A brilliant beachfront villa for families of all ages, Villa Mara is just a few barefoot steps from the Mammee Bay’s long, sandy shore. As well as swimming or snorkelling along it, you can make use of the villa’s two kayaks or walk a few hundred metres to the Bamboo Blu restaurant and bar. Alternatively, remain at Mara and enjoy its private, full-sized tennis court and large swimming pool.

Framed by decks, a wet bar and comfortable lounge chairs, that pool includes a fun slide for children, while the manicured grounds also contain pluckable fruit trees and a basketball hoop. Elevated on a small bluff, the two-floor villa itself is bedecked in classic beach-house style: dark woods, pot plants, tropical-coloured fabrics and striking pink marbled floors. All seven bedrooms are ensuite, with cool floorboards or tiles underfoot and air-conditioning throughout; five face seawards. With the physically challenged in mind, a couple of the rooms are equipped with bathroom handrails, tub seats and a ramp to enter the room and another has kids’ bunk beds. Should you need more space, you can also rent out Villa Paradiso, just next door.

Mara’s friendly staff incorporates a very flexible cook and a butler, with security in place each night. The spectacular Dunn's River Falls is just a five-minute drive, and Ocho Rios’s bright lights are around twice that.