By Kylie MacKenzie
The Tryall Club is a private enclave that is nothing like the secure compounds that occupy much of Jamaica’s sandy beaches and serve the all-inclusive set. Here, the beach is ours, rolling waves lull us to sleep at night and the sunrise over the ocean welcomes us at daybreak. Twelve miles across the sea, we can see the lights of Montego Bay a spectacular sight each night.
The Tryall Club’s oceanfront estates turned fully staffed private homes are collated for an idyllic extended family or group retreat. Karma Bay, our six-bedroom, 12-guest home for the week, is linked by shared dining and common areas, and is more than a cut above the norm. A personal chef, bartender, laundress, houseman and gardener are here taking care of business our business!
They cater to our every whim as the tide rolls in, and all we need to do is catch a tan by the pool.
Steeped in history, stories of days gone by fill the air as we leave our villa enclave behind us, and golf-cart it over to check out the club’s Great House and the 17C sugar plantation’s still-working waterwheel. We’re told that the Great House and its respected golf course are now in the process of being returned to their former grandeur. Golf is, after all, an age-old tradition here too albeit a challenge in the wind. An integral part of the club’s fabric, the 18 holes twist and wind along hillsides and beside the beautiful private coastline.
This, my friends, is getting away from it all, Jamaican-style.
