Simultaneous with the reopening of Port Royal for cruise passengers, the city of Kingston recently caught global eyes when it was listed alongside Oslo, New Orleans, Egypt, and Menorca as a top destinations for culture lovers, in Condé Nast Traveller.

The city’s hotels may have been under wraps, since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, but a winter season reopening is expected and when it does, new experiences will add to the old. In the pipeline are upgraded and new hotel rooms that will attract visitors to an old world experience.

Christopher Issa, who for the past 12 years has operated the Spanish Court Hotel, reflects that tourism in Kingston is over 100 years old. “Kingston was one of the country’s biggest destinations for travellers that came on the banana boats which also took passengers to Kingston.”

Issa’s grandfather and grand uncle opened the Myrtle Bank hotel on the Kingston waterfront in 1943 . The hotel was built in 1891 for the great Jamaica Exhibition and was owned by the United Fruit Company before his family bought it. Issa told the Jamaica Observer, “it is good to see the modern version of the banana boat – now called a cruise ship returning to Kingston in such a big way.”

In the last century, the Jamaican capital has become a cultural and musical destination and has attracted resort investors as well. Among new hotel products in the city is the AC Marriott on Lady Musgrave Road in St Andrew, designed by Synergy Design Studios and operated by Sandals Resorts International.

New also is the 168-room Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel developed by PanJam Investment Limited, as a multipurpose complex on the downtown Kingston waterfront. And in New Kingston is the R Hotel which is the city’s first extended-stay business hotel – a collaboration between noted architect Evan Williams and entertainment mogul/investor Joe Bogdanovich.

Also slated to add to the city’s room count is the expanded Hilton Hotel in New Kingston with 300 rooms. New also on the list are revised offerings from the Hussey family which owns the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew. On June 1, 2021 , the entity broke ground for the Residences of Terra Nova, a high-rise adjoining the existing hotel.

The new development will see 45 keys added to the existing hotel, plus 14 floors of luxury condominiums, high-end living amenities, and meeting facilities.

Issa told Business Observer, “Kingston is the home to so many music genres – ska, rocksteady, reggae, dancehall, dub and the sound system.” He said favourites for relaxation and observation are the Rockfort Mineral Bath, the Blue Mountain Coffee estates, National Heroes’ Circle, the Institute of Jamaica , the National Gallery, Port Royal, Lime Cay, Fort Clarence Beach, Hope Zoo and the Botanical Gardens.

Kingston features landmarks including churches, cathedrals and synagogues, some dating back to the 17th century. Other must-sees are the Tuff Gong Recording Studio and the Marley Museum at 56 Hope Road in St Andrew. There are also various medical ganja dispensaries and Rastafarian eateries.

Signature properties in the city include the Marriot, the Jamaica Pegasus, Spanish Court and Strawberry Hill. In New Kingston, St Andrew, the Knutsford Court Hotel and Courtleigh are yet to reopen since the pandemic. Issa, however, says he expects nothing less than a renaissance for all when the city is open again.