My boyfriend and I stayed at Idle Awhile for 4 nights in late April. We stayed in a deluxe ocean view room which was very spacious and had all the amenities we needed - king sized bed, large bathroom, in-room safe, in-room refrigerator and large outdoor patio/lanai. The property is surrounded by beautiful green foliage giving the rooms ample privacy. Only downside to the room was that it did not have much in terms of drawer space. It did have ample closet space and hangars for hanging clothes. Rooms were clean and spacious but what makes this hotel is it's fantastic location right in the middle of 7 mile beach. There is a small restaurant right on the beach which you can't beat for convenience (and not having to pay cash!). Food at the restaurant took awhile (there is a reason for the name... Chill Awhile), but when it came it was very good and priced similarly to other locations along the beach. Service was extremely friendly and accomodating. The guys on the beach had the chairs out and umbrella up as soon as they saw you coming. The front office team arranged dinner reservations, transportation and anything else you might need. Would wholeheartedly recommend and would certainly return.

We spent 8 glorius days at Idle Awhile. The rooms are perfectly comfortable and very clean. We loved it here and will most certainly be returning.
If there were one thing that I might suggest improving, it would be the breakfast/ lunch menu . Healthier choices, such as yogurts, granolas, lofat muffins and multi grain breads ( not white) for breakfasts would be well received. Some wraps and sandwich/salad choices would be nice for lunch.

The staff were fantastic and looked out for the guests. Like I said...we can't wait to get back.

My husband and I stayed at Idle Awhile for 10 days in late November and early December 2007. We had a Deluxe Oceanview Room on the 2nd floor. I absolutely loved everything about this place!

Check In was fabulous. We were greeted with a “Welcome Home” and a handshake. Throughout the week, anyone working at the Front Desk was able to assist me…whether it was to get a ride to a nearby grocery store or book an excursion.

Our room was great. Large bathroom. There was a mini-fridge in the room, which was perfect to store beer, water, soda and leftovers. A great balcony with a wonderful view of the tropical foliage and the Caribbean Sea. The windows in the room have wooden shutters, which can be closed, but they do not block out the noise. It was only an issue one night the entire week, and even that wasn’t too bothersome!

We had several times at the onsite restaurant, Chill Awhile. Service was already friendly and timely. Food was very good and prices were reasonable. I definitely enjoyed the Coconut Water!

The beach was fantastic! Every morning they would set the beach lounges up. They got to know us by the second day and had chairs waiting for us. You can request an umbrella or there are large trees that provide shade if you desire. There is a Security Guard on the beach all day and into the night. I felt completely safe leaving my belongings by our lounge chairs and taking a stroll up or down the beach without worrying about anything being stolen. The beach itself is great…nice soft sand, GREAT for building sand castles! Gentle lapping water. The resort provides a foam mattress with each lounge chair that you can take into the water and use as a raft. AWESOME! There are vendors that go up and down the beach all day, selling everything from fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit, paintings, fresh lobster, dresses…anything you can imagine! Don’t miss out on the Patties or the Ice Cream!!

The location of Idle Awhile is perfect. It is right in the middle of 7 Mile Beach. You can easily walk to many restaurants and other hotels. We felt safe walking the beach at anytime of day, even after dark. You just need to be aware of your surroundings, especially at night.

There is a lady named Sandra who gives massages right on the beach, between Idle Awhile and Charlea Inn. I paid $30 for 30 minutes for an Aloe Vera Massage, twice! It was wonderful to get a massage right on the beach with the Caribbean right there!

Overall, I would highly recommend Idle Awhile. There are only 14 rooms, so be sure to book early. And the price for a room is not bad at all! I will definitely return on a future trip.

We just returned from Idle Awhile. We have stayed at several places in Negril, but it was our first time at Idle Awhile. Except in one area, the place was fabulous.

Idle Awhile is a 14-room hotel. We had a Deluxe room, their name for a standard one bedroom unit. It was plenty big, well cared for and had a small fridge. The building with the Deluxe rooms is about a hundred paces from the beach, and two of the eight Deluxe units (203 and 204) should have limited ocean views. The building housing most of the one bedroom suites is closer to the beach with more of a view for several of the suites.

The grounds resemble a tropical forest and are very well maintained. Concrete paths snake from building to building, ultimately terminating at the beach. The beach is one of the best maintained in the non-all-inclusive area of Negril beach. The beach furniture was the best we saw. White plastic loungers, topped with a thick foam cushion, are standard issue, along with a luxurious white beach towel. Comfort, comfort, comfort! The cushion doubles as a floating mat, wonderful for those long floats in the Caribbean Sea.

There are several mature trees that can provide natural shading for those times when full sun isn’t wise. For those who prefer them, the beach staff will fix you up with a pale yellow umbrella, the visual impact of which mirrors some of the best images from the travel mags.

The staff throughout Idle Awhile are top notch as well.

The only problem area we experienced was with the speed of food delivery at the on-site, beachside restaurant, Chill Awhile. The name says it all. Whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner, expect to spend awhile in the restaurant. Whether we were the first to arrive in the restaurant, or the last to fill up its nine tables, the length of time from sit-down to being served your food was LONG. We never wore watches to time it, but we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at other beach restaurants, and the food-delivery time was always much less (the food quality often was not as good as that at Chill Awhile). Not sure of the bottleneck, but it must have been somewhere in the kitchen, as the wait staff were never loafing. Yeah, we know, island-time, soon come and all that. We are not imposing American standards on Jamaicans. We have been in Jamaica enough to know the difference between waiting for a meal that is cooked to order, and experiencing a kitchen that is slow to deliver the food.

Some of the other places we can recommend for food are Best of the West (jerk stand across the street), La Vendome at Charela Inn next door, Ristorante Da Gino (Italian at Mariposa Hotel) and Norma’s at Sea Splash. Between 1:30 and 2:00 every afternoon, the patty man pushes his bicycle loaded with a box full of pattys past the hotel. Fresh, hot, spicy and cheap! Don’t let him pass you by!

Given everything else that was top notch at Idle Awhile, we would definitely stay there again …. we will just plan to spend more of our meal monies elsewhere if the food delivery remains slow.