About this hotel
General information
Half Moon covers some 400 acres at Rose Hall in Montego Bay, on Jamaica’s north coast, with two miles of private beachfront curving around a crescent-shaped bay. The bay was once the loading dock of a sugar estate; in 1954 a group of American, British and Bermudian families bought the shoreline and built cottages for winters by the sea. Gardens of bougainvillea and oleander run beneath tall Washingtonian palms, hawksbill turtles nest on the beaches each year, and paintings by Michael Lester, commissioned for the resort in its early years, hang throughout.
Stays are centred on two parts of the estate. Eclipse at Half Moon gathers 57 rooms and suites in a Great House, four timbered Estate Houses and two-storey cottages around an infinity-edge pool and a beach with a natural swimming cove. The Villas at Half Moon are 19 private houses, each with its own pool and a cook, butler and housekeeper. All guests share the Robert Trent Jones Sr. golf course, an equestrian centre of rescued horses, Fern Tree spa and the Anancy children’s village.
Location
The resort lies at Rose Hall in Montego Bay (St James parish) on Jamaica’s north coast. Sangster International Airport (MBJ) is about 9 km and a 10-minute drive away; the resort’s concierge team meets arrivals at a welcome lounge just outside the customs hall and helps with the transfer, and private transfers can be arranged ahead of arrival. The IAM Jet Centre in Montego Bay is also a 10-minute drive. From Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport it is a 30-minute domestic flight or about 2 hours 15 minutes by road. Complimentary resort cars, golf carts and bicycles cover the grounds.
Spa
Fern Tree, A Salamander Spa is laid out as a garden of fruit trees and native plants close to the sea, with its own waterfall and lagoon pool (Fern Tree Falls), aromatherapy steam rooms and saunas, a relaxation lounge and tea room, an open-air yoga pavilion and a meditation labyrinth. Treatments lean on Jamaican plants and herbs: a cerasee body buff, an allspice sugar scrub, a traditional Jamaican bush bath of fresh herbs, roots and fruit, a shea-butter cocoon wrap, a sound ritual with Tibetan singing bowls and a ritual for mothers-to-be; there are also massages, facials, energy healing, a beauty salon and Ital Café for cold-pressed juices. Treatments can be given in the room as well. A separate fitness studio, open daily, adds a stretch studio, a percussion-therapy room, modern equipment and classes in yoga, Pilates, meditation and interval training.
Sports & leisure
- Golf: an 18-hole, par-72 championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and later refined by Roger Rulewich; a classic bow-tie walking layout across a former sugar-cane estate, 4,604–6,511 m depending on the tees, 26 fairway bunkers and steady trade winds. Caddies, cart hire, a golf academy for adults and children, 20 grass practice bays, putting, pitching and bunker greens, a pro shop and a clubhouse; a shuttle runs from the resort and a tunnel leads straight from the villas
- Tennis: nine floodlit courts, ITF- and PTR-certified coaches, private lessons, adult clinics and lessons for children; squash courts too, with racquets and court time included
- Equestrian Centre with 28 rescued horses: rides for beginners and experienced riders, beach rides along Sunrise Beach, bareback swims with the horses in the sea (riders over 10), and private lessons in dressage, show jumping and polo; Monday to Saturday
- Water sports from Sunrise Beach: kayaks, pedal boats, stand-up paddleboards and snorkelling gear are included; Hobie Wave and Hobie Getaway catamarans and windsurfing; parasailing, water-skiing, tubing, wakeboarding and kneeboarding; glass-bottom boat trips and deep-sea fishing for marlin; scuba diving with PADI courses and snorkelling tours
- Hawksbill sea-turtle programme: trained staff watch over the nests on the resort’s beaches, and guests can join the release of hatchlings into the sea
- Olympic-size lap pool, a 5 km walking and running loop, resort bicycles, and courts and lawns for basketball, beach volleyball, football and croquet
- The Gallery of Jamaican art with works by Michael Lester and contemporary artists, Maakit boutique, a gift shop, the spa boutique, the golf pro shop and an artisan village on Sunrise Beach selling wood carvings, woven baskets and pottery
For children
Anancy Children’s Village, an entire village for children inspired by Jamaican folklore, takes children aged 3–12 in two groups (3–6 and 7–12) for half days with a snack or full days with a snack and lunch; children must be toilet-trained. Activities are supervised by coordinators trained under Penn State University’s Better Kid Care programme, and a nanny service looks after the youngest guests. Beyond the village there are pony rides and a petting park with donkeys, goats and rabbits for children up to six, children’s tennis lessons, junior sessions at the golf academy, children’s menus, family-friendly pools and cots on request.
Restaurants & bars
The kitchens work farm to table, with herbs and produce from the resort’s own gardens, local seafood and Jamaican flavours set beside Italian cooking. Half Moon is not all-inclusive, but an optional dining plan covers breakfast, lunch and dinner at selected restaurants, a daily drinks credit and return transfers from Sangster International Airport.
