There are several clichés about Jamaica, from laid-back locals and rum punch to jerk chicken and steel drums. While these are true, there is a lot more to the country and its people. And whatever the Jamaicans do, they do it with heart, taking to the theme and running with it, especially when it comes to luxury.
Luxurious Magazine headed out to the island to scout out some of the luxury places on offer which combine good food, wellness and a healthy dose of spiritual awareness.
Names like Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Port Antonio conjure up images of beauty, romance and relaxation. But the real beauty is the hospitality of the locals who will enhance your experience of the country.
This was paramount from the moment I stepped off the plane and checked into the five-star Royalton Negril. The healthy flow of rum, I quickly realised, equalled that of the smiles of everyone we met.
Negril is a super-chilled town on the westernmost tip of Jamaica. It’s where Bob Marley, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan came to get away from it all. Indeed, there are several luxury hotels lining the world-famous Seven Mile Beach, but it’s the smaller hotels that really captured my attention.
Tensing Pen is one of the most romantic and intimate boutique hotels and Caribbean resorts in Jamaica. Picturesque, serene, and devoid of TVs in its rooms, this place is a haven for those wanting to escape the stresses of modern-day life.
Just a short distance away, you can find the Rockhouse Hotel. Equally chic and popular with celebrities looking for a quick weekend getaway, this chic abode is perched upon the scenic cliffs of Negril’s west end. And just as the views are good for the soul, the food is good for the body—one of the first to embrace the farm-to-table concept, an organic farm can be found on-site.
Diners and guests alike can take a tour of the farm to see all the food on offer. A walk around here felt like a mini-education on gastronomy. It’s not often city folk like myself get to venture around farms and see how food is grown, and the educational tour worked.
I knew exactly what sorrel was when I was served it mixed with ginger and a touch of sweetener during a pit stop.
The green leafy plant has many uses, but in Jamaica, it is commonly mixed with ginger and rum and drunk over the Christmas period. And if farm-to-table is a concept you can’t get enough of, a trip to Zimbali Retreats is a must.
Located in a tropical mountain valley, complete with a river and spring, this farm for me represented mother nature at its best.
With 400 coconut trees, 700 pineapple plants and banana trees galore, it is a haven for nature lovers. But the show-stopper was perching up on a chair around the kitchen, watching my lunch being prepared.
The food was divine, but the theatrical performance by our chefs was simply mesmerising. It’s no wonder why their YouTube channel showcasing a weekly cookery class is popular.
Leaving Negril behind for Montego Bay, we temporarily turned our backs on food and cast our focus on nourishing the body with exercise. We found ourselves in the bosom of the new all-inclusive beachfront oasis that is the Jewel Grande.
With 217 butler-appointed suites and stately villas, this two-storey, 30,000-square foot island villa Grande Spa boasts locally based Spa Rituals curated by Reggaelates founder and yoga instructor Sienna Creasy.
The wellness oasis houses Jamaica’s only Himalayan Salt Halotherapy Lounge and the first Quartz therapy massage table – best known for providing mental harmony, detoxification, and an immune system boost.
Sadly, we didn’t have time to experience either one of these treatments, but we did have a yoga session with Sienna, which helped us pull and stretch our limbs. Travel can have stress on the body, after all.
Jamaicans, as we know, are passionate about both sport and music. And so en route from Montego Bay to Port Antonio, we made a brief lunch stop at Usain Bolt’s Tracks & Records, which marries these two loves of Jamaican folks in the form of casual dining and entertainment.
The place was abuzz as early as midday, and the food portions were definitely Usain-sized. They certainly kept us full as we made our way to Geejam Resort, some four hours drive away.
Overlooking Jamaica’s north-eastern coast, this resort sits on a fantastic hillside of rainforest in the San San area of Port Antonia.
As well as rooms hidden in trees, Geejam offers three private villas – Cocosan was the one we were privileged to call home for a few days.
With a residential recording studio on site, we weren’t at all surprised (but still in awe) that Harry Styles stayed at the very same villa for two whole months. Other notable stars to have visited in the past have been the late Amy Winehouse and Gwen Stefani, to mention a few.
Luxury doesn’t have to come in the shape of fancy hotels and private villas alone. Nature is luxurious, too. And from this part of the world, there are a plethora of nature’s offerings to experience.
From Reach Falls, an eco-attraction hidden in the Montane Forest on the John Crow Mountain Range, Frenchmans Cove Beach, a picturesque beach where the river flows right into the ocean and the Blue Lagoon, a natural favourite for swimmers made famous by Brooke Shields movie, there is simply not enough time to take it all in.
Luxury comes in many guises, and the ones I found in Jamaica were some of the best I have ever experienced.
Jamaica – Where and How?
For more information or to book any of the hotels and experiences above, visit www.visitjamaica.com.