A HIDDEN GEM IN THE UNSUNG CORNER OF JAMAICA

10-room hideaway hotel near Port Antonio offers sophisticated guests understated elegance, eco-friendly living and guilt-free indulgence

(Port Antonio, Feb 19, 2009) For some guests, Mocking Bird Hill Hotel is a dreamy spot for quiet, carefree honeymoons. For others, it's ideal for bird-watching or hikes through tropical forests or trips to the beach.

But for most guests, the appeal of this 10-room gem of a hotel is peace. Ineffable peace. This is a hideaway for simple pleasures. For lounging in hammocks. For cooling off in the garden pool surrounded by trees and flowers and birdsong. For luxuriating in a coconut oil massage in a zephyr-cooled gazebo beneath an orchid tree where hummingbirds flutter. For topping off the day with some of the most innovative and acclaimed cuisine in Jamaica.

Nestled into a hillside just outside Port Antonio, in the northeast corner of Jamaica but just 2 hours from Kingston, Mocking Bird Hill is an owner-managed hideaway where hosts Barbara Walker and Shireen Aga welcome guests into an informal breeze-cooled lobby filled with Barbara's paintings and sculptures. No imposing reception desk here – guests simply sign in when and where it suits them, over their welcome drinks, say, or cooling off beside the pool.

The 10 charming guest rooms create an instant-tropics mood with cool white tiles, locally handcrafted bamboo furniture, hand-printed tropical fabrics, decorative mosquito nets to add a touch of romance (the blankets in the closet can come in handy, too, at 600 feet above sea level!). Forget designer trendy – this is just understated elegance with Caribbean flair. But the amenities add extra little welcomes like coffeemakers, chocolate tea balls and Jamaican body care products.

What eco-conscious guests will not find are gizmos like TVs and telephones that can disturb the peace or plastic bottles and air conditioners that can ruin the atmosphere.

And then there's the acclaimed dining. The Mille Fleurs Restaurant is a romantic verandah overlooking the garden and the eponymous "thousand flowers," with views of the Caribbean in one direction and the Blue Mountains in the other. Every dish is prepared with locally grown food, prepared with rare ingenuity by talented local chefs. Well, how often do you get to tuck into sweet potato and tomato soup or home-made cassava pastas?

Mocking Bird Hill may have only 10 rooms but its owners are pioneers in environmental management and winners of no fewer than 14 international awards for their dedication to sustainable tourism. Not the spartan kind of eco-tourism that calls for cold showers and toilets down the hall but the kind of responsible programs that match sustainability with affordable comforts (rates begin at $255 a night double in winter).

Mocking Bird Hill -- a place where lazy days and laidback lethargy come with a bonus: guilt-free indulgence.
 

OVERVIEW

Hotel Mocking Bird Hill is an owner-operated, 10-room hideaway nestled in 6½ acres of tropical garden on a hillside near Port Antonio in the northeast of Jamaica. With its many personal touches and original art, this charming, eco-chic hotel offers a gracious, relaxing, low-key atmosphere where guests feel that they are visiting the home of old friends. The owners, Barbara Walker and Shireen Aga, are dedicated environmentalists who go beyond the basic guidelines for sustainable tourism (they've won no fewer than 14 green awards for their pioneering efforts) in their quest to offer guests guilt-free indulgence -- the opportunity to enjoy comfort and convenience without trampling the environment. With its serene setting and mesmerizing views the hotel encourages guests to stay put, chilling by the pool or slipping into the garden gazebo for a soothing massage beneath the orchid tree but the owners also encourage their guests to explore the many natural attractions and cultural delights of this unsung corner of Jamaica. For lots more information and current rates, log on to www.hotelmockingbirdhill.com or call 876/993-7267.