MEGHAN’S MAGICAL JAMAICA HIDEAWAY
CONTINUING our series on the world’s hippest hotels and the celebrities who frequent them, SARAH TURNER visits Round Hill, Jamaica.
STAR QUALITY
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, John F. Kennedy, Emma Watson, Emma Thompson, Paul McCartney, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable.
VITAL STATISTICS
When this gated corner of Jamaica first opened for business in 1952, celebrities were quick to colonise it. John F. Kennedy and Jackie honeymooned in Villa 10 and he wrote his inauguration speech at Villa 25 (owned by Fred Astaire’s sister), while Oscar Hammerstein penned
The Sound Of Music at the home he owned, Villa 12. Other early guests included Bing Crosby and Clark Gable. More than 60 years later, the 27 villas – some owned by celebrities and most available to rent – still have a steady stream of privacy-searching guests. Paul McCartney has brought his family here since the 1970s, and recent visitors include Emma Watson and Emma Thompson. They come for the relaxed vibe and the old-school architecture – all whitewashed buildings with lawns and seclusion.
LOCATION REPORT:
An 18th Century former plantation covering 100 acres that leads down to a secluded, crescentshaped beach near Montego Bay. You’ll also find five tennis courts, while the original plantation house is now a spa with seven treatment rooms. There’s also a restaurant that doesn’t ignore its Caribbean setting – goat curry and jerk chicken are favourite dishes – and a beach bar.
KEY ATTRACTION
Round Hill still has some famous owners, including McCartney and Ralph Lauren but the management won’t tell you if you’re staying in one of their houses. Each villa has its own housekeeper who will make your breakfast and provide high levels of low-key cosseting. Children may be welcomed now (and there’s a kids’ club for them) but it’s defiantly old-fashioned. People still dress for dinner, usually after a stint in the main bar where the walls are covered in pictures of Round Hill’s most famous guests.
IN THE NEWS:
Prince Harry and Meghan stayed in March when Harry’s friends Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip and Lara Hughes-Young were married there in Jamaica.
GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE REST OF US?
The villas dotted around the grounds can be eye-wateringly expensive (Villa 22A, which has three bedrooms, is the most affordable). For a couple, staying in Pineapple House is more reasonable. With just 36 rooms, this is Round Hill’s Ralph Lauren-designed colonial-style hotel close to the beach.
GETTING THERE:
A seven-night break with Inspiring Travel Company (inspiringtravelcompany.co.uk, 0044 1244 355527) at Pineapple House starts at €2,450pp, including return flights from the UK, private transfers and room-only accommodation.