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Style: Gracious, plantation-style home with double pitched shingle roofs and keystones, surrounded by lawns and gardens. Set in a select residential area, Stonaway has a friendly and relaxed formality and a tranquil air for your vacation villa in Jamaica
The Beach: Stunning white sand at Turtle Beach, about 5 minutes drive away
The Rooms: 4 bedrooms with en suite bathrooms
Key features: Enclosed swimming pool and terrace, cable TV, VCR, CD player, villa spa treatments on request, complimentary access to beach and pool facilities at “Rooms on the Beach” on Turtle Beach.
Children: Welcome – child gate to pool terrace
Staff: House manager/cook, housekeeper, laundress, gardener and night watchman – resident house manager/cook and gardener in separate staff quarters |
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Description
Stonaway is a charming four bedroom hillside hideaway, set in beautifully tended gardens in a prestigious residential estate above Ocho Rios. It sits on a hillside close to the botanical gardens of Shaw Park and Coyaba River and it has an excellent view over the town and its harbour. The house is an elegant, well appointed property with elements of a traditional, colonial-style exterior and décor. It is very much a home rather than a holiday villa and so it offers a very comfortable retreat with a feel for the good life in Jamaica.
Stonaway is located towards the top of the hill in Ridge Estate, protected by tall, wrought iron electric gates and boundary walls. As you arrive at the house itself, a portico leads you through a tall fanlight door into a mid-level foyer, from which stairs lead both up and down. The foyer itself is large and airy, open to roof height, and has wooden parquet floors and the most unusual wall-covering, a natural fibre wallpaper that is printed with delicate Chinese blossoms. The stairs leading upwards bring you into a gallery sitting area and the bedrooms, while those heading down open into the large formal sitting room below.
The sitting room is very spacious. It has marble floor tiles and is elegantly furnished in a traditional manner, with comfortable, floral upholstered sofas, wingback armchairs and occasional tables that include a card table tucked to one corner. Decorative furniture includes a reproduction antique display cabinet and an oriental, hand painted lacquer cabinet (which contains the television). Beneath the stairway there is an indoor garden. An archway leads from the sitting room into a formal dining room, where a mahogany table and chairs sit under a candelabra lamp. A silverware collection is set on two mahogany side dressers. The dining room in turn leads out via French doors to a more casual dining area on the veranda at the front of the villa, while at the rear you will find the kitchen, the domain of the utterly delightful Patricia, the cook and resident house manager.
The marble tiled veranda can also be accessed from the sitting room, via a row of attractive, arched French windows. There are two sitting areas, set with white wicker furnishings - and the dining area at the far end. The veranda has splendid views, making it a popular spot to sit and enjoy Ocho Rios and its harbour from a distance. It looks particularly good at night with all the lights below and the cruise ships in port, lit up like a Christmas tree.
The veranda turns a corner and leads down a flight of steps (via a gate) to a lovely pool area, which is set in a tiled sun terrace. It is a bit like a courtyard, raised above the gardens and enclosed by fencing, and it is an oasis of seclusion. There is some good shade (depending on the time of day) from a profusion of palms, flowering shrubs, and trees.
Stonaway has four pretty bedrooms set over the two floors, each furnished in a similar style with pretty floral fabrics on the beds and curtains. All are air-conditioned, have ceiling fans, hairdryers and en suite bathrooms with tub/shower. The smallest bedroom is downstairs, and leads off the sitting room. It has two white, twin four poster beds, with French doors that give onto the side veranda just by the steps to the pool. Upstairs, leading off the hallway landing, are the three other bedrooms. The middle bedroom has a white, king size four poster canopy bed, a dressing area and a small sea-view balcony. There is a large bedroom on the eastern corner of the house, which overlooks the pool. This has a bathroom off its own hall and overlooks the driveway and the pool. French doors lead onto a small balcony. The room also has cable TV, and more space for its sitting area.
