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Style: Historic, 18th century buildings cleverly restored to make a unique family holiday home. Stone and brick walls with flagstone or wooden floors, shingle roofs and timber ceilings with traditional Jamaican architectural features such as louvered windows and doors. Family atmosphere in authentic surroundings right on the waterfront
The Beach: There is small dark sand beach just to the east of the property, which has changeable swimming conditions and beach frontage. The nearest access to a white sand beach is at Round Hill, which is approximately 10 minutes by car. Club membership for Round Hill is included
The Rooms: 2 bedrooms with shared bathroom, plus 2nd guest bathroom in main house. 2 separate cottages with 1 bedroom each and en suite bathrooms
Key features: Seafront setting for your villa vacation in Jamaica, large wooden jetty, swimming pool (15ft x 30ft), sea kayak, beach trampoline, large games hall with wet bar, upper lounging area and table tennis, yoga on request, main house with 32” satellite TV, VCR and CD player, all bedrooms with TVs, child’s play house, Round Hill Beach Club membership
Children: Welcome. Stone play house filled with variety of games and toys. Nanny available
Staff: Butler, cook, housekeeper, laundress, 2 gardeners - resident housekeeper and gardener in adjacent staff village |
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Description
The Wharf House is an interesting four bedroom seafront home set in the restored stone walls of an 18th century wharf that once served the sugar trade. The old buildings have been converted, decorated and furnished with their historic origins in mind, with either polished hardwood, brick or flagstone floors, exposed timber ceilings and traditional-looking wooden louvered windows. It has been filled with antiques and collectables and so it gives a real sense of stepping back in time. There is a main house, two separate bedroom cottages and a large games room in a converted warehouse – this cries out for a special function or party and would be suitable as a location for a lavish wedding banquet. Even the children’s play house is special. This was created in the former cook house, which dates from the mid 1700s. It is built of red bricks that were used as ships ballast on the crossing from Britain.
The grounds feature some beautiful old trees, some surely dating back more than a century, and they provide useful shade, and the villa itself enjoys splendid, breezy views across the waters to Freeport Peninsular and to Montego Bay. The city looks particularly good at night when the lights shimmer in the distance and the cruise ships steam gently off to their next port of call. The Wharf House is in an ideal spot if you would like to be right on the waterfront in a property that has a genuine historic feel.
The heart of the property is the two bedroom main house, with its plantation-style dining and living room. This features some splendid antiques, including two large dressers filled with crystal and chinaware, and a four leaf, ten foot mahogany table with chairs for ten. Separated by wooden columns is a sitting area, where there is a mix of simple white wicker chairs and basic upholstered sofas and armchairs with plain white canvas covers. At first it seems slightly at odds with the generally more elegant atmosphere of the house, but it gives guests an area in which they can kick back and relax without worrying about messing up expensive fabrics. The room is also fitted with a 32” satellite TV, VCR and CD player and looks out through large double doors onto the extensive brick terrace (also a popular dining area).
The terrace in turn leads out to a huge wooden deck. Set a couple of steps down, this hovers out over the sea and is used for sunbathing, dining and occasionally feeding the fish. There is a brick-built barbecue off the side of the decking. Also close by, off the brick terrace, is the child’s play house, complete with its original chimney. This is crammed with games and toys, everything from dolls and stuffed animals to a dolls’ house, a mini pool table and dressing-up clothes, even a child’s four poster bed, should they feel the urge for a daytime nap. Pool toys and videos are also available.
On the other side of the main house, set inland across the drive, is a large stone building which, with its exposed roof and fireplace at one end, looks like the great hall of an old English manor house. It was once used as the bar and lounge for a restaurant which was located in the old building that now stands in ruins, to the side of the main house. The full size bar from the restaurant remains, and overhead the room features a gallery with a den-like sitting area. There is also some seating downstairs in the main hall - with its spacious hardwood flooring, it is often used for yoga sessions. A yoga teacher is available to come to the villa for an additional charge. This room is just perfect as a function room, and has huge potential for parties, receptions and dinners.
The swimming pool is tucked away behind a lawn and the small man made beach in the west corner of the property, raised slightly on brick sun terrace. It is a shady and quiet spot in which it is easy to chill out. In the water of the bay there is a large water trampoline for guests’ use. A kayak is also supplied by the villa.
There are four air-conditioned bedrooms at the Wharf House, two of which are located in the main building. All bedrooms feature antique beds and furniture and dark stained, polished mahogany floors, which stand out against the white walls and soft furnishings. Off the dining room is a pretty child’s bedroom with a pair of single, French carved beds. They are set at low level to accommodate small children, but they could equally be used by older children or by adults. The other bedroom leads off the living room and has excellent views of the bay. It has a queen size, four poster mahogany bed with a canopy and it shares a connecting bathroom with tub/shower with the child’s bedroom. There is also a powder room off the living area.
