The many faces of Island Outpost resorts in Jamaica and The Bahamas
Discover true Caribbean color and character at Strawberry Hill, Goldeneye, Jake’s, The Caves, and Pink Sands resorts in Jamaica and The Bahamas
Jamaica (August 22, 2005) - “What can you know - and feel - about a place when you don’t meet the people who live in it?” challenged travel editor Tom Swick in his famous 2001 COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW article, “The road not taken.”
Island Outpost, a collection of five distinct small properties located in Jamaica and The Bahamas, invites the media to experience true Caribbean color and character by interviewing staff at the heart of each exclusive resort. Talk to the bartender that wove the thatch roof. Chat with the gatekeeper who encourages his three-year-old son to become a pilot. Learn the night-fishing secrets of a beach attendant (and his popular theory linking rum and longevity).
Much has been written about Island Outpost owner and creator Chris Blackwell. After all, the record mogul launched Bob Marley and U2, among others. But he recognizes that staff are the source of the resort chain’s charm. “It’s all about the spirit. Sensibility. And Heart. Island Outpost is about a feeling. The rush of discovery. The bliss of authenticity,” he says.
THE ENTERTAINER
Bartender Desmond Young always smiles and celebrates, even when life takes hard twists. His schooling was sporadic in Jamaica’s hilltop village of Irishtown, where residents would trek six miles along a dirt path just to collect the mail, which was delivered by horse and buggy.
After stints as a mechanic, tailor and caretaker, Young migrated to the US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1967, where he learned to bartend, wait tables - and most importantly - to entertain. After 19 years he brought his skills back home.
Young farmed until Strawberry Hill lured him away to bartend in 1994, when the resort opened. He supplied fresh eggs to the kitchen and island lore to enthralled visitors. This memorable host partied with guests for 11 years until his retirement in May 2005, but he still visits in the evening to do what he does best - spin yarns and share Jamaican charm.
Strawberry Hill nestles high in the Blue Mountains, a location that “beggars description,” according to CONDE NAST TRAVELER. Twelve wood-shingled cottages reflect its plantation history with gables, cooling louvers, ceiling fans, and rockers on the verandahs. Hardwood floors and mahogany furniture handcrafted on the premises complete the genteel ambiance. This gracious retreat offers sweeping views of the peaks and sea, all bathed in lush mountain mists.
THE COCONUT CARVER
Ramsey Dacosta knew this land as a horse and donkey track, back when Oracabessa was Jamaica’s biggest banana port. At the age of 17 he climbed coconut trees for Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, who bought Goldeneye in 1946. “After breakfast he would take his pad and cigarettes and go to the gazebo to work,” recalls Dacosta of Fleming, “but we never knew what he was writing. We had never even seen a movie at that time.”
Dacosta learned about the silver screen in the United States where he picked sugar cane, strawberries, citrus, and apples in his 20s. He returned home to find the banana industry defunct. Dacosta, ever resourceful, fished and worked as a lifeguard from a little rowboat. “One day I pulled up on the Goldeneye beach and I see Mrs. Blackwell, Mr. Chris’s mother,” he says. Before she even finished her swim, she hired Dacosta. "I am at Goldeneye from then, 27 years ago!”
Today Dacosta is a Goldeneye institution - the property’s resident historian, storyteller, and forester, who oversaw the planting of almost every tree on the property. The first was a thank-you present from England’s Prime Minister Anthony Eden, who unwound there after the 1956 Suez crisis.
Every morning Dacosta still cleans the Goldeneye beach. He holds court, often sporting a mischievous grin. “I like talking with the guests and working at the same time,” he says. Dacosta carves them coconut monkeys and explains about the trees, fruits, and birds. A lucky handful of people join him on night-fishing excursions. “We light a lamp at sea. The light attracts the little fish and the little fish attract the bigger fish,” he says.
Dacosta, fit and lanky at 67, credits his vigor to rum, exercise, and Goldeneye. “If I was not working, I wouldn't be living.”
