Property Detail
Unity is a charming, rather old-fashioned family home, not a state-of-the-art hotel. Think traditional Scottish shooting lodge, or English country house, transplanted to a lush, tropical seaside setting. This is the house "where the Pythons found paradise" and wrote the film script for the Life of Brian.
The house sleeps 8 adults and 3 children comfortably, with seven bedrooms, all but one either double or twin, and four en-suite bathrooms.
There are 7 bedrooms with high ceilings, generous ventilation and, without exception, stunning sea views. 2 guest double bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and 2 guest twin rooms with en suite bathrooms. One guest twin room has a further twin room off it (suitable for children or snorers), the other has a single room off it (again suitable for a child or snorer).
- All principal rooms in the house, including bedrooms, have big electric ceiling fans.
- There is strictly no air conditioning, bidets, gold taps or trouser presses!
- The décor is homely rather than opulent, with period furniture and fittings.
- The electricity supply is 110 Volts AC, and reasonably reliable.
- You can drink the tap water with safety.
- Mobile phones are on GSM and the coverage is good.
- An ATM is on hand within a mile - it is even air-conditioned!
The five staff, most of whom have been with the owners for many years, are well trained and charming. Meals can be served either in the elegant formal dining room, or outside, where there is a portable barbecue and plenty of shade.
The housekeeper and cook, Dorothy, specializes in delicious, healthy Jamaican dishes with evocative names – jerk chicken, mackerel run-down, curry goat, stamp-and-go fritters, codfish and ackee, rice and peas. She shops for excellent local beef, fish and lobster, exotic vegetables and lots of fresh tropical fruit, an irresistible feature of Caribbean outdoor breakfasts.
Foster, the much loved butler, a sort of Jamaican Jeeves, keeps the bar stocked with ice cold Red Stripe, soft drinks, tropical fruit juices, ice, fresh limes and the ingredients for the trademark Unity Special: Appleton Estate rum, ginger ale, half a lime and a dash of bitters.
The house has its own white sand beach, part of which is shaded by a large sea-almond tree, so it can be used by small children all day long. The water is shallow inshore, shelving gently out towards the coral reef. There are seldom any waves to speak of, and no dangerous currents, man-eaters or unpleasant creepy-crawlies worth reporting.
Local Area
By day you can swim, play tennis, ride, snorkel on the reef, sunbathe, read, or potter in the shady garden or among the rock pools on the point.
Jamaica’s finest 18 hole championship golf course is a very short walk away.
Scuba diving and water skiing are available nearby. A glass-bottomed boat will come and pick you up from the beach if your preference is for immersion-free observation of the wonders of the tropical deep.
Best of all, some of us feel, is to rock oneself gently to sleep in the giant basketwork hanging chair made famous by the 1971 Pirelli calendar, which was entirely shot at Unity. The chair’s scantily clad occupant, sadly, has long since departed...
Local Services
Runaway Bay is on the north coast of the island, about an hour and a half’s drive from Montego Bay airport. Montego Bay is served by regular British Airways and Air Jamaica flights from London, flight time about nine hours.
Private transfers can be arranged with a local agent, who will have your hire car or minibus brought to the house and collected at the end of your holiday. If you prefer not to drive, a car and driver, or minibus and driver, can be put at your disposal for the duration of your stay. Alternatively, a taxi can usually be summoned on the spur of the moment from one of the nearby hotels.