- Delmare — seafood restaurant with Italian accents and house-made pasta above the Eclipse beach; dinner, smart casual
- Hayward’s — open-kitchen restaurant looking over the sea and the Great House lawn; Jamaican-inspired cooking with international influences at breakfast and dinner
- North Pointe — open-air bar and grill beside the infinity pool, serving tacos, sandwiches, seafood and salads through the day, with a children’s menu
- Spice and Hammock Bar — casual beach grill and bar for Jamaican jerk and cocktails; the setting for the Friday beach barbecue with music and limbo
- Lester’s Bar — evening cocktail bar hung with Michael Lester’s paintings, with a deep list of Caribbean rums and live music
- Maakit — grab-and-go market café for Jamaican coffee, pastries and sandwiches, also stocking work by local artisans
- Ital Café — juice bar at the spa
- 19th Hole — bar with light meals at the golf course
- 24-hour in-room dining at Eclipse, and private dinners on the beach, in a gazebo over the water or on your own balcony
Swimming
Two miles of private beachfront belong to the resort. At Eclipse a white-sand beach opens onto a natural swimming cove, next to a saltwater infinity-edge pool; Sunrise Beach is the base for water sports and horse rides. A swimming lagoon, an Olympic-size lap pool and family-friendly pools complete the picture, and every villa has a pool of its own.
Rooms
Eclipse at Half Moon has 57 ocean-view rooms and suites, from rooms in the Great House and two-storey cottages to multi-bedroom suites in the timbered Estate Houses. The 19 Villas at Half Moon are let only as whole houses, each with five to seven bedrooms, a private pool and a staff of three. Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out by 12:00; a nightly resort fee (covering Wi-Fi, bicycles, courts, non-motorised water sports and more) and a service charge are added to the room rate.
Eclipse rooms and suites come with a sea-view balcony or patio, butler service, 24-hour in-room dining, a pillow menu, Blue Mountain coffee, Wi-Fi, cable TV, a minibar, a safe, bathrobes and slippers, a hairdryer and evening turndown.
Great House Ocean Room
A room in the Eclipse Great House with a king bed, a large covered and furnished balcony facing the Caribbean Sea and a bathroom with double basins; for two adults and an infant.
Eclipse Ocean Room
On the ground or first floor of a two-storey cottage at Eclipse, with a covered, furnished patio or balcony and sea views; a king or two double beds, and king rooms can connect to double rooms. For two adults and an infant.
Estate Ocean Room
Among the largest rooms at Eclipse, in one of four timbered Estate Houses: a furnished patio on the ground floor or a wrap-around balcony upstairs, sea views and a king or two double beds; for two adults.
Estate Ocean Suite
A one-bedroom suite in an Estate House set in tropical gardens at Eclipse: a living room with a wet bar and powder room opens through French doors onto a large covered terrace with dining for eight, and the king bedroom has a patio and a bathroom with an outdoor shower. For two adults and an infant.
2 Bedroom Estate Ocean Suite
An Estate House suite at Eclipse with two bedrooms in king and double configurations, each with a patio and a bathroom with an outdoor shower, plus a living room with a wet bar and a covered terrace with dining for eight; for four adults and two children.
4 Bedroom Estate Ocean Suite
A whole Estate House at Eclipse: three king bedrooms and one with two double beds, ground-floor rooms with patios and outdoor showers, detached upper bedrooms with wrap-around balconies, and a shared living room and terrace; for up to eight adults and four children.
Great House Ocean Suite
A one-of-a-kind suite in the Eclipse Great House overlooking the great lawn and the sea, with open-plan living and dining, a king bedroom and a large private balcony; for two adults and an infant.
2 Bedroom Great House Ocean Suite
A Great House suite at Eclipse with two bedrooms, one with a king bed and one with double beds, open-plan living and dining and a large balcony over the lawn and the sea; for two adults and two children.
Prestige Ocean Villa
An oceanfront house at the Villas at Half Moon with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms (up to 14 guests), a private infinity-edge pool with sea views, deep verandas and cabanas with grills and dining space; looked after by a cook, butler and housekeeper.
Ocean Villa
An ocean-view house at the Villas at Half Moon with five or six en-suite bedrooms (up to 12 guests), an infinity-edge pool, verandas and terraces, cabanas with grills and a staff of three: cook, butler and housekeeper.
Garden Villa
A secluded house in the tropical gardens of the Villas at Half Moon with six or seven en-suite bedrooms (up to 14 guests), a private pool, open-plan living and dining rooms and cabanas with grills and large-screen TVs; cook, butler and housekeeper included.
Photos are for illustrative purposes only. Actual room layout, furnishings, décor, views and amenities may differ from those shown and may vary between rooms of the same category. Hotel and room descriptions are based on information provided by the property and are believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but are not guaranteed. The hotel may renovate or change its rooms, facilities, restaurants and services at any time without notice. The final details of your stay are confirmed at the time of booking. See our Terms of Use.