A Jewel of a year

Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

It's been a year since its rebranding, but the rather imposing hotel, now known as The Jewel Dunn's River Beach Resort and Spa, is one of the north coast's most celebrated properties. The sprawling property with its many attractions and lazy beach has been a favourite for many Jamaican vacationer and international visitor to our shores for many a moons.

Located just outside of Ocho Rios, in the lush upscale resort neighbourhood of Mammee Bay, the 250-room resort is owned by the insurance giant, Sagicor. It boasts a solid reputation of being a fabulous getaway and first opened its doors some five decades ago and has kept pace with the times and needs of the industry since!

And with the hotel industry seeing many changes in recent times, The Jewel has undergone its own changes, resulting in the rebranding and repositioning of the resort, and its official opening just over a year ago.

As the old saying goes, "time flies when you are having fun". And with the managerial baton of hotelier Carol Bourke, a year came and went with the resort not just positioning itself as a major player in the industry, but has broken new ground in promotions and marketing. In its first year of operation, the hotel has boasted fab occupancy records and earning rave reviews from many who have guested there. On Saturday, September 17, GM Carol Bourke and her team threw a celebratory reception, gala and dinner and little wonder. The Jewel is regarded by many of its repeat guests in its first year of operation as a Jewel indeed!

It was a class act from from the fab cocktail reception of welcoming do on the beachfront lawns of the resort and the absolutely fabulous opening entertainment number performed by the resort's staff, which ended with Bourke emerging from her cocoon of workers to the absolutely fab five-course champagne dinner and simply marvellous entertainment. This featured the fab songbird and entertainer par excellence, Karen Smith; the equally talented singer and entertainer Gem Myers - save and except the somewhat miscast Johnny Daley, whose material as a stand-up comic was woefully inept. The entertainment and the gala showcase were a study in haute style! The brief ceremony of introduction, the seeming required speech from the tourism minister, was not long enough to detract from the core celebration.

Dinner took took centre stage, there was no getting around the elegant nature of it all. The fare was a culinary masterpiece, starting with a sweet potato and passion fruit bisque, with breadfruit caviar cones; followed by the truffle oil-scented salad greens, aged gouda and raspberry spring roll, pimento spiced mango prosciutto wrapped, and topped by blueberry plantain dressing. After the palate cleanser came the delectable entrée that included lobster tail (thermidor orange wasabi and mushroom mirepoix, foie gras infused yam and carrot risotto, with a lemon grass cilantro pesto cream! Dessert included dark chocolate and cashew nut cake, white chocolate coconut and kiwi mousse in orange basil sauce.

Luvs, it was a most fitting way to celebrate a successful year with guests in attendance, including custos of St Ann, Radcliff and Norma Walters; Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert; Senator Noel Sloley and wife, Sharon; PNP constituency caretaker, Paul Stewart; R. Danny and wife Shirley; entrepreneur and owner of Shaw Park Beach Hotel, Ernie Smatt; Donovan and Michelle Perkins; Tanny Shirley; Everett and Laura Heron; Richard Bourke, GM of SuperClubs Starfish Family Resort; medical practitioner Dr David Lambert-Brown; the lovely Asha Issa; the illustrious Jack Wilmot; Jamie and Camille Delgado; JTB's Tony King; Jeff Cobham; founder and editor of the North Coast Times, Franklyn McKnight; VP Sandals Resorts and immediate past chair of the JHTA, Wayne Cummings; VP SuperClubs Resorts, the charming Sue McManus; VP Couples Resorts Gary Stephens; the fab Nancy Chatani.

Out were Pierre and Sharon Battaglia, GM of Couples Sans Souci; GM of Couples Tower Isle, Leonard Henry; Louis and Debra Grant; Noel Sloley Jr and Dr Alicia Duncan; Courtney Fletcher, BNS Ocho Rios; Robert Hoehner of Arosa; Daniel Melville of Chukka Caribbean; Kristine Bolt; the charming Tricia Robbins; the affable Reneish Codner; Francesca Tavasi DeMayo, in from Malta; Grant and Carrie Trotter, in from the US; Art and Brenda Smith, also in from the US; and Marco Tagliatti of Expedia; plus several others!