- Rockhouse (Negril; tel. 876/957-4373): It's like living on the west coast of Africa. You stay in a thatch-roofed villa in Negril's West End and sleep in an old-fashioned bed under mosquito netting. It's a splendid getaway if you don't mind climbing down ladders carved into the sea cliffs. Open-air showers cool you off -- and let you put on a show for the fish.
- Treasure Beach Hotel (South Coast; tel. 800/526-2422 or 876/965-0110): On a lush hillside above a sandy South Coast beach, no one will ever find you at this place. It hardly competes with Jamaica's megaresorts, but it does offer tranquillity and a laid-back feel. Bedrooms are in a series of outlying cottages, all offering complete privacy. It's cheap, too.
- Noel Coward's Blue Harbour (Port Maria; tel. 876/725-0289 or 505/586-1244): This 1950s retreat is where the playwright and composer entertained the rich and famous of his day. Today it's rented whole or in part to paying guests who appreciate its funky nostalgia.
- Hotel Mocking Bird Hill (Port Antonio; tel. 876/993-7267): One of our favorite retreats in all of Jamaica lies outside this resort, a comfortable and well-maintained inn that offers the epitome of Jamaican hospitality, and at an affordable price. The retreat is both artsy and ecologically sensitive.
- Strawberry Hill (Blue Mountains; tel. 800/OUTPOST or 876/944-8400): This highland retreat has been called "a home-away-from-home for five-star Robinson Crusoes." Perched 930m (3,100 ft.) above the sea, it's our favorite lodging in eastern Jamaica. Set in a well-planted garden, the cottage complex is a memorable and lush retreat.
