Fodor's Expert Review Romney Manor

A somewhat restored house (once the property of Thomas Jefferson's great-great-great-grandfather Samuel) and surrounding replicas of chattel-house cottages are set in 8 acres of glorious tiered gardens, with exotic flowers, an old bell tower, and an enormous, gnarled 400-year-old saman tree (sometimes called a rain tree). Inside, at Caribelle Batik, you can watch artisans hand-printing fabrics by the 2,500-year-old Indonesian wax-and-dye process known as batik. You can also stroll to the 17th-century ruins (including sugar equipment, a still, and cistern) of Wingfield Manor, site of the first land grant in the British West Indies and home to a ziplining outfit. A bar serves luscious homemade rum cake and affords splendid panoramas of the rain forest. Look for signs indicating a turnoff for Romney Manor near Old Road.