Jamaica Great Values

On the island’s rather remote southern coast, in low-key Treasure Beach, is Jake’s, the chic former holiday home of Sally Henzell, Jamaica’s foremost decorator, and her husband, Perry, director of the iconic Jamaican movie The Harder They Come. Named for the family’s pet parrot, this bohemian hideaway—today run by their son, Jason—has 23 secluded cottages, two restaurants, a holistic spa, and a saltwater pool. Jake’s is Jamaica at its most prototypical: rootsy, funky, and community-focused. The embodiment of the close-knit vibe is Breds, a nonprofi t association cofounded by Jason that helps develop and fund a variety of local projects, such as installing GPS systems for fi shermen. Fun activities are available in the immediate surroundings, including tours of roadside bars and a visit to Pelican Bar, perched on stilts smack in the middle of the sea. Other excursions include boat tours to spot crocodiles on the Black River; an outing to the spectacular YS Falls; and a ride along leafy Bamboo Avenue, a canopied road lined with vendors selling deliciously sweet coconut and peanut treats.

Jamaica Inn—an old-school luxury retreat run by the Morrow family since 1958—is more of a whiteglove experience compared with the Island Outpost resorts, but it still provides an intimate holiday beyond the gated compounds. During the inn’s heyday, Winston Churchill painted in the garden, and Noël Coward and Errol Flynn paid regular visits. Now the retro ambience, highly experienced service—one staff member, Teddy, has worked there for 50 years!—and timeless style are cherished by repeat visitors. The property, on a private cove in Ocho Rios (lovingly called “Ochee” by the locals), boasts 47 spacious suites and four two-bedroom cottages, all with a private balcony or a veranda. The inn’s alfresco restaurant gets top marks for fl avorful local cuisine, and the seaside spa offers holistic treatments. The north coast around Ocho Rios offers prime excursions, such as tours of nearby historic estates, including Prospect Plantation, Firefl y, and Harmony Hall. Many of them have been restored and are now open to the public as museums, offering a glimpse of Jamaican island life as it once was.

You’d expect to pay a lot more for the stylish, Mediterranean-tropical vibe that pervades this one-time hangout of the Bobs (both Dylan and Marley) atop Negril’s cliffs. Paths wind through jungle-like gardens connecting the pool and the 34 rooms, which are spread out between the hotel and the 19 private cottages (all units are front and center for Negril’s legendary sunsets). Ladders and stairways cut into the stone lead down to swimming and snorkeling in amazingly blue waters; some guests, however, simply take the plunge from one of the resort’s narrow walkways or bridges (obviously not the best place for small children). The spa, which employs traditional Jamaican herbs, meshes perfectly with the hotel’s commitment to the well-being of both guests and the surrounding community.

Kuyaba has 26 accommodations, including a “treehouse” suite popular with honeymooners and rustic cottages that are a throwback to Negril’s pre-tourist boom days, on a narrow but profusely verdant property fronting Seven Mile Beach. All units are decked out with post-hippie comforts like A/C and private bathrooms (deluxe rooms go a step further with cable TV, CD players, and verandahs with hammock chairs). The open-air beachfront restaurant serves good Jamaican food (especially at breakfast) at reasonable prices. Restaurants, popular attractions, and nightspots are all just a short stroll away along the sand.

The ladies of Kingston gather each afternoon by National Heroes Circle to sell crab, fresh from the sea. Be sure to pick up a slab of macaroni pie and a cob of buttered corn.

A fabulous DJ and bonfires on the beach enliven the scene at this colorful, super-casual spot...more

A destination in itself, this expanded Jamaican cookshed serves its finger-licking delicacies in...more