Island Time

Roundhill Hotel & Villas

Photo: David Massey

Step 1: Take a few deep breaths

You’re here! The water is beautiful. The air is warm. So let’s begin by decompressing at Round Hill Hotel and Villas, a restored plantation in the rainforest near Montego Bay. With neighbours like designer Ralph Lauren, you’ll feel as if you’ve joined a privileged club. This place was popular among jet-setting couples like John and Jacqueline Kennedy in the 1950s, and continues to be the classic choice for modern celebrity couples.

Roundhill Hotel & Villas 

Photo: David Massey

Step 2: Do the two-step!

Now that you’ve recharged, it’s time to get into Jamaica’s spiritual heart, and that means music! If you’re here in July, hit Reggae Sumfest, a three-day festival in Montego Bay that showcases the best of dance hall, reggae and hip hop music.

Step 3: Feed your soul

Keep the reggae vibe happening at Strawberry Hill, a hilltop resort owned by Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, who launched Bob Marley’s career. At a table overlooking Kingston’s city lights, sample new Jamaican cuisine, like conch topped with coconut rundown sauce.

A room at Strawberry Hill

Step 4: Stop and smell the orchids

Go deep into Jamaica’s interior and raft through cool valleys. Then dunk yourself in a natural plunge pool on the Rio Grande River. Or just take in the fragrance of rare orchids and violets that bloom in the fern gullies.

Photo: Jamaica Tourist Board

Step 5: Get some play

Near Port Antonio, indulge your guitar-hero fantasies at Geejam, a jungle-chic escape that’s more tree house than hotel and that’s likely the only resort with a high-tech recording studio as an amenity. Then follow the fashionable crowd at Bushbar, a treetop lounge, where you can nibble on savoury Jamaican-Japanese fusion cuisine.

A studio at Geejam

Step 6: Have a snooze

After time in the hills, you’ll want to sink your toes into the white sand at a beach resort, so head west to Negril. Once best known for its free-spirited hippies and ganja entrepreneurs, it’s now celebrated for its hedonistic pleasures.

Rick's Cafe in Negril

Photo: Jamaica Tourist Board

Step 7: Eat some more!

Stop at the Supreme Jerk Centre at Green Island, a favourite spot on the Culinary Jerk Trail. Here tradition means marinating meat for hours in a secret blend of mouth-numbing Scotch bonnet peppers, allspice, scallion and thyme, then grilling it over sweet wood charcoal to retain its succulent juices.

Step 8: Drink in the beauty

On the cliffs in Negril’s hip West End, visit Tensing Pen Resort for the regional specialty known as Front-End Lifters. These cocktails come packed with Guinness stout, ground raw peanuts, Jamaican oats and white rum – ingredients touted for their aphrodisiac qualities.

Step 9: Get swept away all over again

Couples Swept Away has so many fans, there’s a Romance Rewards club for repeat guests. Dine by torchlight on Seven Mile Beach or indulge in chef Anthony Miller’s Lover’s Trio, featuring melt-in-your-mouth smoked marlin mousse. Whether you’re on a honeymoon or just a getaway, Jamaica offers adventure for the senses.

Photo: Jamaica Tourist Board

(Michele Peterson is a Toronto-based writer who recently travelled to Jamaica on her honeymoon.)

Getting There:
Air Canada offers daily non-stop service from Toronto to Montego Bay and non-stop service four times weekly from Toronto to Kingston. Air Canada Vacations has weekly non-stop service from Montreal to Montego Bay.
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