By Ann-Marie Adams, Staff Writer

KINGSTON, JAMAICA — White-sand beaches on the north coast or lush, green countryside of Jamaica comes to mind when thinking of a winter respite–not its capital city, Kingston.

With news of  crime  spilling out of garrisons, Kingston does not exactly beckon a jaded traveler who craves authenticity and relaxation. But while there in the Caribbean’s largest cosmopolitan center, I visited one of its newest hotels: the 109-room Spanish Court Hotel.

Inside the imposing, Spanish-influenced building, the elegant lobby is paneled with black, teak and jatobá woods. Bright, red walls accented with strategically placed garden flowers, local paintings and photographs evoke classic  SoHo chic—tinged with Jamaican aesthetics.

A weary traveler is soon ushered into a standard room, which is like an oasis in an Arabian desert. My experience defies expectations of sterile, overpriced, name-brand hotels that are culturally detached from the rhythms of exotic places far from their home base.

This is clearly not the case at the Spanish Court Hotel.

After two days there, I emerge from the hotel feeling like a monk after weeks of meditation on Blue Mountain, which serves as a backdrop to the crowded New Kingston area. And though my first-floor room faces a busy thoroughfare not far from the entertainment and business district, I am blissfully unaware and away from it all.

And this is only the standard room. The suites and deluxe rooms offer the same experience and more.

Most of the  107 rooms feature a delicate mixture of simple elegance tinged with bold trimmings, including the customized inset lighting, blackout blinds and decorative ceramic tiles—a mosaic that fits perfectly with the duval flooring and plush, white, leather sofas reminiscent of urban chic décor.  The bathroom is designed for pampering, what with its oval, soaking tub surrounded by ceramic tiles and a colorful glass tile backsplash.

Two delightful features noted at this stylized hotel is that it serves Jamaican cuisine, and there’s a complimentary breakfast.

A hotel nestled in the heart of the city and that offers “five star services at three-star prices” is the brainchild of Jamaican-born businessman Christopher Issa, whose goal is to “bring Kingston back on the map” and to promote the city as a destination instead as a rest stop on the way to other parts of the island. It’s the country’s grand design for Kingston 360, a tourism plan to make Kingston a main attraction.

Well, it is tempting to stay for a week or more, if only to mingle with the cosmopolitan crowd that gather each night at the Sky Terrace and bar next to the roof-top pool, or to tour the cultural attractions by day. But I experience plenty in one night, especially the soft caresses of the warm, night air on sun-kissed skin as I gaze at stars above the hills on the contours of the city.