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I Turned My Jamaican Villa and Pool House Into an Airbnb Wellness ...
I came to Jamaica to grieve the loss of my husband. Now, I'm turning the home that helped me heal into a wellness retreat. As told to Jordan Pandy You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Keisha Blair turned a safe haven for herself in Jamaica into a retreat for others. Courtesy of Keisha Blair. 2026-04-08T14:33:01.229Z Keisha Blair transformed her Jamaican villa into a healing retreat for guests. She decided to add more space for guests by converting a pool house into another unit. Blair wanted to share the home that brought her healing with others. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Keisha Blair, 48, an author and founder of the Institute on Holistic Wealth, an educational self-help platform. She lives in Ottawa, Canada, and owns a villa in Kingston, Jamaica, that she turned into a vacation rental in late 2025. She later converted an unused pool house into a separate 108-square-foot unit on the property. The following has been edited for length and clarity. When I was 31, my husband died eight weeks after I gave birth to my second child. It felt like lightning had struck — it felt so far off that this rare illness would strike my family.So I went on a healing journey. I went back to Jamaica on a one-year sabbatical, staying at the three-bedroom home I had purchased with my parents years before.I never thought this place would ever come back up again in terms of anything related to my business. It was just a place that I went to heal, to cool out, and to get away from it all because I was coping with grief.My first instinct was to sell the propertyThe reason I turned the property into a healing retreat was circumstantial. My father died in April 2025, and I was his main caregiver. My mom called me and said, "You're going to have to make a decision as to what to do with it." At the time, my first instinct was to sell it. It's this huge one-acre property — I had no idea what to do with it.I thought about it really long and hard and said, "Let's try to see how we can open it up on Airbnb so people can visit."After all, this was the place that gave me healing. How could I ever part with that without a second thought? Blair on her property in Jamaica. Courtesy of Keisha Blair In the time since, I remarried, and my husband and I did a lot of work restoring the property. We spent days and nights down there in the larger villa first, because we weren't even thinking of conver...
One love, one health, one mission | Health | Jamaica Gleaner
In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, when communities across western Jamaica were left grappling with damaged infrastructure and disrupted healthcare services, a team of dedicated medical professionals stepped forward with a mission grounded in compassion, service, and national pride. Led by Dr Dahlia Blake and Dr Je-anne Beaufort, the Jamaica Hurricane Melissa Medical Mission brought critical care to some of the island’s most affected communities, including Savanna-la-Mar, Bluefields, and Barrett Town. “As a daughter of Jamaica, I felt it was a social responsibility to help the people of my community, my homeland, from the devastation of Hurricane Melissa’s destruction and impact, especially to Jamaica’s healthcare system islandwide,” Dr Blake said. “As a physician and an educator, I felt it was imperative to address the health needs of those impacted,” she added. Her decision to focus on Westmoreland was deeply personal. “I chose Savanna-la-Mar because I was born and raised in Petersfield, Westmoreland. I desired to give back to the hospital and parish where I was raised, Bluefields Health Centre which services Bluefields and Whitehouse. As a result of the storm, Whitehouse Health Centre no longer exists,” Dr Blake said. The mission, held from March 23 to 29, 2026, extended beyond Westmoreland into St James, reflecting a wider understanding of the hurricane’s impact. “We didn’t want to limit services only to Westmoreland. I am very aware the community health centres were impacted, especially in St James parish. Barrett Town Health Centre, the location of my 2024 Day of Service Health Project, meshed perfectly, and the mission became ‘One Love, One Health, One Mission,’ supported by Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Florida,” she said. Through this initiative, hundreds of Jamaicans received free medical care spanning general adult and paediatric services, mental-health support, and critical screenings. “Our experience, combined with that of my colleagues, allowed us to execute a mission providing free medical services to individuals profoundly affected by Hurricane Melissa. We focused on general adult and paediatric medicine, health screenings such as hypertension and diabetes, well-baby checks, and stroke education,” Dr Blake said. The need was immediate and deeply felt. “We commonly heard, ‘You are the first doctor since Hurricane Melissa that I have seen,’ and ‘Thank you for coming and providing such good care,’” she recalled. Many patients re...
Places of Safety - Missing Persons Jamaica
Places of Safety missingpersonsjamaicadotcom
Sober Retreats 2026: Top Recovery & Wellness Retreats Guide | The Sober ...
Discover sober retreats and alcohol-free wellness getaways across the US and beyond. Updated monthly with new retreats, reviews, and booking info.
