But Club Ambiance -- open to ages 18 and older -- wasn't a hopping place, at least not when we visited. Night life was limited to the small dance club, Fantasia, and waking hours were dominated by sunbathing and eating.

Jay and I quickly adopted a lazy routine: Start with a morning swim in the pool, eat breakfast, nap, float in the Caribbean, lie on beach chairs, read, drink Red Stripe, eat, play pool, sleep. The 90-room resort, about half-full at the time of our visit, was quiet, save for the reggae coming from the bars' sound systems. No one took out the kayaks or played volleyball, and the gym was empty; the tiny beach isn't even big enough for a stroll. So we ordered beers after another bacon-and-omelet breakfast, and the bartender smiled and said, ``No problem.''

We heard ''no problem'' over and over, whether or not there was actually a problem. When we discovered at the Montego Bay airport that Club Ambiance hadn't booked us a ride to the hotel, ''No problem!'' The shuttle bus company took us for $10 more than the hotel would have charged. When the dive shop wasn't open all day on Saturday, ''No problem!'' We went diving Sunday instead. Even the leaking ceiling in our bathroom and the TV on the fritz didn't faze us after a while.

Other than the watery loo, our room was very comfortable. The king-size bed, wide closet and adjustable AC were nice, but the best part was having only a sliding glass door separating us from a patio with waist-high bougainvilleas and a stunning view of the Caribbean.

When the dive shop finally opened Sunday morning, Jay, five other guests and I hopped on the small motorboat moored in the water right outside our room. While the others explored a sunken ship and two downed airplanes (nicknamed the Ganja Planes for ferrying drugs in the `70s), I snorkeled near the boat, keeping an eye out for the occasional fish and watching the divers far below. Back in the boat, I saw how the other resorts along the shore dwarfed Club Ambiance, which by then had begun to feel like a world unto itself.

In a few minutes, the scuba divers started bobbing to the surface. In the boat on the way back to shore, they recounted seeing sea slugs, a giant turtle and lots of fish. Back on land, we had enough time for a dip in the pool before lunch. Cheeseburgers and Red Stripe again?

Definity no problem.

DETAILS

Club Ambiance, Main Road, St. Ann, Runaway Bay, Jamaica, 800-822-3274, www.clubambiance.com.

BEST FOR: Low-key couples or groups lookng for an intmate environment with limited stimulation. If lying by the pool sipping daiquiris with family members or old friends sounds like th perfect getaway, this is the place.

WHAT WAS INCLUDED: Three nights' hotel room; unlimited drinks; three meals a day (lobster and steak cost extra) in the dining room or at the grill; late-night pizza and midday snacks; non-motorized water sports (kayaks and paddleboats); use of the gym (treadmill, exercise bike, stair machine, free weights, multipurpose weight machine); and round-trip airport transfer if you book through the hotel. Current pricing: from $90 per person per night.

WHAT WASN'T: Internet ($2.50 for five minutes), mini safe ($3 per day) and most excursions.

EXCURSIONS: Lots of trips are offered, including visits to Dunn's River Falls, shopping in Ocho Rios, tours of Kingston and rafting on the Black River; most cost from $10 to $85 a person. Our trip to Bob Marley's home cost $50 each.

BEST FEATURE: The relaxed atmosphere, which felt far from the ''meat market'' experience I'd imagined. In fact, several family groups were there, including parents with their adult children, and a local church group stopped by for brunch and a swim on Saturday, making the place feel like a wholesome alternative to its racy neighbor, Hedonism.

WORST: The food. I was underwhelmed by the cuisine and disappointed that there weren't more authentic Jamaican dishes. It wasn't until lunch on our final day that I finally had some jerk chicken -- at the Montego Bay airport.

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