p59-60 ttg_lux_t&t reviews Aut09 25/9/09 19:21 Page 59
tried & tested
JAMAICA INN
OCHO RIOS by Philippa Jacks
One of the oldest hotels on the island, Jamaica
Inn is an institution here, stretching back to
1950. It was the venue for Marilyn Monroe
and Arthur Miller’s honeymoon, while other
luminaries to have stayed include Winston
Churchill and Kate Moss. But despite its grand
history, the resort is far from snooty.
A ban on TVs and alarm clocks ensures a
relaxed ambience, and the hotel’s staff could
not have made me feel more at home. Teddy
the beach barman has worked there 50 years;
the German head chef strides through the
restaurant during dinner ensuring everybody’s
happy; and general manager Mary Phillips
has a phenomenal skill in bringing people
together for pre-dinner cocktails on the terrace.
Accommodation is divided between a Main
SANI RESORT
Wing and East Wing, both two storeys high.
HALKIDIKI, GREECE
The balconies and terraces are more like an
by April Hutchinson
outdoor living room, with a breakfast table
and inviting white sofas. Rooms are furnished
volving over time around a massive chunk of scenic Halkidiki coastline, simply and elegantly: dark wooden furniture,
E
Sani Resort boasts four hotels, a conference centre, a marina, an HOW TO SELL IT fresh white fabrics, and walls the lilac-blue of
open-air cinema, amphitheatre, art galleries, spas, shops and a cloudless Caribbean sky. My recommendation
■ Fantastic for families who
restaurants – all within flip-flop distance of beaches and a boot or two
want a no-fuss resort holiday;
would be the West Wing Premier Verandah
away from mountains and pine forests.
great childcare and kids’
Suite, directly on the water.
Created 35 years ago, Sani is ageing well thanks to a few facelifts along the way.
clubs from UK-based PB Kids
Repeat business is a sky-high 70%; I met
It also owes much of its success to an enviable piece of real estate, which just an American couple who go four or five times■ Wide range of accommodation
happens to be on a massive private ecological reserve. in one place, from large a year. One couple were there on their
At Sani, it’s all about relaxing with the family, pottering around the resort and
hotels to chi-chi beach villas
honeymoon, having got engaged at Jamaica
deciding which of the 14 restaurants to eat in that night, or which of the 15 bars
■ Suggest the resort’s “ultra-
Inn the previous year. Unbeknown to them,
and cafes you’re going to while away the day in. Particularly relaxing was the
all-inclusive” plan for clients
Mary had an intimate dinner for two set up on
who want to budget upfront
Ibiza-esque Sea You Bar at the edge of the Sani marina. the beach, in the spot where he’d proposed.
on holiday spend – it includes
Staying with my sister and 14-year-old “why can’t I use my mobile on holiday, I The resort operates on an all-inclusive
all meals, unlimited premium
NEED to know what’s going on at home” niece could have gone either way. But
drinks and a good range of
basis, which covers a fabulous, a la carte
she soon started to relax and not check the mobile every 10 minutes for texts. We
sports and entertainment
breakfast and a six-course culinary tour de
stayed in Porto Sani Village at the marina, a 103 all-suite spa hotel, with rooms force in the evenings. Guests can also pop into
■ Excellent Anne Semonin
refurbished last year in a pale palette of swirling silver, soft cream and floaty voiles.
spa at Porto Sani and other
Ocho Rios with ease if they wish, and they can
Our standard suite had a sweet patch of sun-lounging garden, patio, twin bed- health and wellness options also dine at local restaurants Passage To India
room and good-sized lounge with pull-out bed. My only bugbear was being kept around the resort too and Evitas, and Jamaica Inn will foot the bill.
waiting for the room for an hour after arrival – painful after a 3am start that day – The KiYara Spa is in gorgeous thatch-
and the pull-out bed, which left a lot to be desired in the comfort stakes.
HOW TO BOOK IT
roofed huts jutting out over the water. There is
We were happy hanging out in the sun, but activities to tempt us included tennis
Planet Holidays offers seven
also a pool, modest gym and a croquet lawn.
nights in a Marina Junior
on clay courts, a mountain-biking centre, four-mile beach, watersports, a Padi dive Jamiaca Inn, Main Street, Ocho Rios, St Ann,
Suite at the Porto Sani Village
centre, archery and private boat tours. Kids’ clubs are operated in partnership with Tel: 00 1 876 974 2514, jamaicainn.com
& Spa from £713pp, including
Powder Byrne Kids, run to Ofsted guidelines with English nursery nurses.
breakfast and flights with
On the half-board option at Porto Sani, the buffet and a la carte breakfast were
British Airways (valid May 2).
HOW TO BOOK IT
excellent at the main Artemis restaurant, but dinner felt a little stuffy and too
Tel: 0871 871 2234,
ITC Classics offers a seven-nights-for six deal
grown-up for my niece. Anyhow, we all preferred al fresco dining, watching the world
planet-holidays.co.uk
at Jamaica Inn, from
go by from the various cafes and Italian and Greek restaurants ringing the marina. £1,725pp room-only
The other options in the resort included the Sani Beach Club, the low-level 630 77 Kassandra, Halkidiki, including BA flights
beachfront Sani Asterias Suites and the huge Sani Beach Hotel. I would definitely
Greece. Tel: 00 30 23740
and transfers.
go back and my 14-year-old niece might do too – especially as she has now decided
99500; saniresort.gr
Tel: 01244 35552,
she wants a “boat”, which she will call “poppett” and moor in the marina. itcclassics.co.uk
59
tried & tested
autumn 09 ttgluxury.com
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