Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Mais Oui Villa, Discovery Bay, Jamaica …

including questions you should be sure to ask before you book any villa.

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Expectations and customs differ across countries and cultures. To make sure that you have a good understanding of who we are and what we offer, we are providing answers to our most frequently asked questions about Mais Oui Villa and even a few that you may not have thought of.

Your stay at Mais Oui is very important to us. We want to ensure that you have an enjoyable, memorable, and safe vacation experience. If you do not see the answer to your question below, please contact us.

Planning a Jamaica villa vacation is easy and we are here to help you.

Make it Jamaica. Make It Mais Oui

Anticipated Costs

  • The cost depends on 4 factors:
    when you will be visiting (high season versus low season),
  • how long you will be staying,
  • the number of people in your group and how many bedrooms you will be using.
  • whether or not you are having an event at the villa

Once you have this information, contact us for a custom quote.

Yes, we do. Anyone age 3 or older is included in the occupancy count. There is no additional charge for children aged 2 and under who are sharing a room with an adult. The total number of people occupying the villa and the number of bedrooms being used influence the number of staff that we have to have on-site, expenses that are incurred on your behalf, etc. Every person in the house, including small children, affects our electricity, water, and gas usage as well as demands on our staff for cleaning, laundry, meal preparation etc.

We do not offer or include airfare in our rates.

We use several different sites for this ourselves such as Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak, and Cheaptickets.com, to name a few.

The major airlines that fly to Jamaica such as Delta, American Airlines, Jetblue, Air Canada, Southwest Airlines, and so forth also have their own websites.

No, you do not. Mais Oui is rented exclusively to one group at a time. We do not rent individual rooms. The number of rooms that you have rented, based on the written rental agreement, will be the number of bedrooms that will be available to you. Unrented rooms are locked off. You never have to worry about sharing the villa, amenities, or grounds with people outside of your rental group.

Rates are subject to change without notice. All quotes automatically expire 30 days from when the offer was made.

Rates are only guaranteed once you have a confirmation of booking, which requires a signed rental agreement and payment of your deposit. You may be tempted to google the name of the villa trying to find the best price on the internet. Rest assured that there is no company that is authorized to give any rates lower than what we can offer. We are the owners. You have our guarantee that you cannot book a legitimately lower rate elsewhere. If you do find lower rates on the web other than on our own website it is either an old listing site that has not removed us from their website or possibly an outdated cached page that is no longer valid. The official site for Mais Oui Villa is https://MakeItJamaica.com.

This is a very important issue that we encourage everyone to consider before making a final decision on any vacation choice.

Here is a handy acronym to help you budget for your stay beyond the cost of the villa rental: F-A-S-T3. Think of your food, activities, shopping for souvenirs, and the 3 Ts – tips (gratuity), transportation, and trip insurance.

This blog post, “Budget Smart: What is your Jamaica villa vacation going to cost you?”, is a must-read before any Jamaica villa vacation!

If you are celebrating a special event, allow room in your budget to help you celebrate in style!

The price of the villa includes electricity, water, and cooking gas. Two 100lb tanks of gas per weekly booking are allowed for the use of the hot tub. This is generally enough to allow use of the hot tub after dinner in the evenings. If you have needs beyond the allotted amount of gas, the staff can order additional gas cylinders on your behalf and at your expense.

Mais Oui is staffed so the base services of the staff are included in the rates. We do not charge a separate cleaning fee. The staff gratuity encompasses the additional cost of cleaning as well as the overtime that is generated when guests are in-house.

Booking the Villa

Mais Oui is booked in 3 easy steps:

  • Finalize the details of your party and contact us either
    via our website: https://makeitjamaica.com or
    by email: darrell@makeitjamaica.com or
    by phone: 1-833-624-7684 (toll free) or 914-709-0457
  • Using this information – the number in your group, the number of bedrooms you
    require, and your dates – we will finalize the rate and confirm availability.
  • You will then return the signed rental agreement and 30% deposit to confirm your
    booking.

Stays of one week or more are preferred but we will consider rentals of 3 nights or more.

Christmas and New Year’s require a minimum of one week’s rental at full occupancy. Some villas require a minimum of a 14-day stay during this period. We have chosen to not make that a requirement as long as the booking dates do not prevent a booking for either holiday. If your booking dates overlap both Christmas and New Year’s, then yes, you would have to rent both weeks.

