My husband and I visited Charela for the third time this past December. The staff greeted us with a smile upon check in. The beach is the wide and deep. The hotel is so low key and relaxing. The restaurant is so well run with a great staff and service. The food is always fresh and well prepared. The Jamaican specialties on the lunch menu are excellent. We stayed in our usual seaview upper floor room.

Charela Inn, a small hotel in the middle of the famous 7 miles of pristine white sands in Negril, Jamaica, is the place to go if you need a beautiful place to relax and recharge your batteries. The owner managers live on the property and treat their guests like old friends. Indeed, many of the guests return year after year as they regard Charela as 'home from home'. The old world furniture is of solid Jamaican wood and although some furnishing can do with a spot of refurbishment, the rooms are large, well presented and kept spotlessly clean. The inner rooms face a lovely tropical garden and the ocean facing rooms have magnificent views of the gorgeous white sands, green/blue Caribbean sea and the magnificent Negril sunset. My only reservation was the food offered by Charela which seemed quite 'pricey' in comparison to surrounding restaraunts. This was not a real difficulty however as there are several good quaulity eating places within walking distance. Definately a place to return to!!

We recently spent 8 nights oceanside at Charela as we couldn't get into our first choice Hotel of Idle Awhile located next door. Charela is a good choice to stay on Negril's 7 mile beach. I will grade the Charela experience that we had accordingly:

Front Desk- Efficient and business like, but nary a smile or a welcome to Jamaica. Bellman was very good and quick with our bags up to the room. The front desk ladies are professional but how about a smile occasionally ? Grade B

Room- Clean but a little dated. TV, although it was a flat screen was not that easy to switch stations and there was no channel guide so you had to explore. Choice of channels were good with S. Florida and NYC news and ESPN etc. Also no room voice mail and the lighting was just two small bedroom lamps. The bathroom was basic with a newly glaxed tub. AC and fan worked well. Bed was firm and the room did have a mini fridge to keep your items cold. The balcony was great to sit on during the evenings and listen to the water. Grade B

Beach- Lovely. Lots of palms for shade and area to spread out in to. The beach is set back from the waters edge and the beach attendant keeps unwanted vendors off of the property. The beach attendant ("Clive") reserved chairs for guests that tip him. As such, the first morning that I was on the beach at 7 AM I made the grave mistake of wandering on to a chair with towels folded on it and was abruptly told that the seats are reserved and that I would have to move. When I asked why beach chairs are being reserved for guests that won't show up for hours I was told in these exact words "Because that's the way it is." I then stated that beach chairs should be provided on a first come, first served basis. I was then told, also in these exact words, "Take it as you want." Well, I take this as tip me and you'll get a prime beach spot or settle for whats left. Very disconcerting and not to mention unfair to early rising guests. "Clive" did not acknowledge our presence the remainder of the vacation. I found Clive to be unprofessional, opportunistic and very unfriendly. Management needs to address this chair reserving "enterprise" that Clive is running. Grades- Beach gets an A, Clive gets a C- only because he did keep unwanted vendors off the property.

Safety- Good. There was 24 hour security which included two large German Shepards in the evening. You can feel fairly safe on this resort without any worries. Albeit, if you're a female and you venture off the property alone without your husband, boyfriend, brother etc, be prepared to be harassed by vendors who tend to get very aggressive and target women for harassment. It seems that women (both locals and tourists) don't get treated very well in Negril or Jamaica in particular. Ladies, walk/stay with a male at all times if you dont want to be constantly harassed. Grade- B

Restaurant- Although we did not eat at the restaurant it was very popular and the food and choices looked great. The serving ladies were delightful and had a big smile and a pleasant greeting all the time when we passed by. A

Overall, I would recommend this resort although the vibe at Idle Awhile located next door was friendly and welcoming. We did eat breakfast at IA which was good but expensive. Try Buddy's beach bar a few doors up instead. Cheaper eats and good quality for breakfast. Also, Best in the West Jerk Chicken Shack/Bar located across the street was excellent ! Be careful crossing the road as traffic stays on the left and the drivers speed and drive erratically. From the airport, we used the hotel's recommended cabbie which was Wayne Mitchell. Wayne was polite, on time and informative- I would highly recommend Wayne for your transportation needs to the airport or any tours you might choose.

Just returned from two weeks at Charela Inn, with no doubt the best property on these seven miles of beach in Negril. Not enough space to give this fantastic property the praise it deserves. From the superior staff at reception to resaurant, bar, beach staff and house keeping personnel all of whom are beyond description. Having their own bakery on site only enhances the dining experience. No need to seek out other venue's to dine.Charela has it all.