Double daybed with cushions. Red and white parasols planted on the sand. A champagne cart pouring Moët over ice all afternoon.
This is the scene of the latest addition to Round Hill Hotel & Villas, the renowned Montego Bay resort that has announced an exclusive summer partnership with Maison Moët & Chandon. It may be one of the most coveted beach options anywhere in Jamaica right now.
The Moët Private Beach, an adults-only activation that will occupy the resort’s private beach and adjacent spa lawn for the summer 2026 season, will bring the Champagne House’s signature beach experience directly to Round Hill’s guests. It sets out what the resort bills as a full calendar of programming for this summer season, but it’s definitely the headliner. It’s a collaboration between two names that have built their reputations on the same idea of understated luxury.
The concept is simple, and that’s part of its appeal. Activations run Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and are reserved exclusively for guests staying at the resort. There are no day-tripping crowds and no loud beach club energy radiating from outside. Just Round Hill guests, the Caribbean and a never-ending stream of champagne.
The centerpiece is a custom-made Moët & Chandon champagne cart set right on the sand. Three expressions will be poured throughout the day: Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial, Ice Impérial Rosé and Impérial Brut, all served in branded glassware. Guests stretch out on double daybeds under the house’s signature red-and-white umbrellas, while Round Hill’s white-uniformed staff tend the beach. It’s the same brand of personal, almost old-fashioned service that has defined the resort for more than 70 years.
Everything is built around the Ice Impérial collection, created by Moët & Chandon specifically for serving over ice. It’s a format that suits the setting almost perfectly. In the heat, it’s designed for the leisurely rhythm of a long Caribbean beach rather than a formal toast by pouring champagne over a cube at the water’s edge. For a resort that has always leveraged technology to slow things down, this is natural.
“Round Hill and Moët & Chandon share a legacy built on timeless elegance and the art of celebration,” said Josy Karabolad, Director of Sales and Marketing at Round Hill. “Offering The Moët Private Beach to our guests felt like a natural combination – two houses with deep roots united by a commitment to effortlessly creating special moments.”
It helps that Round Hill has a pedigree that matches his new partner. The resort opened on a secluded peninsula on Jamaica’s northwest coast in 1953 and spent its early decades as a sort of private clubhouse for some of the biggest names of the era. The Kennedy family vacationed here. The same was true for a long list of Hollywood and society figures with a mix of seclusion and natural charm. The rooms were later recreated by Ralph Lauren, who had his own villa in the building, and that comfortable, classic and never flashy sensibility still runs through everything from the four-poster beds to the daily afternoon tea served on site.
Today, the resort consists of sea-view rooms and private villas, many with private pools, spread across a green peninsula overlooking Montego Bay. It remains one of the Caribbean’s best-loved luxury hotels, a place guests return year after year and rarely feel the need to leave. The Moët partnership gives them one more reason to stick around.
“Our customers have an instinct for the special, and Moët & Chandon is no different,” said Managing Director Josef Forstmayr. “This partnership brings together two historic brands in an environment that is true to both. Moët Private Beach adds a new dimension to the Round Hill experience, one that reflects the level of hospitality our guests expect and love.”
The good news for travelers thinking about when to visit Champaign Beach this summer is that Round Hill is one of the most accessible luxury resorts in the Caribbean. The gateway is Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. This airport is one of the most connected airports in the entire region, offering non-stop service to numerous cities across the US, Canada and the UK. For most travelers coming from the East Coast or South, there is a short, direct route. This is a big part of why Montego Bay has long been one of the most popular entry points to Jamaica.
From the airport the resort is about a 25-minute drive west, just past the village of Hopewell, on a private peninsula in Hanover Parish. Round Hill operates its own airport transfer service and a concierge is available at a dedicated desk in the arrivals hall, which the resort recommends as the most comfortable method of entry. Private transfer service is available for $100 (plus tax) round-trip for up to four people, which can be simply added to your room rate and settled at check-out.
Taxis and ride-sharing services are also widely available for the same short trip, and the resort offers free parking for guests who want to rent a car for independent exploration. But our concierge team is adept at arranging trips for those who don’t. There are even more dramatic options for travelers arriving from the other side of the island. A quick helicopter ride from Kingston will land you within easy reach of your accommodation.
No matter where you go, your destination this summer is the same sandy beach. A daybed in the shade, a glass of Ice Impérial to sweat in the heat, and the slow, sun-drenched afternoons that have been a Round Hill staple for 70 years now sparkle a little more.
