling to different places, and the Buccaneer Beach Hotel was by far the worst hotel I have encountered. It set new lows in quality and service.

Right from the start of the vacation there were problems with the front desk reservation system. I booked two hotel rooms with queen size beds for my buddy and me on the web. When we arrived, the lady at the front desk said we only reserved one. After paying for another room, we were shown to our rooms that had two double beds each. I complained to the front desk about the beds and she said to come back a few days later to upgrade to rooms with queen size beds because they were supposedly taken. She also admitted they had made a mistake and we really had reserved two rooms. After complaining a few days later, they still had no rooms with queen sized beds. We never got the room upgrade.

The rooms had numerous issues. The room I used had broken and loose tile in the bathroom that moved as you walked around. The grout was cracked everywhere which probably caused water damage to the lower floors. The water pressure and temperature in the shower was a joke. At best the water barely trickled out, and at worse it came straight down from the shower head. Most often I turned on only the hot water since the temperature was too cold to even use the cold side.

They had a hanger rack but no place to store clothes. The one lamp in the room had no light bulb. The balcony had a sliding door that was stuck and immobile. The cable television had poor reception at times, but most of the time had a mediocre picture. The door to the room was too large and difficult to open or close without making a racket.

Moving outdoors, the pool had peeling paint and underwater lights that didn't work. Only two broken lawn chairs were available and a few white metal chairs. Jet fumes permeated the air since the hotel was so close to the airport.

Across the street is a small beach that all the locals visit. Although this is a nice place to snorkel and swim, it can also cause a culture shock for white people. The first time my buddy and I went swimming, we were the only white people on the beach.

Places to eat are a few blocks away. Taking the walk is torture since the locals tried to take advantage of us by offering everything imaginable: taxi rides, food, cocaine, marijuana, women, "tour" trips, and trinkets. Other people begged for money. We even had one guy (self named a "poet") tell us a lame story and demand money. After refusing to give him money, he got angry with us. We soon learned that on this island nobody is your friend. Just say "no" and most of them will leave you alone.

On the positive side, the food at the Buccaneer Beach Hotel was some of the best we had on the island. The fish, jerk chicken and curry chicken were excellent. The main problem I had with the restaurant was poor lighting at night.

The Buccaneer Beach hotel is a perfect way to see the "real" Jamaica, but for a good time I would recommend spending the extra money and staying at an all inclusive resort.

The hotel was bad and the manager is the worse - he is unprofessinal and doesn't care if you enjoy your stay!! The best thing about the hotel was the desk clerk Camilla.

We rejected the first room assigned to us because the overall condition of the room was deplorable: the beds were sagging almost to the floor, , the TV was on the floor, etc. The 2nd room appeared better, so - tired and hot - we agreed to stay there. However, once our lugage was in the room we realized we had made a BIG mistake.

Our Room:
~ A fantastic beach view directly over the restaurant/club (PK's) with a VERY LOUD boom box. The club closed about 1am, but the staff played loud music while they cleaned until 2am or later.
~ The room had one lamp with a 25 or 40 watt bulb (you could not read anything after dark). The lamp shade was peeling and nasty to look at.
~ The ceiling was 2-toned - a small section was recently painted - the rest was dingy and dirty.
~ Wires hung from the ceiling where a fixture had been removed and never replaced.
~ The wall paper - every wall - was torn and/or peeling. The bathroom paint was peeling
~ The first night there was no hot water
~ The towels, wash cloths and bed linens were rough and thread bare
~ It took three trips from our 3rd floor room to the lobby (no elevator) to get the correct key for the room safe
~ The second day our towels were removed from the room during the day but not replaced until 5pm when the room was cleaned. At 4pm, we had to call the desk clerk (not Camilla) twice to get clean bath linens so we could wash up before going out to dinner (we rec'd towels, no wash cloths).
~ When we returned at 11pm, we had more clean towels but no wash cloths. Our request for wash cloths was met with the response that they didn't have any.
~ TV = bad reception through out our stay
~ Visitors are not allowed in guests rooms - so if you have Jamaican friends, they have to meet you in the lobby.
~ The second night, I demanded to speak with the manager and, when he called, he refused to adjust the 70 dollar (US) rate claiming we had already received a special rate for this room. Paying 70 dollars (US) a night for this room was outrageous - like being robbed at gunpoint!

The Hotel:
~ Is right next to the airport
~ The beach view rooms face a public beach - apparently it's opened all night and people are out there until the wee hours.
~ The ladies room on the first floor had no paper towels during our entire stay.
~ Prices at the on-site restaurant (PKs) changed daily. One day coffee was 120 Jamaican dollars, the next day it was 70 Jamaican dollars.


We left Negril to spend 2 nights in Mo Bay (July 16 and 17, 204) before returning to the States but, unfortunately, did not have hotel reservations. After the first 2 recommended hotels were filled we ended up at the Buccaneer. On my return to the States, I wrote a 2-page, detailed letter to the owner. As of today, I have not heard from him nor do I expect to.

In conclusion, I suggest you stay somewhere else. The deplorable conditions at the Buccaneer almost ruined my vacation. My 7 days in Negril and the CalicoPirates Sunset Cruise in Mo Bay were so good that they offset our horrible experience at the Buccaneer Beach Hotel.