Best Beach Hotels in Montego Bay

Drawing everyone from Queen Elizabeth to 50 Cent, Half Moon strives for timeless, understated luxury (even at the swim-up bar). Stretching over 400 acres (including 2 miles of beach), the 230-room resort offers attentive service, quality cuisine, and seemingly limitless activities like golfing and horseback riding.

The sprawling Secrets Wild Orchid is one of the more luxurious adults-only all-inclusive resorts in Montego Bay, and has a laundry list of property features, including eight restaurants and five bars, and a host of activities: a theater, a spa, a water sports and dive center, a shopping center, and a casino. But the resort shares virtually all of its amenities with the next-doorSecrets St. James, and some of the best amenities and freebies are reserved only for the VIP guests staying in the “Premiere” part of the resort.

The best of the three Iberostar resorts in Montego Bay, this 295-room all-suite hotel is light years beyond its neighbors in terms of decor, food, and features. While some elements remain shared with the lesser Iberostar Rose Hall Beach and Iberostar Rose Hall Suites -- for instance, the spa, fitness center, casino, nightclub, and shops -- guests at Iberostar Grand Hotel Rose Hall get the pick of the litter with free access to all three resorts’ restaurants, bars, pools, and beaches. The rates might be higher, but for good reason.

With modern features, professional service, and a huge on-site water park, this relaxed, beachside golf resort is more popular with somber families than rum-chugging partiers. Though the rooms are small, they feature flat-screen TVs, iPod docks, spa-quality bath products, great beds, and a powerful Wi-Fi signal -- all rare luxuries in Jamaica.

The least expensive of Montego Bay’s Iberostar trio, this upbeat, and at times rowdy, all-inclusive megaresort features tons of amenities -- four restaurants, four bars, water sports, a spa, a theater, a casino, a nightclub, and an awesome kids' club -- all for seriously affordable rates. The rooms may be small, the decor may be outdated, and the grounds may be packed to the brim at times, but it's one of the best values on the island.