I stayed at Whitfield Hall in December 2010 and hiked to the peak of Blue Mountain. The hostel was built in 1776. It is very quiet place surrounded by huge 230 years old eucalyptus trees. People who take care of the hostel are really kind, quiet, reliable, and honest. You can just relax and spend time without TV, advertisements, internet, etc. It is a real gem in Jamaica and we are so thankful that we found this place. Also you can request meals with cheap price. They will cook an authentic Jamaican food in mountain area for you. Red bean soup with dumpling and yum is really yummy! The lady who is handling the reservation at Kingston sounds little bit grumpy, but PLEASE don’t give up this place because of her. The hall and people who live there are really nice!
We think this place is much cooler than beach area. No harassing by street vendors at all. If you are not a big fan of tourism, Whitfield hall is the place to visit and stay for a week.
We will visit there again definitely. Thank Tiger and his family. Please keep this place alive for us. Peace.

Do you have a 200 year old restored building/museum in your home town? You know how they smell? Well, Whitfield Hall smells exactly like that! It was like spending a night at the museum! Too cool, if you like that sort of thing! No electricity, no hot water, smoke from a million fires on the ceiling, Tilley lamps after dark. And, of course, being a coffee estate, the best campfire coffee ever!! The supper and Jamaican heavy breakfast were rustic and fried, but tasted great! Your traditional Jamaican favourites, fried chicken, rice and peas, johnny cakes, salt fish, fried plantain - yum! The Colonel Whitfield room was exactly as represented on the website. Tiny and rustic. The bed was very lumpy, and the pillows rather thin. But we were only sleeping till 2am, so who cared!

We drove our gutless 2wd Toyota Yaris up to Mavis Bank (stopped a few times to confirm we were on the right road) took about an hour from Papine. Parked at the Police Station (used the washroom!). Were met only half an hour late (Jamaican time) by a 4wd Toyota to go the remaining few miles at about 10kmh, extremely bumpy - I was worn out by the time we reached the Hall, about another hour later.

Had a nice walk on the estate and up and down the road, but whose kidding, we were there for the walk to the summit, and that`s what we did! In 6 hours, 45 mins. Not bad for oldies! Cloud on the summit as usual, too bad!

Getting to Whitfield Hall was an adventure in itself; the road from Mavis Bank is 4 wheel drive only, dirt with occasional tarmac, hair pin bends and glorious views over the hills and valleys. We stayed in the Cottage, a simple but comfortable cabin with kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms, within walking distance of the Hall. There is no electricity but the Tilley Lamps are very efffective. We had dinner in the Hall, which was excellent, and enjoyed the company of the other guests around the enormous log fire. We were up at 2am for the climb to the summit, arriving just at sunrise, which was magnificent. The path is steep in places, rocky in others but well defined and goes through beautiful countryside. We had lunch at the Hall on our return which was again very tasty. The staff were really friendly and helpful and were as shocked as we were when we discovered our binoculars had been taken from the locked cottage. One of those things which happens anywhere but just be aware of your posssessions.

I visited Jamaica last week with two friends (one male and one female) to experience as much of the real country as we could. I can't remember how we found Whitfield Hall, but it was an amazing place to stay the night before climbing to Blue Mountain peak. The staff was incredibly friendly and accommodating. Robert, who's mom (Miss Lynette) has welcomed guest here for decades, was our host, cook, and guide to the peak. He could not have been more helpful and welcoming despite the fact that he had the flu. He made the three of us several awesome Jamaican meals...chicken, callaloo, johnny cakes, rice and peas. He even made us coffee at two AM before we headed up the peak. I forgot a flashlight and suffered a bit in the feet. Don't forget yours.

Roydell was the driver who met us in Mavis Bank and took us up to Whitfield Hall - great guy. We found a driver from Ocho Rios to Mavis Bank, but there are enough buses to make it practical and affordable.

We stayed in the two bedroom cottage, which had an amazing west facing proch, perfect for sunset. It was hot most of the night, but hey, that's Jamaica. We drank the well water and the bathroom was totally acceptable.

Seriously, if you go to Jamaica get the heck off the resort and climb the peak of the blue mountains. You will find the most friendly people and beautiful countryside in the world. If you get to Whitfield Hall, tell them Peter sent you. I told them you would.