A 30% deposit is required to book Mais Oui. We do not hold dates so even if we have the rental agreement in hand, the villa is not booked until we have received your deposit.

Unfortunately, we can’t. We are a small property with limited inventory since we rent exclusively to only one group at a time. Mais Oui is booked on a first-deposit-received basis.

The final payment is due 60 days prior to arrival, 90 days for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s weeks. If this is a near-term booking, defined as under 60 days, the total rental fee is due at the time of booking. We do not allow payment of outstanding balances on arrival at the villa.

Yes, we do. Master Card and Visa are accepted.

The final balance must be paid by 60 days prior to arrival, 90 days for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s weeks. The balance may not be paid in cash on arrival.

The cancellation policy is as stated in our Terms & Conditions.

Cancellations made 60 or more days prior to your scheduled arrival date (90 days for Easter and Thanksgiving) will incur a 5% one-time cancellation fee. Alternatively, the guest may choose to reschedule the vacation dates, one time, within the 365 days from cancellation, with full credit toward the new reservation. Changes in a reservation that result in a shortened stay cannot be for less than our minimum rental requirements. The new dates are non-refundable.

No refunds are made for cancellations made 60 days or less prior to arrival, (or 90 days or less for Easter or Thanksgiving). No part of Christmas or New Year’s bookings are refundable. Should Guest choose to reschedule, this would be considered a new booking.

Additionally, there are no refunds for non-use of any goods or services, for individuals who do not arrive, arrive late or who depart early for all or part of the rental period.

For Guests who cancel or make changes to the reservation, such as reduction in head-count, after the deadlines described above, the guest is liable to pay the outstanding balance as outlined in the Invoice & Rental Agreement.

We are a small property and so we have no choice but to adhere to our cancellation policy very strictly. While we may empathize with you in cases of unforeseen circumstances, a cancellation is also very costly on our part. As a result of your cancellation, we do incur non-refundable charges ourselves, not to mention the lost opportunity to rent the property for that time period.

Additionally, large homes such as hours tend to book many months in advance. It is therefore very rare to be able to rebook in under 3-6 months. We find that our cancellation policy discourages people from ‘shopping around’ while holding dates with us, which may not be a significant issue for large for large hotels but unfortunately not so for villas.

In the spirit of fairness, if you are concerned about the possibility of cancellation or early departure, we strongly suggest that you take responsibility for this risk and obtain trip cancellation/interruption insurance.

Also in the spirit of fairness, we ask you to not put us in the awkward position of having to remind you about our cancellation policy should an unforeseen condition arise and you have no cancellation insurance. We thank you in advance for your understanding.

A few companies that offer trip cancellation insurance, which offers travelers protection from illness, death, or other travel emergencies that can occur, are listed below in no particular order.

Their inclusion in this list is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as an endorsement. Please research them and see which company, if any, offers the protection that you need and or desire.

http://www.worldtravelcenter.com
http://www.travelguard.com
http://www.vacationprotection.com
https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/annual-travel-insurance

Should you buy travel insurance? We encourage our guests to purchase travel insurance, in particular, Cancel for Any Reason insurance, as we adhere to a very strict cancellation policy as described above. Ultimately, the choice is yours.

THE LOCATION … Discovery Bay

Mais Oui is in beautiful Discovery Bay overlooking the Rio Bueno Harbor.

Discovery Bay is about 45-50 minutes east of Montego Bay and about 30-35 minutes west of Ocho Rios.

Download our FREE Vacation Insider Guide to learn more about vacationing in Discovery Bay – https://blog.makeitjamaica.com/discovery-bay-jamaica-travel-guide/.
Check out the multiple things to do in our location.

https://makeitjamaica.com/things-to-do-in-jamaica/

Read these two blog posts to see if Discovery Bay is right for you.

  • Why Stay in Discovery Bay – 5 Really Smart Reasons to Stay in Discovery Bay. https://blog.makeitjamaica.com/stay-in-discovery-bay-jamaica/
  • Is a Stay in Discovery Bay Right for you? Find out 6 Reasons Discovery Bay Might Not
    be the Place for You. https://blog.makeitjamaica.com/is-a-stay-in-discovery-bay-jamaica-right-for-you/

Mais Oui is under an hour, about 45-50 minutes by car from the Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. The Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston is about 2 ½ hours from the villa.

We recommend the airport in Montego Bay for the obvious reason. It is closer. We have flown into Kingston on occasion; however, airport ground transfers from Kingston to Discovery Bay are significantly more expensive than from Montego Bay to Discovery Bay. The Ian Flemming Airport in Oracabessa, just east of Ocho Rios, is slated to be open soon. American Airlines is anticipated to fly there from Miami. Travel time to Discovery Bay is over an hour from there.

This is perhaps the number one question that we get asked! There are two beaches in our immediate area.

The beach which is about a 2-minute walk from the villa is a secluded, but not private, beach cove that has actually been designated a scenic view by the government of Jamaica. Plan on taking pictures there in the hour before sunset one evening. The beach is not handicap accessible and has a staircase that leads down to the sea. This beach is unpredictable and is highly dependent on the tide and time of year. Sometimes it is rocky. Other times, it is sandy.

Sometimes at high tide, the water comes up to the base of the stairs and so there isn’t much sand to lay on.

There is a larger beach, called Big Beach, about a 2-minute drive around the bay at Rio Bueno Harbor. You can walk to it but you have to do so along the main road. The vehicles speeding by may be a little intimidating so we prefer to drive. Walking to Big Beach is therefore not recommended.

Big Beach has lots of space to spread out, picnic, or jog along the shore. The Bengal or Rio Bueno River, which is thought by some to be the freshwater that attracted Columbus to land in 1494, enters the sea near this beach. Sometimes Big Beach can get a little crowded because this is also the end of the river rafting and river tubing tours.

If there has been heavy rainfall in the surrounding hills, there can be a temporary drop in water clarity at both beaches due to the contributions from the Rio Bueno River. Typically this clears within 24-48 hours.

This is weather dependent.

Our guests have free access to Puerto Seco, the best beach club in the area, with our membership. Puerto Seco is a 5-minute drive east of the villa.

Great question. Check out our Discovery Bay, Jamaica Vacation guide for free info that will show you why Discovery Bay is simply a smart choice for your vacation. https://blog.makeitjamaica.com/discovery-bay-jamaica-travel-guide/.

See the section on our website that lists many of the things to do within 30 minutes of Discovery Bay/ https://makeitjamaica.com/things-to-do-in-jamaica/ Also, check out our blog post, Things to Do in Discovery Bay, Jamaica https://blog.makeitjamaica.com/things-to-do-in-discovery-bay-jamaica

The town of Discovery Bay proper is about 5 minute’s drive east of the villa.

Mais Oui is in a residential area, zoned for villas, and so is not within walking distance from shops, stores, or restaurants.

Since we are not within walking distance from stores and attractions, you will need some form of transportation to get around when you stay at Mais Oui.

Unless you are familiar with driving in Jamaica, we do not recommend that you rent a car. The most convenient option for getting around is to use a van and driver service, which we can arrange on your behalf.

If you do choose to rent a car, we do have on-site parking available

THE VILLA … Logistics

Check-in is at or after 3pm and check-out is at or before 11am.

Please do not assume that you may check in early or check out late. Hotels have lots of rooms and therefore tend to have more flexibility in their check-in and check-out times. We have one property so need to stick with our hours as this gives us barely enough time to turn over for the next set of guests. Before the next guest arrives, all the linens and towels have to be changed and the villa has to be readied for the new group so they too may feel that we have been expecting them. Inadequate time to prepare for other guests increases the risk of creating a less-than-perfect experience for them. If available, early check in and/or late check out will need to be by prior arrangement only. We thank you for your understanding. If your flight will be early and early check-in is not possible, don’t worry. You have so many options.

  • You could use Club MoBay, the departure lounge at Montego Bay’s Airport. It is very comfortably appointed, offers free snacks and internet, and is very highly rated on Trip Advisor.
  • You could have the driver take you to Progressive Supermarket or Megamart, which is kind of comparable to a Meijer or Walmart, for you to select some of the specialty items that you might like to have during your stay. These stores have a very large variety of food items and will give you an idea of food prices in Jamaica. Perhaps the best reason to stop at one of these two stores is that they have a wide variety of liquor and much much better prices than you can possibly get in Discovery Bay.
  • If you are hungry, you could begin your vacation early with a stop at Scotchies on your way to the villa. They have the best jerk anything ever!