On the western side of the house is the master bedroom, which has a king size, mahogany four poster canopy bed, with matching drapes on the bed and the windows on two sides. It has a small sitting area and French doors that open onto a small balcony with a sea view. The bedroom has two walk-in dressing rooms and is open to a large, L-shaped marble-tiled bathroom with a long double vanity set in one corner. The WC is tucked around the corner, behind a small partition wall for a degree of privacy, close to the tub. This is a step up whirlpool tub, which has been set in marble tile surrounds (very slippery when wet) in a recess with windows on three sides. It has a glass roof and potted plants that create the impression of an atrium. The tub has a hand held shower head. |
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Beach & Swimming
Turtle Beach has a stunning sweep of white sand beach with excellent swimming and is within five minutes drive of the villa. Watersports are available and include windsurfing, sailing, kayaks, water-skiing, snorkelling and parasailing.
Stonaway features a lovely, very private and secluded pool area, which is accessed by steps leading off the veranda. It is set in an enclosed courtyard and surrounded by a sun terrace and a profusion of tropical greenery and flowers. The pool is classical in design with bays at both ends and steps in the shallow bay end. There is a ladder at the deep end. |
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Sports & Recreation
In-house spa services can be arranged. A massage therapist or beauty consultant will come up to the villa, at extra charge. The nearest golf course is Sandals Golf & Country Club, about 10 minutes away. This is an 18 hole, 72 par, 6311 yard course located in the hills behind the town of Ocho Rios. Established in 1951, it was formerly known as the Upton Golf Course. The nearest stables for riding are at Prospect Plantation, which is around 10 minutes away by car. Prospect is actually a 900 acre working estate that opens to the public as a tourist attraction, and has guide led rides. White River Valley, a 300 acre park, also includes horse riding in its activities. Further afield, you will find both riding and polo at Chukka Cove in Laughlands (about 30 minutes |
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Locality
Stonaway is located high up on a wooded hillside above Ocho Rios, on the Ridge Estate in Shaw Park, a well-to-do neighbourhood of large holiday homes and local residences. Only a few of the holiday homes are rented out - owners visit regularly and tend to use them for family or friends - so it is a relatively quiet area. Also, the homes tend to be set back in mature gardens on relatively large plots so there is a very leisurely feel to the place. Stonaway has just one neighbour to the east. The other side of the hill is undeveloped and nothing is in view below except the tops of trees and a couple of villas behind. Shaw Park is also home to two of the town’s popular botanical gardens, Coyaba River Garden & Museum and Shaw Park Gardens. This should give you an idea of the lushness of Stonaway’s surroundings.
Ocho Rios, just five minutes down the hill, is the second largest resort town on the north coast after Montego Bay and Jamaica’s busiest port of call for cruise ships. Stonaway looks directly over the tree tops down to the harbour and the cruise ship terminal, so you will see the cruise ships clearly when they are in town. The town has developed its shopping to suit cruise ship arrivals, and there is a host of downtown shopping centres, craft markets and duty free outlets as well as a themed Caribbean retail village. There are also some good restaurants and a bit of night life in Ocho Rios. The town itself sits on an attractive bay with the sweep of white sand of Turtle Beach at its feet and a back-drop of lush, forested hills behind. The most famous attraction in the Ocho Rios area is Dunn’s River Falls, where you can climb 600ft up among the falls into a nature park. This is next to the dolphin attraction at Dolphin Cove and about ten minutes drive from the villa.
Ocho Rios is located in the parish of St Ann, which is often referred to as the Garden Parish because of its fertility. There are plenty of attractions and activities for nature lovers and anyone keen on the outdoors. There are the two botanical gardens near the villa, nature parks, a fishing park, Fern Gully, White River for bamboo or white water rafting, plantation tours, a forest canopy tour, several stables for horse riding or even polo, scuba diving, a golf course and even downhill mountain biking trips. Watersports are available on Turtle Beach in Ocho Rios or at James Bond Beach in Oracabessa (about 20-30 minutes by car) and if you are interested in art or craftwork then you might like to visit Harmony Hall Art Gallery and the Wassi Art Pottery.
