My Favorite Hotel I've Never Been To

Years ago, just weeks after I started a new job, my boss asked where he and his wife should go for a few days in winter. No pressure, right?

If you're like me, this is the time of year—when days are mercilessly short and a chill has crept in to stay—that you start thinking about a warm-weather getaway. There's one Caribbean hotel I've always wanted to visit but never have, which wouldn't be notable except I've recommended it time and again—including to the boss mentioned above. I put it on the cover of Budget Travel magazine; I included it in the Secret Hotels book (and, come to think of it, on that cover, too). I can recommend it with authority because everybody I know who has visited it just adores it, including my friend Ellen, my friend Allisson, and my ex-boss. And they tend to return: My friend Laura—a travel editor herself—even got married there.


The hotel is called the Rockhouse, in Negril, Jamaica. (Here are Rockhouse Jamaica reviews.) Its setting is unparalleled, along cliffs with steps down into the water. The rooms are stylish without being fussy, and by all accounts the ambience is as relaxed as you want in a Caribbean hotel. And get this: In the high season of winter, rooms start at $160.

I should start charging a commission.

There are, however, two groups I think twice before recommending it to. The hotel is not on a beach, so if you're one of those people who crave sand between your toes, go elsewhere. And if you're gay, Jamaica is very dangerous. I couldn't attend Laura's wedding for family reasons, but Jamaica's reputation for anti-gay attacks is what otherwise keeps me away.

If you do stay there, write a review on TravelPost!