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A week in the life
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It begins the moment you arrive at Jamaica Inn. You sense a warm, familiar feeling. The sensation grows stronger after check-in, when the bellman exchanges your bags for a generous smile. It continues to grow as you walk the beautifully manicured grounds to your oversized, antique-appointed room. And then, standing on your private, spacious verandah drinking in the magnificent vista of the Caribbean Sea, it all becomes clear. You’ve come home.
Welcome Home Where for more than 50 years the Morrow family has endowed the Inn with a timeless grace and understated elegance. Where coconut palms and fragrant blooming night jasmine dot the grounds, pleasing the senses and replenishing the soul. Where a pristine crescent shaped beach welcomes home the gentle waves of the sea. Where the staff genuinely delights in the pleasure of your company and senses your every need. And where, as one smitten guest put it, your faith is restored in the “simple joys of living.�
photo: Jamaica Inn beach 1959
We left a shouting world behind and were embraced by one that whispered.
No television or radio. Only the magnificent surround sound of the sea.
We started everyday by dining on our private verandah. Have any meal delivered to enjoy in the comfort of your own suite. Spoil yourself with Room Service for dinner, where each course is brought to your candlelit verandah.
We were impressed by these two reviews. And even more impressed that they were written 54 years apart.
Sydney Clark ALL THE BEST IN THE CARIBBEAN, 1959
Ocho Rios ticks all the boxes.Now over fifty years old, Jamaica Inn is a stylish Caribbean classic that attracts a loyal and undeniably A-list following, who return like clockwork for the guaranteed impeccable service and reality switch-off they seek. whose blueprint for elegant relaxation has been applied Lucy Halfhead  
HARPER’S BAZAAR, 2013
The White Suite, on it’s own glorious peninsula, delivered a prime setting for a passionate amateur painter. Over the years, the legendary White Suite has served as the private preserve of media moguls, novelists and poets. But perhaps none coveted it more than a certain Prime Minister, when he and Lady Churchill visited on several occasions. As lovely as it is, it was probably not the suite’s dramatic sun terrace right over the ocean, but the spacious grounds and private pool that lover of seascapes adored the most. From there, the avid amateur artist would have unobstructed views of billowy white clouds and blue water. One can only imagine his painterly delight.
The rooms opened up. After a while, so did we. 48 spacious suites and four two-bedroom cottages offer enchanting views of the beach and sea. Each features elegantly crafted poster beds, ceiling fans and authentic Jamaican antiques. Louvered doors and shutters encourage a refreshing breeze, while the couch on your private veranda invites a luxurious afternoon snooze.
The ghosts of Marilyn Monroe, Noel Coward
and Katharine Hepburn inhabit the bar, ensuring
forever that one will never drink alone.
Look around you in the glow and they almost appear. Marilyn and Arthur Miller at a small table toasting their honeymoon. Ian Fleming, James Bond’s creator, signaling the bartender for a cocktail “shaken, not stirred.” Noel Coward engaged in conversation with friends, knocking around witticisms like so many croquet balls. And Errol Flynn, rogue that he was, holding court with who knows whom. Our lounge and bar was a place of relaxed glamour and one of their favorite haunts.
Our Private Cottage is truly a paradise within a paradise. Tucked away in a private enclave at the end of the hotel’s champagne colored beach are the crown jewels of Jamaica Inn. Magnificent and exquisitely appointed, these one- and two-bedroom cottages hug the coral cliffs above the blue Caribbean. Tropical colors and dark wood combine Jamaican tradition with Indonesian flair. Open terraces provide a view to the sea and serve as a picture-perfect setting for sunset cocktails. Imagine it: the ultimate luxury villa combined with all the amenities of Jamaica Inn.
The urgency of time was swept away and we found ourselves totally at peace. Designed for the perfect balance between luxury and nature, the cottage overlooks a private pool that seems to cascade into the sea. Fresh air and light flood in through wide french doors in the living room and bedroom. The oversized Italian marble bathroom with two vanities leads to an al fresco shower. This is everyone’s haven of choice.
Perched on a bluff, the KiYara Ocean Spa massages the body, mind and spirit.
KiYara means “Sacred Place of the Earth Spirit” in the language of the Taino Indians, the original peaceful inhabitants of this area. And it is their tranquillity and sense of well being you feel as you experience KiYara’s magic. Centered on the belief that lasting beauty comes from deep within, the spa’s holistic practitioners focus on natural curatives. No preservatives are used, only fresh exotic ingredients. Selections range from aromatherapy facials to skin-soothing Caribbean coolers to the Taino Opia Stone Massage.
They sold us nothing, but we could do everything. Guests of the Jamaica Inn have long enjoyed the ultimate amenity: the personalized service of the dedicated staff who call Jamaica Inn home. To know them is to be reassured that good manners are not a lost art and that no request is too small, no smile too large. Enjoy complimentary snorkeling, kayaking, sunfish sailing and paddle boarding. Complimentary tennis is not far from the Inn. For a little extra cost, golf and horseback riding are close by. Take a boat ride to climb the Dunn’s River Falls, soar through the tree tops on a canopy tour or river tube down a bubbling stream. Just five minutes away is the town of Ocho Rios where you can also have some nighttime fun.
Photography and Production David Massey www.davidmasseyphotography.com
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Jamaica Inn