This Montego Bay, Jamaica Resort Has “Timeless” Villas With Private Chefs, Butlers and Jet-Set Glamour 

You wake up to the smell of freshly-brewed Blue Mountain coffee and the sound of eggs frying in the pan. There’s fresh fruit waiting for you, the table set just-so by your butler. The day starts with an al fresco breakfast and then the choice is yours: a lazy day by the pool, 18 holes at a Robert Trent Jones course, a spa treatment at Fern Tree or some horseback riding under the palm trees. Maybe you have a jerk barbecue dinner on your patio, or shuttle over to the Sugar Mill.

If you’ve read these pages, you know our love for the Jamaica villa vacation; a staffed villa in Jamaica is one of the great delights in all of Caribbean travel, and at the Half Moon resort, it’s something of an art form. You can find beautiful villas on many islands in the Caribbean — but the experience in Jamaica is different, particularly here. 

The legendary Montego Bay resort has been home to a clutch of luxury villas for decades called the Rose Hall Villas; and while the property is in the midst of a high-level transformation (you can find more on that in our report here), you can still visit and enjoy some of the resort’s original villas right now. 

They call them the “Legacy Villas,” and they’re exquisite: grand architecture, spectacular courtyard-style living spaces, live-in chefs and all-day butlers. There are eight of them available, with varying configurations that are perfect both for families and larger groups.

There’s no villa resort in Jamaica that gives you the level of amenities you get at Half Moon, because while you never really have to leave the confines of your villa, a short golf cart’s ride away is the complete offering of Half Moon, from the stunning infinity pool at the Eclipse resort-within-a-resort to the gentle white sand at Founders Cove. 

There’s a reason, after all, that this resort has hosted a who’s who of the last century, from Queen Elizabeth II to John F. Kennedy to King Charles himself, all drawn to this Montego Bay classic’s unique brand of timeless elegance and dynamic Jamaican personality. 

It’s one of our favorite places to stay in the Caribbean, and the Legacy Villas are a classic, charming portal to the glamour of Jet Set-era Jamaica. 

This is another Jamaica, far away from large-chain all-inclusives and cruise ports. This is the Jamaica you dream about.

Are you planning a vacation to Montego Bay? You can find good flight options, including just $323 roundtrip from Miami on American Airlines and $336 nonstop from New York to Mobay, according to Google Flights. 

For more, visit Half Moon.