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The aroma of Kush (ganja) seeped into the atmosphere, while the nostrils involuntarily accepted its presence. To say the whiff was offensive would be a big lie, because although not a smoker, I quietly acknowledge that there is a sweetness and inimitability about cannabis.

On one of my recent off-the-beaten-track trips of Jamaica, I sampled the Blue Hole Mineral Spring, in Brighton, Westmoreland, which is about half an hour from the town of Negril. Blue Hole is the new hotspot for the people who call themselves ecotourists. They are looking for unspoiled beauty; the least amount of disturbance to the natural environment and places not trampled by tourists.
Thirty-five feet deep, and another 24 to climb down the ladder to get into its cobalt blue water, I am convinced it is not purely the natural spring and its medicinal qualities that visitors like me will return for.

The other major attraction I found at Blue Hole was the young Adonis-type guides, whose teeth could star in any Colgate advert and whose agility could qualify them easily for any Olympic gymnastics team.

I doubt they would want to represent Jamaica at the Olympics though, owing to the fact they have so much fun jumping like Tarzan from trees with limbs that look like they would break any minute. Another reason I will return is the fact that over the years I have received massages at some of the most exclusive spas worldwide. Never have I experienced two male masseurs at the same time.

Not only did my guides swim with me inside the 35-foot deep pond, but they also scraped the limestone from the walls of the cave and massaged the therapeutic mineral into the skin.

History of Blue Hole

When Wellington Clayton took his American friend Matthew Lameroux to a section of his childhood “playground” in 2007, little did he know that just a few years later, the property would have blossomed into one of Negril’s favourite attractions.

“I was working at this small resort called Coral Cove in Little Bay, Westmoreland. I took him (Lameroux) on a hike, up in the mountains where the Blue Hole Mineral spring was,” Clayton told Hospitality Jamaica. “No one used to swim in it. We could only look and throw rocks in, because if you fell in you couldn’t get out, because there was no ladder in there.”
“He wanted to go in that very same day and I told him ‘no you can’t go in it because how are you going to come out and that would be trouble for me’. The following morning at breakfast he said we really could do something with that spring. I said I always thought we could do an attraction like Rick’s Café, but that we would have to buy the property,” Clayton explained.
The duo decided to officially become business partners and approached the owner of the land in an acquisition attempt. The owner initially later suggested they purchase five acres, which he thought would be better a better deal for them.

Today, Blue Hole Mineral Spring, located at Brighton, near Negril, has thrived into a hotspot for ecotourists. Visitors have two options for experiencing the waters of the attraction; They can either jump from the top, or make the 30 foot venture inside, by metal ladder, or for the less adventurous, splash about in the swimming pool which is fed with water from the mineral spring.
“We built the swimming pool because older people and small kids would not be able to experience the mineral waters otherwise. My idea was that we could pump the water in the pool making it easy for them to swim,” Clayton said.

Inside the Blue Hole, at the fringes of the water, are rocks where visitors can sit and watch lifeguards and other stuntmen do somersaults, back flips and other acrobatic-style jumps, into the water from above or observe fish swimming around. The attraction’s lifeguards Hammer, Curtis, and Micky and Aaron, also double up as masseuses and upon request, treat guests to soothing body massages using limestone mud.

The Blue Hole Mineral Spring also boasts a bar and restaurant and also caters to weddings and other special events. For those who want a serene place to dine at night, they can call in and make reservations and have dishes of their choice, cooked to order.

The accommodations side of the attraction features 10 bedrooms, which became available in January this year. All rooms are equipped with king size beds, air conditioning units and televisions. Bed and breakfast or all inclusive options are offered there.

Clayton said while he had high hopes in the initial stages that the attraction would entice large numbers of guests due to its proximity to Negril, he had some misgivings about whether people would hear about it in its early stages. However, those concerns were erased after the posting of his first Youtube video, which along with other marketing strategies used by Lameroux, generated such a huge feedback that guests began streaming in.

“It was by word of mouth that the word got around that Blue Hole existed. Between 2011 and 2012, Blue Hole was rated the number one attraction on in Negril on Trip Advisor. People wrote a lot of reviews about staff. We just need to advertise more,” Clayton said.

Clayton and Lameroux and have the distinction of being the first persons to ever swim in the Blue Hole. It was a feat Clayton accomplished while still very petrified, due to old community tales that claimed it possessed “river maids” and was very dangerous.

“When I hit that water it was so amazing, cold and refreshing,’ he said. ‘We made a rope ladder and we dropped it down and climbed down on it. I reached halfway, I jumped off. A lot of our friends were here, but only Matthew came down that day. Everybody else was scared. We were down there for 20 to 30 minutes. That was like history, then for everybody in the community to know that someone really went and swam in the Blue Hole. People didn’t believe we could do it,” Clayton said.

Clayton says Blue Hole’s owners are committed to conserving the natural environment and so during clearing of the property for construction, all the bird feed trees were left uncut.
“I went through the property and marked every tree that bore berries for the birds. So we saved all of those. I knew if we saved those trees we would attract more birds. If you stay here for a night, when you get up in the morning, all you hear is birds, and them all over on the ground and in the trees,” he said.

Clayton said all the employees at Blue Hole, including housekeepers, lifeguards and bartenders are from the Brighton community. Future plans include construction of a gym, tennis court, spa and the offering of yoga as well as a water slide to the pool.

Blue hole is a very calm and relaxing place a big getaway where you can come and free your mind, relax and be comfortable. The water is awesome; full of power. Once you go in you become full of energy. On a very hot day, you can really cool you down,” he said.