River Lodge is the best place i ve ever stayed in Jamaica. Friendly atmosphere, nice location, charming people. We went there a few days for our wedding. We stayed at the cottages. This place is really nice and clean and contrary to what i ve read on other comments, we never had any problems with the dogs. Even my old mummy who is a bit scared of everything , enjoyed herself a lot. After driving my mum to the airport, we were supposed to stay in an other guesthouse.... but guess what....we spent a night there and come back the day after to river lodge where we spent the rest of our vacation.
This is THE place to stay if you want to discover real jamaica, far away from tourist business...

This is our report about our 3rd stay in River lodge. It`s the most beautiful place I ever saw in this country. I know nearly every place in 10 years coming to Jamaica but I never saw such a peaceful place. If you want to see the real Jamaica, it´s there. Brigitta and Cox give you the feeling like being member of a great family and whenever I come back to Jamaica I stay there, because it´s Jamaica at its best.
Regards to all our friends!!
Gaby and Roman

I`m a german (female) travelling to River Lodge since 1994, wich says a lot. River Lodge is rebuilt from the ruins of a spanish fort. It is located in a small Rasta community surrounded by an intact nature without any pollution or noise. It has simple but clean and spacious rooms wich have a rustic charme. I can recommend the tower room. It has a terrace to the seaside where you can watch the beautiful sunrise or millions of stars and the milky way at night. It also has an open bathroom and it is so nice to take a shower in the sunlight. The lodge doesn`t have hot water but it is refreshing to take a cool shower at any time cause Jamaica is hot, and in the afternoon the water is warmer. The toilet has a roof. Sitting there you can watch Doctorbirds.
Of course it will happen that you see lizzards or insects. To me this is just a sign how unspoiled this area is. You can watch different birds,mungos, fireflys at night,bats(which are harmless fruiteaters, so make sure that you don`t store bananas in your room if you don`t want to share).
Brigitta,the owner, is very friendly and openminded. Whenever you need help, an advise or whatever she will help you. The staff, Sandra and Christopher will also always be there for you.
The food is delicious and fresh( vegetarians are welcome).
You can spend your days swimming and snorkeling, just laying in the sun. Or you can go for hikes or boatrides to nice/hidden beaches or waterfall with neighbors like Lion or Dale who will explain you many plants and how to use them for medicine or food. Believe me after so many years I still enjoy these tours cause there is always something new to explore. If you need more excitement you can ask Brigitta for a driver/tourguide for daytrips, if you don`t have your own car. You also can take a taxi or public buses which is more adventurous. If you don`t know the island ask Brigitta before you go about prices,"no go areas" etc..
For your entertainment you can find two shops a fiew minutes up the road where you can have drinks, snacks or can play dominoes and chat with the people. It is easy to get in contact with them. In the main season you find a restaurant/bar just around the corner named "Natural Vibes". Cox, Brigittas husband runs it. It looks nice and I know the chef is a real good cook.
I can recommend River lodge to people who are a little bit adventurous, openminded, interested in the rural Jamaica and its people and not scared of the surprises the nature can hold (it is NOT dangerous). Also if you are a single traveller (male or female) you can feel safe. I sometimes forgot to lock my door at night so secure I always felt.
I can`t recommend this place to people who need party every day, to those who are looking for a sterile "all inclusive" spot, you will be disapointed.
Things you should bring: flashlight,good hiking,waterproof shoes,repellent,long trousers/shirt and everything that is needed in a tropical country.

