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Tensing Pen is one of the Caribbean’s most delightful offbeat hideaways. Set on the cliffs in Negril (a town generally known for its spectacular beach and large, loud and active all-inclusive hotels), Tensing Pen is small and secluded and has an incredibly cool vibe. It is enclosed in its own lovely enclave of tropical greenery on a dramatic seafront, and it is quietly stylish, as private as you like and utterly, utterly peaceful. Its few rooms are in thatched wooden cabins, some of them raised on central stone columns, which have lovely views through the sea grapes to the Caribbean Sea. Of course the beach is a short drive away if you want it, but most guests don’t feel the need to go more than once or twice during a visit. Instead they take advantage of what Tensing Pen Negril offers best – unutterable tranquillity in a low key, friendly atmosphere and a delightful natural setting.
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KEY FEATURES
| Intimate Negril hotel, 3 acre cliff-side setting, great room with library/lounge, bar and dining room, swimming pool, gift shop, hammock hut, thatched cottages all with fridges, sea swimming access, yoga area, massage therapist |
STYLE
| Classic Caribbean, stone and wood with palm thatch and rustic balustrades. Easy, very peaceful atmosphere, barefoot cool |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Independent travellers, self contained singles, honeymooners and couples hiding away (ideal Jamaica wedding location) |
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Tensing Pen Jamaica is as lovely as it is unexpected. In a town that is among the brashest and liveliest in the Caribbean this is the calmest, coolest and quietest hideaway. It is set in its own lovely enclave of tropical greenery on the cliff-front and is secluded, pretty and subtly stylish. A series of palm-thatch cabins look through the palms, bananas and sea grape trees on the shorefront cliffs onto the calm western Caribbean Sea. Tensing Pen offers the sort of calm and tranquillity that captivates writers and artists, and so it is ideal for honeymooners, and the occasional celebrity, wanting to hide away. It is also a perfect setting for a wedding. Tensing Pen is utterly peaceful and tranquil - the best of Negril on the cliffs.
You arrive at the small hotel along the slightly ragged West End road, which meanders along the cliff just behind the waterfront properties. Tensing Pen is quite easy to miss. Just a brown and purple sign marks it, barely visible among the sprays of bougainvillea that spill over the fence. A set of iron gates lets you into a parking area completely surrounded by greenery.
Once you are inside, though, you will find that the atmosphere changes completely, and most likely your mood with it. It is almost unnaturally quiet and peaceful. You walk to the Reception, which is set in a pretty stone and wooden building. It shares the space with the internet station and a small gift shop, the Tortuga Gallery, where you will find t-shirts, sunscreen, trinkets and crafts.
After you have checked in you will be taken to your room via the Lodge, the main dining room and bar, which is next door to Reception. This is a thatch-covered stone and wooden building which is open at the front and looks out onto dining terraces, over the pool and through the pretty greenery to the sea. The Lodge is on split levels, with the kitchen part visible to the right, the bar to the left and a sitting area and small library at the centre. Music is one of the key features of Tensing Pen and the backdrop of the Lodge is a feed of easy reggae which gives the room a dead cool, thoroughly Jamaican atmosphere.
From the Lodge, pebble-laid paths with low coral block walls meander through the tropical greenery to all the corners and nooks around the small resort. They lead to the 'pillar’ rooms, the cottages and eventually out onto the limestone brittle of the cliffs, the ages-old exposed reef of gnarled grey rock like some sort of Palaeolithic cake mix. Cut into the substrate and the tortuous cliff-front there are several sunning platforms. Some have loungers and are open to the sun, others have a gazebo with a hammock or a pair of Adirondack chairs. All of them take in the view beyond with its broad horizon of the Caribbean Sea. The cliff-side is also dramatic. When the sea gets up the waves crash against the overhanging rock with a satisfying thunder and thump.
