Jamaica Bluefields Villages can be the best kept secret of the Caribbean

Bluefields Bay could be the best kept secret of all Jamaica. For more than forty years, those who know have been snatched into a series of hidden villages overlooking fascinating emerade waters where there is still a form of hospitality in the ancient world. The experience is so lovely that most guests let go of secret, fearing that once the word has come out, this rare paradise will be lost forever. This fear is not exactly unfounded. In 1997, a short piece at the Washington Post cut readers at The Bluefields Secret (shooting like a flare at night) and the villages were reserved solid for two years later.

While a large number of tourists from the Bay Airport Board of Montego Bay, strongly, brand buses, which are in the complex complex with the nearest cookie cutter, a bright white van driven by a man named Percy extends. A high and distinguished Jamaican, Percy has been with the Blues camps from the beginning, which dated in the early 1980’s. While navigating the van to the south of the beaten path, he regulates passengers with the history of the towns, as an eccentric DC accounting called Braxton Moncure and his wife of the architect Deborah literally cut off this luxurious retreat from the rocky coast when there were no telephone lines and all the communication took place on CB radio.

Since the purchase of the first town, the moncures have not only expanded the Blue Camps to include five other towns and a series of suites that moved to their jaws, but have done so while contributing significantly to the surrounding community, opening roads to rural schools, providing computers in the classrooms and paying monthly stirs to local teachers. A certain percentage of each of its reserves will favor this philanthropy under the direction of its own foundation.

In the ninety minutes of the airport, Percy climbs to the Bluefield hermitage, an impressive three -bed three -bed villa, which was placed on the southern coast of the island. There are many things to take at the same time. The octagonal outdoor dining room and the being adjoining with ceilings increasing in vaults gives way to an expansive stone patio and a bright pool that seems to extend to the ocean beyond. The architecture, which Deborah Moncure designed easily in a two -week fever dream, is the theme of architectural digestion.

Inside, the details abound. Freshly cut flowers. The full gift table settings with silver candlestick. The lined library of hardcovers with sun. The turtle shell hung on the wall. The ornamented wooden chairs, the counters and the shop windows made of Jamaican-algunes complete with the feet of the claws. Each book, each furniture stick, each silver spoon was handmade by Braxton Moncure, giving the chapel the worthy but cozy feeling of the residence of an ambassador.

And then there are the staff, aligned smiling and informing the duty. The tip of the spear is Dwayne, the 30 -year -old butler who has been with Bluefields since the age of 16. Braxton personally taught Dwayne a level of service that could best be described as royal. With a smile worthy of a toothpaste endorsement agreement, Dwayne makes a team of ten people exclusively dedicated to the guests of the Hermitage, which includes babysitters, home teachers, gardeners, night watchmen and two private chefs. In the middle, “pamper” has a completely new meaning.

Passing to the pool and passing one of the three private terraces that leave the footprint of the chapel, the cement stairs lead to a path that circulated just above the edge of the water to a private white sand beach. A classic Jamaican cabin equipped with frozen drinks and a local IPA in an improvised touch is managed by Imani and Rudo, the latter of which bends as a captain from outside the bluefield table that causes guests to the meeting near the snorkeling, immersion or sunset.

The day culminates in the long table in the dining room where Dwayne, now put in the black mouth, and his team slides effortlessly with snack silver dishes. Touching, the dazzling table would only make Martha Stewart Gawk. The freshly cut flowers are scattered on the three feet tall chandelier. Napkins fold precisely similar to origami. Fine China’s silver silver silver frame. When Dwayne returns with the first year, the diners have already been transported again to a moment of Yore when the dining room was also intended as a party party.

Chef Shellyann Clarke leaves the kitchen to formally present the courses. Johnson and Wales, communicates directly with the guests throughout his stay, cure his menu to fulfill the dietary restrictions while suggesting authentic Jamaican dishes that increase the experience. There have been no exaggeration in the previous descriptions, but when it comes to the kitchen that emphasizes: the kitchen of Chef Clarke would be planted with the best dining restaurants in the world. Period. End of the sentence.

Busy is not a word that seems to exist in the blue camps. There is absolutely no urgency at any time of the day. At first, this lack of action and the constant attention of the staff feels almost inaccessible. Can I relax -like that for a week? But, like any good seductive, Bluefields launches his spell imperceptably until the thought of living in any other way seems unthinkable.

For those who care about whether this rare experience is fleeting, he is not afraid: Moncure’s eldest son, Houston, who was born and raised in the Montego Bay, has gradually been collecting the mantle of his parents with his welcoming wife Kate. Like all the recipes of the secret family, new ingredients are being added, but the special sauce of the bluefields is here to stay. Whether all the towns will be reserved or not when you read this, now is another question.

The chapel in Bluefields Bay starts from $ 1,351 per night plus a 15% service share for two; Minimum of four nights required.