Jamaica Inn: An Island Paradise

Breakfast, which is served at Sea Shanty overlooking an azure blue sea, is a real treat. Get there early, opt for the end table for the best views and order the Jamaican breakfast which changes on a daily basis and includes the likes of steamed callaloo, ackee and salt fish or spicy escovitch fish. Platters of mango, papaya and other tropical fruit are also a must. In the evenings, soak up the sunset and start off on the terrace with a cocktail accompanied by snacks like home-made plantain crisps. Next, you have the choice of eating at the Terrace Restaurant, a formal alfresco dining experience accompanied by live reggae music – the menu changes daily and fuses international cuisine with Jamaican flavour and local ingredients. Or you can head to our favourite, Teddy’s Beach Bar (named after the late bartender Teddy, who worked here for 65 years from the age of 16), a more informal beach-side experience with tables under the palms, where you can tuck into burgers, salads, grilled meats and jerk chicken or shrimp wraps and the best wood-fired pizzas we’ve tasted, while sinking your toes into the sand. Needless to say, you can order food to your room at any time or, during the day, to your beach lounger. Last year, the hotel launched a new plant-based menu brimming with healthy dishes and ingredients sourced within a one-mile radius.

The hotel can organise a variety of activities. Adrenalin junkies can bike through the lush jungles and canyons of the Blue Mountains, go night swimming in a luminous lagoon filled with bioluminescent microorganisms that glow in the dark and hike to the famous Dunn’s River Falls. If you’re less adventurous, you can immerse yourself in Jamaica’s culture and cuisine – you can tour Firefly, Noël Coward’s Caribbean home and site of his grave; visit a coffee plantation, a rum distillery or a farm where the cannabis used to make the CBD products used in the hotel’s spa is grown. Foodies will love the shop and cook trip to the local farmers’ market accompanied by the hotel’s chef – here, we made our way from stall to stall admiring the yams, scotch bonnet chillies, mangoes and massive avocados, then stopped while men with machetes hacked open fresh coconuts for us to drink from. After picking up his ingredients, we headed back to the inn with the chef where he showed us how to make Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and saltfish.

Conservation is a major focus at Jamaica Inn which has close ties with the nearby White River Fish Sanctuary whose aim is to restore the coral reef and fish population. To counteract overfishing and pollution, they have created a 370-acre no-fishing zone just off the hotel’s coastline and guests can visit the reefs and see the work being done via a glass bottom boat tour. Belinda Morrow (wife of Eric, the hotel’s owner) talks passionately about this project in which she is very involved and explains that because fishing is now banned on the cove side of the reef, the fish numbers and coral have started to recover.

Ardent fans of Bob Marley will want to explore Nine Mile, the village where the king of reggae was born and brought up, as well as visit the Bob Marley Museum on Hope Road in Kingston – the colonial-era house is much as it was in his day and is where Marley lived and recorded from 1975 until his death in 1981. 

Undoubtedly the icing on the cake when we visited – and something not to be missed if you happen to be in Jamaica between July and November – is helping tiny turtle hatchlings make their way to the sea. Mother hawksbill turtles come to the same beach every year to lay their eggs and some of these critically endangered creatures emerge on the hotel’s beach. 

The town of Ocho Rios is just a few minutes’ taxi drive away and worth heading to. Be sure to drop into the Courthouse Gallery and Café which has a carefully curated selection of Jamaican fine art and local crafts, and serves excellent Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and freshly made fruit juices. Then lunch at the Ocho Rios Jerk Center before stopping at the supermarket on the way back to stock up on the likes of rum cake, jerk mix, pickles and coffee. In the evening, it is worth making the trip again to have dinner at Miss T’s Kitchen, a buzzing family-run restaurant with great cocktails, live music and delicious Jamaican food like escovitch, curried goat and oxtail stew (the latter, we heard, was a favourite of Harry Belafonte).

Perched on the dramatic limestone cliffs of Negril at the western end of the island, this adult-only boutique property has 12 thatched-roof cottages set within pretty tropical gardens. Expect an exceptional restaurant and rum bar, dazzling sea views and the comfiest sunbeds.

Visit TheCavesHotel.com 

Part of Island Outposts, owned by Chris Blackwell who signed Bob Marley, this peaceful and stylish 13-room boutique hotel is tucked away in the Blue Mountains and is known for its breathtaking views. Once a healing retreat for Bob Marley after he was shot in 1976, it’s the perfect spot to relax and rejuvenate.

Visit StrawberryHillHotel.com

Originally the home of James Bond author Ian Fleming, GoldenEye is also part of Island Outposts. You can rent Fleming’s villa (where he wrote his novels) or opt for one of the beach villas or cottages. The vibe is laid back luxury, there are various bars and restaurants and an excellent spa.

Visit GoldenEye.com

Set off the beaten track in the rainforest above Port Antonio on the island's northeast coast, this small low-key boutique hotel combines luxury and serenity. The rooms and suites are spread throughout the jungle, have sea views and you won’t notice another soul when sitting on your veranda. Meals are served in trendy outdoor Bushbar to the sound of reggae tunes and there’s a small beach down the hill.

Visit GeejamHotel.com

Another 1950s classic that has been attracting the stars and socialites for decades, including Jackie and JFK who honeymooned here. Choose from oceanfront suites and hillside villas, all set in extensive tropical grounds with a private beach and gourmet restaurant. 

Visit RoundHill.com

If you’re after all-inclusive luxury, there are seven Sandals resorts in Jamaica, all known for their beachfront locations, diverse cuisines and fun entertainment. 

Visit Sandals.co.uk