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The Terra Nova All Suite Hotel, set in its own leisurely gardens in the centre of New Kingston, is a green and delightful retreat from the hum-drum of the busy city. It is principally a business hotel but distinguishes itself among the places to stay in New Kingston by its traditional character – it is actually an Edwardian mansion, with wooden floors, panelled walls and chandeliers. Family owned and run, it is quite elegant and sedate, but it is also often quite lively, as it is popular place to meet, for lunch or afternoon tea. The attractive setting also makes Terra Nova popular for functions and weddings among wealthy Kingstonian families. And although it is well located for meetings in the commercial district, it also has several large suites which enable you to hold board and business meetings at the hotel itself.
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KEY FEATURES
| An elegant Kingston hotel, 2 restaurants (formal and veranda), piano bar, swimming pool, pool bar, 2 business centres, conference and meeting facilities, boutique, sundries shop, fitness room, spinning classes (extra), wedding venue. Gaming club and bar. |
STYLE
| Edwardian style mansion set in a large garden in New Kingston, some period décor inside, other leaner décor in the rooms. Business hotel that is also a social centre in the city |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Business and elegant independent travellers more interested in island character (than an international hotel). A well heeled Kingston crowd choose Terra Nova for their meetings, power lunches and as a Kingston Jamaica wedding venue |
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The Terra Nova is an oasis of calm and old colonial grandeur in the press of an overwhelmingly modern city. The moment you turn off Waterloo Road the stress of the city subsides around you into a greener, calmer zone. You draw up past a lawn and trees and arrive at a large porte cochere. The early twentieth century style and graciousness resonates around you in the pillars, the runs of balustrades and the curved awnings that protect the veranda from the sun. For many years of its existence, the Terra Nova was a private home, which means it retains a certain personal feel. And as you arrive you are quite likely to see the hotel’s interesting mix of people too, on the veranda having tea or passing by on their way to a meeting. They include well to do Jamaicans and foreign residents as well as businesspeople. It all adds to the hotel’s eclectic atmosphere, which has more Jamaican character than the modern, corporate feel of the more international hotels in the city.
You enter the hotel by a red carpet and a set of double doors into the foyer, where you will be presented with polished wooden floors, panelled walls and chandeliers. It has a classic, traditional Jamaican style and if it weren’t for the various guests, it would feel like a very smart home. Armchairs are set around the room and fans whir quietly above. The panelled walls are decorated with traditional prints of the island and so the whole house is resonant of an older, more elegant Jamaica.
Ahead of you in the foyer you will see the grand staircase that leads up to some of the suites, and to one side is the Piano Bar, where there is a mural of a tropical landscape by Jamaican artist Patrick Waldemar. There is a piano, on which live music is played in the evenings. To your right are the double doors of the Eldorado Room, one of the main function rooms, and to your left, through a tall opening, is the Terrace dining room. This is the heart of the hotel during the daytime. The Kingstonians drop by at all times of the day to meet up, for a morning or afternoon cup of coffee or tea. And then they linger over lunch and dinner as well. The reception of the hotel is actually out of sight, around the corner to your left. Most of the rooms are beyond here too, to the rear, which keeps them separate from the activity of the public area of the hotel.
Before you reach the rooms, though, you will come to the main dining room, the Regency Room. As the name suggests it is decorated in Regency style, with faux classical pillars, gathered curtains, chandeliers and elegant reproduction armchairs. You will eat by candle-light, on white tablecloths, to a French and international menu. As you make your way to the rooms beyond here you pass one of the business centres and the boutique, Eurowear International, which contains women’s fashion as well as a few essentials.
There are two wings of rooms at the rear of the hotel, containing the one-bedroom Standard Suites and the Junior Suites, of which there are around 40 in all. They are generally leaner and more modern in style than the central areas of the hotel. The suites are well equipped and each one has a safe, fridge, CD player, international direct dial phones and an iron and ironing board. Wireless internet is available in all the rooms. The Standard Suites are decorated with a floral material, though it is less bright than most Caribbean hotel rooms. The Junior Suites are more muted in their colour scheme, with a lighter brown to go with the dark antique reproduction furniture.
