Cynthia Blair has been a freelance writer for more than 20 years. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has taught writing at Hofstra University on Long Island and the Cape Cod Writers Workshop, written for public relations firms, and ghost-written articles for trade periodicals for businesspeople. The result was a luxurious resort named Round Hill that quickly became a favorite hideaway for movie stars of that era.
Guest Rooms at Round Hill Hotel and Villas
Accommodations include 36 airy suites in the two-story Pineapple House Hotel.
For truly unbelievable luxury, visitors will prefer the 27 individually owned villas comprised of 74 suites. Each of these two to five-bedroom cottages is the size of a house. Most have king size beds, private swimming pools, extensive gardens, and private terraces with outstanding views of Round Hill Bay, especially the sunsets. Each is staffed by two maids and a gardener, and breakfast is prepared and served on-site. These unique hideaways are so luxurious that one was used in filming How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
Guest rooms are equipped with radios and CD players, telephones, refrigerators, coffee makers, and hair dryers.
Bathrooms are tremendous, some with sunken bathtubs, tiled walk-in showers, separate toilets, and two sinks. They are decorated with whimsical touches such as hand-carved wooden fishes, parrots, and frogs, giving them a truly distinctive flavor.
Dining at Round Hill Hotel and Villas
Meals at Round Hill are served on the Seaside Terrace overlooking Round Hill Bay. The dinner menu changes nightly, and there are several theme nights. On Monday, the resort hosts a beach barbecue with lobster, chicken, ribs, corn, and a fabulous dessert buffet.
Guests dine by candlelight at tables set up on the beach. Live jazz provides a party atmosphere.
The dinner menu may include appetizers such as tiger shrimp and vegetable tempura with honey ginger sauce and carpaccio of smoked blue marlin. Typical entrees are coconut-crusted chicken with ginger-mango sauce and herb-crusted Washington State rack of lamb. Dessert may be white chocolate bread butter pudding or a tropical fruit tulip with coconut ice ream.
At lunch, foods like jerked barbecue ribs are served along with pizza, conch fritters, and lobster BLT’s.
The attractive Main Bar, designed by Ralph Lauren, serves sandwiches and salads, as do the beach and pool cocktail bars. Afternoon tea is served daily.
Welcome to Round Hill Hotel and Villas
In the early 1950s, Jamaican businessman John Pringle bought 98 acres on a peninsula eight miles west of Montego Bay, then sold shares of the former pineapple plantation to his celebrity friends.
The result was a luxurious resort named Round Hill that quickly became a favorite hideaway for movie stars of that era.
John and Jackie Kennedy honeymooned at Round Hill.
Round Hill's ties to the rich and famous continue to this day. Recent celebrity guests have included Paul McCartney and Michael Douglas.
Most notable, however, is designer Ralph Lauren, who owns one of the villas. While the villas were decorated by their owners, Lauren recently redecorated the hotel’s interiors, using an abundance of the color white to create a crisp, clean feeling.
Today, Round Hill is a real-life Garden of Eden that sprawls across 110 acres. The luxurious accommodations are set amidst lush, tropical grounds.
Guests can enjoy open-air dining on the terrace, swim in three fabulous pools, play tennis on five all-weather tennis courts, be pampered at the spa, and have breakfast prepared by their own private staff. In short, Round Hill offers honeymooners the chance to enjoy unparalleled luxury in an extremely private setting.