The master bedroom is located in a separate seafront cottage, which also has delightful views. The traditional antique charm continues here too. It has a king size, mahogany four poster bed and a sitting area set beneath the main window, which overlooks the bay. Also satellite TV. A French door at the side leads to a private seafront sun terrace. As it is situated directly on the water, it is important that you are happy to sleep within earshot of the sea, as the waves break on the shoreline below. The en suite bathroom has a tub/shower. The fourth bedroom is set in a cute little cottage beside the swimming pool and its en suite bathroom (with tiled shower) leads out to the pool terrace. This bedroom features two very pretty, twin mahogany four posters with canopies, and has satellite TV. |
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Beach & Swimming
The Wharf House has a wooden dock in addition to a small dark sand beach, which has been created at the east end of the property. The swimming conditions are changeable. As is the shoreline, which can become pebbly from time to time (though the gardener will remove the pebbles each morning if necessary). Guests at the villa have beach club membership at Round Hill hotel, which is around ten minutes drive away. This gives access to resort’s sandy beach, where there is good swimming and snorkelling, and a range of watersports including scuba diving.
The Wharf House’s swimming pool is tucked away in the west of the gardens, next to one of the bedroom cottages. It is set back from the small beach behind a lawn in an enclosed, raised brick terrace with views of the bay. The pool (15ft x 30ft) is partially shaded by mature trees, and enclosed on three sides by a wooden railing. The deep end of the pool is built against the old stone boundary wall to the property next door. There are steps at the shallow end. |
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Sports & Recreation
The converted stone warehouse opposite the main house is known as the Games Room and it has a large hard wooden floor suitable for yoga. A yoga teacher can be arranged for an extra charge. The room also has a ping pong table. A 20ft water trampoline is located off the small beach and a kayak is made available for guests. Club membership at Round Hill also allows use of the resort’s fitness centre, and (for a fee) use of the floodlit tennis courts.
There are several excellent 18 hole golf courses in the Montego Bay area, the nearest at Tryall Club, a 72 par, 6772 yard course around 15 minutes away by car. There are others on the other side of Montego Bay about 30 minutes away, including the course at Half Moon, 72 par, 7,119 yards, the White Witch course in the Rose Hall Estate (71 par, 6,718 yards) and Cinnamon Hill, 71 par, 6,637 yards. The nearest riding stables are Chukka Blue near Tryall and the equestrian centre at Half Moon. |
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Locality
The Wharf House is set to the west of Montego Bay, just off the main road leading to Negril, in the area of Reading. It sits directly on the shoreline, and has a neighbouring villa on the west side. A short drive west leads to the Unity Hall area where villas include Noble House, Tranquility and Serenity on the shorefront, and the across the Great River past another residential estate, where you will find two spectacular villas called Destiny and Silent Waters. About ten minutes further along this road is Round Hill Hotel & Villas, and beyond it Tryall Club, which has an 18 hole golf course. Both hotels have popular beach party nights with barbecues and live music (reservations required) in addition to their normal fine dining. Just above Round Hill is the village of Hopewell, which has a supermarket and liquor store/off-licence, pharmacy, AMT, post office, library and service station. Continue driving for an hour west, and you will be in Negril. Bamboo river rafting, a very popular tourist activity, takes place on the Great River starting at Lethe village.
The Wharf House is approximately 15 minutes drive from the lively town of Montego Bay, Jamaica’s second largest city and the tourism epicentre of the island. In the immediate surroundings of the city itself there are several craft markets and shopping centres, including duty free outlets. Along Gloucester Avenue, which calls itself the “Hip Strip”, there are cafes, shops, craft markets, and restaurants serving everything from jerk at the Pork Pit to fine cuisine at The Townhouse by the Sea. There are also some good beaches, including Doctor’s Cave beach, and many clubs and bars, the most famous being Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.
The bay off the town sees many day sails and trips that take advantage of the good snorkelling and scuba diving (there are walls and caves). Closer to home (visible across the water from the villa), you will find the Freeport peninsular, just south of Montego Bay, where you will find a shopping mall next to the cruise ship berths. On the lagoon is the Houseboat Grill restaurant. In nearby Bogue you come to the Fairview Shopping Centre with SuperPlus, a large, well stocked supermarket, a cinema, department store, hardware store, pharmacy, fast food jerk centre, service station and a KFC. Closer to town is the Westgate Shopping Centre, where there is a bank, a supermarket, off-licence, McDonalds and service station. |
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Useful Hints
Provisioning
The chef at the Wharf House will pre-stock for your welcome meal and buy in initial food and drink supplies. You may opt to prepay your groceries (if so, this should be done 60 days prior to arrival). If you are booking direct, ask your travel organiser or the villa agent for a list of suggested items. If you do not pre-pay, the bill for the initial provisioning (plus the costs for transport) should be paid in cash on arrival and you should then also provide the chef with funds for all subsequent shopping, including transport costs.
