Top ten lists are somewhat invidious things. No sooner have you published one than you realise you have omitted something you should have included, or included something that on second thoughts might have been better omitted. So it is with some hesitation that I offer my top ten list of places we have stayed.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These are not necessarily the most high-end places we\u2019ve stayed in, although some are. Nor are they all in the most special locations, although many are. But these are the places that have stayed in my memory. In some cases the setting was spectacular; in some it was the host(s) that made it special; and in some it was down to the experiences we had there. And sometimes it was simply a touch of quirkiness that made the place so memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll present them in two parts, but in no particular order. So here are the first five:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Blue House, Ocho Rios, Jamaica<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n When planning our trip to Jamaica, the only thing we were clear about was that we didn’t want to stay in an all-inclusive. Then we stumbled across reviews of the Blue House on Trip Advisor; suddenly we knew where we wanted to stay! But once it was booked I started to wonder – could it really be that good?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily it was all that we\u2019d hoped and more. Everyone who stays here seems to enthuse about the hospitality of Elise and Darryl, and rightly so. We really felt as if we were staying with friends rather than as paying guests in a B&B. Nothing was too much trouble – a lift to church or to a local restaurant; a call to pre-book an excursion; checking shipping schedules so we could avoid the crowds at Dunn’s River Falls, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The house is very stylish and set in a pretty garden. Maybe its distance from town (about 2 miles) is a small drawback. But that is more than compensated for by the quieter location – apart from the crickets and frogs, that is! My favourite spot was the terrace, in the early morning before breakfast, with a mug of Darryl’s strong coffee to wake me up and the hummingbirds flitting among the blossoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a small swimming pool in the garden, surrounded by more pretty flowers and shrubs. Inside, there\u2019s a comfortable seating area with good coffee table books if you have a spare hour to while away and four comfortable bedrooms. Ours, the \u2018Sanctuary\u2019, lived up to its name: cool and comfortable after a day’s sightseeing on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n