REPUTABLE international online travel site TripAdvisor has voted Port Antonio’ s Geejam Hotel as the best small luxury hotel in Jamaica.

The hotel was awarded 4 1/2 Stars and came first out of 292 hotels in Jamaica (small luxury category) and first out of 19 hotels in Port Antonio.

Geejam was founded by Jon Baker in 2007 and he heads its management staff. Located on six acres and nestling in the verdant San San Estate, the property has seven double rooms, consisting of three deluxe cabins, one suite and a self-contained three-bedroom villa. Also included are a state-of-the-art recording studio, healing spa, swimming pool, gym and Bushbar.

Its sister hotel, Trident Hotel & Villas also located in Port Antonio, was awarded five-Stars and was voted five out of 292 hotels in Jamaica and three out of 19 hotels. The hotel founded in 2012 by NCB’s chairman, Michael Lee Chin, is also operated by Jon Baker.

The hotel houses 13 individual villas with oceanfront porticos and private soaking pools. It also contains Mike’s Supper Club, a billiards/library room, cinema, gym, spa treatment facility and a private beach. The hotel is part of a US$20 million investment package in two hotel properties including Trident Castle, in Lee Chin’s hometown, Port Antonio.

Jon Baker is charged with the mission set by Lee Chin to put Port Antonio on the map as a sought-after tourism destination. His portfolio to date includes Geejam Hotel, Geejam Studios, Trident Castle, Trident Hotel& Villas, villas in San San and the Blue Lagoon restaurant.

Speaking with the Business Observer from Port Antonio, Baker said: “We welcome the vote of confidence from TripAdvisor which is a well recognised hotel reviewer. We continue to strive to raise the bar for customer service and aim to keep all our visitors at the very least satisfied, ever mindful that we aim to exceed their expectations. For this year we will continue renovation work on Trident Castle and begin work on the Blue Lagoon restaurant. Our intention is to make Port Antonio one of the most chic destinations in the Caribbean.”

TripAdvisor’s site gets more than 260 million monthly visitors and has more than 100 million reviews of some 2.5 million hotels, resorts, restaurants and vacation attractions.

Mark Mahaney , an analyst from RBC Capital Markets declared that the United States travel industry saw year-over-year growth of five per cent in Q4 down from 10 per cent in Q3.

TripAdvisor’ s shift to metasearch means it will generate more revenue by allowing users to book hotels and other travel products directly with less emphasis on cost-per-click ads from hotels and online travel agencies.