Sangster International Airport (MBJ): Approximate driving time is 45 minutes and distance is 11 miles (17.6 km.)

Driving directions from Sangster International Airport: Take the main coast road leading from the airport west towards Negril. The hotel is on the right.

Getting there: The hotel does not offer a shuttle service but can arrange a taxi to pick up guests ($26–35 USD.) Rental cars are more than $36 USD. Fees subject to change without notice. Rental cars are available online.

Getting around: The hotel has golf carts to ferry guests to and from the villas. It also offers a Sunday shuttle to church services, daily shuttles to Montego Bay for shopping, and to the Tryall Club next door for golf. All shuttles are complimentary. Taxis to Montego Bay are more than $36 USD return. Fees subject to change without notice. Beyond hotel properties, taxis and minivans can be flagged down or called, but only those with red Public Passenger Vehicle (PPV) plates should be used. Local buses and private taxis are not recommended for safety reasons. Rental cars are not recommended for those unaccustomed to driving in fast traffic on the left side of the road.

Pineapple House is located directly above the sea, providing all rooms with closeup Caribbean views through large, louvered, fold-back windows. Refurbished in 2002 under designer Ralph Lauren's guidance, extra-large rooms feature the resort's blue-and-white motif accented by mahogany. White walls climb to bleached-wood cathedral ceilings. Tile bathrooms include tub/shower combinations. Separate sitting areas contain two-chair dining sets.

Individually owned and decorated according to owners' tastes, villas adhere to the resort's standard of the simple, unfussy life: wood or black-and-white tile floors, wicker, bamboo, or mahogany furniture; tropical prints on walls. Designed so sea-and-mountain breezes circulate freely, villas include living rooms that can be opened to fresh air even if the rooms are air-conditioned. (Not all are.) All bedrooms are air conditioned, with the option of turning off air conditioning in favor of ceiling fans and opening doors to breezes. Because they're elevated on hillsides, villas offer panoramic Caribbean-and-sunset views. (Complimentary golf-cart shuttles transport guests up and down the hillsides.)

Lawns and flowering gardens flank villas. Some include private swimming pools on decks furnished with thickly cushioned lounge chairs for private sunbathing. All villas include full kitchens and a housekeeper to prepare and serve complimentary breakfasts on an open-air veranda.

Monday evenings, there's a Jamaican beach buffet - with live musical entertainment.

In the rear of the Lower Terrace, the Ralph Lauren-decorated Piano Bar (blue-and-white striped banquettes, dark wood, charcoal-gray tile floor) features complimentary afternoon tea, cocktails, cigars, and photographs of former villa owners and resort guests: Clark Gable, a young Michael Douglas, Alfred Hitchcock, and dozens of others.

Amenity highlights: A calm little bay containing swimming rafts and a trampoline raft laps a private beach furnished with cushioned lounge chairs. Above the seashore, a large pool provides freshwater swimming on a sundeck. A bar encirling an almond tree serves both beach and pool. Complimentary non-motorized water-sports equipment such as kayaks and windsurfers are available on the beach. Styled as Welcome Wharf and off-limits to children, a 10-acre parcel 0.25 mile from the resort's main section and accessible by a path lighted at night for romantic strolls includes an expansive lawn, a pool, a fitness center, and a health-and-beauty spa.

Insider tip: Along the winding, seaside path between the main resort and the health spa and fitness center lies a limestone cliff, the bottom of which contains shallow caves. Guests decorate the caves with white stones plucked from the shore.

Treatments and massages are available in the spa's air-conditioned rooms, on a second-floor open-air veranda, or at the seaside edge of a lawn gently. Treatment options include Pineapple Body Buff, Papaya Mint Polish, and Sweet Coconut Glow. Massage options include Thai, Reiki, and river-stone. Facials include Sunlovers, Aromatherapy, and Anti-stress. Offering sea views, the air-conditioned fitness center contains free weights and cardio and weight machines. Complimentary aerobics take place on the center's open-air veranda, yoga classes on the lawn.

Pineapple Kids' Club provides complimentary activities for children age 3-12. Activities include arts and crafts, yoga, gymnastics, reggae dance lessons, water sports, and video movies. Friday nights feature a Caribbean show on the Seaside Terrace. The resort's library includes a 61-inch television and complimentary Internet connections.