• 18-hole championship golf course designed by Robert von Hagge
  • plus 3 other world class courses accessible by shuttle van from the hotel
• Full-service Spa
• Non-motorized water sports on property and at nearby Rose Hall Beach Club
• Private Beach and Pools
• Five restaurants and one lounge

Rightly famous for its beaches and music, beautiful, brash Jamaica is much more. There's certainly plenty of white sand, turquoise sea and swaying palm trees, but there are also spectacular mountains and rivers, tumbling waterfalls and cactus-strewn savannah plains.

Jamaica's second largest city, MONTEGO BAY nestles between the gently sloping Bogue, Kempshot and Salem hills, and extends some ten miles from the haunts of the suburban rich in Reading at its western edge to the plush villa developments and resort hotels of Ironshore and Rose Hall to the east.

Jamaica is a country with a swagger in its step – proud of its history, sporting success and musical genius – but also with a weight upon its shoulders. The island faces the familiar problems of a developing country, including dramatic inequality of wealth and social tensions that occasionally spill over into localized violence and worldwide headlines. As a result Jamaicans are as renowned for being as sharp, sassy and straight-talking as they are laid-back and hip. People don't beat around the bush here, and this can sometimes make them appear rude or uncompromising. Particularly around the big resorts, this direct approach is taken to extremes at times, with harassment reaching irritating levels.

But there's absolutely no reason to be put off. As a foreign visitor, the chances of encountering any trouble are minuscule, and the Jamaican authorities have spent millions making sure the island treats its tourists right. As the birthplace of the " all-inclusive " hotel, Jamaica is well suited to those travelers who want to head straight from plane to beach, never leaving their hotel compound.

Jamaica 's unit of currency is the Jamaican dollar (J$) , divided into 100 cents. It comes in bills of J$1000, J$500, J$100, J$50 and J$20, and coins of J$20, J$10 and J$5. It's worth keeping a sharp eye on J$100 and J$1000 bills, which look alarmingly similar. The rate of exchange is roughly J$55 to US$1. This is prone to fluctuation, and as a result, the US dollar has emerged as an unofficial parallel currency, with prices for tourist-oriented goods and services usually quoted in US$.

Hustling can be a major annoyance in Jamaica. Especially in Montego Bay, young hopefuls aggressively (or humorously) accost foreigners in the street with offers of transport, ganja, aloe massages, hair-braiding and crafts. While an inevitable few street touts see tourists as easy prey for exploitation, most are just trying to make a living in an economically deprived country. Best advice is to keep things in perspective and employ a dash of humor.