The largest and smartest rooms, the Executive Suites, are set upstairs above the main public rooms and in the main block at the rear. The Blue Mountain, the Derby, the Terra Nova, the Hemingway and the Waterloo have business space as well as a bedroom, sometimes in a separate room with its own door. Some have projection-quality TV screens, video conferencing and some also have outside space. Other space on the roofs is used for functions by the hotel.
The majority of Terra Nova guests are on business and so there are extensive business services at the hotel. Wireless internet is available to all guests (in all areas of the hotel, including down by the pool), as are computers and printers on request. There are two business centres, a couple of board rooms and a large reception room that can be made into a lecture hall. The hotel is also well positioned for business meetings in the New Kingston area, which is a short drive away.
The other big business at the hotel is the many weddings that they hold, mainly for Kingstonians. There is a separate marquee for the dinner and the reception. While the city may not be a typical location for a wedding for most visitors wanting to be married in the Caribbean - they might prefer the beach or a pretty section of forest - it might be suitable for a family reunion in Jamaica and of course it would be a smart location for a reception.
Terra Nova is something of a social hub in Kingston. Its Sunday brunch is a very popular moment in the week and sees families from around the city, but the hotel sees passers by for all moments in the day, ladies lunching and businessmen in for a drink on their way back from the office. All in all the old Edwardian colonial building has a life and character that the other business hotels around the city do not have. |
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Beach & Swimming
Set in the middle of new Kingston, the Terra Nova is clearly not on the beach. The nicest stretches of sand that are relatively reachable are Lime Cay and Maiden Cay off Port Royal, though it takes half a day to get there and back, so it will be a whole day expedition. They would be happy to arrange a trip for you at Reception.
Terra Nova has its own swimming pool in the leisurely surroundings of the hotel grounds. It is set a little way away so that it is not immediately visible from the main part of the hotel (and its weddings and business functions). There are loungers on a terrace around the pool and there are trees above, which provide some shade. A Jacuzzi is attached to the pool, set just above it on a platform. |
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Sports & Recreation
There is a gym at the hotel, near to the pool. You will find running machines and bicycles as well as free weights.
You will find a small casino on property, the Monte Carlo Gaming Lounge. It has slot machines, roulette and a feed of international horse racing.
Golf is available in Kingston, at the Constant Spring club in the north of the city and Caymanas Park which is near the racecourse to the west.
Spa treatments are not available at the hotel, but Terra Nova is happy to send you to their recommended spa off property. |
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The Suites
There are 48 rooms at Terra Nova, all of them suites. There are three main categories, the Standard Suites and the Junior Suites, which are set in two blocks behind the hotel. They are well equipped and have all you would expect of a business hotel, including wireless internet.
The Executive suites are mostly upstairs in the main house and they are larger and more comfortably and classically decorated. They also have more facilities, including for business of course. Some have a separate office which can be used for meetings. |
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Dining
There are two main dining options at Terra Nova. The fine dining restaurant is the Regency Room, a very elegant dining room in the main house. Tables are candle-lit and you dine on armchairs at white tablecloths. The menu is international, with a basis in French cuisine. The Terrace Restaurant is set on the very attractive veranda at the front of the main house (to your left as you come in) and the tables look out over balustrades sectioned by gathered curtains onto the gardens. The menu here is Jamaican and international.
Terra Nova holds several weekly events that are popular with the Kingstonians. Sunday brunch, a buffet set in its own marquee, the Venetian Room, is a very popular event and sees families and all comers for a social Sunday morning. On Wednesdays a steak and seafood grill is held at the poolside. |
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Meetings & Events
Terra Nova has extensive experience in staging meetings and has all the technical facilities that you will need, either for a small board meeting or for a larger, lecture style conference meeting of up to 300 people. The hotel has a number of meeting planners on staff to make sure that everything is organised to your requirements.
