From Strawberry Hill in the Blue Mountains to Goldeneye on the Caribbean coast, a family journey through Jamaica reveals how Chris Blackwell turned his private retreats into public havens. At the mountaintop estate, breakfast tables are shared between guests and the music mogul.
A retreat in the clouds
Perched 1,000 metres above Kingston, the property is a vision of serenity. Whitewashed clapboard buildings, infinity pools and manicured lawns fill the space, while rooms display gold and platinum records, handwritten lyrics and musical memorabilia. The cottages cantilever over the steep hillside, opening onto sweeping views of the rainforest canopy and the plains of Kingston below.
Blackwell bought Strawberry Hill in 1972 after visiting for afternoon tea as a child. The estate became a creative sanctuary for artists including the Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Grace Jones, Black Uhuru and Bob Marley. Bob Marley famously convalesced at Strawberry Hill after being shot during an assassination attempt in 1976.
Read Also: Bangkok’s Rise as Global Fine-Dining Maverick
The public relations manager at the hotel, Michelle Toyloy Carter, explains the attraction simply: nature. Guests do not have televisions or radios in their rooms, and requests for outside entertainment are rare. Carter notes that visitors can listen to the birds and hear the breeze, which helps them rejuvenate.
Where music meets the sea
After two nights in the mountains, the family travels east past Ocho Rios to Oracabessa Bay. The environment shifts from cool mountain lawns to plains of banana and sugar cane, finally opening to the luminous Caribbean. This is the setting for Goldeneye, the former home of Ian Fleming and later a retreat for the music industry.
Chris Blackwell convinced Bob Marley to purchase the property in 1976, though Marley eventually decided against keeping it. Blackwell bought the estate for friends and family to stay, and since then it has hosted musicians and producers such as Quincy Jones, Fatboy Slim and Bono. Sting wrote “Every Breath You Take” here in 1982.
The layout of the property follows the contours of the land. Low Cay Beach serves as the social centre, a broad sweep of white sand lined with villas, a freshwater pool and Bizot Bar. The lagoon feels more private, with cottages opening directly onto the water. Further along the coast, the freestanding beach huts offer outdoor showers and high ceilings designed to let the sea breeze in.
Read Also: Sky High Wilderness Ranch earns glowing review
The separation between adults and children dissolves quickly at Goldeneye. At Bizot Bar, guests enjoy rum cocktails under torchlight while children play in the sand and befriend one another. Button Beach offers a more casual atmosphere with a Bamboo Bar serving local fish and jerk food. The parents of the children our daughter met the night before introduce themselves, and soon the group is drinking rum out of coconuts and exploring the lagoon.
The rhythm of the island
One evening, the family gathers at Shabeen for a drum circle beside the sea. Rastafarian Nyabinghi drummers play in front of the breaking surf as cocktails pass between guests. The children join in, with our daughter squeezing in around a drum with her new friends.
Blackwell first encountered the culture that shaped Island Records after a boating accident off Hellshire Beach in 1958. He was rescued by Rastafarians, an experience that drew him toward the music and traditions that later defined his career. Decades later, he watches his grandchildren and other children drumming together after dark, the rhythm carrying across the water.