Half Moon
Information & Amenities
Hotel Information: Queen Elizabeth II stays here when visiting Jamaica. Fidel Castro slept here. The Jamaican prime minister brings visiting dignitaries to lunch. Since 1954 when it opened as a cluster of cottages, the resort has welcomed luminaries, celebrities, and not-so-famous couples and families from around the world seeking relaxation in a plantation-style resort redolent with Jamaica's English-colonial past.
The resort constitutes a vast botanical preserve, with a 25-acre protected wetland. All manner of mature palms, trees, shrubs, bushes, and blossoms grace the 400 acres. Semi-secret places are everywhere, some with benches facing lawns screened by dense foliage, others with bird baths and statues, and others consisting of dense tree groves. Surprises such as tree stumps carved in bird and sealife images and sculpted bushes pop up. Attention to ecology earned the resort admission to the Caribbean Green Hall of Fame.
Insider tip: The Bob Marley Experience, a 68-seat theater showing a free video biography and offering souvenirs, is located in the resort's Shopping Village, which also includes a 24-bed hospital, a dentist, a bank, a post office, a grocery, a beauty shop, an English pub, and a public school.
Property Amenities
Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. All-Inclusive plans include meals, drinks, gratuities, and the majority of resort-offered amenities and activities. Room-Only (No Meals) plans do NOT include meals, drinks, gratuities, and certain resort-offered amenities etc. (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Plan Details section for more information).
A health spa includes complimentary women's and men's saunas and steam rooms and, for surcharges, treatments such as Jamaican Bush Bath. A couples pavilion includes a two-person spa tub, twin tables, ceiling mirror, and cushioned lounge chairs for services such as Lovers' Fantasy (candlelight, music, champagne).
A business center offers high-speed Internet access (surcharges), with wireless access (surcharge) available in the lobby and the Hibiscus section. A games room contains video games (surcharges), with video, DVD player, and DVD rentals available.
Ground transportation:
Shuttle vans and private cars of varying prices are available. They can be reserved during the process of booking a reservation for this hotel, via this Web site, and added to the total trip cost.
- 24-hour front desk
- Airport transportation (surcharge)
- Arcade/game room
- Number of rooms: 419
- Number of floors: 2
- ATM/banking
- Audio-visual equipment
- Ballroom(s)
- Banquet facilities
- Bar/lounge
- Barbecue grill(s)
- Beauty services
- Billiards on site
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Business center
- Business services
- Cell phone/mobile rental
- Complimentary newspapers in lobby
- Concierge desk
- Concierge services
- Conference room(s)
- Currency exchange
- Dry cleaning service
- Event catering
- Exhibit space
- Fitness equipment
- Gift shops or newsstand
- Grocery
- Hair salon
- Internet access in public areas - dial-up
- Internet access in public areas - high speed
- Internet access in public areas - surcharge
- Internet access - wireless
- Laundry facilities
- Limo or Town Car service available
- Massage - treatment room(s)
- Medical assistance available
- Meeting rooms (small groups)
- Multilingual staff
- Parking (free)
- Parking (secure)
- Parking nearby
- Patio
- Picnic area
- Pool table on site
- Poolside bar
- Private beach
- Restaurant(s) in hotel
- Room service (limited hours)
- Safe-deposit box - front desk
- Sauna
- Security guard
- Self parking
- Shopping on site
- Spa services on site
- Spa tub
- Steam room
- Supervised child care/activities
- Swimming pool - outdoor
- Swim-up bar
- Tour assistance
- Umbrella
- Use of nearby fitness center (discount)
- Video library
- Wedding services
Room Descriptions
Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. The All-Inclusive plan includes meals, drinks, gratuities and the majority of resort-offered amenities and activities. The Room-Only (No Meals) plan does NOT include meals, drinks, gratuities, and certain resort-offered amenities (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Plan Details section for more information). The Half Moon's 419 guestrooms and suites in small, two-story buildings and beachfront cottages have Queen Anne-style furniture, minibars, bathrobes, VCR and DVD players, and televisions offering U.S. cable channels. |
Room Features
- Internet access - wireless
- Internet access - high speed
- Premium TV channel(s)
- Cable/satellite TV
- VCR
- DVD player
- CD player
- Cassette player
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Premium bedding
- Patio
- Balcony
- Ceiling fan
- Complimentary newspaper
