3 Best Hotels in South Coast, Jamaica

Seaside charm combines with interesting artwork to create a chic place that oozes personality, with each room or cottage designed with unique colors and funky furnishings with signature touches—think mosaic tiles and headboards and concrete walls embedded with colored-glass bottles. Accommodations have outdoor showers or bathtubs with solar-heated water, and there's a yoga deck above the Driftwood Spa. Jakes's private cottages and luxury villas are also nearby. The staff encourages guests to get involved in the local scene, whether fishing with the locals or hitting a rum shop. The owners have also developed the nearby Lionel Densham Aerodrome, so you can arrive by private aircraft, and there is a helipad on the resort.

Three massive 200-year-old Sandbox trees guard the front of this family-owned hotel that has a friendly aura, tropical gardens wrapping around the main building, and flowers spilling onto the terrace restaurant, where breakfast and lunch are served. Basic rooms are simple and breeze-cooled; all superior rooms have air-conditioning, as do suites, which also have full kitchens. The hotel is right in the center of town close to the market; there's a British-style pub, the Manchester Arms.

When this resort opened in 2017, it made headlines around the world for its stunning over-the-water bungalows that extend to form the shape of a heart in the ocean; in 2020 Sandals South Coast earned attention by unveiling its first swim-up rondoval suites, all of which feature a private pool, conical ceiling, and a serenity swing. The river-like pool that meanders through the rondoval village spans 17,040 square feet and is said to be the longest resort pool in the Western Hemisphere. The innovation alone makes this all-inclusive, adults-only property stand head-and-shoulders above other Sandals resorts. There are also nine restaurants, seven bars (some of which are swim-up bars), a private beach, three pools, a spa, and a range of water sports and activities to complete the luxury south coast experience.