Moon Author's Review
Jamaica Palace Hotel (tel. 876/993-7720, pal.hotel@cwjamaica.com, www.jamaicapalace.com, US$170190), just across Turtle Crawle Bay from Trident, is an enormous concrete compound with giant checkerboard-tiled courtyards, a gallery that defines kitsch in the lobby, a swimming pool in the shape of Jamaica surrounded by hot black surface, and stale bedrooms that are shocking for their total lack of regard for the verdant surroundings outside.
Jamaica Palace was built by the late Sigi Fahmi, a baroness who began building Trident Castle before running out of funds and selling it to the architect Earl Levy. Now run by Sigi’s husband Nazar Fahmi, Jamaica Palace was obviously constructed in an attempt to one-up Trident with enormous columns out front that boast of excess. Clearly Fahmi was a dear customer of Carib Cement, as the hotel’s construction gave the company plenty of business. Definitely not an ecotourism lodge, rooms at the Palace are cavernous with old air-conditioning units, private baths with hot water, and TV. It’s the only place in Jamaica that offers a room with a round bed in the middle. The ceilings are very high; the walls are whitewashed concrete and covered in art. Several large caged birds are on the property, and it’s a great place to get a Ken Spencer painting and catch a glimpse of the bold creations of the Baroness herself.
