Rooms on the Beach

Description:

• Originally built in the 1970s, and reincarnated after a massive renovation, this comfortable and unpretentious hotel offers good value from a location within the shadow of its mammoth all-inclusive neighbor, the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa, in the heart of Ocho Rios. Designed in an L-shaped format that embraces a wide courtyard terrace and a pool with its own swim-up bar, it opens directly onto a desirable stretch of Mallards Beach. Views from its social center (i.e., its pool terrace) incorporate the arrivals and departures of some of the world's largest and flashiest cruise ships. Bedrooms are comfortable and practical, without a lot of extra frills, but well located and within a short walk of the dining and drinking options that proliferate within downtown Ocho Rios. Each has mahogany furniture, a tiled floor, and oversized, full-length windows that slide to the side in ways that imitate a sliding patio door. Under separate management, there's a likable restaurant with tables that spill onto the pool terrace, serving a "fusion-based" mix of Asian and Jamaican food. Although this place is not marketed as an all-inclusive resort, and although it's much less well-accessorized than any of the other members of the SuperClubs chain, it's nonetheless included in the list of SuperClubs' member hotels, mostly for the purposes of its marketing programs.

• © Frommer's 2013