These colorful country-style cottages snake down a shared path from Negril’s main road right onto the sands of Seven Mile Beach. Jamaican architect Ann Hodges designed each cottage in a riot of colors and hand-crafted furnishings, from the bamboo canopy beds to the adirondack-style chairs on the little porches—and the beach is mere steps from your front door. (Plus, a small pool was added in summer 2014.)

Beach-front “Superior” cottages are actually two-story; the units on the upper floor have balconies with better sea views, but also catch a bit more noise from neighboring beach bars. Yes, the cottages are air-conditioned, but I prefer switching on the ceiling fan and opening the louvered windows and door.

A Jamaican breakfast of ackee fruit and saltfish at the bar by the beach is a perfect way to start the day (also good: the banana pancakes). “Flip-flops” is the (unenforced) dress code at Country Peppa’s Bar and Grill—really just a handful of tables on a beach deck for lunch wraps and simple dishes at dinner. But you can also just wander up and down the beach for dinner options; the unofficial hub of Seven Mile Beach, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, offers cheeseburgers in paradise just two doors down. (Note that these neighbors do keep the noise going until after bedtime some nights, especially weekends.)

Country Country also now rents two larger cottages with kitchenettes across the road.

 - Reid Bramblett