Wander through the sprawling grounds Half Moon calls home. Initially only a 35-acre plot, a piece of land that was once the loading dock for Rose Hall’s shipments of sugarcane, the resort had only 30 beachfront guestrooms and 17 cottages (some of which still stand today) at its beginning. Half Moon has since swelled to 400 acres, with 210 guestrooms and suites. The centerpiece of the property is a crescent-shaped bay, a feature that gave the resort its name.

Learn about the illustrious beginning of Half Moon, which was established by some of the 1950s’ most influential businesspeople in the Western Hemisphere. Created by a collection of 17 movers and shakers, like Harvey Firestone Jr. of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and Donald Deskey, the designer of New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall, the resort was envisioned as a permanent winter escape for their friends and families.

Walk in the footsteps of Half Moon’s distinguished former guests. Through the years, the resort has played host to some of history’s most notable figures, welcoming Hollywood stars like Clark Gable and Paul Newman, monarchs like Prince Ranier III and Princess Caroline of Monaco and the British Royal Family, and U.S. Presidents like George H.W. Bush. John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy even spent a month at Half Moon just before his inauguration. In fact, guests can still see a token of their stay in the resort’s main lobby: a letter from Jackie O. on Half Moon stationery.