Moon Palace Jamaica

A Beachfront Estate on the Edge of Ocho Rios

Ocho Rios has been the north coast resort town for decades, and the properties along it tend to fall into two groups: the small and the very large. This one belongs firmly to the second, laid out along a protected bay on Main Street with the mountains of Saint Ann rising behind it. What distinguishes it is less the size than the way the size is used. There is a real beach rather than a strip of imported sand, two separate pool areas, a water slide and a wave simulator, and enough ground between them that the property never feels like a single crowd.

Why It Works

The all inclusive model is often an excuse for sameness. Here it buys range instead. Five kitchens covering different cuisines, a coffee and dessert counter that keeps going around the clock, a beachfront jerk hut cooking the local dish over wood, and a spa on a scale the island has nothing else to match. The suites are large by Caribbean resort standards, the family categories genuinely sleep four to six, and the programme separates small children from teenagers rather than herding both into one room. For a group travelling together, that is the difference between a holiday and a negotiation.

Why This Location

Main Street puts the resort within reach of Ocho Rios itself, which matters if you want the island as well as the beach. Dunn River Falls, the terraced cascade most visitors climb at least once, is close by, and the craft market, the harbour and the town restaurants are a short ride away. The bay in front of the property is protected, so the water stays workable for paddling and non motorised sports. The main international airport lies west along the north coast road, a drive worth doing in daylight.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury, all inclusive

• Vibe: Large scale, family first, energetic by day and calmer after dark

• Rooms: Suites throughout, from Deluxe Resort View to Superior Junior Suite Ocean View and two bedroom Presidential Suites sleeping six

• Best For: Families with children of different ages, multigenerational groups, first time visitors who want everything on one site

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The beachfront jerk hut, which cooks the one dish Jamaica is measured by within sight of the water

• Dining: Five restaurants including steakhouse and Italian, a beachfront jerk hut, a coffee and dessert shop open around the clock, bars across the grounds

• Amenities: Two pool areas with a children pool, water slide, wave simulator, a very large spa with hydrotherapy circuit and ice room, gym, supervised kids playroom, teen lounge, non motorised watersports

• Attractions: Dunn River Falls, Ocho Rios town and craft market, the Saint Ann coast road

Suites Sized for Families

Everything is a suite, which changes the arithmetic for anyone travelling with children. The Deluxe Resort View rooms are the entry point and already sleep three or four. Move up to a Superior Junior Suite Ocean View and you gain space and the water in the window. At the top, the two bedroom Presidential Suites run to well over a thousand square feet and sleep six, which is a house rather than a room. Each comes with its own dispenser of spirits, a small detail that says how literally the all inclusive is meant here.

Five Kitchens, a Jerk Hut and a Counter That Never Closes

The dining is organised so that a week does not repeat itself: a steakhouse, an Italian room, and three more kitchens covering the distances in between, plus a coffee and dessert shop open whatever the hour. The one to plan for is the jerk hut on the sand, where the pork and chicken are cooked the way they are cooked on the roadside, and eaten barefoot. Bars are spread across the grounds rather than concentrated in a lobby, which keeps the property from developing a single centre of gravity.

Water, Spa and Filling a Day

The spa is the headline, unusually large for a Caribbean beach property, with a hydrotherapy circuit, thermal beds and an ice room. On the other side of the grounds, the wave simulator and the slide are aimed squarely at teenagers, and the two pool areas separate the swimming from the splashing. The bay handles kayaks and paddleboards. Between all of that, the gym covers the guests who cannot quite switch off, and the beach covers everyone else.