San Bar Villa - Port Antonio, Jamaica
This review was originally published in 2017. If you’re not a destination writing student of mine and have stumbled onto this post, please note that this review is not up-to-date. Please check San Bar Jamaica for current information.
Everyone's idea of paradise is a little bit different. For me, if I can roll over in the morning in a cozy king-size bed to the soothing sound of the Caribbean Sea outside my patio door, I'm in heaven. This is exactly what San Bar Villa in Port Antonio, Jamaica, offered me, and the feeling was captivating.
Image courtesy of San Bar Villa, Jamaica
Through the wonders of coincidence, I was invited to visit this seafront oasis for a couple of days, so I could share it with you all. It was a spur-of-the-moment request, and I'm so glad I had room in my schedule to visit Portland.
Not only was this villa charming, but my entire experience in the surrounding area was amazing, and I'll be returning as soon as my schedule permits.
San Bar and its sister villa, San Cove are located in the San San area just outside the town of Port Antonio on Jamaica's east coast. They are elegantly set right on the seafront, and from the roadside, you wouldn't even know this kind of paradise exists behind the gates. These properties offer complete privacy from the road while exposing you to the contrast of living life on the sea.
A breezeway joins the two sister villas in the middle, and although they are two separate experiences, they can also be rented together for much larger groups. I was only able to tour San Bar because the smaller San Cove was undergoing renovations during my stay, but as you can see on their websites, they each offer the same luxurious experiences, including a personal chef, a butler, and a housekeeper.
Now, on with my review!
When I arrived at the property, I was greeted at the gate by Rose, the housekeeper on duty that day. She helped me get situated inside and then accompanied me on a full tour of the six-bedroom San Bar side of this property.
The feeling this wide-open villa inspired was one of tranquillity. I was immediately struck by the view from the veranda overlooking the sea. Before coming to Port Antonio, one of my readers made sure to tell me to find Monkey Island. Standing on this veranda, I could see that I would practically be sleeping on Monkey Island! It was within swimming distance, so I didn't have to look very hard.
Image courtesy of San Bar Villa, Jamaica
The villa’s main living area is beautifully decorated, with a crisp yet soft tropical feel. When all the patio doors are wide open, a fresh sea breeze flows freely through the house. I never turned on a fan or an air conditioner during my entire time at the villa.
Image courtesy of San Bar Villa, Jamaica
At the main entry level, you'll find the living area pictured above, along with additional seating space to the rear, featuring a comfy sectional sofa and a flat-screen TV. I'm not sure who would want to watch TV with a view this spectacular. However, if you're travelling with children, it may come in handy to keep them entertained.
Also on this main level is the fully equipped kitchen, complete with two oversized stainless steel fridges, a gas cooking range and two ovens. Since the villa has its own private chef, guests can either leave the kitchen and cooking duties to him or opt to use the kitchen themselves. If you prefer to have the chef prepare all your meals, he will accompany you to local supermarkets to pick up fresh ingredients for each meal.
Andre, the chef of several years here, told me that many guests enjoy being in the kitchen while he cooks up Jamaican meals. This is the part I love about villas in Jamaica - they provide a true Jamaican experience because you can spend time with the staff and learn a LOT about the food and culture. They're always more than happy to share the experience with you.
I was only at the villa for two nights, and for my first meal, I chose my favourite, brown stew chicken. The second night, I opted for a vegetarian curry with white rice. And for my breakfasts, I stuck with my veggie omelette addiction each day. I stayed in the kitchen with Andre on my first evening simply because I couldn't resist the aroma of brown stew chicken cooking on the stove.
Image by author
Once the cooking was finished and my meal plated, it was the magic touch of my personal butler, Glendon, who made me feel like an honoured guest at this giant table with one special setting. On the plate, we have Jamaican brown stew chicken, my favorite pumpkin rice, green salad and fried plantain. Champagne was the finishing touch on my welcome dinner.
The Rooms
On the top (third) level of San Bar villa are four beautiful bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom. All bedrooms have ceiling fans, air conditioning, and sliding doors that open onto verandas overlooking the Caribbean Sea and Monkey Island.
On the main level of the villa, there is a fifth bedroom (the one I chose) off the main living area. It also features its own bathroom and a sliding door that opens onto the main veranda. The sixth bedroom is on the deck level below and walks out onto the pool deck area. In total, the villa can accommodate eight adults and six children, or 14 adults if some are willing to share a room. Here's a gallery I've put together with photos from their website.
Click on the first image to open up the gallery and scroll through larger images.
My room was the very first image in the gallery, the blue bedroom. Each morning, I woke to the sound of the sea outside and the smell of fresh coffee brewing, compliments of my butler, Glendon.
The Staff
As mentioned, Glendon and Andre are at the service of villa guests 24/7, and stay in separate living quarters within the villa. Both of them are on site at all times if you need them and out of your way if you don't. I was more than happy with the company of both.
Since I was alone in the villa, I had plenty of time to chill out and get to know the staff at San Bar.
