Reviews

A really great place to stay if you are looking for more than just the all-inclusive resort. Zion Country is warm and inviting, the food is wonderful, and the staff is delightful!

Zion Country is GREAT. We booked for 3 nights but if I had to do it again, we’d stay longer (booking essential !!). It’s so easy to get around in Portland from Zion and there is so much to see ! The cabins are confy, the surrounding is beautiful and quiet, the food is good and the red stripe nice and cold. A little piece of paradise.

I was travelling alone in Jamaica and I didn’t want to go to an all-inclusive compound resort and spend the holiday behind a fence feeling that I could be anywhere sunny in the world.
Free-I , the owner of Zion Country, is a busy, hardworking guy, but took the time to introduce me to people in the local community and share his time and company. Owen is a great cook and a lovely guy and chilled out with me and offered me good insights into life in Jamaica. Tamar is also a very nice person and was very welcoming and friendly. The scenery is absoultely stunning , the cabins are comfortable and the facilities are excellent. Reach falls and the Blue Mountains are within striking distance and you can chill out at Zion Country, have a beer and a chat to folk in the community or plan trips from Zion Country to many more great places in Jamaica.
There are beautiful beaches very nearby where you can chill with a beer and meditate in the sun or shade as the waves massage your mind. I visited reach falls with other guests and it was like the garden of eden. We had a Rastaman called Ray-i as our guide and as well as the scenery , you could literally feel how in tune he was with nature and the spirit of the place- it was a totally positive vibration, gentle, yet very powerful. My stay at Zion Country was the perfect start to my trip in Jamaica and gave me the confidence to fully experience Jamaica during the rest of my trip. I would encourage people to visit Zion Country and other places like it, to experience the real Jamaica and get to know some of the amazing people and rich culture and history of this country. Places like this are sometimes called ‘alternative’ but to me, this is a misnomer: you can gain a taste of the real Jamaica by avoiding the huge resort complexes , and relaxing, listening ,learning and supporting businesses like this which help people experience Jamaica without destroying the natural environment and exploiting the place and the people. I didn’t see my trip as alternative at all – it was a safe way to learn something profound about this beautiful part of the world and to appreciate humanity, culture and art which has influenced the world.
One Love, Robbie Handy (Scotland)

From the minute I got to Zion Country I was greeted and treated like a friend.
My room was minimal, but had everything I needed. I didnt spend much time there any how. You probably wont want to either, when you see how much Portland, Jamaica has to offer. Staff and locals are more than willing to help you see the beauty of their town.

The main man of the house, Free-I, was very cool. A hard working man who also knows to have a good time. Free-I shared some time with us, and gave us pointers on getting on with the locals. We even got to tag along for an amazing ride along the country side to chill at Winnifred beach. Owen was a great host, he set me up with everything I needed, and he cooks great meals. I recommend having dinner there. Tamar is a gorgeous Jamaican girl and a sweet hostess. I owe her a mango for the next time I come to Zion.

There are great sights to see, and the Long Road community is very nice and chill people. Tourism is not commercialized here, so do not expect the campy attractions you find in resort towns. For a real true and pure vision of Jamaica I highly recommend Portland. My girlfriend has visited Jamaica 3 times prior, and she said this was her favorite. So if youre looking for a more authentic and less predictable trip, this is the place for you. Lastly, eat the fruit there. They have the best fresh grown fruits, ever.

I don’t even know what to say. My friend and I have backpacked all over Asia and stayed in dumpy places, but never have we seen something so misrepresented as Zion Beach Cabins.
I will start out to say that the only positives were the beautiful landscaping, view of the bay, and Owen, the very kind cook.
We rented a car from the airport in Montego Bay, from which the directions on the website said 4.5 hours to Zion Country. It took over 6, with sketchy back roads and deep potholes – we lost a hubcap and bent the rim of the wheel on one. When we arrived in Zion, around 6:30 in the evening “Free-I” shuffled us to our room – not cabin, since those were supposedly full – which was a dreary concrete room in the back of the property for the same price as the cabins. He then told us he was going back to his dinner and disappeared abruptly/rudely. No tour or overview of where things were on the property – nothing. We attempted to swim while it was still light, but there was disgusting algae throughout the water at the “beach”. The kind of algae you get only when water has been standing for awhile. There was no kayaking to be seen.
Then comes sleeping or lack thereof. There was no ceiling fan, and no mosquito nets…in the tropics. Seriously. And for $80. Once I had just about passed out from sweating, and had gotten used to the bugs biting through my bug repellant, the dogs on the property started barking right outside our windows. Then the neighbor dogs joined in. This continued until DAWN.
I don’t know what kind of experience others had, and I can’t even fathom why it was so different than mine. I’m rather disgusted that I wasted an entire day of my trip to travel here based on good reviews from others. I’m writing because this experience was so bad that I hope I can help someone else not make the same mistake I did. If I had paid $40, I would have felt differently, but this place was far more than that.
Please give your money to another local proprietor in Jamaica, someone who values your business.