In an effort to speed up a sluggish tourism recovery, Jamaica’s
resorts and tour operators are offering discount specials and new
excursions aimed at the golf and ecotourism crowds.
Wyndham Rose Hall Resort & Country Club in Montego Bay is
offering golfers unlimited play at the newly renovated Cinnamon
Hill Ocean Course, an 18-hole course situated on a former sugar
plantation, for $505 per night for double occupancy from Aug. 25 to
Dec. 24. The package includes admission to the Sugar Mills water
park, meal and beverage passes and all greens fees with preferred
advanced tee times (a $35 per person, per round cart and caddy fee
is not included).
The Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall Resort’s Witches Spell golf package
includes daily play at the resort’s 18-hole, oceanview course, cart
storage and cleaning, meals and room for two starting at $495 a
night through Dec. 19. Commission for the Wyndham and Ritz-Carlton
properties is 10 percent.
For putters seeking a bit more flexibility, Half Moon Club is
letting resort guests choose their own course from four of
Jamaica’s top golf resorts for an additional $125 per 18-hole
round, including cart and shared caddy. The deal allows golfers to
play at Half Moon’s own Trent Jones Sr. Championship Course,
Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall’s White Witch, Wyndham’s Cinnamon Hill and
the Tryall Club Course. (Tryall’s back nine holes are closed for
renovation through October; the front nine are half-price.)
The special, good through Nov. 30, also gives four-night guests
the fourth night free, week-long guests the seventh night free and
$50 and $100 credits, respectively, on food and beverages. Half
Moon Club commission is 12 percent. “We’re trying to push the golf
packages. It’s an option we think is underutilized,’’ said Clive
Hobson, director of marketing at JRS Tours, a Jamaica specialist in
Miami.
Jamaica is not seen as a golfing destination, more as a
honeymoon and wedding market. But there’s no wait on the tee and
most hotels have special deals, he said.
For adventurers seeking experiences beyond the fairways, Unique
Destinations is organizing tours that put visitors in direct
contact with the nature and people of Jamaica.
On the tour “Maroons of the Rio Grande,” participants hike local
farmers’ trails through the rainforest, passing crystal streams and
banana trees on the way to historic Mooretown, a village founded in
1739 by Maroons, communities of runaway slaves that fought against
the British to maintain their own settlements and culture. For
guests who want to further explore the Maroon culture, operator
MaryLou Callahan leads community nights where guests spend an
evening getting to know Jamaican cuisine, traditional music, dance
and drumming.
All packages include hotel, villa or guesthouse accommodations
in Port Antonio, a small town set between the Blue Mountains and
Caribbean Sea, several hours drive from Kingston. Prices start at
$300 per person for a three-night stay, double occupancy. Community
nights are an extra $100. Commission is 12 percent.
