Soaking in Blue Diamond's new Hideaway at Royalton Blue Waters

27.03.2024 - 15:38 / travelweekly.com / Bob Marley

"Everybody wants to feel as if they are a VIP; everyone wants to feel special," said Kerry Ann Quallo Casserly, regional commercial director in Jamaica for Blue Diamond Resorts.

She told me that that is the idea behind the Diamond Club service that's now available at the Hideaway at Royalton Blue Waters in Montego Bay, which opened its doors in November.

The 352-room resort, part of the Autograph Collection, underwent a roughly $20 million conversion to the adults-only Hideaway brand.

On a hosted stay at the resort, located adjacent to the family-friendly Royalton Blue Waters, I had a chance to experience the VIP-level service firsthand.

Arriving at the Montego Bay airport and the somewhat chaotic scene of cars and buses jostling in the small parking lot, my guest and I were taken by private car to the hotel, an easy 30-minute drive.

We were provided with the upgraded Diamond Club service, which included access to a special lounge and check-in area, personalized butler service throughout our stay and access to a dedicated beach area and beach bar, among other perks.

Our accommodations for the weekend was a Diamond Club luxury ocean view suite, a spacious room featuring a long balcony with two sliding glass doors, a sitting area and, as the name suggests, superb views of the hotel grounds, white-sand beaches and the ocean.

Other resort accommodations range from luxury rooms to a luxury chairman beach walkout/swim-out suite.

The two hotels have a combined 12 restaurants, three of which are exclusively for Hideaway guests. Food options run the gamut; options include West Indies cuisine, seafood, a teppanyaki and sushi bar and a very popular beachside jerk hut for lighter Jamaican fare. My favorite dish was a coconut-crusted snapper served at Calypso, the resort's West Indies restaurant.

The Hideaway is also home to an infinity pool and swim-up bar, while the neighboring hotel features a lazy river, aquatic playground and three-story waterslides. Not having been down a waterslide in probably 30 years, I'd forgotten how much fun they are.

Into the country

As first-time visitors to Jamaica, we wanted to see some of the country, so we booked a tour with Nexus Tours, a trusted partner of Blue Diamond Resorts.

Our adventure was a full-day tour to Dunn's River Falls and Nine Mile, Bob Marley's hometown and resting place. At Dunn's River, along with a large group of other visitors, we followed our guide up a series of incredibly picturesque cascades in a lush jungle setting, stopping to