Trident Hotel

Mid Century Modern on a Portland Cliff

Trident looks like nothing else in Jamaica. Thirteen suites stand as separate villas along the rock east of Port Antonio, and inside them the reference is not the Caribbean at all but mid century modern: beach whites, clean lines, considered furniture, art hung as it would be in a gallery. Each villa carries its own terrace and its own plunge pool, so the first decision of the morning is made without leaving the room. An infinity pool holds the edge of the property and a private beach sits below. The effect is closer to a collector’s house than to a hotel, which is exactly what it was built to be.

Why It Works

We kept Trident because the ratio is extraordinary. Thirteen suites support a full restaurant, a supper club with live music, a cocktail bar, a spa, a gym, a screening room and a lounge, which means nothing is ever queued for and everything is staffed. The design is the second reason, and it is genuine rather than applied: the furniture, the art and the lighting are chosen with an eye that most resorts do not employ. The third is Port Antonio, the parish that tourism development skipped, where the coast is still green to the water and the crowds are somewhere else.

Why This Location

Portland is the northeast corner of Jamaica, the wettest and greenest parish, and the one that never built a cruise pier. Frenchman’s Cove, regularly counted among the best beaches in the world, is about ten minutes away. The Blue Lagoon is a little further, rafting on the Rio Grande starts up the valley, and Somerset Falls is along the coast west. Port Antonio town, with its market and its harbour, is a short drive. Kingston is roughly two hours over the mountains and Montego Bay considerably more, which is the reason this coast stayed as it is.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Design led, gallery quiet, grown up, cinematic

• Rooms: Thirteen villa suites, each with a private terrace and plunge pool, in mid century modern with contemporary art

• Best For: Couples, design minded travellers, families with teenagers rather than toddlers

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the plunge pool on every terrace, which turns each villa into a private property rather than a room in a hotel

• Dining: The Veranda for breakfast, lunch and easy meals over the water, Mike’s Supper Club for dinner with live jazz, and the Time Bar for cocktails

• Amenities: Infinity pool, private beach, spa, fitness room, screening room with a film library, the Explorer’s Lounge

• Attractions: Frenchman’s Cove ten minutes away, the Blue Lagoon, rafting on the Rio Grande, Somerset Falls, Port Antonio town and harbour

The Villas and Their Plunge Pools

The suites are villas in the real sense, standing apart from one another with their own walls, their own outlook and their own water. The terrace is the centre of each, furnished for the whole day and ending in a plunge pool that faces the sea, which changes how the room is used: guests eat there, work there and swim there without crossing the property. Interiors keep to white, timber and glass with art as the colour. Ask which villas sit closest to the edge when you book, because the difference in the view is worth asking about.

Mike’s Supper Club, the Veranda and the Time Bar

Dinner here is an event rather than a service. Mike’s Supper Club is built on the speakeasy idea, with live jazz every night and a menu that leans on Port Antonio produce, and it draws people who are not staying. The Veranda handles the daylight hours over the water, and the Time Bar runs a cocktail list built by a mixologist trained in New York. For a hotel with thirteen rooms, that is an unreasonable amount of evening programming, and it is the reason guests stay in.

The Screening Room and the Explorer’s Lounge

Two rooms explain the personality of the place. The screening room comes with a film library and takes the evenings when the Portland rain arrives, which it does, generously, and nobody minds. The Explorer’s Lounge holds the beach reading and the mid century pieces, and it is where guests end up between the pool and dinner. Add the spa and the gym and the property covers a week without a car, though the beaches nearby are worth the short drive.