Spent 5 nights at Catcha, Great location on the cliffs and the economical alternative to
The Caves, which is close enough to snorkle to. Stayed in the Sun room which was quite roomy with a kitchenette. No stove, just a nice double hot plate, which was fine. Both hot and cold water were fine, AC in the BR was fine, and fans throughout. The front veranda was nice and roomy with double doors leading to it. We took the inside table through the doors and enjoyed being outside a few nights. View was fantastic, not a lot of fish but snorkeling was good. Water goes down to about 15 or 20 feet within feet of the cliffs so if you can't go that deep you need to stay near the cliffs to see much. The dining, bar, and pool area is great with a nice cove coming into the property. Food at Ivan's was always great with no need to go off-site unless you wanted to try someplace different. Wew did go to the highly rated 3-Dives and the food was good, not great. The grounds are very well maintained and quite pleasant. You will love the many carved out niches to relax in private along the cliffs. There is a nice mini-mart across the street where you can get groceries, alcohol, soda, etc. Always felt safe in and around the Catcha area though we were told not to go too far alone as someone was robbed about 1/4 mile south of the property. Don't even think of renting a car. The roads are quite narrow and not maintained. We wanted to rent scooters but once again, not a good idea because of the roads. Used Rocky's Taxi and Tour services to go on trips, he is the number 1 rated service in trip adisor. Also used "Famous Vincent" for snorkeling, he drives his glass bottom boat by the property each morning about 9 AM to pick people up for snorkle trips about 1/2 hour boat ride away. He actually goes in the water with you and gives you a guided trip around the reef. The depth of the water at the reef is 1 to 6 feet deep so pretty easy. Unfortunately it appears that this area of Jamaica has been fished out so not many fish. We were in the water every day and the biggest fish I saw was less than a foot long. Rick's is definately overrated. Went there once to see what the rave was but didn't see anything great. the cliff divers were neat to watch but that was about it. Every evening boats from the other resorts all come to Ricks and then leave right before sunset. From Rick's you can look over and see Catcha and it is said that the sunset view at Catcha is better than at Rick's, which I would have agree with. Went to the Craft Mart one afternoon where people have their little shanties with mostly carved stuff. Nothing great but I liked to support them as they are desperate to sell stuff to live on. Some of the shop keepers looked to be in such hurt that I started leaving them a few dollars as a gift. You do not need any Jamaican currency any where. They all take US dollars, just make sure you know what exchange rate to expect. If you are looking for a romantic place away from the crowds and are not looking for those long walks on the beach then Catcha has the best deal going.