If we have guests arriving on the same day that you are leaving, we do not have an option for late checkout for the reasons already discussed above. We suggest that you consider using Club MoBay to give you more options than hanging out in the airport’s general departure lounge. If we do not have another group arriving on the day you are checking out, it is possible, but not guaranteed, that we may be able to handle a late check-out request. In such an event, there will be a fee to cover the additional cost of staff services and additional expenses that we incur.

The fee is as follows:

  • Check out between 12pm – 5pm, 50% of the daily rate of your stay.
  • Check out after 5pm, 100% of the daily rate of your stay.

There are different options.

  • You could let us arrange for your transportation with a trusted van and driver service. This is our preferred option, so much so, that our current special offer provides one airport transfer for the group per weekly booking. We think it is that important!
  • You could book a tour bus, also called JUTA bus. Typically, there is a fixed rate for 1-4 or 1-6 people with an additional per person charge above that number. They do pick- ups and drop offs at hotels and other tourist establishments along the way.
  • You could rent a car. The road on the way from the airport along the North Coast to the villa is actually very good. Nevertheless, we do not recommend that tourists drive themselves in Jamaica, unless they are already familiar with the area. If you go this route, make sure you have adequate petrol, are comfortable driving on the left side of the road, are familiar with Jamaican traffic laws, and are familiar driving in areas where street signs are not always up to international standards.

Just prior to your arrival, we will create a What’s App group through which we will go over the plan for your stay. You may contact us through the group at any time.

We try to arrange as many things as possible in advance of your arrival to reduce the chance of any disappointment. Do you want van and driver service? Do you want spa services? Would you like a cake to celebrate a birthday? Fire dancer? Photographer?

Please give us as much notice as possible to make arrangements. Remember Jamaica is not the USA. Items that you might take for granted are not necessarily easily obtained or arranged without some effort. The more notice we have, the more likely our efforts will be successful.

If you have any needs once you are at the villa, please communicate with the staff, in particular, the Head of House. They are there to help you. They would be very disappointed to know that you had issues that they did not know about. Of course, we are also here to assist.

Mais Oui is a non-smoking villa. You are free to smoke outside of the villa on the pool-side terrace, roof deck, and gardens; but, please do not smoke or vape anything inside the villa itself or on the bedroom balconies at any time. Also, please do not use our dishes etc. as ashtrays.

Please be careful wherever you smoke and how you put out your cigarettes. Every effort must be made to avoid fire. We will, unfortunately, have to charge you for any such damages. We take smoking inside the villa very seriously. Smoke odors get into fabrics very easily and thesmell is very hard to remove. Smoke can trigger allergies and asthma attacks. Additionally, Jamaican law, as of 2013, provides for a smoke-free work environment for workers. The villa is
the place of employment for our staff.

If our non-smoking policy offends you, we apologize in advance and ask you to not rent the villa. If you choose to rent the villa and ignore this request, the charge to clean the room of smoke is $250 per room and we have the right to terminate the booking and evict you without recompense to you should you choose to disregard our No Smoking policy.

THE VILLA … Occupancy

The villa is rented exclusively to one group at a time – yours! The number of rooms that you have rented, based on the written rental agreement, will be the number of bedrooms that will be available to you. Unrented rooms are locked off. So, for example, if you rent six bedrooms, the remaining two bedrooms are locked off. In some situations, this allows us to give you a lower rental rate compared to booking the whole house and paying for unused rooms.

The number of guests allowed is as stated in the written rental agreement. If you have any extra guests, there will be a minimum per-person nightly fee for overnight guests. Guests who do not stay overnight will need to purchase a day pass. Please check our website and or contact us prior to arrival to find out the current rates. The fee is subject to change without notice. This fee must be paid prior to taking residence in the villa. There are no exceptions to this policy.

