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MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA -- Most visitors to Jamaica know
the island only from its crowded all-inclusive resorts,
those enclaves of sun, sand and unlimited rum punches
at mass-tourism destinations such as Negril.Less well-known
are the spectacular villas available for rent along
its north shore around Montego Bay and farther east
near Ocho Rios and Port Antonio.Portions of the coast
have been called the "Jamaican Riviera," and
the level of luxury that can be found here does the
moniker proud.
Away from the crowds, staffed with full-time employees
and set on large properties, they are especially popular
with well-to-do travellers searching for safe and discreet
vacation hideaways. Many are set behind electrically
locked gates, most have dedicated security guards, and
some boast helicopter pads for airborne airport transfers.
Fifty-two of the finest properties on the north shore
have been herded into a luxury collection marketed by
Linda Smith, who reigns as the grande dame of Jamaican
villa rentals from her office outside Washington, D.C.Owned
by foreigners and wealthy locals, they range in size
and style from the baroque Italianate formality of Trident
Castle, which -- with its Baccarat chandelier, statuary
by Georgio Ferrari, white-gloved waiters, croquet lawn
and private chapel -- is one of the largest private
homes in the Caribbean, to the casual elegance of A
Summer Place on Discovery Bay.Also on Discovery
Bay -- cottage country for Jamaican millionaires such
as resort-tycoon Gordon (Butch) Stewart and orange-plantation
owners -- are stunning vacation homes such as Fortlands
Point and Amanoka.Situated
on almost a hectare of a cannon-studded promontory that
was once the site of an old fort, Fortlands features
a protected crescent of white-sand beach and dramatic
architecture accented by teak, cedar, Italian tile,
Persian rugs and a formal dining room featuring a four-metre,
century-old mahogany table. A separate building houses
a squash court and exercise area. Amanoka, one of the
newest villas on the bay, is a 9,600-square-foot, seven-bedroom
extravagance decorated with Jamaican and Chinese marble
and ornate teak and bamboo furniture imported from Bali.
Expansive grounds feature lily ponds, fountains and
a 22-metre curve of private beach.Even more palatial
is Noble House, set on a two-hectare
seafront estate just west of Montego Bay. Constructed
as a series of peak-roofed pavilions, the mansion features
15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living space
and an interior dominated by a 6,000-square-foot "great
room" surrounded by glass doors leading to a wraparound
white-marble veranda.
Not all the villas in the Linda Smith collection are
on the beach. Some are in enclaves around the famous
Tryall Golf Club, where heavyweight boxing champion
Lennox Lewis just bought a home, and other golf and
tennis resorts such as Wyndham Rose Hall and Half Moon.Almost
a dozen luxury villas climb into the lush hills along
the valley of the Great River above Montego Bay. The
most impressive among these is Silent
Waters, perched on one of the highest peaks overlooking
both the bay and the Caribbean Sea.Owned by a Chicago
family and managed by Canadian Jean Lawrence, Silent
Waters is one of the finest examples of tropical elegance
in the Caribbean. Twelve separate buildings, a helicopter
pad and tennis court occupy almost two hectares of a
7.3-hectare property that spills down a thickly forested
slope to the Great River. Gardens, lily and koi ponds
and secluded meditation areas surround the common pool
and bar. The large infinity-edge pool is surrounded
by marble decks and sunning areas with unobstructed
views of Montego Bay's curving coast almost 200 metres
below and the sea beyond.Silent Waters' five detached
villa suites can accommodate 18 guests. Each is unique
in design, but all feature Italian marble floors, granite
wet bars and vanities, shower stalls large enough to
share with a hippo, antique Oriental rugs from the Middle
East, southern Russia and China, as well as oil paintings
from Indonesia and Thailand. Best of all, entire walls
in the suites can be opened to spacious patios with
views over the forest and the sea. At night, the silence
is broken only by the peeping frogs.The main pavilion,
set behind the pool, is surrounded by sliding glass
walls that afford a 360-degree view. Decorations include
a pair of 17th-century Buddhist
temple-attendant statues, an 18th-century Burmese Bible
chest and a Buddhist monastery bell. A unique touch
is a Yamaha Disklavier baby grand player and recording
piano like the ones used by most composers and recording
artists. A computer, along with recording and composing
software, is available for use.Like most villas in Linda
Smith's collection, Silent Waters is generously staffed
with a small army of employees, ranging from a security
guard to gardeners, chefs and a bartender who doubles
as a butler. And, like the staff at all the villas she
represents, they have been personally trained by her
to provide a level of service unusual in the Caribbean.
If not the most luxurious of the properties in the group,
Good Hope Plantation is
by far the most historic and atmospheric. The 18th-century
Georgian-style great house, once the headquarters of
one of Jamaica's largest and most prosperous sugar plantations,
is set high in the Cockpit country above the Queen of
Spain Valley in Trelawny parish. Today, it looks over
its 810 hectares planted with groves of coconut palms,
breadfruit, orange and ackee. Most mornings, the plantation's
trees march through a dawn-blushed mist in one of the
most beautiful vistas on the island.Good Hope's cream-coloured
old stones, framed with flowering vines and bushes,
have made it a spectacular setting for fashion shoots
for magazines like Vogue, Elle, Travel & Leisure
and Mademoiselle.
The great house's interior -- with its tall Palladian
windows trimmed with plantation shutters, antiques and
polished rare-wood floors -- have made it a popular
venue for weddings, family reunions and those who value
the serenity of its isolation.
Ten bedrooms are distributed among the main building,
a former carriage house and the romantic single-room
"counting house," once the financial heart
of the old plantation and now popular with honeymooners.
Another five bedrooms are split between two cottages
in the valley above the banks of the Martha Brae River.New
additions to the Good Hope property are a free-standing
yoga studio beside the main building and a ceramics
studio in the valley operated by Jamaican-born potter
David Pinto. Good Hope now hosts both yoga-group retreats
and week-long pottery, photography and painting workshops.
Needless to say, the level of luxury found in these
exceptional Jamaican villas is not for lean pocketbooks.Renting
all eight bedrooms in Trident Castle during the high
season,
for example, costs $52,500 (all amounts in U.S. dollars)
a week.
One to three suites at Silent Waters go for $14,000;
five bedrooms for $18,000.
Smaller three-bedroom villas such as Sospiro
and Tupacea can be had for
$2,500 to $2,700 a week.
Your chefs prepare the meals, but you typically pay
for the groceries. Grocery costs can be $175 to $195
for each adult per week; recommended staff gratuities
are 10 per cent
of the villa rental in high season and 15 per cent in
low season.
But for those who can afford the best the Caribbean
has to offer and are looking for safety and isolation
in these troubled times, the Linda Smith collection
is hard to beat.
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