Montego Bay

[John Simkin]

The Beach House was originally part of an estate belonging to Lord Lyle, and is situated about four miles west of Montego Bay in the village of Reading.

The main house and pool were built in the 1950s at a time when Jamaica became popular as a tourist destination. A generation of writers, artists and Hollywood celebrities such as Ian Fleming, Noel Coward and Errol Flynn made Jamaica's north coast their home.

The villa has many attractive period features - an intriguing mix of Jamaican colonial style and Miami art deco - which the present owners have sought to preserve.

Although the interior is spacious and elegant, the Beach House was - because of its unique location - designed for outside living. The north-facing patio commands uninterrupted views of the sea to the west, and Bogue lagoon (a protected marine park) and Montego Bay to the east.

The 150ft sea frontage includes a small sand beach and a jetty. One of its most extravagant features is the 51ft swimming pool - one of the largest private pools on the island.

The house has two large double bedrooms, both with cavernous walk-in cedar wardrobes and en-suite shower and bathroom facilities. Both rooms have king size, four poster beds and air conditioning.

The upstairs bedroom is approached by a covered exterior staircase, so can operate independently of the rooms downstairs.

It has a large, curved balcony overlooking the sea facing Montego Bay Freeport, where you can see the cruise liners docking in the distance. It also has a small kitchen area with a fridge and facilities for making light refreshments.

Downstairs, the bedroom opens via elegant French windows onto the front room, an exceptionally large area with sofas, TV, DVD and iPod compatible stereo, plus a bar and refreshment area. This room, which has a spectacular 18ft curved bay window facing the lagoon, leads out onto the patio.

Immediately adjacent to the house is a single storey apartment block with one section comprising two en-suite bedrooms (both with air conditioning), sitting room and kitchen area with fridge.

Next door is a fully-fitted kitchen and large dining room, which overlooks the pool.

All the bedrooms at the Beach House have iPod docking stations, and the villa has wi-fi internet connectivity, so you can - if you wish - keep in touch with family and colleagues back home while you enjoy a cool Red Stripe under the shade of the almond tree.

If you like outdoor living, you will find plenty to occupy you at the Beach House. We enjoy a delightful micro-climate in our part of Montego Bay. In the mornings, the sea is invariably flat calm - like a lake - because of the breeze coming down from the mountains behind us.

The water has a magical quality and it's an ideal time to go snorkelling, swimming or taking some exercise in the pedal boat or sea kyaks. Around 10 am, the wind changes and the sea breeze picks up.

The sea rarely gets too choppy whatever the time of day because we are protected by Reading reef, a mile-long coral barrier that curves across the bay. The lagoon is also home to many sea birds such as pelicans, herons and sandpipers and is an important habitat for maintining fish stocks.

Although temperatures will typically rise to 28 - 30C, you’ll never feel uncomfortable because of the breeze. In fact, whatever time of day, you’ll never need to wear more than a T shirt and shorts.

In the evening, after sunset, the breeze drops and you can watch the lights from Montego Bay town shimmering on the water of Bogue lagoon. It's a great time to observe the many fishes that inhabit the lagoon using our floating lights - or just kick back and relax.

http://beachhousejamaica.com/villa.php

[William Kelly]

The Beach House was originally part of an estate belonging to Lord Lyle, and is situated about four miles west of Montego Bay in the village of Reading.

The main house and pool were built in the 1950s at a time when Jamaica became popular as a tourist destination. A generation of writers, artists and Hollywood celebrities such as Ian Fleming, Noel Coward and Errol Flynn made Jamaica's north coast their home.

The villa has many attractive period features - an intriguing mix of Jamaican colonial style and Miami art deco - which the present owners have sought to preserve.

Although the interior is spacious and elegant, the Beach House was - because of its unique location - designed for outside living. The north-facing patio commands uninterrupted views of the sea to the west, and Bogue lagoon (a protected marine park) and Montego Bay to the east.

The 150ft sea frontage includes a small sand beach and a jetty. One of its most extravagant features is the 51ft swimming pool - one of the largest private pools on the island.

The house has two large double bedrooms, both with cavernous walk-in cedar wardrobes and en-suite shower and bathroom facilities. Both rooms have king size, four poster beds and air conditioning.

The upstairs bedroom is approached by a covered exterior staircase, so can operate independently of the rooms downstairs.

It has a large, curved balcony overlooking the sea facing Montego Bay Freeport, where you can see the cruise liners docking in the distance. It also has a small kitchen area with a fridge and facilities for making light refreshments.

Downstairs, the bedroom opens via elegant French windows onto the front room, an exceptionally large area with sofas, TV, DVD and iPod compatible stereo, plus a bar and refreshment area. This room, which has a spectacular 18ft curved bay window facing the lagoon, leads out onto the patio.

Immediately adjacent to the house is a single storey apartment block with one section comprising two en-suite bedrooms (both with air conditioning), sitting room and kitchen area with fridge.

Next door is a fully-fitted kitchen and large dining room, which overlooks the pool.

All the bedrooms at the Beach House have iPod docking stations, and the villa has wi-fi internet connectivity, so you can - if you wish - keep in touch with family and colleagues back home while you enjoy a cool Red Stripe under the shade of the almond tree.