Our rooms and rates are based on double occupancy. There are two rooms that would allow for more than 2 people depending on the configuration of your group.
We do not allow air mattresses and people crammed into rooms, sleeping on the floor, couches, and so forth. We are not a budget property and such activities would not be in keeping with our brand or experience standard. Our goal is for a 5-star experience for each and every guest.

Yes it is. The only caveat is that it is ideal for up to 7 couples, not 8, as the 8th bedroom is smaller than the other rooms.

In fact, Mais Oui is great for couples retreats or special getaways. With 3 indoor living areas plus multiple balconies, the poolside gazebo, the bi-level roof-top terrace, plus our three(!) cabanas in the Hidden Gardens plus our new outdoor spa featuring an outdoor soaking tub for spa services … what more could you ask for? Add in all the other on-site amenities like tennis, lawn chess, and other activities for the kid in all of us, staff services so no one has to make the beds or do the dishes, plus the option of a van and driver service to take you around … you have all the makings of one over-the-top-but-affordable vacation getaway!

There is a bedroom suite on the ground floor which, while suitable for all guests, is ideally suitable for individuals who have difficulty going up and down the stairs. There is a step down from the foyer into the dining room and into the living room. The family room and the more casual dining area are all on one level and so are accessed without steps. Someone with mobility issues would therefore be able to enjoy both dining and living spaces on level ground.

The doors to the downstairs bedroom and bathroom do not accommodate a wide-width wheelchair.

Yes, of course! Children are welcome. We have a child ourselves and have to make sure that he is kept entertained at the villa. The pool is always the most popular amenity among children. We have multiple fun amenities, including some educational options, that will delight kids.

Please note, however, that guests, and not Mais Oui staff, are responsible for their supervision and their actions. For example, children must be supervised to use the hot tub/spa, pool, whirlpool baths, roof deck, tennis garden with the pond and so forth. Due to the risk of alterations in blood pressure and heart rate, we strongly recommend that children under age 12 not be permitted to use the hot tub/spa by the pool.

Every so often we get an email that says something like, “We saw your large villa on the internet. Woo hoo! We are a group of college kids looking to celebrate Spring Break. Would Mais Oui be a good choice?”

Unfortunately, no. Mais Oui is not a party house. You would not be happy here. Read our article about whether or Discovery Bay will be right for you and you will see what we mean. Mais Oui, and Discovery Bay, caters to those looking for more of a quiet family-type atmosphere with the added advantage of seeing all that Jamaica has to offer without traveling too far. Discovery Bay is not Spring Break or Night Life City. Try Negril, Montego Bay or Ocho Rios.

Yes, we can arrange to host family-friendly events. We have had destination weddings and anniversary celebrations, birthday and graduation parties, and also retreats at Mais Oui. We limit events to 30 people; not because we can’t accommodate more but because we cannot comfortably go over that size indoors in the event of rain.

There is an extra charge associated with events because of the extra planning involved and the extra costs to us such as set-up, cleaning, utilities, and staff services. Event fees begin at US$1500. Contact us for more details.

Despite the above, please note that Mais Oui is not a party house. That is not the spirit in which we allow our home to be shared with guests or to be used for functions. This is not a home for any stereotypical Spring Break type or other “party-type” behavior. If that is your desire and intention, Mais Oui would not be a good fit. We ask you in advance to select another property as we will have no choice but to evict you should such behavior occur.

The rental rate takes into account expenses that will be incurred on your behalf during your stay based on the number of people that you indicated would be occupying the villa. These expenses will be more if you have additional people join you.

Should you like to have your friends or family from another resort or elsewhere on the island visit you, a day pass would need to be secured for each individual. Please provide their names to us in writing and make arrangements for payment for their day passes prior to their arrival.

Please contact us for the current Visitor Day Pass rate and or the cost for additional guests to stay overnight, as appropriate. These fees are per person, are paid prior to arrival, and are subject to change without notice.

The Visitor Day Pass charge does not include meals or overnight accommodations but does grant access to the property and available amenities as provided for registered guests. If a Day Pass guest wishes to stay overnight, this must be requested in advance and the overnight fee must be paid.

Groups of people (separate from the rental party) may not be invited to the villa for functions, such as family reunions, meetings, weddings etc. without our prior written consent. Events which involve more than 2 people above the number stated in the rental agreement will attract a site location (event) fee, which starts at US$1500, prepaid.

