Sunfinder Vacations

This Jamaica resort draws active families as well as couples and singles seeking access to downtown Ocho Rios' shopping and nightlife. On site, the center of the large resort hums with activity while the 1,300-foot beachfront is more low-key.

The 22-acre Sunset Beach Resort and Spa All Inclusive features tropical gardens and potted plants, lily ponds, acres of beach, and all the facilities necessary for either relaxing or active holidays. The open-air lobby rises two stories, allowing for sweeping ocean views, and is dotted with seating/conversation areas furnished with oversized couches, overstuffed chairs, and two-person rattan lounging beds.

"Coyaba," an Arawak word for a place of ease and rest, aptly captures the resort's appeal. A small lobby with mahogany accents, ceiling fans, and wicker chairs exemplifies its Colonial style. (Note: From December 22 through January 6, the resort does not accept children under 12 years of age.)

Limited to guests age 16 and older, the 22-acre resort supplies a tranquil, soothing ambience even when fully occupied. Spacious grounds at the Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa All Inclusive include mango trees that supply the resort’s kitchens, expansive lawns, flowering gardens, and eye-catching tropical species such as a huge, 300-year-old cotton tree. Isolated from the rest of the resort is a clothing-optional section that includes a separate beach.

What to expect: Set between the Blue Mountains and the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, the Rose Hall Resort & Country Club caters to couples and families. The resort occupies what was once an 18th-century sugar plantation. More than $40 million in renovations from top-to-bottom have been made to the resort, including the guestrooms, reception area, meeting spaces, and restaurants. There is also a new spa and renovations have also been made to the pool area.

Insider tip: In addition to the resort's golf course (surcharges), guests can also play the Ironshore Golf Course located 5 km (3 mi) away.

Couples Sans Souci sits on a white-sand beach with a background of green hills. Stone pathways wind through tropical greenery to the Caribbean Sea. A natural mineral spring is on the grounds for swimming or soaking. Guests gather to sip drinks at a swim-up bar. This adults-only resort includes one secluded beach for nude sunbathing.

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.

Vast lawns provide views of the mountains, sea, and sky. Flowering gardens and palm trees dot the grounds. Couples and families come for the relaxing Caribbean ambience, golf and water sports, spa rejuvenation, and exemplary service.

Replicating the town of Falmouth's central square--including a "Town Hall" reception area, "Court House" conference center, fountain, and cobblestone streets--Grand Lido Braco Resort & Spa All Inclusive invites adults (minimum age 16) into a gingerbread village with a strolling band, vendors, and a "fruit lady" dispensing exotic fruits. Even at full occupancy, the 85-acre resort offers ample relaxation room.

Begun in 1953 as a collection of villas on a 110-acre pineapple/allspice/coconut plantation, Round Hill Hotel and Villas has long served socialites and celebrities. Villa owners have included writer/producer Noel Coward, Viscount and Viscountess Rothermere, and, currently, designer Ralph Lauren. Accustomed to opulence, owners come here for the restful rusticity, which also attracts celebrity and non-celebrity couples and families.

Classic Europe meets the Caribbean at this resort, which contrasts French, Dutch, and Italian motifs with the turquoise waters and pristine white-sand beaches of Jamaica’s southern coast. Occupying 50 acres within a 500-acre nature reserve, this resort has landscaped gardens surrounding elegant, European-inspired architecture with tropical accents.

Winston Churchill came and loved the light for watercolor painting. Actress Marilyn Monroe and husband/playwright Arthur Miller, playwright Noel Coward, and novelist Ian Fleming also visited. What they found at this hotel, and what still attracts an international clientele today, is spiritual refreshment far from the madding world. Sea, beach, gardens, tropical air, and the attentions of staff members each averaging 25 to 30 years' experience, recall the grace of the pre-electronic era. The resort, opened in 1950, has been family-owned for two generations.

This 22-acre Beaches Boscobel Resort and Golf Club All Inclusive attracts families, couples, and singles seeking activity-filled holidays. The steep site offers numerous vantage points for viewing the ocean, with gently sloped ramps offering alternatives to stairs.

Cited by the U.K.'s Green Globe for "environmentally sustainable tourism," Sunset at the Palms Resort attracts guests from around the world, drawn by the unusual combination of tranquil garden and lively beach sections, exceptional gardens, "natural" open-air wood-structure ambience, and cabins-on-stilts style. (Children are welcome but the hotel has no special facilities for them.)

RIU Tropical Bay All Inclusive attracts an international clientele. Although families are welcome and some children's activities are included, the resort is primarily for adults. A partner resort, Riu Negril All Inclusive, at the north end of Bloody Bay, is more family-oriented and includes a children's clubhouse. RIU Tropical Bay guests may use all facilities at the partner resort, which is 1 km (0.75 mi) away by road and 700 meters (766 yds) by beach, and may eat breakfast and lunch there, but the partner resort's guests may not use this resort's facilities and restaurants.

With origins dating to the 1940s, the Couples Ocho Rios' tall trees and tropical foliage, expansive lawns, and flowering plants create a tranquil ambience for relaxation and romance. As the name signifies, the resort accepts only couples age 18 or older. Registration, accompanied by champagne and chilled towels, takes place while guests are seated in a breezy, marble-floor lobby with potted plants and banana-yellow walls.

Designed for uninhibited singles and couples age 18 or older, Hedonism II All Inclusive Resort draws both youthful and middle-aged clientele seeking lively holidays among like-minded people.

Designed for uninhibited singles and couples age 18 or older, the Hedonism III draws a youthful clientele seeking lively holidays among like-minded people.