The seventeen rooms at Tensing Pen are hidden away in the rampant greenery of the gardens, which gives them privacy from one another. They are also in a mix of two styles. The ‘pillar’ rooms stand on a central pillar, a thatched wooden room with a four-poster bed and a small balcony with a couple of chairs, a table and a lovely view to the sea. The other rooms are in free-standing, two-storey buildings built in a combination of solid walls, tiled floors and huge wooden doors and French windows. They still have the thatched high pointed roofs and the same rustic wooden balustrades. Finally there is a three bedroom cottage called the Long House. All the rooms have wooden furniture and are decorated with brightly coloured, ‘primitive‘ Caribbean paintings.
Meals are taken back at the central dining room in the Lodge, or more often on a small cluster of polished wooden tables on the terraces outside it. Most tables are set for two or four, but one long table allows six guests to sit together with one another. If you want complete privacy at Tensing Pen, then it is possible to order room service and not to emerge from your cottage at all, but the Lodge is a general gathering point and by the nature of the small resort you will find it easy to fall into conversation with the other guests if you wish.
The name Tensing Pen is a little unexpected for Jamaica. As you might imagine it derives indirectly from Tensing Norgay, the Sherpa who accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on the first ascent of Mount Everest. In fact the name came to Negril via an eccentric Englishman, one of the first to develop this section of the cliff. He owned a dog (a Tibetan Lhaso Apso) that he called Tensing and which clearly made the area his own. Gradually the lot became known as Tensing’s Pen (a pen is a word for a yard or farm in Jamaica) and the name stuck. The son of Tensing Norgay, Tensing Norbu, has visited the hotel. He sends prayer flags to protect the place from hurricanes. Unfortunately they did not work in the case of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, when the resort sustained considerable damage to its fantastic greenery, but this has grown up again now and the small hotel is as lovely and lush as ever.
Tensing Pen is truly original hotel and an excellent place to wind down. The activity of Negril Beach is just a few miles away, so it is always there if you want to go, but the people who fit Tensing Pen best tend not to go more than once or twice during their stay. Instead, they are happy in the calm and solitude of the small resort. They enjoy the few activities of the superb setting, taking a yoga session in the mornings perhaps, and then enjoying the calm of the dramatic waterfront to read and laze around. And of course getting the best of the sunset in the evenings. West facing, Tensing Pen is a perfect place to watch for the Green Flash at sunset. |
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Beach & Swimming
Tensing Pen is not on the beach. It is on the cliffs of the West End of Negril, about ten minutes drive from the famous strip of sand. Most guests end up staying on the property for most of their time here. If you do want to visit the beach, there are several places where you can base yourself for the afternoon or the day.
There is a pool on the property (about 16 by 30 ft), which is set in front of the Lodge and the dining terraces. There are loungers around it. The sea here is also excellent for swimming. You can jump in or climb down one of the ladders (or a walk in on the boat ramp). The water offshore is about fifteen or twenty feet deep and has coral heads. |
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Sports & Recreation
There are good corals right offshore at Tensing Pen and so it is well worth snorkelling. Equipment is available to guests.
There is a specially built yoga deck, the Seasong Hut, at the hotel, a thatched wooden platform with a superb view out to sea. Daily yoga sessions are held there each morning. Tensing Pen also has a massage therapist on call. The massage table can be set up around your room or the Seasong Hut.
There is plenty of activity around the town. Glass-bottom boat tours are available through Vincent and scuba diving through the Negril Scuba Diving Centre. Deep sea fishing is available through Stanley. If you are a golfer, the Negril Hills Golf Course is just inland behind the town and there are several courses around Montego Bay, the closest being at Tryall about 40 minutes away. Horse riding can also be arranged through the front desk. |
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Staff
The staff at Tensing Pen are delightful. You will meet Sonia, the assistant at the front of house, and Jennifer and Judith, who work in the kitchen. The head chef is Jamaican Kevin, who has worked in Couples Sweptaway and the general manager is Courtney Miller, who has worked in Negril for many years, for Couples Sweptaway and for Sandals. |
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The Rooms
There are two different types of rooms at Tensing Pen. The ‘pillar’ rooms (the original ones on the property when it opened in the 1970s) stand ten feet above the ground on a central pillar of limestone-clad concrete. Octagonal in shape, these rooms are made of wood and thatched and they are fan-ventilated rather than air-conditioned. The bed is a four-poster and in some cases it looks straight out over the small balcony, where there are a couple of chairs and a table, to the sea. At the back of the room is the bathroom with basin and lavatory. The shower is downstairs, set inside a curl of bamboo.