Guests above the number stated in the rental agreement, who wish to stay overnight, will be charged at our current per-person per-night rate. The fee is incurred except for children under age 2 who share a bed with their parents. This is based on availability. If a bed is used, a fee is charged.

For the safety of our guests and staff, unregistered guests may not stay overnight. Additionally, strangers, defined as people you did not know prior to your trip, may not be invited onto the property. If you would like to meet with such persons, we suggest that you do so at a public place

The bed selection for the 8 bedrooms was designed to accommodate as many group configurations as possible.

Suite Mais Oui: king-sized bed. There is a full-sized bed in the adjacent (un-air-conditioned) room.
Orange Sunset: two twin-sized beds which can be set up as king-sized beds.
Green Lime: two twin-sized bed which can be converted to a king-sized bed.
Library Room: two twin-sized beds which can either be set up individually or as one king-sized bed and one full-sized bed.
Blue Mahoe: two full-sized bed.
Red Ginger: two queen-sized beds.
Papaya I and II: each room has two twin beds which can either be set up individually or as one king-sized bed

See our bedrooms page for further details: https://makeitjamaica.com/bedrooms/

Mais Oui has 7 full bathrooms and 4 half-bathrooms for guest use.

The Papaya Suite has 2 bedrooms with a shared bathroom. The other bedrooms have their own bathrooms.

There are two half-bathrooms in the tennis garden, one by the pool terrace, and one upstairs off the roof deck near the billiards area.

THE VILLA … Safety

Mais Oui Villa is licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board. We have annual inspections by the Jamaica Tourism Product development Company (TPDCO).

Mais Oui Villa is certified COVID-resilient which means that we have vetted protocols in place as well as trained staff so that we can do everything we can to keep our staff and guests safe.

Mais Oui is a gated property. Two gates are automatic electronic gates. We also subscribe to a security service. We have external security cameras as well. We have fire extinguishers and interconnected smoke detectors.

Our pool is not gated; however, there are doors that can be closed to prevent access to the pool.

Additionally, there is a pool alarm that can be put in place if needed.

THE VILLA … Amenities

The villa is child-friendly – not childproof. The pool does not have a fence. Neither is there a lifeguard. We do not have gates at the stairs. We do have a high chair, stroller, pack ‘n play, children’s toys, books, videos/DVDs, and a ton of games to amuse children of varied ages.

There is a TV in the living room and the indoor bar on the first floor. There is another TV upstairs in the library lounge that is connected to the Wii and the PS4VR consoles.

Our bedrooms do not have TVs, which is a deliberate decision. Mais Oui is all about bonding with friends and family, exploring and experiencing a new culture, recharging and reconnecting with the spirit, and experiencing the simple pleasures of life.

Surprisingly, television watching is not high on the list of priorities of our typical guests, even those with children.

Yes, we do. We have the local cable company, FLOW. Our guests typically do not use this very much because personal streaming options are preferred. We have a NetFlix account on our TVs via ROKU.

We do have DVDs and a BluRay player. You should feel free to bring your own videos if you so choose, especially if you have your heart set on watching a particular movie.

Yes there is. And it is free. Our internet service is best suited for checking email and surfing the internet. The signal strength is not that of a T1 or a fiber connection, which is not available in our immediate area. Please be sure to explain this to every member of your group to prevent disappointment. Our signal is not always strong enough to allow everyone to stream at once especially if many people are on the internet at the same time.

The hot tub is heated only by request. Note that most “hot tubs” that are attached to pools in
Jamaica are unheated.
Guests are welcome to use the hot tub as often as they would like. In December 2022, we placed
the timer for the hot tub on the pool deck to give guests control of their use of the hot tub.
Propane is hugely expensive in Jamaica so we provide 2 – 100lb tanks per WEEKLY booking.
This is generally more than enough to allow guests to use it heated for a few hours per day
without running out.
Additional tanks beyond two per weekly booking will be billed to you for the joy you will get
from heating up the hot tub. We suggest that to conserve energy and reduce costs, you turn it on
only when you plan on using it. Remember this is a villa and not a hotel. If you wish to have the
hot tub on all day, you may; but please be prepared for the sticker shock of a huge gas bill. Most
guests who use it do so for a few hours after dinner.
Limiting how many tanks of gas we provide allows our guests to customize their vacation and
control their budget. We in turn pass those savings on to our guests. Guests who love being in
the hot tub pay extra for the enjoyment that they derive from such activities. Guests who don’t
use the hot tub very much, don’t have extra unnecessary costs.