Be shaken - not stirred - by the splendor of James Bond’s birthplace, Goldeneye. Dashing 007 originated at this 15-acre seaside hideaway, which blossomed around the home of Ian Fleming, who wrote 13 spy novels here. Today his retreat is a boutique resort laced with beaches, tropical forest, caves, and secluded nooks. Intimate and informal, this idyll - four villas on a sea bluff, one overlooking a cove - attracts celebrities and other lovers of luxury.
THE FAMILY FRIEND
Douglas Turner grew up alongside the Henzell family. He groomed horses, gardened, and worked in the house as a youngster. So when Sally Henzell asked him to help launch Jake’s in 1993, her old friend didn’t hesitate. Turner quit his shop job and signed onto the budding resort, then equipped with just “four solar-powered lights, a flirtatious cook, and electricity from an extension cord next door,” recalls Henzell.
Now 60, Turner is the premier bartender at the funky 29-room resort. Laughing, Henzell recalls how far service has soared since the “bar was just a cupboard on the back verandah.
Returnees beeline for the bar for gossip and a cold Red Stripe, she reports. “So that’s Dougie for you. My mainstay. Our mainstay now. The most popular member of our popular staff. A star!”
Guests, locals, and staff mingle cheerfully at Jake’s, where shells, beads, and colored glass glitter from the walls. Dramatic cottages commune with the garden, sea, and sky near a secluded fishing village. The bohemian
atmosphere comes as no surprise: Jake’s is run by the Henzells, also responsible for Jimmy Cliff’s “The harder they come,” the hippest Caribbean film of all time.
THE GATEKEEPER
Elvis Brown greets all guests with a perfectly white, supremely wide smile. The security guard is a good judge of character - after all, he wed as a love-struck teenager and is still happily married 19 years later.
Brown’s persistence also led to his “dream job” at the Caves. Brown once rode his bicycle 25 miles a day - through scorching sun and seething rain - to deliver newspapers. En route he struck up a friendship with Bertram and Greer-Ann Saulter, co-founders of the resort, who convinced him to become the Caves’ gatekeeper six years ago.
The Caves resort perches on a volcanic cliff, honeycombed with grottoes splashed by the turquoise sea. Hammocks, sun decks, and alfresco showers are scattered throughout these nooks. Ten handcrafted cottages harmoniously blend local wood, stone, and thatch. High ceilings soar above custom-made wood and bamboo furnishings brightened by bold island colors. These “colorful wooden cottages could have been designed by Matisse,” once praised the NEW YORK TIMES.
THE BUILDER
Beach attendant Bolo knows the Pink Sands resort. He knows it deep in his hands - hands that reconstructed the resort after Hurricane Andrew, hands that still weave thatch roofs to shade and shelter guests.
Although his construction days are over, Bolo can still trace all the underground pipes and wires when a maintenance problem arises. The hands don’t forget - and neither does he.
He recalls every visitor, past or present, as well as their special requests, like Robert De Niro’s favorite rum concoction. He arrives with a smile and departs with an even bigger one, no matter how hard the day. Perhaps the mellow Harbor Island vibe helps: Bolo lives locally with his wife and four children.
This beachfront estate stands beside its namesake, the glamorous and legendary three-mile Pink Sand Beach. Twenty-five pastel-colored cottages create a haven of understated chic. Biba founder - and 60s style maven - Barbara Hulanicki mixed Indian, Moroccan and Balinese elements into a giddy new cocktail. Pink Sands isn’t the place to stargaze, rather it’s a chance to enter the constellations and shine.
For more information on Island Outpost resorts call 1-800-OUTPOST in the US and Canada, 0800-OUTPOST1 in the UK, and 1-876-960-8134 in all other countries.
Disclaimer: The information in this article/release was accurate at
press time; however, we suggest you confirm all details and prices
directly with vendors.
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