The ‘newer’ rooms use some of the same aspects in a more modern version. They are free-standing, two-storey buildings on a rectangular plan. They have a combination of solid walls, tiled floors and huge wooden doors and windows with screens that keep out the mosquitoes but allow the breeze for ventilation. They also have excellent balconies. They are still thatched (with local Jamaican thatch form the Black River Morass) with high pointed roofs. The showers, set behind a wall, are inside the rooms. Like the original rooms, and the three bedroom cottage (called the Long House), they are decorated with brightly coloured, ’primitive‘ Caribbean paintings. |
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Dining
Dining takes place at the Lodge at the centre of the small resort. The setting is extremely pretty, with dining tables laid out on small terraces just in front of the building, which contains the sitting area and bar.
The menu, steered by the head chef Kevin, is a mix of international and Jamaican and makes use of plenty of the island’s excellent fresh produce. |
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Weddings
With its very pretty and secluded setting, Tensing Pen makes a very nice place to get married. They have a dedicated wedding co-ordinator, Garrett, who will liaise with you over your plans and tailor their package to suit you. The general package covers the ceremony (bouquet, corsage, decorated location, wedding cake, sparkling wine and photography), and the reception, with food, drinks and entertainment (there are many options for music for instance – a mento or a reggae band, or a saxophonist) are then added on. They will also take you through the legal requirements on being married in Jamaica. For more details, please see their Wedding Package. |
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Useful Hints
Tensing Pen is fairly small and extremely quiet. If you are looking for a lively hotel with lots of activities then you are probably better suited to the hotels on the beach. |
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Practical Facts
Annual Closure Dates: open year round
Dress Code: casual and low key
Facilities: Swimming pool. Great room with library/lounge. Restaurant and bar. Gift shop. Hammock Hut. Sea swimming access and sunning platforms/terraces. Massage Hut. SeaSong Hut for yoga/exercise classes, meetings and weddings
Complimentary: Daily continental breakfast. Coffee throughout the day and night.
Other Services: The Office will arrange island excursions and activities. Wellness services (massages, facial and body scrub) available in the Massage Hut (extra). Yoga classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and private classes are available (extra). Telephone and WiFi services available through the Office. Ice and coolers provided on request. Laundry service (extra). Snorkelling equipment available. Private cook for The Long House available (extra) can be arranged
Children: Welcome. Due to the setting and layout, parents are asked supervise children.
Weddings: The basic wedding package costs US$900. Each wedding can be customised by a dedicated wedding co-ordinator. See above for details
Accommodation: 15 rooms and 2 villas
Rooms: All rooms have ceiling fans, small fridges, furnished balcony or patio and en suite bathroom with shower. The Long House (villa) is a two-storey stone house set to the rear of the cove with sea views, an open-plan living/dining area with full kitchen, three air-conditioned bedrooms, two with king-size beds and one with 2 twins, two full bathrooms and a powder room. Red Birch (villa) is a stone cottage with sea views, an open-plan living area with full kitchen, outdoor grill and a hammock hut. It has two air-conditioned bedrooms with king-size beds and two bathrooms. South House is a two- storey stone cottage with sea views, one bedroom upstairs with king-size bed and a downstairs sitting area with two bamboo (twins) day beds. Rock Cottage I is a one-bedroom stone cottage set on the cliff edge. It has full sea views and a queen-size bed. Rock Cottage II is a one-bedroom stone cottage near the cliff edge with sea views, air-conditioning and king-size bed. Cove Cottage is a one-bedroom stone cottage set above the cove with sea views, a queen-size bed and a bathroom with an indoor-outdoor shower. 3 x Pillars (South, Middle & North) are one-bedroom wooden chalets raised above the ground on stone pillars. They have sea views, queen-sized beds and private outdoor showers downstairs. The Pine Pillar Suite is a larger one-bedroom wooden chalet set back off the cliff edge. It has a spacious balcony with full sea views, a king-size bed and a private outdoor shower downstairs. Seagrape I & II are in a two-storey stone cottage (I lower and II upper) set above a small cove, both with sea views and king-size beds. Seagrape I is air-conditioned. The Patio is two-bedroom stone cottage located in a rock garden to the rear of the property, with garden views, an air-conditioned bedroom with queen-size bed and the other with a twin bed. The Bungalow is a one-bedroom stone cottage set in the gardens. It has a queen-size bed and a bathroom with rain shower. The Garden Rooms are in a stone built cottage with one behind (B is the most economical room) the other (A is to the front with air-conditioning) and both have queen-size beds. The Garden Studio is located upstairs (above the garden rooms), has a king-size bed, marble bath and the balcony has sea views.
Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard and American Express |
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Rates
| | Sleeps | 15 Dec-14 Apr 2007-08 & 2008-09 | 15 Apr-14 Dec 2008 & 2009 | | Meal Plan | | CP | CP | | Garden B | 2 | 184 | 117 | | Garden A Bungalow Patio | 2 2 2-3 | 214 225 214 | 140 140 140 | | Garden Studio Pillars | 2 2 | 307 307 | 197 197 | | Seagrape I Seagrape II Cove Cottage | 2 2 2 | 319 319 319 | 202 202 202 | | Pine Pillar Suite Rock Cottage I Rock Cottage II South House | 2 2 2 3-4 | 337 337 337 337 | 214 214 214 214 | | Red Birch Cottage | 4 | 551 | 355 | | Long House | 5-6 | 629 | 416 | All rates are in US$ per cottage/suite, per night, including (CP)continental breakfast, and are subject to 8.25% government tax and 10% service charge. All rates are subject to change without notice. A 50% deposit is required to confirm all reservations. Cancellation policy: 50% loss of deposit for cancellation 21 days or more prior to arrival, and within 21 days of arrival there will be no refund. |
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How to book
If you wish to make further enquiries or a reservation, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page to make contact with Tensing Pen Jamaica, or if you wish to telephone them, their telephone number will be revealed if you click on the CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER link. |
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UK Tour Operators
If you wish to book through a tour operator or travel organiser, please follow the TOUR OPERATOR link below.
See List of UK Tour Operators
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Locality
The town of Negril divides fairly neatly into two halves, each of which has its own character and different things to recommend it. The first half is ‘Seven Mile Beach’ (actually five miles unless you include Bloody Bay to the north) and the second is the section of cliffs to the south of the roundabout at the centre of town. This is called ‘the West End’ and it is here that you will find Tensing Pen.
The beach is backed almost entirely with hotels, bars and other businesses including watersports. There are any number of places, either independent bars (try Margaritaville, for instance) or restaurants attached to a hotel, where you can base yourself for the day. Most do not offer watersports, but it is usually not far to wander along the sand to find a concessionaire. For a slightly more formal dinner you can try Kuyaba or Norma’s and for live music try Alfreds and Bourbon Beach.
The bars on the cliffs are equally famous in their way and so there is a handful of good places to visit. Rick’s is very well known but it sees bus tours and so you might want to try somewhere quieter like the LTU Pub. For dinner out on the cliffs try the Rockhouse Hotel. |
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Meet & Greet
If you are travelling independently, Tensing Pen can arrange for a taxi to meet you at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay (you should head to this airport rather than to Kingston). The driver will wait with a placard with your name and the hotel name. The transfer takes approximately 90 minutes and costs US$70 each way for two people, which you will be charged locally. 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 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. |
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Getting Around
Hiring a car to go to the beach or to explore the island, which is exceptionally beautiful, is easily arranged. You can book via your tour operator or through the resort. Vehicles can be returned at the airport or be collected from the property at a pre-arranged time (again at extra charge). Be aware that in the winter season there can sometimes be a shortage of cars, so you are advised to book in advance. Also book early if you want one for a week or more because the pre-booked rates can be better.
Taxis are readily available at Tensing Pen through Reception, which can also arrange local tours to places of interest. |
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