Four Seasons Hotel – Kingston, Jamaica

It’s on a very rare occasion that I make a trip to Kingston and it’s also rare that I pay for hotel stays in Jamaica.  However, I had to do both this week so I thought I’d give you a nice, positive review of where I stayed.  It was wonderful because I certainly don’t love the busy-ness of Kingston but this hotel made me feel like I wasn’t even in Jamaica!

The other day I had a super early interview on TVJ’s Smile Jamaica show so I opted to drive to Kingston a day early and sleep there.  While looking online for hotels in the city I had to take into consideration the location in proximity to TVJ as well as price.  First of all I almost choked at hotel prices in Kingston in general, but as far as places to stay near TVJ, the Four Seasons Hotel was the most reasonably priced for what I needed.

I reserved the room online at a rate of $154.00 USD for the night.  All the other hotels were between $200 – $300.  I was driving to Kingston from Black River which was a solid three-hour drive and once I hit the city I easily found the hotel with the help of my best friend Rosita (the GPS in my Samsung phone lol).  Four Seasons Hotel is very centrally located and within walking distance to Emancipation Park, Devon House, etc.

When I arrived I was pleasantly surprised at how pretty it was inside the gates.  The reception lobby is right there, a restaurant off to the left and as I found out after check-in all the guest rooms are located up a small road off to the right.

Walking into the lobby I was warmly greeted with smiles by front desk staff which isn’t always the case in Jamaica.  I notice things like customer service in Jamaica since it is sometimes hard to come by.  My check-in was very smooth and then the front desk man told me to get into my car and follow the guy driving a little golf cart type vehicle to a parking lot near my room.  Once parked the man on the golf cart put my bags onto his cart and I joined him for a short ride to my room.

We drove across the pool deck and beside the bar to my main floor room which faced the pool.  It was lovely and I couldn’t wait to sit on my little veranda and enjoy the view.

The golf cart man brought my bags inside for me, plugged in my mini fridge and gave me a quick rundown of the hotel amenities.  Then I tipped him and he left.

Inside the room was pretty average, nothing super upgraded, but it was clean and comfortable looking.  I had two queen beds, air conditioning, a mini fridge, ironing board, and a flat screen TV.  Inside the bathroom there was a hair dryer and only one tiny little bar of soap so if you’re ever going to stay here bring your own shampoos and things.

The bathroom was probably the least exciting thing in the room.  It wasn’t very pretty, the tub was not in super great shape but the hot water was superb and I appreciated it at this time of year with the super cool weather at night and in the early morning.  No fans or AC needed at this time of year for sure.

Now onto the BEST part about the hotel (besides the customer service)…..the food!  I ate dinner and breakfast here and the food was to die for!  I’ll start with dinner:  I sat at the poolside bar which has the same menu as the main restaurant out front.  They had a pretty huge selection of menu items ranging from some traditional Jamaican items right up to high priced steaks.  Their website says they have award winning food and wine so I guess that explains it.  I opted for the coconut crusted fish with steamed veg, salad and mashed potatoes which appeared to be the least expensive thing on the menu at $12.00 USD.   It was simply amazing!  I enjoyed every single bite and even though I was stuffed after finishing I still craved more.

My bill after having my fish and three drinks of Appleton and Pepsi came to just over $30.00 USD.  Very reasonable and I’d expect to pay that or more anywhere.  Plus I had a lot of fun eating dinner because across the bar from me sat three European business men.  Two from Switzerland and one from Sweden and the Swedish one was giving me the most hilarious Ikea commercial impressions lol.  The three of them insisted they were in Jamaica to introduce the Ikea way of life to the island.  It was much later in the evening that I found out they were actually electrical engineers in Jamaica for work.  They made my evening fun and enjoyable.

My sleep in my room was super comfy, almost cold simply because of the weather.  I had no use for the AC and still needed to use all my blankets.

The next morning after returning from my TVJ interview around 8 am, I headed to the main restaurant for breakfast which is included in the room price.  The breakfast patio looked so pretty with each table set up like fine dining.  The breakfast menu was very simple with only three different breakfast options on it, including eggs any style, pancakes, and typical breakfast items.  I found out by asking my server that any breakfast can be upgraded to a full Jamaican breakfast for an additional cost.  I opted for a veg and cheese omlette….gotta have my omlettes when I can get them!

After breakfast I went back to my room and took a quick nap since I was up at 5am for my interview.  Check out time was noon and I was on the road back to Black River.  It was funny, at the front desk while checking out the girl said, “Hey, weren’t you on TVJ this morning?”  I guess she watched the show that day and recognized me lol.

My overall impression of Four Seasons Hotel in Kingston was pretty great!  Everything was comfortable, the food was awesome an the staff were all amazing!  I actually didn’t even feel like I was in Jamaica while staying here.  I would definitely recommend the hotel if you need a night or two in Kingston without breaking the bank.