I waited a year for this vacation The caves did not dissappoint. From the slow paced atmosphere and feeling that I was free and safe, to the wonderful and amazing choices of food It was a truly healthy vacation.
Our cottage had lots of charm and even came with some nice island tunes to choose from. no wristbands yeah

Loved it. The staff was friendly and so accomodating, Go jump off the cliff and relax.k

I didn't think all the reviews could possibly be true. How could a place be this great? After 6 days in December 2011, we are believers. Definitely read through all the reviews as they give lots of great information. I agree that this place is amazing. I will focus on those areas that I had questions on prior to our trip.

1. Does the room have air conditioning or not? This is a biggie for me no matter what time of year it is. If it's in the 80's in the middle of the day, I want to be able to go back to my room and turn on the A/C. The website was a little confusing to me so I emailed them directly. Originally I guess only the ground floor suites had A/C but they did confirm that now the 2nd floor suites (Macka Tree, Butterfly and Bird's Nest) have A/C as well. As for the other rooms, I would double check before making your reservation. And yes, I did turn on the A/C a couple of the days we were there in the middle of the afternoon to cool off, even in December. BTW, we stayed in Bird's Nest and it was very nice with incredible ocean views. We also saw Macka Tree (nice but really small bathroom) and Butterfly (also very nice). These were all 2nd floor rooms.

2. Are the cave dinner and couples hot tub really worth doing? Yes and Yes! Take the time to reserve upon arrival as these do get booked quickly. We did the cave dinner in Cave #1 (closer to breakfast area) and it was an incredible experience. Very romantic for our 20th anniversary. We also did the couples hot tub but we did the evening appt at 9 pm. For me, it was still too warm to get in a hot tub for the sunset appt at 6:30 pm but I talked to others that did it and they loved it. We just preferred the later time after dinner with a bottle of wine.

3. What is the best way to get from Montego Bay airport to the resort? Yes you can take a shuttle but it can take an hour to 1 1/2 hours. We read in other reviews that a puddle jumper from Mobay to Negril was the way to go. It takes about 20 minutes and was definitely the way to go. We used TimAir and they were awesome. There are no set departure times. You depart your flight, walk to their counter, and they walk you to the plane. They are small (6 seats and one is for the pilot) but what a great way to see the island. I think it cost about $200 per person round trip. I'd rather pay the money than risk getting car sick in a car or bus.

4. All the rest...... Yes to the snorkel outing and thanks to Paul for letting me use a floatie for security otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to experience it. Yes to a couples massage - it was outstanding. Yes to trying both entrees at dinner and thanks to the chef and staff for accommodating my food allergies. And yes - just do it - jump off those cliffs so that those of us who are wimps can live vicariously through you.

Thanks to all the amazing staff at The Caves who made our stay incredibly memorable. We hope to visit you again sometime soon.

We spent a few nights at the Caves in December and really enjoyed our stay. The property is very small, only about 11 suites, which is one of the main reasons we chose to stay here. We enjoy privacy, great food and wine and excellent service during our trips! The staff are all very friendly and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and happy throughout your stay. It has a Jamaican rustic/casual feel to the place, but is still very exclusive and classy.

We had private transportation arranged through the hotel for airport transfers. Upon arrival we were greeted to cool towels and a "Cliffhanger Rum Cocktail" really good! We had a late lunch and then were off to tour the property and check in to our room. The property is on the cliffs and offers really gorgeous views to the ocean. We especially loved watching the sunsets every evening! There are several really great spots to enjoy the day on loungers scattered around the property. (and there were no worries about finding a spot, there were plenty of spaces and you definitely didn't have to worry about saving a chair in the morning etc.)

There are also opportunities to do some cliff jumps as well, although I would say to make sure you speak with Paul and ask the correct way to jump in the water, if you land incorrect, you can definitely get hurt and bruised! We went kayaking (really fun) and snorkeling too. The snorkeling was not that great in my opinion, but we have done some really amazing snorkeling in the Pacific, so hard to compare. There were also a lot of jellyfish in the waters, I had several stings from them as did some other guest during their stay. It was fun to grab the water rafts and just hang out in the ocean, but the water was a little on the rough side (it might have just been the time of year.)