- Air conditioning
- Climate control
- Access via exterior corridors
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Internet access - surcharge
- Voice mail
- Bathroom TV
- Internet access - dial-up
- Minibar
- Coffee/tea maker
- Microwave (on request)
- Remote lighting/drapery/curtain control
- Wake-up calls
- Housekeeping (daily)
- Turndown service
- Bathroom telephone
- Makeup mirror
- Massage - available in room
- Sewing kit
- Handheld shower
- Bathrobes
- Complimentary toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Shower/tub combination
- Bathroom scale
- Child care (in room, surcharge)
- Electronic/magnetic keys
- Trouser press
- Window opens
- Clock radio
- Desk
- Iron/ironing board
- In-room safe (accomodates laptop)
- Television
- Sofa bed
- Rollaway beds
- Cribs (infant beds) available
Area Attractions
Rose Hall Great House (historical site) 1 km (0.5 mi)
Montego Bay Hip Strip 11.25 km (7 mi)
Downtown Montego Bay 10 km (6.25 mi)
Doctor's Cave Beach 10 km (6.25 mi)
Greenwood Great House (historical site) 14 km (8.75 mi)
Montego Bay Shopping Centre 16 km (10 mi)
Crafts Market 12 km (7.5 mi)
Barnett Estates (working-plantation tours) 15 km (9.5 mi)
Cockpit Country (historical/geological area) 24 km (15 mi)
Martha Brae River (rafting) 27 km (17 mi)
Dunn's River Falls 48 km (30 mi)
Sangster/Montego Bay International Airport (MBJ): Approximate driving time to the Half Moon is 10 minutes and distance is 8 km (5 mi).
Driving directions from Sangster Montego Bay International AirportDriving directions from Sangster/Montego Bay International Airport:
- Depart airport to highway A1 east toward Ocho Rios
- Turn left at roundabout
- Continue on Rosehall Rd
- The resort's entrance is on the left
Getting there: Taxi fare to Half Moon: US$26$35. Half Moon Shuttle: US$26$35. Private cars of varying prices are available. They can be reserved during the process of booking a reservation for this hotel, via this Web site, and added to the total trip cost. Driving is on the left, British style.
Getting around: Complimentary shuttle service stopping at selected points every 20 minutes transports guests around the resort, to the golf course, to the Shopping Village, and to Sugar Mill Restaurant near the golf course. Bicycles and golf carts are available for rent.
Activities
The resort's Hibiscus section features a 46-m (152-ft) freeform pool with water spouts and swim-up bar; a four-lane, 25-m (27.5-yd) lap pool; and between them a 6-by-2.5m (20-by-8-ft) waterfall pool with barstools. In the Oleander Area outside La Baguette restaurant/bar is a 17-m (56-ft) irregularly shaped pool.
The resort's 2-km (1.25-mi) Caribbean Sea frontage features Sunset Beach on calm, crescent-shaped Half Moon Bay, the center of swimming and nonmotorized water sports. To the east, long, uncrowded Sunrise Beach (protected by an artificial reef) offers motorized sports, sunbathing, and encounters with two Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (surcharges) in a lagoon pen.
Recreation opportunities include windsurfing, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling, pedal-boating, glass-bottom-boat trips, water skiing, parasailing, banana-boating, deep-sea fishing, boat cruising, scuba-diving/snorkeling excursions, and scuba-diving instruction/certification.
Complimentary recreational facilities include 13 tennis courts (four artificial grass and nine hard surface, with nine lighted), two championship croquet lawns, an 18-hole putting course, Ping Pong, pool, badminton, volleyball, horseshoes, and giant outdoor chess.
Guests can golf on an 18-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and featuring a Georgian clubhouse; use an equestrian center offering a jumping course and beach/swim, jungle, and trail rides as well as pony rides; take guided mountain-bike tours; and play on four lighted squash courts. David Leadbetter Golf Academy offers instruction for golf, tennis, croquet, horseback riding, and windsurfing.
An enormous fitness center provides weight-training machines and free weights in one air-conditioned room and cardio equipment and aerobics classes in another. Yoga, aerobics, and pool aerobics classes are also available.
Located in a quiet, secluded area shaded by trees and bamboo, a children's center includes a two-story air-conditioned clubhouse, a fish-feeding pond, playground equipment, and a thatched playhouse. Supervisors offer complimentary sessions during the day for ages 3-6 and 7-12.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or near the resort; fees may apply.
Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. Please note the following recreational amenities may incur charges for some or all guests (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Plan Details section for more information).