Andre, the chef, primarily took care of my meals and was less visible than Glendon, the butler. He was super friendly, funny and loves to sing. At the time of this writing (2017), he's been at this villa for around four years, and his cooking is ON POINT! I died and went to heaven with each dinner I had. Andre seems like a Jamaican food specialist, although he told me that he can cook anything guests desire. I never tested out the American meal theory. Why would I?
Glendon's purpose as the butler is whatever you need him for. He is the one who had coffee brewing early in the mornings and had my meals set just perfectly. I also saw him doing pool maintenance, and he always made sure I had a cold drink in my hand.
For me personally, the BEST part about having Glendon around was for accompaniment. I'm not very familiar with Portland parish, so he was my sidekick on the road.
We set out early each day to visit Reach Falls, Boston Beach, the famous jerk center, Portland Marina, Blue Lagoon, Monkey Island, and many other spur-of-the-moment attractions he thought I should see in the area. My time was limited, so it really helped to have him tag along; plus, he's young and a lot of fun!
He inspired my post called "How To Enjoy The Hell Out of Butler Service on Vacation".
Local produce market Glendon took me to in Portland, Jamaica
Glendon also told me that when they have guests who don't drive themselves, he will personally arrange all transportation for excursions and accompany the guests if they want him to.
On the housekeeping team, I met both Rose and Lydia on separate days. They came to work in the morning and left before dinner time, and are in charge of making up the rooms, keeping the villa tidy and turning down the beds late in the day. Since I was on the road for many days before arriving at this villa, Lydia was an absolute doll and did a load of my laundry for me. I totally would have done it myself, but she insisted. What a sweetheart!
Things To Do In The Area
It was a crying shame that I only had time to stay in Portland for a couple of days because there is SO MUCH to see and do there! But with the help of Glendon, a boat, my car, and the pure beauty of the area, I was able to take in enough to hopefully get others to come visit this amazing parish!
I will be blogging about all of this over the coming weeks, so stay tuned for those updates. With each one that I add, I'll come back to this review and link to them for your convenience.
While At The Villa
There are plenty of special things I loved about being at this villa; however, my favourite activity was just "BEING." I'm sure if I had been part of a larger group staying here, my experience would have been completely different. My next favourite activity was sitting on the veranda with my laptop each morning, sipping a Blue Mountain coffee.
Image by author
Occasionally, I would see tourists from other villas sail past on kayaks or bamboo rafts. On my second morning, I was up particularly early, probably 6:00 a.m. and saw a couple kayaking out to Monkey Island. How beautiful. San Bar and San Cove also offer kayaks for guest use. I'm not sure where to find the bamboo raft guides, but I'm positive that Glendon can work that out for guests.
Image by author
Each night, the waterfront gazebo at the villa brought a little bit of magic into my life. I sat down there after dark both nights, enjoying some serenity.
With the gazebo lights illuminating the water below, I had a clear view of fascinating underwater life. Huge (and many!) stingrays lazily swam around in the water below, fishing for their meals. Thousands of smaller fish going on about their business, and larger fish jumping in and out of the water. All the while, Glendon was happy to keep my refreshments coming while sharing his knowledge of the sea life below.
Although I didn't get a chance to take a dip in the villa swimming pool, I did check out the entire pool deck. It is a fantastic, fully equipped feature of this villa. There are plenty of lounge chairs on the deck, a rinse-off shower beside the pool, and a full wet bar on this level for refreshments. The killer sound system from the house is wired throughout the area, including around the pool and inside the gazebo.
Although I'm a huge advocate for getting out and truly experiencing Jamaica, I would completely understand if guests spent most of their time at this villa.
Image by author
The vacation villa lifestyle in Jamaica is ideal for families and groups travelling together. As mentioned earlier, San Bar and San Cove can be rented individually or together for larger groups. The biggest benefit of a villa vacation is that it feels like being home, even though you're away from home....but you don't have to make your own coffee in the morning, and the views are much prettier!
For groups, this type of vacation is perfect. Whether you're a family, a wedding party, a reunion, a girls’ group or just a bunch of friends who want to get away, vacation villas are much more intimate and personal than a hotel or resort.
Portland is far from the hub of tourism in Jamaica, and although it takes a little extra time to get there, once you reach, you'll have zero reasons to care about the tourist traps. There is SO much to see and do in this parish that you'll never even miss the touristy parts of Jamaica.
Image by author
Finally, I would like to offer a HUGE thank you to the owners and staff of San Bar and San Cove villas for their hospitality and for giving me the push I needed to visit Portland again after so many years. I truly enjoyed my stay and am now inspired to get back to the area ASAP!
As usual, I'll give an extra shout-out to Budget Rental Car Jamaica, which makes ALL of my road trips in Jamaica possible.
(Note to my destination writing students: If you have a vehicle rental sponsor or transportation sponsor, it’s prudent to shout them out in each of your posts)
For more information and bookings at these two villas, please visit:
