What's New

The most volatile country in the Caribbean continues to explode with change. Here is a preview of just some of the latest developments.

Planning a Trip to Jamaica -- Some visitors are extending their holiday by booking one of Air Jamaica's flights to other Caribbean islands. There are now flights to the Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Curaçao, Grand Cayman, St. Lucia, and even Cuba. For more information about extending your holiday, call tel. 888/FLY-AIRJ within the Caribbean, or 800/523-5585 if phoning from the U.S. or Canada.

In other developments, Air Jamaica has begun daily flights in summer from Los Angeles to Montego Bay.

The popular couples-only Sandals Resorts announced an energy surcharge for all guests, ranging from $4 to $8 per night, and then rescinded it. Instead of charging guests more for their vacations, Butch Stewart, chairman of Sandals, said that his hotels will "rely on its ongoing sustainable tourism efforts to reduce energy across the board," instead of passing the high costs on to guests.

Linking visitors with locals is Countrystyle Community Tourism (www.countrystylecommunitytourism.com), an organization setting up close encounters with Jamaicans, even arranging home stays with island families in some cases. Tours take you through remote villages in central and south Jamaica rarely seen by the average visitor. You get a taste of Rastafarian culture along the way while dining on peppered shrimp, peanut soup, and exotic fruits.

Montego Bay

The big news for 2009 at Montego Bay is the announced opening of a 288-unit Palmyra Resort & Spa at Rose Hall, Palmayra Resort Drive (tel. 866/725-3969 or 876/632-8000). The latest word in Jamaican luxury, the upmarket development opens onto a private beach with three championship golf courses nearby. The spa is expected to be the most luxurious in Jamaica, perhaps the Caribbean.

Iberostar, the Spanish hotel chain, has invaded Mo Bay with the opening of the 366-unit Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Hotel, Rose Hall (tel. 888/923-2722 or 876/680-0000). The all-inclusive hotel caters to both singles and couples, even honeymooners and families. In elegantly decorated rooms, 100 of them oceanfront, the accommodations open onto private balconies or terraces.

Half Moon at Rose Hall (tel. 866/648-6951 or 876/953-2211) is in a renovation mood at its Oleander Complex, on the beach next to the Dolphin Lagoon. Here, 64 guest rooms will get new bathrooms and custom-made Chippendale mahogany furniture. A new restaurant and the Anancy Children's Village will be added.

Negril

If you don't like partying day and night and loud music, especially reggae until dawn, avoid booking into Negril during spring break in March. It's a time for rip-roaring hijinks. If such hijinks are your thing, then book early because hotels are bulging with college kids from the East Coast. They literally let it all hang out on Seven Mile Beach.

Deluxe living has come to Seven Mile Beach with the opening of Moon Dance Villas, Norman Manley Blvd. (tel. 800/621-1120), a series of upmarket vacation villas lying on 1.6 lush hectares (4 acres) along this fabled beach strip known for its nudity. Guests who stay here are served by a full household staff. Chicago architects designed these plush villas with four-poster beds draped in mosquito netting.

During the life of this edition, Couples Swept Away, Norman Manley Blvd. (tel. 800/268-7537 or 876/957-4061), will undertake a US$7-million expansion. On the chart will be the opening of 48 one-bedroom suites and a new Great House that will add 28 one-bedroom suites, including four Jacuzzi accommodations. An Internet center, disco, and new wine bar show that this resort plans to stay competitive.

On our last visit, Sunset at the Palms Resort & Spa, Norman Manley Blvd. (tel. 800/234-1707 or 876/957-5350), with its 65 stilt houses and suites, was looking better than ever. It shut down temporarily to refurbish itself after bad storms in the area and reopened with a new beach bar and a first-rate fitness center.

Norma's on the Beach at Sea Splash, Norman Manley Blvd. (tel. 876/957-4041), just seems to get better and tastier, especially now that it has opened an airy dining space just steps from the ocean. The menu is more tempting since the chef added Norma's "Rasta Pasta" and the world's best coconut chicken.

Port Antonio

No other hotelier in Jamaica is doing more for green tourism than Shireen Aga and Barbara Walker at Hotel Mocking Bird Hill, North Coast Hwy. (tel. 876/993-7267), outside Port Antonio. They call their resort guiltless indulgence, and they collect and use rainwater and even recycle yesterday's paper into tomorrow's stationery.

The fabled hotel of the North Shore, Trident Villas & Hotel, has closed down for possible renovations, but its future is in doubt. No comparable hotel has risen to replace it. Guests seeking pockets of posh can rent one of 13 villas at Blue Lagoon Villas, The Blue Lagoon, Fairy Hill (tel. 800/237-3237 or 876/978-6245). These villas come complete with chef, housekeeper, and butler.