Tensing Pen Negril 16th in world’s top 100 hotels
Published:Tuesday | July 14, 2020 | 12:11 AMJanet Silvera/Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
One of Jamaica’s quaintest boutique properties, Tensing Pen, has been ranked 16th among the top 100 hotels in the world by readers of one of the sphere’s leading travel magazines, the influential Travel + Leisure.
The Negril resort, which also claimed the number one spot in Jamaica and was second in the Caribbean’s top 25 hotels, is featured in the 2020 World’s Best Awards. Two other Jamaican properties – Jamaica Inn, Ocho Rios, ranked 33, and Rockhouse, Negril, which earned the number 83 position – also made the top 100.
Every year, for their World’s Best Awards, Travel + Leisure asks readers to rate travel experiences around the globe, sharing opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Hotels are rated on their facilities, location, service, food and overall value.
This year, the selections were made in March, ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic’s shuttering of the global tourism sector, resulting in millions of job losses and billions in lost revenue.
“Recognition for a third year by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine is a reminder to us of the powerful appeal of small hotels for world travellers. At this time, when our industry is faced with the worst crisis it has ever had, this recognition comes as a source of inspiration and hope,” remarked General Manager Joseph Smith.
Extraordinary accomplishment
Tensing Pen reopened on July 9, particularly due to demand from repeat guests.
“To be ranked #16 on Travel + Leisure’s top 100 hotels for the world is an extraordinary accomplishment,” an elated owner, Sam Petros, noted. “We are thankful for this vote of confidence from our guests and the great relationship shared between our guests and team members.”
Commenting on the recognition, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett described the country’s presence in the listing as a show of strength of the Jamaican product.
In their online announcement of the winners, the editors of Travel + Leisure opined that one big trend when it comes to Caribbean resorts is that small is beautiful and that readers place a premium on privacy and seclusion. They noted that all the top 10 hotels in the Caribbean are independently owned boutique properties with fewer than 60 rooms.
Tensing Pen is an intimate, romantic and exclusive hotel located on West End, Negril. It boasts 24 uniquely designed and appointed wood or cut-stone thatched-roofed rooms nestled in a private cove, most with amazing ocean views from the stunning limestone cliffs perched above the crystal-clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean.