Evening star., 1950-02-19
By Jacques FutrelIe, Jr.
The Stor's Trovel Editor

The Star's TroveI Editor
inent English families are build
ing lovely cottages in the foot
hills and on patches of sand along
the Caribbean. Among the part
time residents are Noel Coward,
the playwright, whose Blue Har-
bour' estate rises from the serene
bay of Port Maria.
Not many miles away is the
home of Miss Jean Batten, world
known Australian flyer. Nearby
is the tWo-story mansion of
Vicens Oliver, Majorca- born
architect, whose unusual design
of the fashionable Tower Isle
Hotel has won wide acclaim.
* X X
Hotels Dot Coast-Resort facili-
ties have long existed along the
north shore. The Shaw Park
Hotel, a showplace that had it's
beginnings as 18th century
plantation, has catered to vaca-
TONERS for some 20 years. Other
places are dotted along the coast.
Montego Bay, with its collection
of smart hotels, its clubs, crystal
waters and Doctors Cave Beach,
was a prewar winter playground
|of international society.
But a decade from now, when
details become a bit hazy, the
postwar development of the CEN
tral north coast likely will be
dated from the building of A. E.
Issa's Tower Isle Hotel. 1t was
opened a year ago last month.
Abe Issa. prominent Jamaica
businessman, became interested in
hotels when he bought the old and
famous Myrtle Bank in Kingston.
Formerly owned by the United
Fruit Co., the Myrtle Bank is
quiet haven in downtown Kingston
and has been a pleasant must"
on the itinerary of thousands of
Icrulse passengers through several
decades.
Many arrivals who planned to
stay in Jamaica for several weeks
departed all too soon for Moptego
Bay, the tropical beauty of Port
Antonio or other coastal points,
or went into the mountains. Mr.,
1ssa decided to build a luxury
hotel. He selected strip of
sandy beach two hours from
Kingston and not far from this
old settlement of Ocho Rios, where
rowing British Warships in days
gone by put in to replenish their
water supplies.
CroWding toward the Caribbean
waters are the mountains; off,
shore stretches an unbroken blue
of sea. Mr.. Issa had in mind a
special type of structure to set in
a clearing of lush, tropical foliage.
Mr.. Oliver worked it out.
Mountain and Sea Rooms-Were
the hotel packed on a downtown
lot to house its 80 rooms, it would
be rather small building. AS
designed, it stretches along the
beach like a wing of a more pre-
tentious American resort hotel.
The Tower Isle is but three stories
high and only two rooms and a
hallway deep. This arrange
ment gives each room a balcony
or patio. where guests may
lounge outdoors in privacy.
The room clerks first words to
the guest we'll might be, Would
you like a seaside or a mountain
side room?" Inland rooms look
toward the blue mountains, beach
rooms over the broad expanse of
sea. I chose the sea and, the next
morning. ventured onto the pri-
vate balcony in a bathing suit for
breakfast.
Although it is midwinter and
the sky that day was cloudy from
a storm that was blowing from
Trinidad to Miami" the beach
outfit was comfortable, even with
strong breeze. Trade winds
temper the summer temperature
during the day; at night, land
side breeze sweeps down from the
hills.
The marine terrace, with it's
large, open-air bar, overlooks both
the sea and the saltwater SWIM
ming pool. Night life, with dane
ing to calypso music, centers on
this portion of the red tile terrace.
Other activities of resort life in
clude fishing, boating, horseback
riding and tennis.
But the one thing that gives
the hotel much of it's charm was
fashioned as an afterthought. It
is a stone tower, like a glorifed
sentry box, set square with the
compass on a small island less
than 200 yards offshore. Each
morning, members of the hotel
staff row to the island, hardly
big enough for State society
picnic to raise the british hao