The chef is a graduate of Villas by Linda Smith’s gourmet cuisine cooking course, which offers guests menus of a slightly higher standard. Chefs work to an average budget of US$45 per adult/US$20 per child, per day when provisioning the gourmet menu. Pre-stocking includes a basic drinks package of rum, wine and beer, but does not cover extras such as whole lobster or imported steak, which vary according to market prices. The rest of the shopping for your stay will be done by the chef once you have liaised with them on arrival. You may opt to go with your chef on the first trip.
Gratuities: 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% for summer as a gratuity for the staff. You will be expected to pay this directly to the staff before you leave. Information on how it is to be divided will be included in the guest’s welcome book, and you may find an envelope is provided.
Your villa’s laundress will attend to your personal laundry (except dry cleaning). Laundry that is handed over in the morning will usually be ready later that same afternoon.
Those who are highly allergic to animals should note that the Wharf House has a number of pet dogs, which normally stay around the staff quarters. If you wish, they can they can be kept in their kennels during the day and let out only at night.
Due to its close proximity to the main road, which can be seen from the deck and jetty, you should expect some traffic sounds.
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 will attract a guest surcharge if the number attending the ceremony/reception exceeds the villa’s maximum occupancy. This fee is currently US$15 per person. Also note that if party numbers exceed the maximum villa occupancy you will normally be required to use the services of an outside catering company to arrange food and beverage. |
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Rates
| | 15 Dec- 15 Apr 2007-08 | Christmas/ Christmas & New Year 2007-08 | Easter 2008 | 16 Apr- 14 Dec 2008 | | Wharf House 1-2 bedrooms 3-4 bedrooms | 4,500 5,500 | 8,500/ 9,500 8,500/ 9,500 | 5,500 5,500 | On request | Rates are quoted in US$ per week (7 nights), room only (EP). All rates are subject to change without notice. Minimum stay of 5 nights from 16 Apr-14 Dec except during Easter , Thanksgiving and 15 Dec-15 Apr when the minimum stay is 7 nights. There is a minimum stay of 14 nights over the Christmas/New Year period, unless booking for the Christmas week (lower rate) only and departing by 27/28 Dec. |
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How To Book
If you wish to book direct, bookings should be made through the villa agent, Jamaica Villas by Linda Smith. To confirm a reservation you must send a deposit of 25% of the total rental fee (50% for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year). Payment of the remaining 75% 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. A US$500 security deposit is also required, 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 Jamaica Villas by Linda Smith by using the WEB LINK or DIRECT ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page, or if you wish to telephone them, please click on TELEPHONE CONTACT to reveal the number. For a review of Jamaica Villas by Linda Smith please see here. |
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Airport Meet & Greet
If you are booking direct you will be able to make arrangements for the villa agent to send a driver to meet you at the airport, which will then be pre-paid with your balance for the villa. The airport transfer from Montego Bay Airport takes approximately 25-30 minutes (though you should be aware that traffic in Montego Bay can be bad in the mornings and afternoons).
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
A hired car is strongly recommended for all private villa holidays but a popular alternative in Jamaica is a private driver service, which is easily arranged and particularly useful if you go out in the evenings. For shopping or sightseeing, you may wish to be independent and drive yourself around as it gives you an added element of freedom to explore the island, which is exceptionally beautiful. If you are booking the villa direct or through a tour operator, you can organise car hire at the same time as booking your accommodation. Otherwise you can reserve your car with Jamaica Villas by Linda Smith at the same time as booking your villa.
If you do decide to go for a hire car, ask for your vehicle to be delivered to the property (there may be a delivery fee) approximately three hours after your scheduled time of arrival on Jamaica or the following morning. Vehicles can be returned at the airport or collected from the property at a pre-arranged time on your departure day. All drivers booked through the villa staff or through Jamaica Villas by Linda Smith are registered JUTA tour guides. |
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Have you found this page useful?
All the information on this page comes to you free of charge so please tell all your friends about the site and mention DefinitiveCaribbean when you contact Villas by Linda Smith for your villa vacation in Jamaica.
Thank you for your interest. |
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