First Resort: Rockhouse Gives Back to Negril

Words by Jesse Serwer, Photos by Sobe Kelly Knight

As one of the Caribbean’s finest and most innovative hotels, Rockhouse in Negril, Jamaica attracts a loyal clientele of celebrities and other financially endowed folk who come for the first-class accommodations and dynamic cliff-top location, but come back for the authentic links to Jamaican culture people tend to forge there. Such friends are good to have when you also have a charity foundation the mission of which is to help support and rebuild schools and other local infrastructure, as Rockhouse owner Paul Salmon does. Drawn by food from Miss Lily’s (in which Salmon is also a partner) and performances by dancehall stars Sean Paul, Gyptian and rapper-turned-folk-type-dude John Forte, guests including Matt Dillon, Spragga Benz and lots of people we recognize but can’t necessarily name helped raise $135, 000 for the Rockhouse Foundation at its annual fundraiser at Joe’s Pub in NYC. Jamaican model/personality Tyson Beckford and DJ Sky Nellor hosted the event, while sounds were supplied by LargeUp friends Max Glazer and Rob Kenner. Scan below for some of these familiar faces but, before you do, take some time to watch this video about the Foundation’s recent restoration of the Negril Library, the town’s oldest structure.