No. The pool, as with all our on-site amenities, is only available for guests of Mais Oui. In fact,
the entire property and available amenities are for the exclusive use of your group. You will have
no worries about snagging a spot by the pool. Pool towels are provided as well. No worries about
bringing any with you to the villa.

The bedrooms have state of the art mini-split air-conditioning units with individual remote
controls in each room. Please do not run the air-conditioners with the windows open. If you do
so, you run the risk of the air-conditioners shutting off and being unavailable to you. If we need
to send a service agent out due to your misuse of the system, the charge, unfortunately, will be at
your expense.

Meals at Mais Oui are a highlight of the stay. The staff prepares all meals. We have had guests,
on occasion, want to cook alongside the chef. That is fine. There is no reduction in rates if you
choose to do this.
Our chef is well versed in Jamaican and international cuisines and gets rave reviews
from our guests. Our kitchen is not set up or equipped for use by our guests and so the
staff is always there to assist with meal preparation. That said, we would expect that the
chef wouldn’t mind teaching you some Jamaican recipes if you would like.
To give some additional independence for guests, we have a refrigerator, microwave, blender,
and coffee maker in the bar area to which guests have access 24/7. There is also an outdoor
mini-kitchen with a grill by the pool. If you enjoy grilling, for example, the staff can help
you get the grill going. Maybe you would even love to learn how to make jerk cuisine!

The villa brand, Mais Oui, comes staffed. You may,
however, determine the extent to which you use the services of the staff. The staff gratuity is
required regardless of whether or not you use the services of the staff.

The spa and its associated services are only available by appointment. To prevent
disappointment, spa services are best booked in advance. Our spa therapists are only on-site
when providing scheduled services

Like everything else at Mais Oui, our services are only available to guests of Mais Oui.

Our bathrooms have wall dispensers with shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner.

All full bathrooms have hotel-style hair dryers. We do have a more heavy-duty salon-style blow
dryer should you like to borrow it.

Yes. Mais Oui has enough serviceware to provide for elegant meal settings for our guests. There
are local event planning companies that can provide additional rental items as desired.

As an 8-bedroom villa, Mais Oui generates a lot of laundry – bed and bath linens, tablecloths,
napkins, and pool towels. Guest laundry is done at $25 per 10lb load.

Pool towels are available at no extra charge. We ask our guests to not use our white bath linens
by the pool or beach. All towels must be returned prior to departure.

THE VILLA ...Meal Planning

Yes, it is. Our house water system is from a private water
company that collects water from the Rio Bueno River. We also have on-site water tanks that
collect pure Jamaican rainwater. The water is filtered prior to coming into the house. We have a
water dispenser for hot and cold water in our indoor bar area. If you wish to have bottled water,
this can be added to your grocery list as needed.

Our guests typically do not like to use their vacation time grocery shopping. Our staff usually takes care of these issues on their behalf.

The closest grocery store is in the center of town in Discovery Bay, which is about 5 minute’s
drive from the villa. This store caters mostly to locals and does not have the range of items that would be necessary to service a menu of Mais Oui’s standard.

Our guests usually get their groceries from L&M in Salem, about 10-15 minutes east of the villa.
This store allows our guests to purchase goods and then settle the account with a credit card at
the end of their stay.
Unfortunately L & M was gutted by a fire on January 9, 2022 and is under renovation. We are
currently making arrangements for grocery shopping at General Foods Grocery Store in Ocho
Rios.

We generally recommend guests budget US$65 to $75 per person per day for three
meals per day at the villa (as of September 2022).
This is a recommended estimate to help you figure out your budget, not a “price”. You
will be paying the grocery store and or the market for the cost of your groceries, not the
villa. This is very important to understand.
You are in control over how much you spend on groceries for your meals based on what
and how much your group chooses to eat.
Be sure to have a realistic food budget. Please bear in mind that if you use too low a
budgetary number you will probably not meet your group’s grocery needs. Having
inadequate food in the house will surely be a source of dissatisfaction for your guests.
The key to successful menu planning, we have found, is for the group to be decisive in
what they want and agree on at least a few days worth of menus. That will greatly reduce
the number of shopping trips as well as the associated transportation cost. It is really
important for the group to all be on the same page in terms of what they want to eat,
how extravagant they wish their menu to be, and how much they wish to spend on food.

