Coyaba

Description:

• On a lovely strip of private beachfront, this small resort evokes a British colonial atmosphere. It was established in 1994 by American/Jamaican-Chinese entrepreneurs, the Robertson family, and built from scratch at a cost of US$4 million. Set a 15-minute drive east of the center of Montego Bay, it's centered on an adaptation of an 18th-century great house.

  Accommodations in the main building overlook the garden; those in the pair of three-story outbuildings lie closer to the beach and are somewhat more expensive. The decor is plantation-style, with traditional prints, expensive chintz fabrics, French doors leading onto private patios or verandas, and mahogany furniture. Hand-carved bedsteads, often four-posters, are fitted with luxury coverings. The roomy bathrooms have combination shower/tubs. Its bedrooms are modern and well maintained, and some units have been upgraded to junior suites with small refrigerators and such special amenities as irons and ironing boards. The hotel's main and most formal restaurant, the Vineyard, serves first-rate Jamaican and Continental dinners.

  Facilities: 3 restaurants; 3 bars; outdoor pool; lit tennis court w/free tennis clinic; health club; spa; Jacuzzi; kayaks; scuba diving; snorkeling; Sunfish sailboat; windsurfing; tour desk; car rental; room service; nanny service; laundry service; nonsmoking rooms; rooms for those w/limited mobility.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010