Vast lawns provide views of the mountains, sea, and sky. Flowering gardens and palm trees dot the grounds. Couples and families come for the relaxing Caribbean ambience, golf and water sports, spa rejuvenation, and exemplary service.

What to expect: Set between the Blue Mountains and the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, Rose Hall Resort & Spa caters to couples and families. The resort occupies what was once an 18th-century sugar plantation. More than $40 million in renovations from top-to-bottom have been made to the resort, including the guestrooms, reception area, meeting spaces, and restaurants. There is also a new spa and renovations have also been made to the pool area.

Insider tip: In addition to the resort's golf course (surcharges), guests can also play the Ironshore Golf Course located 5 km (3 mi) away.

"Coyaba," an Arawak word for a place of ease and rest, aptly captures the resort's appeal. A small lobby with mahogany accents, ceiling fans, and wicker chairs exemplifies its Colonial style. (Note: From December 22 through January 6, the resort does not accept children under 12 years of age.)

Queen Elizabeth II stays here when visiting Jamaica. Fidel Castro slept here. The Jamaican prime minister brings visiting dignitaries to lunch. Since 1954 when it opened as a cluster of cottages, the resort has welcomed luminaries, celebrities, and not-so-famous couples and families from around the world seeking relaxation in a plantation-style resort redolent with Jamaica's English-colonial past.

Begun in 1953 as a collection of villas on a 110-acre pineapple/allspice/coconut plantation, Round Hill Hotel and Villas has long served socialites and celebrities. Villa owners have included writer/producer Noel Coward, Viscount and Viscountess Rothermere, and, currently, designer Ralph Lauren. Accustomed to opulence, owners come here for the restful rusticity, which also attracts celebrity and non-celebrity couples and families.

Replicating the town of Falmouth's central square--including a "Town Hall" reception area, "Court House" conference center, fountain, and cobblestone streets--Grand Lido Braco Resort & Spa All Inclusive invites adults (minimum age 16) into a gingerbread village with a strolling band, vendors, and a "fruit lady" dispensing exotic fruits. Even at full occupancy, the 85-acre resort offers ample relaxation room.