- Golf - driving range on site
- Golf - miniature on site
- Golfing on site
- Snorkeling on site
- Swimming on site
- Rafting nearby
- Rowing or canoeing on site
- Sailing on site
- Scuba diving on site
- Water skiing on site
- Boat launch nearby
- Windsurfing on site
- Yoga classes/instruction on site
- Aerobics on site
- Volleyball on site
- Racquetball/squash on site
- Tennis on site
- Basketball on site
- Bicycle rentals on site
- Hiking/biking trails on site
- Mountain biking on site
- Parasailing on site
- Horse riding/rental on site
- Bird watching nearby
- Playground on site
Restaurants & Bars
Seagrape Terrace - Air-conditioned dining room in main building and expansive sea-view terrace seating at wrought-iron tables under buttonwood trees. (Tiny white lights on trunks after dark). Afternoon island music, nightly dance music. Buffet and ΰ la carte breakfasts. Lunch choices such as soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, fish, steak, jerk chicken. Traditional afternoon tea. Dinner choices include curried lobster salad, sweet-potato crab cakes, broiled snapper with bananas and almonds, broiled beef tenderloin. Reservations required for dinner. Dress code: no t-shirts, jeans, shorts, beach sandals.
Il Giardino - Located next to Seagrape Terrace. Air-conditioned dining room with gray marble floor, sponged rose walls. Sea-view terrace seating at wrought-iron tables. Italian cuisine featuring vegetables, herbs from resort garden. Dinner only; reservations required. Choices such as tagliolini with shellfish in crayfish sauce, goat cheese-celery ravioli with walnut pesto, osso buco, rack of lamb, grilled swordfish. Dress code: no t-shirts, jeans, shorts, beach sandals. Closed Monday and Friday.
Sugar Mill Restaurant - Located in garden near golf course. Adjacent to 200-year-old working water wheel. Dining-room, veranda, and terrace seating. Dinner only; reservations required. Jamaican specialties such as curried crayfish bisque; chicken-pineapple stew with tumeric-passionfruit sauce; dasheen-crusted mahi mahi with ackee and tomato-basil confit; jerked chicken, pork, fish combination. Also, grilled steaks, fish. Dress code: no t-shirts, jeans, shorts, beach sandals.
La Baguette - Restaurant/bar in open-air sea-view pavilion. Pool table. Brick floor, rattan seating, colorful seat cushions, yellow walls. Serves Continental breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Open late morning to early evening for burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, grilled food, tropical drinks. Open in high-occupancy periods for dinner, with choices such as steaks, lobsters, fish, chicken. Closed Monday and Friday.
Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. The All-Inclusive plan includes meals, beverages, and gratuities at the following restaurants, snack spots, and bars. The Room-Only (No Meals) plan does NOT include meals, beverages, or gratuities (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Plan Details section for more information).
The Royal Stocks English Pub & Steakhouse - Located in Shopping Village. Traditional pub fare and Jamaican specialties for lunch and dinner. Meals and beverages at this restaurant are not included in the All-Inclusive plan.
Akbar - Indian and Thai cuisine. Lunch and dinner served. Reservations required for dinner. Meals and beverages at this restaurant are not included in the All-Inclusive plan.
Beach Barbecue - Complimentary cocktail reception on Monday and Friday evenings followed by Caribbean buffet at picnic tables under trees festooned with lights. Steel band. Crab races.
Lester's Bar - Lobby bar open early morning to late night.
Cedar Bar - Casual beachfront spot open mid-morning to late night.
Beach Bar - Open mid-afternoon to late evening.
Royal Pavilion - Open-air bar near dolphin-encounter lagoon. Open mid-morning to early evening.
19th Hole Bar - Golf-clubhouse bar serving cocktails, beer, Jamaican beef patties from early morning to early evening.
Hibiscus Bar - Pool bar with swimup side open late morning to early evening.
Location
Rosehall Main Road
Rose Hall,
Jamaica
Nearest major airport:
Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ-Sangster Intl.)
Important Information
Room-Only plans may not include taxes or gratuities.
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Rollaway beds and cribs (infant beds) may be available and should be requested at the time of booking; fees may apply.
Photo identification and credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in. Special requests made via this Web site cannot be guaranteed and may incur additional charges.
- Pets not allowed
- Cash not accepted
- Check-in time is 3 PM
- Check-out time is Noon
