Round Hill

Jamaica
The Carribean

The Experience

Round Hill is old school Caribbean--think Harry Belafonte, not Jimmy Buffett--a rambling seafront property carved more than half a century ago from the remains of an old sugar, spice and coconut plantation just west of Montego Bay. Centered around a restored 18th-century plantation house, tropical colonial is the overriding theme, an illusion that maybe the sun never did set on the British Empire. But unlike so many other grand dames, Round Hill has always kept up with the times, with a New Age spa, nouvelle Caribbean cuisine and Jamaica’s best golf among its manifold pleasures.

The Rooms

Celebs (and anyone else who doesn’t have to ask the price) ensconce themselves in Round Hill’s private villas, discreetly scattered through 30 acres of garden on the hillside behind the old great house. The vibe is retro plantation: four-poster beds, bamboo furniture with overstuffed cushions and white-shuttered windows that beg to be thrown open. Most villas have their own pool. Villas can be rented in whole or part (suites). Otherwise you can “slum it” at the 36-room Pineapple House, a two-story block (the rooms recently remade by Ralph Lauren) that overlooks the beach and infinity pool.

The Service

Having hosted the vacationing hoi polloi since 1953, Round Hill is well acquainted with the mix of crisp yet laid-back service that keeps them coming back for more.

The Highlights

Hands down, this is the best place in Jamaica to combine tennis and golf with a beach holiday (and maybe the entire Caribbean). There are five courts (and a tennis pro) on the grounds, and just down the road is the much ballyhooed Tryall golf course and its seaside links. Round Hill’s spiffy modern spa is set inside the old manor house; in addition to its own beach and 10-acre lawn, the spa flaunts an eclectic choice of massage, wraps, facials and other health and beauty therapies. Under the direction of Canadian culinary maestro Martin Ian Maginley, the oceanfront Georgian Dining Room serves a most appetizing blend of Caribbean dishes with a European panache.

 

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