The Board Room can hold twelve around a central table and the Clubhouse (set down by the pool) can hold 25 sitting down or 30 in theatre style. Larger venues include the Eldorado Room, which can hold 120 diners or 150 in lecture format and the Venetian and the Pavilion, also by the pool, which can hold 200 sitting down and 300 in theatre style.
The hotel is also well positioned for business meetings in the New Kingston area, either for you to go to another office or for clients to come to you. |
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Weddings
Terra Nova offers a full wedding service and regularly stages weddings for the great and good of Kingston. The setting is green and gracious and of course they can call on anything you need in the way of hair-dressers, florists, photographers and musicians. They can offer excellent catering from in house. It is possible to have the marriage ceremony in the grounds if you wish.
If you want to stage a party or other celebration then they are quite happy to do that. |
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Rates
Please contact Terra Nova All Suite hotel directly for their rates which start at US$135 per night for a Standard Suite in summer. Please note that room rates are not currently published on their website. |
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How to book
If you would like further details of Terra Nova All Suite Hotel, Jamaica, or if you wish to make a booking enquiry, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility a the top of this page, or if you wish to telephone them, their telephone number will be revealed if you click on the CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER link.
NOTE: Terra Nova's website is currently unavailable. A new website is under construction. |
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Locality
Terra Nova is in the area of New Kingston and well positioned for several of the ‘sights’ of the city. Very close by is Devon House, a lovely and very large old creole house that sits on the corner of Waterloo and Hope Road. It is lavish and elegant, with parquet flooring and very fine silk wallpaper. The outhouses now contain shops, among them a fine pattie shop and some of Jamaica’s best ice cream. Farther along Hope Road you will come to Jamaica House, the Prime Minister’s residence, Tuff Gong Studios, the home of Bob Marley which is now a museum (fun to visit) and Hope Botanical Gardens. Beyond here there are many malls on the road, which eventually arrives in Papine, the start point for the Blue Mountains.
There are two main roads up into these extremely beautiful mountains. The first heads up via Irish Town to Newcastle and over the ridge at the Blue Mountains National Park and Cinchona Gardens. The second heads up via Gordon Town, where you will find the Mavis Bank Blue Mountain Coffee Factory, which is well worth a visit.
Another area to visit within a half day of Kingston is Port Royal, across the harbour from downtown Kingston (where you will find excellent exhibits of Jamaican art at the Jamaica National Gallery). Port Royal has a trading and pirate history of note, which all came to an end abruptly in an earthquake in 1692, when half of the town slipped into the sea. There is a fort and a maritime museum to visit. Port Royal (actually beyond the airport when approached by road), is also the dropping off point for trips to Lime Cay and Maiden Cay. |
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Meet & Greet
Terra Nova is happy to send a taxi-driver to the airport at Kingston to collect you, who will hold up a board with your name. The transfer takes around 40 minutes and the fare is US$35. The best airport to fly into is Kingston as Montego Bay is almost at the other end of the island, though it is possible to make a transfer between the two cities by small plane, into Tinson Pen, which is about 20 minutes across the city. |
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Getting Around
If you are spending your time in Kingston itself then you can arrange taxis through Reception. If you will be travelling beyond the city, then your best bet is probably to hire a car, either with or without a driver. Driving is not for the faint of heart in Jamaica, but it does allow you to explore this exceptionally beautiful island at your own speed. You can book a rental car directly with the hotel or through your tour operator. Unlike most islands in the Caribbean, there is no need to purchase a local driving licence in Jamaica. Your licence from home is valid for three months. Vehicles can be returned at the airport or be collected from the property at a pre-arranged time. Be aware that in the winter season there can sometimes be a shortage of cars, so you are advised to book in advance. Also book early if you want one for a week or more because the pre-booked rates can be better. |
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