Mobay Kotch, Montego Bay

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Mobay Kotch Reviews

Official Hostelz Review Official Review
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The Hostelz.com Review - Genuine, independent review you can trust.

Pretty soon after you arrive in Montego Bay, you'll learn that Mobay Kotch is the city's nickname; Mobay Kotch, the hostel by the same name, is a great place to start your exploration of town. It is a relaxing oasis in a bustling, busy downtown. And they have an adorable puppy!

The Location

The hostel is located in the heart of downtown Montego Bay; everything you need is around here -- cheap and tasty street food, grocery shopping, money exchange, and public transportation. You might hear it's not a great idea to wander around alone at night, so maybe listen to friendly advice. The staff are actually super helpful and will sometimes accompany you to nearby locations, just to make sure you don't get lost. The hostel is a short taxi ride from the airport. Once you're in the hostel, rest assured you're safe; they have a gate that requires a key to get in. There are a few beaches around, and some of them are free; you can easily walk there from the hostel. If you don't fancy walking, route taxis are a great and cheap way to get around -- try to avoid charter taxis though.

Rooms and Bathrooms

The hostel is set in a beautiful Georgian-style house with high ceilings and large windows, and it's absolutely gorgeous, but that also means it is old. So you'll have to choose whether you prefer a unique experience or if you'd rather be comfortable. The rooms are very basic. The doors are sometimes hard to lock\open. They're rather clean, though. The bathrooms are not state of the art, as water is only lightly drizzling in the shower (and don't expect hot water), and the toilets don't always flush, and there isn't always toilet paper, but it seems hosteling standards all around the country aren't that high, so this is pretty standard around here.

Common Spaces

There is a sort of fancy living room on the first floor (where you can unofficially store your luggage before\after departure), but hardly anyone ever hangs out there -- you'll find everyone out in the patio, where you can smoke. There are couches and seats and you'll find staff, travelers, and local adorable kids hanging out there. There's no breakfast, but if you're lucky you may wake up in time to have some coffee. Anyway, there is a huge and well-equipped kitchen you can use to store and cook your own food, although there is a lot of tasty food to be had out there. There is free Wi-Fi.

Summary

We absolutely loved staying here, the place is lovely and has a lot of character, although as soon as you go outside the gate it can get pretty overwhelming, so we think it's nice to stay here for a few days, explore downtown and then perhaps move somewhere a little more relaxing. Either way, don't forget to check this place out when you're in town -- it's one of our favorites!

Photos taken by the Hostelz.com reviewer — Genuine photos you can trust.

Markovka

Hostelz.com Staff Reviewer

Published on Mar 14, 2019

Location and Contact

Location

• i. Directions from the Airport
• Transport by Mobay Kotch
• Mobay Kotch provides a pick up service from the airport for USD$10. If you are interested in this service, please contact us via email at mobaykotch@gmail.com to confirm and provide us with your flight details (airline and flight number) so that the pick up arrangements can be made.
• Local Transport
• In the instance that you are finding your own way from the airport to Mobay Kotch by local transport, the two following options are available:
• - The private taxi. The fare from the airport to property is USD$20. This is a non-negotiable price and they are located at the exit of the arrivals terminal. This service will drop you directly to property.
• - The route taxi. The fare is JMD $100 and be certain indicate to the driver that you are NOT chartering the ride or the ride should cost approximately JMD$500 to cover the rest of the seats in the car. The route taxi is a shared taxi which allows the driver to take other passengers apart from yourself in the taxi which is why the fare is JMD $100. You can catch this closer to the departures terminal as there is no designated taxi stand for them at the airport. They can be identified as the cars / minivans with the red license plate and has checkered stripes on the side car with the route written on the door (e.g. Mobay TC to Airport). Bear in mind, they will try and tell you a fare that is significantly more than it should be as they believe that you don't know the cost the ride which can end up being pretty annoying. They will drop you in the town and you will have a short walk to take to property or they will drop you to property for a small additional charge.
• ii. Directions from / to Knutsford Express
• To get from / to Knutsford Express, one may walk, request for a pick up / off by Mobay Kotch or take a taxi.
• In the instance of walking, it is approximately a 10 minute walk. The directions below is walking from Knutsford Express to Property.
• - Take left when leaving the Knutsford Express compound (10 Harbour Circle) and follow the road to the traffic light.
• - At the traffic light, cross over Howard Cooke Highway towards Market Street
• - Continue on Market Street towards Sam Sharpe Square on St. James Street
• - At Sam Sharpe Square, take a right on St. James Street (in the direction of the traffic flow) and continue towards Church Street (where Captains Bakery and a Digicel store are on opposing street corners).
• - Take a left at Church Street and continue down the road through the 1st set of traffic lights and the property (the brick building after the building on the corner) is on the left directly opposite the parish church.
• To get to / from local transport centre
• It is approximately 5 minute walk from property. The walking directions are as follows:
• - When exiting Mobay Kotch property, take a right and head down Church Street (walking in the opposite direction of the traffic).
• - On the intersection of St. James Street and Church Street, take a left (by Digicel) and walk to the end of St. James Street.
• - Where St. James Street meets Barnett Street, cross the street using the pedestrian crossing and walk down the side street to the right of the COURTS building and the local transport centre is situated there.

Map

Address: 16 Church Street, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Distance to city center: 0.38 km

Mobay Kotch is listed on the following booking sites:

Hostelworld Booking.com

Website

(if you know the URL of their website, let us know and we'll add it)

Phone Number: 18768209883

To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Correction Form.

Facilities and Amenities

Digital Nomads

Family-Friendly Hostel

Groups (10+ people)

Older travelers (+50)

Quiet Rest

Solo Traveller

Bedsheets

Lockers in Lobby

Luggage Storage

Towels

Wi-Fi in Lobby/Commons

Airport Pickup (10)

Parking (5)

Book Collection/Exchange

Credit Card Payments

Entirely Non-Smoking

Hot Showers

Kitchen

Laundry

Lounge Area

Movie Library/Rental

Outdoor Seating

Power Point/Sockets in Rooms

Breakfast

Lockers in Rooms

Wheelchair Accessible

Wi-Fi in Rooms

Pet-Friendly

Service Animals

Genders: Males & Females

Max. Age: All Ages

Min. Age with Parent (dorms): 16

Min. Age with Parent (private room): All Ages

Min. Age without Parent: 18

Checkout: 11:00 (11 AM)

Curfew: No Curfew

Lockout: No

Maximum Stay: Unlimited

Minimum Stay: 1 night

Open Dates: All Year

Reception Hours: 8 am to 10 pm

Size: Small (less than 30 beds)

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