Should you wish to visit a supermarket, there is the General Food Supermarket in Ocean Village Shopping Centre, Main Street, Ocho Rios which is well stocked with both local and imported goods. Please note that all of your food shopping can be done for you if you wish. |
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Useful Hints
Stonaway has a cook and so it is expected that you will require initial food and drink supplies to be bought for your arrival, so that a welcome meal can be prepared. You should ask your travel organiser or the villa agent (if booking direct) for a list and ensure that any particular requirements are noted. There is an average daily budget of US$30 per adult and US$20 per child for provisioning the villa. This includes a basic drinks package of rum, wine and beer and a standard menu. It will not cover extras such as lobster or imported steak, which vary according to market prices. The shopping for the rest of your stay can be done by your cook once you have liaised with them locally. When you are doing this you will receive the bill for the initial provisioning plus the costs for transport, which should be paid in cash either to the cook or - if an account has been set up - at the local grocery store. If you require the cook to take care of your shopping, you will need to provide funds for subsequent shopping as well as transport costs. You may opt to go with them on the first trip.
Rental rates for villas in Jamaica do not include ‘tips’ and it is recommended that you set aside 10% of the total villa rental in winter and 15% in summer as tips. You will be expected to pay this directly to the staff before you leave, dividing the amount according to staff seniority and the level of service received, and placing the tip in individual envelopes with the staff’s names on. Normally the largest portion goes to the cook and butler.
Your villa’s laundress will attend to your personal laundry (excluding dry clean items). If laundry is handed over in the morning, it is usually ready later that same afternoon, or the following morning.
Weddings:
Permission to hold a wedding or any large function at your rental villa should be obtained in advance when making your initial reservation enquiry, as each villa has its own restrictions. Most villa weddings/functions attract a guest surcharge if the number of people attending the ceremony exceeds the villa’s maximum occupancy. This fee at Stonaway is currently US$15 per person. Also note that it is normally a requirement for the services of an outside catering company to be arranged if numbers exceed the maximum villa occupancy and one or two additional guests. The maximum number of guests for weddings or functions at the villa is 30. |
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Rates
| | 06 Jan-15 Apr 2008 | 16 Apr-17 Nov 2008 | | Stonaway 1-8 guests | 4,500 | 3,500 | All rates are in US$ per week, including Government Consumption Tax. Gratuities are not included. All rates are subject to change without notice. Minimum stay 5 nights during the summer season and 7 nights during the winter season (including Thanksgiving and Easter), except during Christmas/New Year when the minimum stay is 14 nights. |
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How To Book
If you wish to book direct, reservations should be made through the villa agent, Prendergast Villas. To confirm a reservation you must send a deposit of 30% of the total rental fee (50% for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year). Payment of the remaining 70% is required 60 days prior to your arrival (90 days for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year). If you are booking within 60 days of your arrival, full payment must be made to secure the booking. Cancellations 60 days (90 days for Christmas/New Year) prior to arrival incur a 10% charge and within 60 days (90 for Christmas/New Year) payments are non-refundable, unless the villa is rebooked for the same period. All cancellations incur a minimum 10% service charge. A US$500 security deposit may be requested against damage to the villa or contents during your stay. It is refundable on your return home if no damage occurs during your stay. You may contact Prendergast Villas by using the DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page, or if you wish to telephone them, please click on TELEPHONE CONTACT to reveal the number. |
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Airport Meet & Greet
If you are booking direct, you can make arrangements for the villa agent to send a driver to meet you at the airport, which is then pre-paid with the balance for the villa. Your airport transfer from Montego Bay will take approximately 2 ½ hours. Alternatively, if you would prefer to be taken care of from the minute you arrive at the airport, with a range of services that can include stretch limousine transfers and a personal Concierge Service, this is offered by Glamour Tours.
If you are booking through a travel organiser, it is likely that their representative will be at the airport to meet you. This service and your return airport transfers should be included in the cost of your holiday. Please check at the time of booking.
Note that Boscobel Aerodrome is located nine miles east Ocho Rios, just outside Oracabessa. It has charter services out of Montego Bay (about 25 minutes) and out of Tinson Pen Airport in Kingston (15 minutes). Boscobel operates in daylight hours only. |
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Getting Around
A hired car is strongly recommended for all private villa holidays. A vehicle gives you an added element of freedom and will be useful if you want to dine out in the evenings, visit the sights or go shopping. If you are booking direct or through a tour operator, you can organise your car hire at the same time as booking your accommodation. Ask for your vehicle to be delivered to the property approximately five hours after your scheduled time of arrival on Jamaica or the following morning (there is a delivery fee if you do not pick it up at the airport. Vehicles can be returned at the airport or be collected from the property at a pre-arranged time on your departure day. |
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