When we were looking the reviews before coming, we were a little scared because one we read that said it was not such a good place. We when ahead and booked it to find out that we did the right choice for us. I am from Spain but teach in the US, I have experience many acomodation in my life and this is the type of place that I am always looking for. I like it because it is connected to nature and it is not fake. It felt so good comming back "home" after the sometimes frentic town. The three big dogs would welcome us and follow us to our room to end up staing outside our loft for part of the night, I mean you can't feel safer. We went in the summer and the ocupancy was very low so we were very spoiled. The pool, half cover, is so perfect, just neek height to be able to do exersice. The pool is an extra to the amazing massages that you can get on site. With the heat and the massages my back went from sore to great at the end of the tryp. The place is in the middle of this small jungle, enough to be clean, the grass cut etc but still being in the real thing. Then if you want to go to the beach, John the owner is friend with the very classy hotel just across the road, so just by telling that you are staing at Chippewa they let you cut to the beach and also enjoy the bar restaurant and hamacks same as if you were stating in their hotel as long as you get a drink. Also if you dont have car, you are walking distance to the atm, great restaurant, disco and the central mall. I enjoyed so much and I hope we can comeback.This is a nature place,with birds, fishes, cococnut trees so many plant, very shady humongous bambu, if you are looking for a more “US like” hotel you will have to look depper and pay extra money, there are plenty of those. I really like the one across the road and one that looks as a casttle.

Our family booked a stay at Chippewa Village for 11 nights in April, this was our 7th trip to Jamaica and 3rd to Negril. We based our selection on price, location, the Chippewa website and reviews from this site and others like it. We have stayed at small hotels in the area and have a pretty good idea of what to expect - our expectations, considering the price, were realistic.
We arranged a ride through the owner John Babcook and were met at the airport by a driver with a small car. When we arrived at the resort, if it can be described as such, we were immediately besieged by three large dogs who we were told by John would keep us safe since they "didn't like Jamaicans", more on these later. We were struck by the fact that the pictures of the place on the net and on the website must have been taken by some of the world's most creative photographers. The beautiful library pictured on the website had burned to the ground some time ago damaging some of the trees and another building and leaving our view as that of a burned out building and piles of debris. The grounds were a mess and the stairwell and railing leading to our room were slippery and coated in bird droppings. The owner greeted us wearing a filthy white t-shirt and that probably should have been our first indication of what to expect. The screens on our outer door had been torn off, which didn't matter all that much since the door wouldn't close anyway. While the owner did come back to staple a new piece of screen on the door he suggested we push something against the door to keep it closed rather than attempting to fix it. Still, we entered our room with a positive outlook, hoping at least this would be as it was represented.
It wasn't. The inside door didn't lock from the inside and had to be lifted into place to get it locked from the outside, our bed had only a sheet on it, there were no facecloths, 3 towels but nowhere to hang them - even the hangers were coated in scum, a dirty bathroom, the t.v. wouldn't turn off (John turned it on as a favor even though we asked him not to), there were 2 air conditioners but only one was plugged in, the other didn't even have an outlet within reach of the cord, the 2 ceiling fans worked well, but a third fan over our daughter's bed was so filthy the blades had to be pushed with a hanger to start rotating - the good news, at least her bed had a bedspread. Here's the thing that really got to me, especially considering the burned out building, when I opened the "safe", a drawer with a padlock held in place by 4 phillips screws with the heads exposed (I guess they don't have screwdrivers in Jamaica) I found 2 broken smoke detectors. There was also a 3rd smoke detector, this one smashed on the floor in a corner in the bathroom - guess the cleaners missed that one. The cutlery and dishes were disgusting and John seemed slightly put off that we had the audacity to ask for some dish soap so we could clean some utensils for coffee. Although he informed us that they don't supply soap he did give us some - nice gesture. When we awoke we found the kitchen table crawling with ants - and the list goes on.
Also worth noting, the pool was the equivalent of the room and the so-called fish pond was a pea soup colored puddle. We checked out the following morning and when we were asked why we told him we had decided we wanted to be nearer the beach, frankly, the place was so pathetic we actually felt sorry for him and wanted to spare his feelings. And now the bad part.
As we left and I payed him the agreed price for 1 night he said he needed another 6 dollars for tax, since my hands were full I told him I would drop by tomorrow to give him the difference. When I went back the next day to pay and I approached the door to his office I was attacked by the black and white female dog. I was able to fight the dog off, but not before it tore my hand up pretty bad, the attack was unprovoked and the dogs had been friendly until that point. I required medical attention (which John had to pay for) including a tetanus shot and antibiotics, but I'm thankful it happened to me and not our 7 year old daughter or another child. I am over 6 feet tall and 180 lbs and I'm a lifelong Martial Artist, I am used to combat and high stress situations and because of this I was able to kick the dog hard enough and quick enough to prevent more serious damage - my point - if this dog, at over 90 lbs were to attack a less able person or child the result could be horrendous. The fact that Mr. Babcook bragged that the dogs attack only Jamaicans is disgusting enough, apparently they don't like white tourists either.
STAY HERE IF YOU WANT BUT PLEASE DON'T BRING CHILDREN. We found many wonderful locations on the beach, we ended up at Firefly for only a few dollars more a night, and there are many other locations throughout Negril that are safer and a better value. Don't be fooled by the positive reviews, no matter how cheap the location or how much bread this clown bakes for you, it is a bad deal and you're not safe.

I traveled to Negril with 4 other friends, all female. John (The owner) helped us straight away with a tipping crazy taxi driver! Had the most amazing time whilst we stayed here. The rooms were perfect and the people staying were really friendly and full of great advice for 5 girls with a very tight budget! John's home made bread is to die for! Give him the ingredients and he will happily help you out :) He made our stay worthwhile and I will absolutely be re-visiting in the near future! Thanks John you were great! x

My husband and I have travelled fairly extensively around Jamaica and were very satisfied with our stay at Chippewa village. As other travellers have commented, owner John is an excellent host – very knowledgeable, helpful and generous. He made us feel really welcome.

The guesthouse is well located in Negril-both for beaches, eating out and nightlife. After a couple of days on the beach in Negril we were really relieved to be staying on the Morass (wetland) side, as opposed to staying right on the beach.

Chippewa is really peaceful with lots of on-site outdoor chilling spots daytime and evening. The porches, lounge and pool area are lovely during the day and under the stars. The shaded platform John has built extends out into the Morass , offering supreme relaxation and nature appreciation – we recommend taking breakfast/coffee out there.

An excellent choice for independent travellers on a mid-range budget. If you stay at Chipppewa you can enjoy Negril but also have the possibility to escape from the constant frenetic beach hustle and beach-front all-inclusive hotels. We’ll definitely be staying there again next time we’re in Negril.