I would highly recommend a massage as well! The spa is very small and relaxing with the massage table set up with views to the ocean. There is also the option of getting a cave massage, but I just went with the regular spa option instead. I definitely recommend the Cave Dinner too! We were in Cave #1 for our dinner and it was set up beautifully! The Rum bar is also really nice, get the staff to bring down some item and definitely make it a point to go down there- really beautiful!

What really makes this place wonderful though is the staff that work for The Caves. There are too many to even mention all the names. Everyone always had a smile on their face and were very helpful with requests.

I wish there was an option to give 4.5 stars, there are a few areas where The Caves could use some improvement...

-Wine options. There were only 2 Red wine options and we didn't enjoy either of them. They definitely need to expand their wine selection and more importantly come up with proper storage for the wine too. They were definitely exposed to the heat and not stored properly. When we travel (and at home too) we really enjoy great wine, and based on the clientele that comes here, I assume others would want a better selection as well. Many people we met during our stay shared our opinion that there needs to be a better selection of wine. I did bring this up to some of the staff and they said they hoped it would be something they could work on.

-Food options. Although we did enjoy the food, it started to get a little repetitive after a few days. I had specified a vegetarian diet way before my stay, but just felt that for a vegetarian, the food was just average. I will give them a lot of credit for trying, they usually gave me the sides that came with the featured items, and then just added some small portion of something like tofu or veggie mince etc. It just got old eating rice, veggies, beans and tofu. It seems like that was our meal every evening and most of our lunch days as well. I would have liked to see them put some other options on the lunch/dinner menu. I will say the breakfast was great though, we enjoyed the Jamaican breakfast (which they did vegetarian style.) From others, it seemed like the non-veg options were great, just in my personal opinion, they could expand and improve on veggie options.

-I also would like to be guaranteed a room with an ocean view next time. Most of the rooms are all priced the same, we booked a downstairs room (the upstairs were all taken) and although I had 2 options as my first and second choice, I wasn't given either of these rooms and ended up in an okay suite "Blue Hole" but absolutely no view. The Blue Hole did have sounds of the ocean waves crashing but I didn't like that there was no view. I know this might not be as important to others, but I like to wake up in the morning and open the windows and enjoy the view for a bit before heading down to loungers or breakfast etc. I was told there is no way to guarantee a room, but only to request and they will try. I asked a few times to see if there was a possibility to move to another room but they were not able to accommodate my request. (which I do understand but next time we come, I would need to know that we are going to get a ocean view before committing to the stay.)

I think the points mentioned above could be improved easily and next time I will definitely discuss more specifics with them prior to the stay on my room. We did notice some other guest leaving the property for meals, which we would consider doing next time if the food situation was still the same.

Overall we really loved The Caves and will definitely be back one day soon. I would highly recommend it for a quiet, peaceful and private stay in the Caribbean!

Part of me doesn’t want to give the Caves a positive review. My concern is too many people will find out about this amazing resort and it will be impossible for me to book a room in the future. I have to give the resort its proper respect.

If you’re looking for a quiet, romantic, private, unique resort with amazing food (hard to believe for an all-inclusive resort) an attentive staff and by far the best view in the world book NOW. If you looking for a mega-resort with tons of activities, jumping nightlife, plush rooms, and kid activities….book a room at Beaches.

Reading the other reviews of the Caves I had very high expectations when I arrived and I can tell you all expectations were exceeded. The views off the cliffs are amazing the pictures don’t do it justice. The staff walks the fine line between obtrusive and casual. There were close but not too close. Heck you could even make your own drinks if the staff was away from the bar. The food was amazing. Get the lobster and stake as much as you can but try EVERYTHING. We didn’t leave the resort because we never felt the need to. We were WAY too relaxed to leave the Caves and there is no need to.

Please keep in mind when you book what you are getting yourself into. The rooms look like they are handmade and you will (not might) get a few bugs in the rooms because they are so open. Some of the bugs can be large but they run when they see you. Once again I want to set the expectation that these rooms are “open” because they need to be part of the resort. I loved the rooms but don’t expect a Four Season.

As I said before please don’t book a room at the Caves so I can. I’m counting the days until I go back.