DESTINATIONS CARIBBEAN | JAMAICA
MARLEY MANIA
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Bob Marley Museum; Doctor’s Cave Beach, Montego Bay; Princess Grand Jamaica Resort PICTURE: Shutterstock/Photo Spirit
HOT HOTELS Jamaica’s hotel scene already offers a vast array of options, and it’s about to get a bumper crop of accommodation upgrades as part of the island’s plan to introduce 20,000 rooms in the next 10 to 15 years.
June will see the long-awaited opening of not one, but two, resorts from Spanish hospitality brand Princess. The sea-facing Princess Grand Jamaica Resort at Green Island, between Montego Bay and Negril, is a veritable Caribbean dream. It features kid-friendly amenities ranging from a multifunctional sports field to a rip-roaring water park, while couples and honeymooners will be catered for with Master and Platinum suites offering a butler service and an exclusive pool area. For an adult-only getaway, neighbouring resort Princess Senses The Mangrove delivers, with 401 suites and 14 overwater villas to hide away in. As well as its own sublime offering of restaurants and bars, guests at
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the Mangrove will have access to all the facilities and outlets at the Princess Grand. Those looking for the most exclusive (and grown-up) experience should go for the O Club package, with mixology workshops, themed parties and dance classes available. Opening this summer, a dynamic new contender on White Bay Beach is the 753-room Riu Palace Aquarelle. Five pools (two with swim-up bars) plus a water park will help guests occupy their lazy Caribbean days, but the real USP is 24-hour all-inclusive service: clients can get their fill at the buffet any time of day (or night), or use the self-service machines for drinks when the bars are shut. A few steps from the new Riu
Palace Aquarelle, the Royalton Blue Waters opened a stellar adult-only resort, the Hideaway, in November. Wellness is the name of the game here, with yoga sessions on the resort’s private islet and non-motorised watersports included in the price.
Clients visiting the island for a second time will find new options at some of their favourite hotels. Several of Jamaica’s much-loved Sandals resorts have been spruced up: Montego Bay has six new room categories (each with soaking tubs), with the Negril and South Coast outposts also upgraded for 2024.
IN THE PIPELINE It’s not just this year that’s set to be exciting for Jamaica – there are ongoing projects that will benefit travellers in the coming years. Montego Bay’s Sangster International airport opened a $70 million runway extension last year and has since been granted an additional $70 million to improve the passenger experience. Elizabeth Fox, the Jamaica
Tourist Board’s regional director for the UK and northern Europe, says new things are also happening on the island’s less-visited eastern coast. “We’re improving the road over to the east side, which will open up that coastline, and that’s nearly finished. In February, we
Bob Marley biopic One Love stormed onto cinema screens last month, with a reggae soundtrack and plenty of cinematic shots of Jamaica. The tourist board’s Elizabeth Fox says: “It’s put Jamaica on the map – we’ve had several companies tell us that Jamaica was the most searched- for destination in the Caribbean, which it isn’t generally. We’ve also rebranded our agent award programme to call it ‘One Love’.” To capitalise on the movie’s buzz, suggest the One Love Tour at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, which visits the reggae star’s former house and Tuff Gong recording studios. Marley fans flying from Montego Bay’s Sangster International can also enjoy the One Love restaurant, which is built around a pimento wood grill and serves jerk delights.
also saw the first commercial flight [American Airlines] land into Ian Fleming airport – it’s very small, but it was a huge deal [for that part of the island].” Several of Jamaica’s cultural
attractions are getting a makeover too. Seville House Heritage Park (a museum of Jamaican history, set in a former plantation home) has upgraded its visitor signs and storyboards. Meanwhile, Independence Park – a vast athletics and sports complex in the capital, Kingston – is getting a new velodrome and National Sports Museum over the next three years. No matter how well you think you know Jamaica, this is an island that is always reinventing itself.
TW BOOK IT
Tui offers seven nights’ all-inclusive at the Princess Grand Jamaica from £1,449 per person, based on two adults sharing a junior suite. The price includes flights from Heathrow on October 1.
tui.co.uk
travelweekly.co.uk
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