Jamaica Inn

Description:

• Built in 1950, and painted a shade of blue-violet that was specially named by the paint company that manufactures it, the gracious and elegant Jamaica Inn consists of a series of long, low two-story buildings set in a U-shape near the sea, 2km (1 1/4 miles) east of town. It's an elegant anachronism, a true retro hotel in the most upscale sense of the word, and has remained little changed in 4 decades, avoiding the glitter of all-inclusives like Sandals. Sir Winston Churchill came here frequently during the 1950s to paint -- the suite named after him is a repository of many legends: Noël Coward, arriving with Katharine Hepburn or Claudette Colbert, was a regular, bashing out melodies on the piano in the bar, and Errol Flynn, Ian Fleming, and scads of quietly wealthy and otherwise reclusive socialites from both the U.K. and the U.S. used to drop in from time to time

  Today, Jamaica Inn retains its pedigree as one of the genuinely elegant but low-key resorts, sticking to a way of life that many clients adore. Don't expect access to TV in your room; in keeping with the Inn's origins, they simply are not here. In lieu of that, guests are likely to be reading, playing croquet, or chatting with other guests in the plushly comfortable bar and library. And don't expect scads of children underfoot, either. In winter, children under 12 aren't allowed, and the rest of the year, children under 10 aren't allowed. Clients today are likely to include CEOs and well-placed business personalities; movers and shakers from, say, the Aspen or Sundance film festivals; or perhaps, supermodel and super-personality Kate Moss.

  Lovely patios open onto the lawns, and the bedrooms are reached along garden paths. Guest rooms are English colonial in their appointments and very spacious, with mahogany two-poster beds, quality carved-wood period pieces, and balustraded balconies opening onto views of the sea. Bathrooms are elegant and roomy, gleaming with marble vanities, combination shower/tubs, robes, and deluxe toiletries. One of the genuinely appealing aspects to accommodations here involves very large open-sided verandas. They're large in even the cheapest units, and in the more upscale lodgings, they're big enough to be defined as sprawling living rooms in their own right, replete with plushly upholstered sofas, armchairs, and writing tables like you'd have expected in an indoor hotel suite. The beach is a wide, champagne-colored strip; close to the shore, the sea is almost too clear to make snorkeling an adventure, but farther out it's rewarding. The European-trained chef prepares both refined international and Jamaican dishes that are served in rituals as elegant and formal as anything in the Caribbean. The emphasis is on cuisine that uses fresh local produce. Men must wear a collared shirt with long trousers at night, but during February, when the clientele here mostly derives from England, most of the men voluntarily opt to wear jackets, usually without ties.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010