Margaritaville, Ocho Rios Jamaica

I'm no fan of touristy bars. I try to avoid them like the plague. I'd rather belly up to a local dive and take in the customs. None of those places existed in Ocho Rios, as far as I could find. And if I did find one, would I want to belly up with the Ocho Rios locals? I spend hours dodging them at every turn.

Ocho Rios is a shit hole of town. After going through the gauntlet of every stoned local with their hand outstretched looking for a handout, a place of refuge was needed. And a manufactured hot spot with a bunch of other tourists was just what we ended up yearning for.

I did feel a little filthy walking into a chain bar. But it was a beautiful rustic structure on a scenic Caribbean beach. This is the largest restaurant ever constructed on the north coast of Jamaica. The high energy place is humming all hours of the day, and well into the night.

The decor is rustic West Indian with a 98 foot water slide from the rooftop into the pool.
There are three bars, including one inside the pool. The service was good. Defiantly a tourist crowd. Not sure if locals are allowed in or they just don't bother to come in.

Being the beach is public, the locals are allowed to wonder up and down and try to get your attention to sell you weed. Fortunately the ones in my party who were being solicited were my young children, and they had no money.

With the exception of the many beer carts on the streets in Ocho Rios selling ice cold Red Stripes, there weren't many other places to go. By all means, support your local vendors in Ocho Rios who sell Red Stripe.

Much of the energy in the bar seemed to come from pent up frustration from everyone locked on a cruise ship for two days. The bar is situated next to the port where the ships come in.

I would not go into a Margarttaville Cafe in the states. There are just too many other choices. But in Ocho Rios, it would be my first stop if I ever returned.