River Lodge. Well what can I say. Myself and partner ventured there after a comprehensive search via the internet of the "Real Jamaica". Rest ,meditation on music and peaceful vibes is what we required.We were lured by the Rasta community at which this is located. (strawberry fields) and after reading the very attractive website, how it was once an old Spanish fort and the delightful pictures. We made our reservation, initially requesting the cottage Saphira which we were told was not available and that instead we could have the Tower room which was very similar and private. When we arrived Brigitta was not there to greet us the taxi driver showed us to the Tower room. The bathroom was outside and shrouded by a huge spider web with three large arachnids encroached in the middle. We started to unpack and a huge bat flew in the room. We managed to get it out of the room and venture onto the balcony for a rest and to take in the view (we were exhausted had been traveling for 48 hours with connections and all.) The table on the balcony was supposed to be white plastic instead it was black with dirt. We decided this was not suitable for us seeing as we had paid 900 US for the room for 14 nights. We went down to the main reception and were greeted by some of the natural, truest local people you are ever likely to meet. Sandra (The housekeeper ,cook cleaner and that night the hostess!) We mentioned at dinner to some of the guests that we were disappointed not to see Brigitta as we found it unusual not to be greeted on arrival by the owner. One of the guests promptly phoned her and she came over to the lodge. We advised that we would require another room as the tower room was unlike the saphira we had originally requested. We took another room and rested for the night. We were quite happy although the room was alive with Lizards, Mosquito's peenie wallys and cockroach. Also the Mosquito net over the bed was had several holes in it. This never bothered us as we wanted to experience Jamaica and we were certainly not in some fancy hotel nothing was going to get us down, however to make it clear all River Lodge rooms are open to the elements,expect all types of insects in your room and frequent power cuts...take a torch! as this is not stated on the website. All showers are cold water also. Our shower did not drain so we had a stagnant pool of water a breeding ground for mosquito in our room.After pointing this out We were subsequently moved . Brigitta had offered us a little private cottage on her estate next to our original choice and advised that her home and the estate was guarded by 2 Labradors of which we would need to become familiar with. (This was also not mentioned on the website, all homes in Jamaica are protected by dogs this had 5 which we found to be a bit overkill ) We moved up to the cottage (bamboo) and settled in. She brought Kaya (a collie mix) and 2 puppies to meet us and advised that we would need a supply of biscuits to keep the dogs happy. We all got on well. Dinner was still served at River Lodge(15 min walk away) so at approx 7pm we ventured down the hill past Brigitta house to River Lodge... No!!...Wait..it wasn't that easy there were other dogs that she had not mentioned..I wonder why?? .A Rotweiler and a German Shepherd who were not so nice and rushed me and my partner every time we tried to enter or leave Brigitta's land.The biscuits made no difference when they were gone they would try to attack you... IT WAS A NIGHTMARE!!...we expressed to her how unhappy we were and we came to an agreement with her to lock the dogs up from 7pm till we got in from dinner/ evening out as we could not get back to our cottage after dark as they would rush to attack us. This worked for one night until Brigitta's husband Cox was supposed to lock the dogs and they attacked us on the way to dinner.!! That was it ...No apology from Brigitta. We requested a refund and told her we would be leaving the following morning...This was agreed and she advised us to stay at the lodge until she got home so she could lock up the dogs so we could get back to the cottage that night...We were sitting in the courtyard at the lodge after dinner having a few beers with the locals and listening to some nice vibes...cool evening...when Cox marched into the courtyard vexed. He wanted to start a fight with my partner as we had requested a refund and Brigitta had obviously scolded him for not tying up the dogs. My partner managed to cool the situation, however I was alarmed that this behavior manifested itself at a guest house...I subsequently took the matter up with Brigitta on the morning of our departure( after 6 nights) and she was also abusive..The Locals in Strawberry fields were fantastic and came to our help...we stayed in "Strawberry Fields together "a beautiful cabin half a mile away located in lush surroundings, and enjoyed the rest of our time in Strawberry fields. Just also to point out ..my partner is a musician and we saw on the website for River Lodge a music venue natural vibes with photographs. This was never opened when we were there and the pictures on the website advertising this we were advised by the locals, were not even shot there but in a bar in Robins Bay 3 miles away. To All Readers..this was a bad experience for us a River Lodge and we feel passionate enough about it to post it on this site. Having said that..We went on and had a wonderful time in St Mary Strawberry fields...and the only thing left to say is... Thank Jah for Real Jamaicans...Rastafari