Hotel Review: Tropical Lagoon Heights Resort (picture heavy)

I made a recent post of my short stay in the gorgeous parish of Portland and I wanted to follow up with the review of the hotel that the bf and I stayed at for his birthday. It was a last minute decision to scurry off to the resort, but I was extremely happy with our stay there (even though it was just for one night) and I would definitely return.

The property is nestled on a hill in the San San area right next to other popular resorts and beaches such as Frenchman's Cove, Goblin Hill Villas and the Mockingbird Hotel, but this new kid on the block definitely stands out amongst the crowd. The Tropical Lagoon Heights Resort recently opened in November of 2011 and boasts a small yet intimate setting; there are a total of 10 suites/apartments available but they are also expanding the property as I saw the preliminary stages of construction being carried out for additional rooms.

Main Office, Banana House & Plantain House

Sign at entrance to the resort

Service
The service was impeccable, and being that we were the only persons at the resort at the time, we had the opportunity to indulge in the private one on one attention that we received from our hostess Antonette and the other staff. Everyone was genuinely helpful and friendly and it made us feel even more at home; my only concern is that they would be extremely understaffed if a large group decided to check in at the last minute since I didn't see many employees present, so word to the wise if you're going to be travelling with a large group make sure to inform them in advance. Another disappointing factor was the fact that there are no telephones in the rooms, so that means if you need anything you have to walk to the main office or restaurant which can be a little annoying if you need something but don't want to leave your room.

Accommodations and Pricing
As I mentioned, there are only 10 suites/apartments currently available (they can be viewed HERE) and they are arranged in small clusters, of two or three rooms/suites. Some suites are larger self contained units with a full kitchen and a small living and dining area which can sleep four or even more guests and the smaller apartments are of course for  single or double occupancy. The prices were reasonable in my opinion and you can take a look at the rates HERE, our hostess was also kind enough to give us a further 10% off of the room rate which we were of course very happy about. All the rooms come equipped with a fridge, microwave, air conditioning, cable tv, cold/hot water and kitchenette or full kitchen.

Entrance to our Black Mango Suite

Kitchenette

View from bedroom

Food
Now I'm not very familiar with the parish of Portland nor the Port Antonio area so it was imperative for me that the resort we stayed at had an onsite restaurant. The dining area of the resort overlooked the lush vegetation and the Blue Lagoon. There is a separate breakfast, lunch and dinner menu provided in each suite, and you are given a continental style breakfast as part of the room rate. Menu selections were just ok in my opinion and a little bit pricey, but what we ordered was delicious nonetheless.

We asked to have dinner brought to us in the room

Jamaican breakfast

Entrance to restaurant

Beach
This by far was my favourite part of our stay at the resort, the hotel boasts a private beach which opens up into the famous Blue Lagoon, but getting to the beach however proved to be a very treacherous venture as the path leading to the beach starts out extremely steep but eventually levels out, it took us about 5 - 8 minutes to get to the beach. There is no life guard present at any point in time, so you do have to swim at your own risk, but life jackets are amply provided for the guests right on the beach. Another interesting point to raise about the beach is that the water is brackish, meaning that it is a mixture of mostly fresh mineral water and sea water and at times you could feel the drastic temperature difference of warm and cold as the water that emerged from a nearby mineral spring mixed with the warmer waters of the Caribbean Sea. The colours of the water were absolutely gorgeous as they changed from a deep bottle green to a bright turquoise colour. In addition to the beach, guests can take a 5 minute kayak ride across the water to the mineral spring which feeds into the Blue Lagoon; the water is freezing but it is crystal clear and looks enchanting.

Extremely steep pathway to the beach

And here's the slope : o

Sloping pathway turns to a long stairway

View of the entire beach

Blue Lagoon

Kayaking on the Blue Lagoon

View of the Blue Lagoon from the mineral spring

Kayaking out at sea

The turquoise waters at the beach

Mineral spring that feeds into the lagoon

Activities
Since it is a small resort the activities available on the hotel grounds were limited. Kayaking and snorkeling activities are available at no additional cost to the guests; snorkeling gear is provided by the hotel hostess upon request and there were about 5 or so kayaks available at the beach for guests to use at their leisure. Directly across from the hotel's private beach there is a small set of craft vendors, and bamboo raft guides which you could kayak over to. There is a disco/club on the property but of course we did not get to experience it because it was closed possibly because we were the only guests present at the time and lastly there are two swimming pools on the hotel grounds.

Pool near our room

Kayaks on the beach for guests

Activities & craft vendors across from the hotel beach

Entrance to the club below the restaurant

Rating 4/5
I would recommend this resort to anyone who is looking to explore Portland. As a newly opened resort is on the right path and I expect it to get much better as time goes by. The contact information can be found HERE if you're interested in spending some time there; I am definitely looking forward to spending time there again in the future.

Debbie

Also check out our review of Secrets Resort-Wild Orchid