Whitehouse Beach
Encyclopedia
Whitehouse Beach adjoins an area of former salt marsh in Westmoreland
, Jamaica
. The area is being developed as a tourist resort. It is located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of the town of Whitehouse
.
About 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) of the beach is maintained by the new Sandals Whitehouse resort to a very high standard. The wide white sands are raked clean every morning.
Although the beaches extend for upward of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), there is no formal access except through the resort hotel opened in 2005. Access is strictly controlled and a day pass costs US$85. For this one gets full access to all the resort facilities including meals drinks and water sports. However, only the most energetic could hope to take full advantage of all that is on offer in a single day. Those looking just for a place to swim and lounge will doubtless try one of the cheaper or free options elsewhere.
The coral reef about 400m from the beach is used for snorkelling. Unfortunately, the coral has been badly damaged by fishermen using dynamite. It will take a long time to recover its former splendour.
Outside the 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) of maintained beach a narrower, tree lined strip continues for many kilometres. The trees were badly damaged by Hurricane Ivan
in 2004, and the dead tree trunks and stumps still bear witness to the storm's power.
The salt marshes are subject to environmental protection orders. A pair of storks and many birds are regularly seen along the beach, and a notice alerts one to crocodiles, which are too shy to be seen in daytime.
Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica
Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island. It is situated to the south of Hanover, the southwest of Saint James, and the northwest of Saint Elizabeth, in the county of Cornwall. The chief town and capital is Savanna-la-Mar...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The area is being developed as a tourist resort. It is located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of the town of Whitehouse
Whitehouse, Jamaica
Whitehouse is a small fishing village located on the coast in the south east corner of Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica.Whitehouse is a small fishing village about 4km to the east of the area's only major resort and the area is home to a wide range of housing spanning from basic homes to elaborate...
.
About 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) of the beach is maintained by the new Sandals Whitehouse resort to a very high standard. The wide white sands are raked clean every morning.
Bathing
Protected by a coral reef, gently shelving waters are almost as still as a mill pond with a few ripples. Two swimming areas 230m and 160m long and monitored by lifeguards are marked by buoys. Swimming outside these areas, although formally discouraged, appears to be tolerated, and is attractive to those wishing to swim longer distances.Tourism
Strangely, the tourists mainly pack themselves around the several pools in the resort, leaving the many beach loungers, umbrellas and the beach itself an oasis of quiet isolation close to all the resort's facilities.Although the beaches extend for upward of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), there is no formal access except through the resort hotel opened in 2005. Access is strictly controlled and a day pass costs US$85. For this one gets full access to all the resort facilities including meals drinks and water sports. However, only the most energetic could hope to take full advantage of all that is on offer in a single day. Those looking just for a place to swim and lounge will doubtless try one of the cheaper or free options elsewhere.
Ecological damage
Outside the 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) of maintained beach a narrower, tree lined strip continues for many kilometres. The trees were badly damaged by Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
in 2004, and the dead tree trunks and stumps still bear witness to the storm's power.
The salt marshes are subject to environmental protection orders. A pair of storks and many birds are regularly seen along the beach, and a notice alerts one to crocodiles, which are too shy to be seen in daytime.