If you like outdoor living, you will find plenty to occupy you at the Beach House. We enjoy a delightful micro-climate in our part of Montego Bay. In the mornings, the sea is invariably flat calm - like a lake - because of the breeze coming down from the mountains behind us.

The water has a magical quality and it's an ideal time to go snorkelling, swimming or taking some exercise in the pedal boat or sea kyaks. Around 10 am, the wind changes and the sea breeze picks up.

The sea rarely gets too choppy whatever the time of day because we are protected by Reading reef, a mile-long coral barrier that curves across the bay. The lagoon is also home to many sea birds such as pelicans, herons and sandpipers and is an important habitat for maintining fish stocks.

Although temperatures will typically rise to 28 - 30C, you'll never feel uncomfortable because of the breeze. In fact, whatever time of day, you'll never need to wear more than a T shirt and shorts.

In the evening, after sunset, the breeze drops and you can watch the lights from Montego Bay town shimmering on the water of Bogue lagoon. It's a great time to observe the many fishes that inhabit the lagoon using our floating lights - or just kick back and relax.

http://beachhousejamaica.com/villa.php

John,

During WWII, Ian Fleming accompanied Ivor Bryce, (later co-owner of the North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA) with Ernest Cuneo OSS), to Jamaica for a conference on countering the Nazi U Boat menance in the Caribbean, and while there, they visited Bryce's Bellview Great House.

Such "Great Houses" of Jamaica belonged to the English artistocrats, and for the most part lined Jamaica's North Shore, where you would find Sir William Stephenson's Tryall Club at Montego (Mo) Bay, and further east along the North Shore coastal road - homes of Christopher Blackwell, of Island Records, whose mother, Blanch Blackwell, was Ian Fleming's neighbor. Another neighbor, Noel Coward, owned "Firefly," as they all seemed to give their homes names. Fleming named his house, on the beach in Orcabessa, near Ocho Rios, was called Goldeneye. It was about half way between Stephenson's Tryall Club Greathouse and Noel Coward's Firefly.

Ivor Bryce's Greathouse was called Bellview, and was more inland than the North Shore resorts, if my memory serves me right.

The scene was captured in the first 007 film Dr. No.

Ian Fleming also wrote the introduction to a Guide Book to Jamaica which goes into more details.

Goldeneye was inherited by Fleming's widow, who despised the place, where her son Casper committed suicide, and where Fleming was known to have had an affair with Blanch Blackwell, Chris Blackwell's mom and the basis for the character Pussy Galore. She wouldn't sell Goldeneye to Blackwell, so Blackwell, Bob Marley's manager, had Marley buy the property from Fleming's estate. He now owns it, and it too, is available for weekly lease.

Fleming wrote all of his novels there, in January and February of every year for a decade.

It isn't Fleming's estate that seems significant however, it is Sir William Stephenson's Tryall Club, where Texas oilmen, John Connally, and White Russian friends of George DeMohrenschildt were recruited to buy private estates at the exclusive, private club and championship golf course, and the name of the Tryall Club came up in the course of Warren Commission testimony.

BK

[John Simkin]

John,

During WWII, Ian Fleming accompanied Ivor Bryce, (later co-owner of the North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA) with Ernest Cuneo OSS), to Jamaica for a conference on countering the Nazi U Boat menance in the Caribbean, and while there, they visited Bryce's Bellview Great House.

Such "Great Houses" of Jamaica belonged to the English artistocrats, and for the most part lined Jamaica's North Shore, where you would find Sir William Stephenson's Tryall Club at Montego (Mo) Bay, and further east along the North Shore coastal road - homes of Christopher Blackwell, of Island Records, whose mother, Blanch Blackwell, was Ian Fleming's neighbor. Another neighbor, Noel Coward, owned "Firefly," as they all seemed to give their homes names. Fleming named his house, on the beach in Orcabessa, near Ocho Rios, was called Goldeneye. It was about half way between Stephenson's Tryall Club Greathouse and Noel Coward's Firefly.

Ivor Bryce's Greathouse was called Bellview, and was more inland than the North Shore resorts, if my memory serves me right.

The scene was captured in the first 007 film Dr. No.

Ian Fleming also wrote the introduction to a Guide Book to Jamaica which goes into more details.

Goldeneye was inherited by Fleming's widow, who despised the place, where her son Casper committed suicide, and where Fleming was known to have had an affair with Blanch Blackwell, Chris Blackwell's mom and the basis for the character Pussy Galore. She wouldn't sell Goldeneye to Blackwell, so Blackwell, Bob Marley's manager, had Marley buy the property from Fleming's estate. He now owns it, and it too, is available for weekly lease.

Fleming wrote all of his novels there, in January and February of every year for a decade.

It isn't Fleming's estate that seems significant however, it is Sir William Stephenson's Tryall Club, where Texas oilmen, John Connally, and White Russian friends of George DeMohrenschildt were recruited to buy private estates at the exclusive, private club and championship golf course, and the name of the Tryall Club came up in the course of Warren Commission testimony.

BK

Very interesting. I will pass this information onto my friend who owns the house.