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Jamaica / Villas & Villa Living

By James Henderson

Jamaica has some extremely impressive villas for rent, among them some of the finest homes in the Caribbean. In fact the island has a long tradition of renting out private homes. In the Fifties and Sixties Port Antonio had an amazing scene, and some exceptional houses date from those days (and since). Holiday villas now stretch all the way along the north coast, some independent and others in villa resorts. Others can be found in Jamaica’s stalwart hotels, Round Hill and Half Moon for example, which have some villas as a part of their inventory of rooms. Of course many of the villas have superb settings, on hillsides, cliffs or their own stretch of sand. Fully staffed, they have all the toys and facilities for a superb villa-based holiday.

The highest concentration of villas is nowadays around Montego Bay, where you will find homes located at Round Hill, Tryall and Half Moon, as well as in a few other private estates in the area. Heading east along the north coast you come to Silver Sands, where there is a charming villa resort with a relaxed community, and then a string of private houses on the eastern arm of Discovery Bay.

There are villas dotted along the beaches and cliffs either side of Ocho Rios, some of them independent houses, others in small villa resorts, which are an interesting option for a large group. And just east of here at Oracabessa you will find villas at Ian Fleming’s old home Goldeneye, where he wrote the James Bond novels.

Port Antonio has a long history as a retreat for the jet set, and there is a clutch of lovely properties hidden amongst the hills above San San and on the striking seafront at the Blue Lagoon. At the other end of the island, Negril has little space for private villas on the beach itself, but there are a few private villas on the cliffs at the West End. Most of the self-catering accommodation is in apartments, with just a couple of villa resorts.

The standards set by some of the villas equal those of the island’s finest hotels. Many have a butler, cook, housekeeper, laundress and gardener as the norm and some will provide extra staff as needed, for instance additional maids, a night watchman, maybe a pastry chef, a driver and so on. However if you are looking for villas with low key staffing then these also exist. Unlike other islands, most of Jamaica’s private villas have live-in staff who have their own separate accommodation.

Like the rest of the Caribbean, tipping has become almost mandatory when staying in a villa in Jamaica. What is different however, is that here it is based on a percentage of the rental fee. The rate is hefty, at 10% of the rental cost in winter and 15% in summer. The staff depend on these tips, and so you should see it as standard and budget accordingly (it is very rare that you will find the service undeserving). It is worth remembering by comparison that hotels add a 10% service charge to their rates (also to be divided amongst staff), and then encourage additional tipping for individual members of staff at your discretion. In some cases – it depends on the company that you book through - these tips can be paid in advance.

Please see below for our Jamaica villa recommendations and listings. For further information about renting villas in Jamaica, you may want to consult our Jamaica villa rental agents guide.

Browse Villas & Villa Living on other islands

Anguilla | Antigua and Barbuda | Barbados | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada & Carriacou | Jamaica | Nevis | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | St Vincent and the Grenadines | Tobago | Trinidad

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Anguilla | Antigua | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | Bonaire | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Curacao | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada and Carriacou | Guadeloupe | Haiti | Jamaica | Martinique | Montserrat | Nevis | Puerto Rico | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Eustatius | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | St Vincent and the Grenadines | Tobago | Trinidad | Turks & Caicos Islands | US Virgin Islands

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Looking for inspiration?

  1. Sample some fiery jerk chicken or pork at one of the many stands in Boston - the home of jerk 
  2. Take a tour of Appleton Estate, Jamaica's oldest rum producer
  3. Spend the day exploring Dunn's River Falls & Park
  4. Enjoy a round of golf at one of Montego Bay's five, 18-hole courses
  5. Immerse yourself in local culture and pay a visit to the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston

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