We generally stock the villa for the first dinner on the day of arrival and breakfast the next day. Additional items would be purchased as requested.
Usually, the day after you arrive, the chef will meet with the group’s leader after breakfast in order to:

1. Go over the receipts that she has for what she purchased on your behalf.

2. Plan your menus for the rest of your stay, taking into account your intended itinerary and activity schedule. At this time you will go over your budget as well as your expectations for meals. For example, how many courses do you want for dinner? Dinner is a very special occasion at Mais Oui; however, it can be tailored to meet the needs of our guests.

Our chef is very skilled at estimating how much food to purchase based on the number of guests in house. She will do the purchases on your behalf and work with you to help you to stay on track of your budget. She can update you with your progress as you go along if you like as well. Generally, once most guests see that the chef is capable, they leave everything up to her and just give some guidance if necessary.

Please realize that there are no grocery stores within walking distance of the villa. Either a delivery fee or her taxi fare will be included with your bill.
The local grocery store, L & M, which delivered and accepted credit cards and would come to the villa to settle up accounts was gutted by fire on January 9, 2022 and is undergoing renovation. At this time, there isn’t another grocery store that provides that service. We are currently making arrangements for grocery shopping at General Foods Grocery Store in Ocho Rios.

Please note that Mais Oui does not operate a restaurant nor is it like a restaurant where each person places his or her order for meals separately. Mais Oui offers an upmarket villa vacation experience. The villa has a residential, not a commercial, kitchen. For dinner, we generally do up to 2 entrees so that guests can have a choice and some variety in their meal selection. Some guests do choose to have one main dish for dinner. It is really up to the group.

Unless we are catering an event, there is no per-meal price. We cater to groups for whom we customize and prepare their menus based on their food choices.

THE VILLA … Miscellaneous

If anyone tells you that you will not see any insects in Jamaica, you should run in the other direction as that is not an honest answer. Jamaica is a tropical country and so insects and other such creatures live here too, including in the resort areas. There are mosquitoes, flies, ants, lizards, and even cockroaches to name a few. Is it possible that
you may see any of these animals while you are in Jamaica? Of course you may. Does this mean they will be a constant presence during your holiday? No, it doesn’t; however, if the windows and doors are open, they could come inside.
Rest assured that we have our own preventive maintenance systems in place at Mais Oui to keep insects, rodents, and such critters under control. In our ponds, we have beautiful fish which eat mosquito larvae so this is a win-win situation for both the fish and our guests. Nevertheless, our efforts are in vain, if you do not do your part. Contrary to what many people may believe, the presence of insects does not mean unsanitary conditions. Flies, ants, and cockroaches are always looking for food. They have a highly developed sense of smell. We request that you only eat in designated eating areas. Eating and or leaving trash from food items in your rooms, for example, is never, ever, a good idea, as this is essentially an open invitation to these unwanted friends. Using insect repellent and bug zappers are helpful in keeping mosquitoes at bay. Keeping the doors and windows closed, especially after dusk, is also important. So, yes, there may be some unwanted critters that might be around, but, you aren’t going to let them ruin your vacation, are you?

It is very important to us that you feel comfortable choosing Mais Oui for your vacation. Additionally, when you get to Mais Oui, you should feel that you made the right choice.

If there are any questions that you have, that we haven’t covered in our FAQs or in our blog, just drop us a note. We are always looking for new topics to talk about. Well-prepared and educated guests make happy guests!

Think and dream Jamaica!

Sherry & Darrell Looney
The Owners, Mais Oui Tennis & Spa Villa
Discovery Bay, Jamaica
Website: https://makeitjamaica.com
Email: darrell@makeitjamaica.com
Phone: 1-833-624-7684 (toll-free) or 914-709-0457
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook!: http://www.facebook.com/makeitjamaica