Originating in Jamaica, the Beaches chain of child-friendly resorts caters to families, couples, and singles by offering activities day and night and facilities designed for all ages, from toddlers to grandparents. The 20-acre resort features classic island architecture, blending fine woods and polished marble with the dramatic detailing of stone arches and hand-painted, domed frescoes.

Born in Jamaica, the Beaches chain of resorts caters to families and kids with myriad activities available day and night and facilities designed for all ages, from toddlers to grandparents. With the exception of one resort evening dress Italian restaurant, this 20-acre resort is laid-back casual and features open-air facilities cooled by ceiling fans. Tipping is not permitted.

Breezes Montego Bay All Inclusive attracts guests seeking relaxed holidays and access to renowned Doctor's Cave Beach. This resort has the added benefit of being adjacent to the main tourist strip on Gloucester Avenue, dubbed the "Hip Strip" where shops and nightclubs abound. The resort accepts ONLY adults and older children (minimum age 14).

Bordered by gardens, a spacious, breezy lobby with white-rattan furniture heralds the resort's casual ambience. Breezes Runaway Bay Resort All Inclusive accepts adults and older children (minimum age 14).

Opened in 2004, RIU Negril All Inclusive attracts an international clientele of families and adults. A partner resort, Riu Tropical Bay All Inclusive, also welcomes children but is more adult-oriented and offers limited children's activities. Riu Tropical Bay's guests may use all facilities at RIU Negril, including eating breakfast and lunch, but guests at RIU Negril may not use Riu Tropical Bay's facilities and restaurants.

Set among ponds, natural foliage, and sand, this 7-hectare (18-acre) environmental-friendly resort includes seafoam-green paint allowed to acquire a weathered patina, unfinished-wood sunning decks and walkways, natural-rattan furniture, and naturalistic gardens. The Couples Negril welcomes couples age 18 or older.

Couples Swept Away is located at the western tip of Jamaica. A 457-meter (1,500-foot) beachfront offers access to a beach with water that remains calm in most weather. The resort welcomes guests who are age 18 and older.

Notable for friendly Jamaican hospitality with a hint of adventure, jungle-lush flowering gardens, and a casual atmosphere, the Jamaican-owned resort attracts families seeking relaxation and water sports for adults and activities for children. The resort provides a complimentary vacation nanny.

Small and intimate, this resort caters especially to families. With a staff-to-guest ratio of 1:1, a vacation nanny service, four restaurants, and a multitude of activities, the resort predominantly attracts parents of young children and infants, and, sometimes, teenage siblings.

Ian Fleming wrote his 13 James Bond novels here, creating the rustic estate in 1946 after he had fallen in love with Jamaica during a World War II intelligence mission to the island. He built a barn-like home, still standing, on 15 acres. Noel Coward rented the house for two months and then built his own home, Firefly, nearby. Celebrities flocked to both properties.

Sun worshipers, celebrating couples, and families with children relax and revive at this beachfront resort that curves around two courtyards and pool areas. Surrounded by verdant gardens and overlooking Mamie Bay, this resort is 10 km (six miles) from Dunn’s River Falls.

The adults-only Royal Plantation, a boutique-style resort, evokes the British colonial grandeur that once dominated Jamaica while also offering 21st-century conveniences. With shuttles to nearby golf, dining, and activities at partner resorts, the Royal Plantation combines the intimacy of a private villa and the amenities of a full resort.

Blending Caribbean and Italian Renaissance design, the resort attracts young couples seeking both rest and relaxation and lively group activities. (Guests must be adult couples at least 18 years of age.)

A romantic tropical retreat tucked between mountains and the Caribbean Sea, Sandals Grande Ocho Rios is situated along a private stretch of white-sand beach on Jamaica’s north coast. Rooms and suites are located in three main buildings and in smaller villas scattered throughout the property’s lush gardens. This all-inclusive resort accepts adult couples only.

Compact, intimate, and tranquil, Sandals Inn All Inclusive attracts guests looking for fewer activities and more relaxation. The resort location is another draw as it is walking-distance access to Montego Bay's Hip Strip shopping and nightlife. (Guests must be couples at least 18 years of age.)

Arrayed over 26 acres of flowering gardens, lily ponds, and rubber, mango, and palm trees on the North Coast near the airport's runways, Sandals Montego Bay draws romantic couples seeking day and night group activities as well as space for being alone together. (Guests must be couples at least 18 years of age.)

Honeymooners, anniversary celebrants, and other couples looking for romance come to this Jamica resort both for group fun and to be alone together. Activities run day and night, but the resort is low-key and laid-back, a haven for R & R as well as the active life.

Combining Caribbean charm with British tradition, this resort is open only to couples at least 18 years of age. A special feature is the resort’s own private island, reached via dragon boat. Upon check-in, guests receive cold towels and welcome champagne. A resort orientation takes place twice daily.

Stretching along its private beach like a pink, blue, and white ribbon, Shaw Park Beach Hotel All Inclusive attracts an international clientele seeking tranquility and isolation from other resorts. The genteel ambience is exemplified by a sea-view, English-colonial-style lobby with ceiling fans, polished wood floor, Asian rugs, Queen Anne–style furniture, cream-colored brocade seating, plants, flowers, and Jamaican wood carvings.

Couples, couples planning to marry or celebrate unions, and families favor this Jamaica beachside resort. Separate buildings connected by pathways and gardens house studios, suites, and townhouses—all with kitchenettes—creating a village atmosphere. Balconies with blue or yellow wrought-iron railings overlook winding lanes bordered by palm trees rustling in the breeze and lushly vegetated grounds.