Jamaica Uncovered: Lucy’s Guide to Island Paradise

We flew with Virgin Atlantic at 8:30 a.m., enjoying a smooth check-in and Terminal 3's variety of shops and eateries. Onboard, we received blankets, pillows, and headphones, along with entertainment screens offering films, TV shows, and music. Food and drinks were plentiful, with a range of meals, snacks, and complimentary beverages served throughout.

On arrival at Montego Bay, we transferred to the Grand Palladium Jamaica with Kiuki Transfers—Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and an hour's scenic drive. Check-in at the resort was quick, with rum punch and a buggy ride to our room. The Jamaica side boasts renovated, spacious Junior Suites with mini-bars and excellent air conditioning.

Dinner at the Mo' Bay buffet featured diverse options, including freshly made pancakes, with attentive staff ensuring a great dining experience.

We ate breakfast at Mo' Bay, and there was plenty of choice. Then we had a tour of the hotel. The hotel has 10 bars and 10 restaurants. We toured all the bars and restaurants on the Lady Hamilton side of the property. They have romance villas on this side, which are more private and would be great for honeymoons. The whole resort has 1049 rooms. It has Jamica's largest pool with a swim-up bar. Miss Lou's coffee bar was lovely and included different Caribbean coffees.

Then we had lunch at the Poseidon, located at Sunset Cove, which offers watersports. This was a La Carte lunch service with fresh ingredients. We then had a 3-course meal at Suptouri, which was Asian-inspired, and the sushi was delicious. Evening entertainment was a Bob Marley tribute act.

We used Kiuki Transfers to get to Negril, which was around 45 minutes from the hotel. We went to Margaritaville Beach Club, and I would highly recommend it. The beach was beautiful and clean, and the sun beds were comfy. The staff was very attentive and always made sure we had drinks. I had jerk chicken for lunch, and it was delicious. There were plenty of excursions available on the beach, like horse riding and banana boats.

We then went to Ricks Cafe, which offers cliff diving, reggae music, and sunset views. It was amazing watching the cliff divers! There is usually a beautiful sunset, but it was cloudy when we were there, so we didn't see it. They also offer food and entertainment all night, so it is a great evening.

This day was free, so we decided to do a tour, which went to Dunns River Falls and Bob Marley's resting place. We booked this at the hotel, including lunch, travel and drinks, and it was around £100pp. It was a long day of travelling, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with travel sickness as the roads are very windy.

Dunns River Falls was around 3 hours from the hotel, and Bob Marley's house was around 2 hours from there. I would recommend Dunns River Falls, but Bob Marley's felt like they were profiting from tourists massively. We ate at the Italian restaurants at the hotel when we got back. They have plenty of choices with pizzas and pasta, and they had a speciality cocktail available, Aperol Spritz, to match the theme of the restaurant.

WHO WOULD THIS TYPE OF TRIP BE SUITED TO?

Couples and families.

BEST EXPERIENCE FROM THE TRIP?

Dunns River Falls was an amazing experience with beautiful scenery.

Favourite Restaurant Visited:

Suptouri, they had amazing sushi!

GENERAL COMMENTS AND TIPS

A few restaurants were closed due to the low season, so this is something to bear in mind. The weather was sunny and warm in the morning but cold and cloudy at around 4 p.m.