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Unity House
This famous house, right on the sea at Runaway Bay, Jamaica, with its own beach, has been in the same English family ownership for more than 50 years. Built in the 18th century, it has all the spacious comfort of the Colonial Georgian era - cool, airy rooms, lovely old Jamaican furniture, old pictures, china, books.
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The House
Unity is a charming, rather old-fashioned family home, not a state-of-the-art hotel. Think traditional Scottish shooting lodge, or English country house, transplanted to a lush, tropical seaside setting.
All seven bedrooms have high ceilings, generous ventilation and, without exception, stunning sea views. Principal rooms, including bedrooms, have big electric ceiling fans. There are four bathrooms, but not all en-suite, and strictly no air conditioning, bidets, gold taps or trouser presses.
The décor is homely rather than opulent, with period furniture and fittings. The electricity supply is 110 Volts AC, and reasonably reliable. You can drink the tap water with safety. Mobile phones are on GSM and the coverage is good. An ATM is on hand within a mile - it is even air-conditioned!
Nearby Attractions:
Unity is a place in which to relax and forget the outside world. Whilst by no means isolated, it works best when you just switch off and immerse yourself in its old-fashioned ambiance. For this reason we have never felt the need for a swimming pool, music system or even a television. If you really can’t live without Neighbours, a set can be hired.
By day you can swim, play tennis, snorkel on the reef, sunbathe, read, or potter in the shady garden or among the rock pools on the point. Jamaica’s finest golf course is a very short walk away. Scuba diving and water skiing are available nearby. A glass-bottomed boat will come and pick you up from the beach if your preference is for immersion-free observation of the wonders of the tropical deep. Best of all, some of us feel, is to rock oneself gently to sleep in the giant basketwork hanging chair made famous by the 1971 Pirelli calendar, which was entirely shot at Unity. The chair’s scantily clad occupant, sadly, has long since departed...
Further afield, but never more than an hour and a half away, you can climb the world famous waterfalls at Dunn’s River, go ‘tubing’ in rubber boats down the spectacular White River Gorge, or spend a couple of hours floating peacefully down the Martha Brae on a skilfully piloted bamboo raft.
Children love the limestone caves on the way to Discovery Bay, and the crocodile park beyond Falmouth, both sets in the Bond film Live and Let Die. Older kids will enjoy a visit to Bob Marley’s birthplace and mausoleum (with optional visit to his private ganja plantation, courtesy of Fuzzy), an hour’s drive inland through spectacular scenery to Nine Mile.
Big-game polo, as well as various other horse and jeep-related activities, is on hand at Chukka Cove polo ground, and plantation tours are available locally. An alternative is to step back 200 years and spend a day at Good Hope in the beautiful Queen of Spain’s Valley. Good Hope is a traditionally managed 750-acre property, with a lovely 18th century greathouse. There are horses to ride, first class tennis courts, a bamboo shaded freshwater swimming hole as well as a more conventional pool, and an exotic garden where you can enjoy some of Jamaica’s finest cooking while watching the humming birds feed in the flame trees.
In the evenings after dinner, board games are a Unity tradition in the cool, spacious drawing room. Like wandering minstrels, local calypso bands and reggae groups will come and play for you on the lawn (payment by good humoured negotiation, which should be conducted in advance). You can swim amongst the phosphorescence in the Caribbean or organise a bonfire party and barbecue on the beach – an unforgettable way to end your Jamaican holiday.
Amenities:
Our five staff, most of whom have been with us for many years, are well trained and charming. Meals can be served either in the elegant formal dining room, or outside, where there is a
portable barbecue and plenty of shade. Our housekeeper and cook, Dorothy, specializes in delicious, healthy Jamaican dishes with evocative names – jerk chicken, mackerel run-down, curry goat, stamp-and-go fritters, codfish and ackee, rice and peas. She shops for excellent local beef, fish and lobster, exotic vegetables and lots of fresh tropical fruit, an irresistible feature of Caribbean outdoor breakfasts.
Foster, our much loved butler, keeps the bar stocked with ice cold Red Stripe, soft drinks, tropical fruit juices, ice, fresh limes and the ingredients of our trademark Unity Special: Appleton Estate rum, ginger ale, half a lime and a dash of bitters.
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