I am proud to share that Adrian Johnson, Lorenzo Wilson, and Tamara Griffiths-Alexander have each successfully completed WSET Level 1 Award in Wines, an important first step in one of the wine world’s most respected educational pathways.
What matters most is what this means for our guests.
Great hospitality is rarely defined by one grand gesture. More often, it is felt in the confidence of a recommendation, the ease of a conversation with a team member, and the quiet assurance that the person serving you knows their craft. That is why this kind of training matters. It strengthens service in ways that are subtle, lasting, and immediately meaningful to the guest experience.
This is also only the beginning. Adrian, Lorenzo, and Tamara are now on the path toward WSET Level 3 this year, while three additional members of our team will begin Level 1. That kind of continuity is important. Excellence is not created in a single moment. It is built through discipline, repetition, curiosity, and a culture that believes learning is part of service.
“What is exciting is imagining a future guest at The Cliff savoring a truly great first growth in the oceanfront cave, served with warmth, confidence, and real knowledge. That is when training like this becomes part of the guest experience in a very meaningful way,” said Marika Vida-Arnold.
For The Cliff, this work supports a larger vision. We are building a wine program with greater depth, greater confidence, and greater distinction, including our push toward a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence and the development of a proper 300 label wine list. As one of only a few of Virtuoso properties in Jamaica, that level of seriousness matters.
It matters because guests remember how a place made them feel. And in luxury hospitality, what they feel is often shaped by the details they never stop to name. Better training leads to better guidance. Better guidance leads to greater ease. And that ease is part of what makes an experience memorable.
To help mark the occasion, we were pleased to welcome Marika Vida-Arnold, celebrated wine educator and former Wine Director of The Ritz Carlton Central Park in New York, to lead an additional training and personally present the certificates. As Marika put it, “What is exciting is imagining a future guest at The Cliff savoring a truly great first growth in the oceanfront cave, served with warmth, confidence, and real knowledge. That is when training like this becomes part of the guest experience in a very meaningful way.”
Each team member was also presented with a personalized autographed copy of Wine Simple by Aldo Sohm, one of the wine world’s most respected sommeliers and Wine Director at Le Bernadin in New York City. It was a thoughtful gesture and a fitting way to mark a meaningful step forward.
Private luxury is built on many things. One of them is the decision to invest in people before the guest ever feels the result.
Congratulations again to Adrian, Lorenzo, and Tamara. We are proud of you and excited for what comes next.
The Cliff Hotel Negril is proud to be apart of Virtuoso
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