I think you have pretty much hit the nail on the head. In two years I have not had a meal where everything was perfect. You can get decent jerk occassionally, but it is inconsistent minute to minute and day to day.

And lets not get started on the availability of wine....

Sean, Kingston, Jamiaca

You might just want to save yourself the money - you probably could have written this article without having gone anywhere.

John Gordon, London, England

Ah Tim, Malaysia, the food lovers paradise...and I have been able to get all the local fish and produce I want, even when I went high-end. Of course it was always mainland or East Coast islands.

No way I would go all those miles and book to eat in a hotel all the time, regardless of how "luxurious" it might be. Serves one right.

I have never been to Jamaica, but I really doubt an entire country can be so scarce as described by GC. It really feels like he was looking for it. Doesn't seem to have bothered much. Of course, he is free to criticise the hotel's cooking, but to extend it to the entire island!!

mary b., chester,

This is the most outrageous thing I've ever read!
A food critic goes on a 15 thousand pound trip to Jamaica, an Island World -famous for its culinary arts, eats the bland Westernized fare at his hotel and from one random street vendor - then acts as if this represents the Jamaican food experience and expects to be taken seriously? This is too absurd for words.
Times Online Editors - if you want to send another food critic on a Jamaican jaunt, my CV is at the ready!

Fu Long, Amsterdam,

I was born and raised in Jamaica, and quite frankly I am outraged by your belittling of the island's cuisine> Jamaican food is one of the most delightful and exquiste tasting food you can come across. You could not have expected to savor the richness of the island's fare by staying bottled up in some hotel in who know where! Had you bothered to venture to proper restaurants on the island or even ask a local where to go, you would have had a completely different idea. Our food is very different but then again if you don't have an open mind to the experience then you will only get out of it, what you put in it. Next time if you are going to critque a country's cuisine, then I suggest you do proper research and footwork and find the food, at least I thought that is what a professional critc would have done! Especially if you are going to put it in the Times!

Yolanda Mullings, Brooklyn, New York

Next time stay at a villa. One recommendation is the villas at Silver Sands approximately 45 minutes from Montego Bay airport. There you can select freshly caught fish from the fisherman's beach next door and have it prepared by your personal villa staff. Also don't be afraid to try the jerk pork, chicken or fish from the street side vendors. The idea of buying your lunch from the street may seem a bit troubling but I guarantee you will enjoy. Otherwise the jerk shacks such as Scotchies or Pork Pit, as well as the numerous across the island will delight your palates. Believe me, next to Italy, Jamaica has the best food on the planet. The key is to get out of the hotel and ask the locals.

Alex Williams, Gaithersburg, Maryland

"Xander?" I assume that's because, like so many of us, he's given up the Ale for January, rather than because he's up himself?

Paul, London,

How sad you had such a plastic packaged holiday in Jamaica. The island is the most beautiful, diverse, fascinating and creative island in the world but, judging by the exhorbitant price, you were obviously ripped off. Next time try something like Russell Villas near Montego Bay where a well trained staff will shop for you and cook proper Jamaican fare. The real Jamaica lies well away from the all-inclusive, roped-in luxury hotels.

Richard, Richmond, Va, USA

Fancy going to Jamaica and ordering a cheeseburger!!
the food there is fantastic...you should have taken the trouble to have a proper look.

steve rice, bristol, uk

As a Jamaican I definitely know that there are amazing dining destinations within the island. I am terribly sorry that you had such an awful experience. I'm left speechless and really wanting to get you your money back!!

Vaughn Stafford Gray, Toronto, Canada

I'm sorry but of all the Caribbeam islands that I have been to, no one does food like the Jamaicans. Barbados does food for tourists. I'm sorry but if you want to taste food like you're dining at The Ivy then stay in England.

I'll admit the street food can be a bit hit and miss but it's a life style that Jamaican's are proud of. However, I have stayed everywhere in Jamaica from Roundhill, Half Moon and all the Sandals including some great restaurants and like I say the food is the best of all the islands. No jazzes up versions for the tourists - you sit there and suck the meat off your curry goat with the rest of them.

B Carr, London, UK

I'm with you on the Caribbean, St Martin wasn't much better bar they served the frozen stuff with a French accent. The best food/snorkelling combo I've ever come across (apart from a pasty in Ilfracombe when I was ten and my criteria less stringent) is Soneva Fushi in the Maldives. No flash, no jet-skis - just fresh grown salads, fish from the sea - sashimi or cooked - curries made up in front of you - even freshly made pizza. Oh yes, and fish like the ones in 'Finding Nemo' whenever you put your head in the water. It's some way from west London, but, as Michelin used to say, it 'merite le detour'. If I could afford it, I'd go back every year.

Shaun Skelly, London,

I'm as fussy about Italy and geography as you are about spelling and food.

How would Ian McEwan be able to eat bresaola on a Tuscan holiday? If he ate anywhere half-decent in that region they wouldn't have it on the menu.

William Dunn, Beijing, China

How I sympathise with you Giles. We live part of the year in Sabah, (Malaysian Borneo). Miles of coastline but do you think you can get fresh "local" fish at any of the better restaurants? Even in the 5* hotels they try to force feed you Australian cod and Norwegian salmon. And don't mention meat. Apart from ostrich (which some Chinese restaurants call emu) you just can't get red meat. Forget about a decent joint of beef or lamb. The available "steaks" are heavily tenderised and devoid of any taste.

Tim Han, London,