Valerie Brewis of Heartbeat Hotel, Negril, with children Angelica, Crystal and Tristan.
HEARTBEAT HOTEL is a curiously chic villa set on the cliffside of Negril's West End. It evokes a lively styling of a homely atmosphere and Negril funk. The breezy little place is home to Valerie Brewis and her three children Angelica, Crystal and Tristan. The resort welcomes year-round guests originating from Italy, France, Germany and North America who find respite in the comfortable space when the world gets to be a wearisome drag.
Negril's West End has been home to the proprietor for some 23 years. Today, outfitted in her pink sarong, blue tank top and bold silver jewellery, she presents a look which beckons from another time when life was meant to be sipped in mellow doses. She is bright and welcoming as she highlights some of the special areas on the resort a cobblestone path which leads out to a heart-shaped platform covered by inviting wooden sun beds; the familiar burst of sea grapes, spindly willows and sturdy almond trees. These have been her anchor since the day she decided to make Negril her home. Valerie has been a voyager of the world, and having made her explorations in many corners of this earth, has dared to say that there is none so compelling as her spot on the rock at the West End. The name "Heartbeat" came from this feeling and connection with the pulse of a place so distinctly framed in beauty, and from her own romantic outlook on life.
Heartbeat is a simple place, cosy, like your favourite room on a stormy evening, and not without the charm of the irregular. The resort, set on an exquisite crest of cliff has, however, seen days when fortune was not on its side. The ravages of last November's storm tore down some of its best trees, so that it is now a struggle for her to restore gardens to their previous lushness.
Her children, Crystal and Tristan, attend Harding Hall School. As all children do when they get home from school, they make time for energy conservation. Today, they are perched in a sun-filled living room off Valerie's kitchen in her private villa, playing games and lazily leafing through books. Their smiles, like the atmosphere of the place, are warm and inviting. Their eyes dazzle mischievously and with curiosity as guests are welcomed. The delicious smell of roasted chicken marinated with garlic, scotch bonnet peppers and onions mingle with a pleasant feeling of home. One imagines that in a place like this, Valerie is able to tend to her children and her guests with the same devotion. The rooms at Heartbeat Hotel are the landmark octagonal pillar rooms dressed in the funky-chic style so popular on this part of the coast. Bold colour goes along naturally with the sharp finish of varnished wood, and the white mosquito netting draped above the bed whisper of an age of discreet pampering. Tiny candleholders moulded in red and frosty star shapes add accents to the room, and the hand-carved wooden headboards are pleasingly embossed with a jolt of banana trees.
Not too far below and a brisk walk across a terrace is to be found the main restaurant, "That's Amore". It spreads out against a rush of sea growing dark blue in the shadows of the evening. A softer time is beginning to emerge, suggestive that the moment should be caressed to make the dusk linger a while longer. The restaurant is more than cheerful, and does not seem to object to the approaching evening, for this is the moment that it comes to life. The restaurateurs, Barbara and Fabio, and the sous-chef, Verushka, greet you as family with warm eyes and eager smiles. The finer, more delicate approach to service is noted in dark green embroidered tablecloths, and the pleasant surprise of a large centre doily designed with pink, green and white flowerlets. Meals are served in this atmosphere of subtle, studied elegance. A small restaurant which takes advantage of its location on the seafront, "That's Amore" leaves no detail to chance. Today's special announces "Costolette d'agnello alla griglia" (grilled lamb ribs ), and it is rumoured that their home-made ice cream made from fresh mangoes is a winner.
For Valerie, raising her children continues to be a life's endeavour as she cares for them while tending to her hotel in a personal way. Her eldest daughter Angelica is away at school in Toronto, while Crystal is bursting with the energy and creativity of a singer and a painter. Little Tristan, interestingly, has a modelling career behind him, and has dreams of entering the performing arts. In her off moments, Valerie makes time for her music and photography, both burning hobbies, and once in a while or so, she pauses to check how in tune she is with her own heartbeat.
