Frenchman's Cove rich with history

Jean-Pierre Aubry
Contributor

Issa

THE WORLD'S first all-inclusive hotel was created in Port Antonio. Frenchman's Cove was purchased by Garfield Weston from Cold Harbour Limited in the mid-1950s.

His idea, initially, was to build a complex to accommodate his own executives and merited staff. However, Cold Harbour Estates stipulated in the purchase contract that this unique site to become a public resort, was hence to help in the development of San San in particular and the region in general.

His oldest son, Grainger, took over and completed the various construction stages to create the still existing Frenchman's Cove resort.

Grainger Weston's original plan was to impose a new resort concept, where a guest would pay a flat fee to include all services ­ food, drinks, transportation and tips (no tipping allowed!). He employed Switzerland-born hotelier Jean-Pierre Aubry, who enthusiastically shared Grainger's views of the operation and executed the task with great success.

SPECIAL TREATMENT

Each guest enjoyed about the best service to be had: one housekeeper, one butler for two. Breakfast was served by the same housekeeper at the individual one or two-bedroom cottages beautifully laid out around the cliffs, with utmost privacy. An electrical golf buggy was at the disposal of each guest to move freely around the property (beach, dining area, etc.) if they did not wish to walk. Each night, the buggies were automatically charged in front of the cottage. Lunch was served anywhere a guest wished: under a blooming tree, beach or cottage by the individual butler.

Guests usually arrived through Kingston, picked up either by our own helicopter or by our Cadillac limousines. Late arrivals from the United Kingdom or Europe usually stayed overnight at the then Blue Mountain Inn where two suites were permanently rented during the winter months. Once at the cove, some 200 staff took care of a maximum 100 houseguests. Before lunchtime, an imposing French chef contacted each guest individually and took the order for dinner, preparing whatever was ordered.

The kitchen crew consisted of some 18 cooks, including European chefs, Jamaican chefs and Chinese chefs. In the evenings, dinners would be served to guests as previously ordered during midmorning by their individual butler. Sonny Bradshaw's orchestra enchanted our guests three nights per week. A sumptuous gala night would be held on Saturday and local dignitaries and meritous Portlanders were invited and mixed with our guests.

A Catholic Church service was held every Sunday afternoon in front of the dining area for our guests and staff alike. An old sugarcane ruin was transformed into a real Japanese bathhouse with a Jamaican and Japanese masseuse in attendance. At the entrance, a teahouse served health teas from Jamaica and other parts of the world. A wine cellar offered a great choice of chateau bottled wines.

ALLURE

Frenchman's Cove attracted celebrities from art, music, theatre and the film world: poets, writers and business tycoons from all over the world. Princess Anne celebrated her 16th birthday with us, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles. A cottage was especially built for Bertram Russell.

No publicity or picture taking by journalists was allowed. Total privacy was guaranteed to houseguests. The resort was solidly booked out for years.

Minimum stays of two weeks were imposed, but most guests stayed usually for one month, or longer. Fifty per cent were return visitors. We never spent a penny for advertising, but we were written up in most top magazines (like Time, Newsweek, Paris Match and Town and Country, to name a few) at regular intervals.

We were quoted to be the most expensive hotel in the world, but this, in fact, was not true when you consider what was included in the rate) food, any drinks, transportation ­ with or without a chauffeur ­ barber/hairdresser, deep sea fishing, watersports at the Blue Lagoon. We had our own San San Golf Course with nine holes. But, our patrons could use any other Jamaican golf course, stay overnight ­ our carte blanche paid for this ­ telephone calls (in due course, limited to three minutes ...!) and cable. If one wished to eat outside the hotel, again carte blanche, we paid the tab. This offer was hardly ever used since our cuisine was of the highest level imaginable.

Rainy days do appear in lush Portland, so we occasionally made an excursion to Pera, St. Thomas where good weather was "guaranteed". The Westons own a six hundred acre farm and one mile long white sand beach there. A fleet of cars would transport our guests through the scenic countryside to Pera. Some of our staff was all ready on the spot to welcome our "Safari Members".

The local fishermen supplied us with fresh fish and lobster. A Jamaican feast would be prepared for lunch. Another memorable event used to be the full moon rafting trip down the Rio Grande. Some sixty to eighty rafters, including a calypso band, floated peacefully down the picturesque river.

Midway, on a small island, staff members greeted our guests with an improvised bar and an al fresco grill dinner. Every other Sunday, late morning, the West Indies Regiment Band gave a concert on the lawn behind the beach to the delight of our houseguests. The resort was never "splashy" ­ it was run like a vast elegant private domain ­ discrete, with efficient staff members.
As a matter of fact, some housekeepers and butlers were taken away by our clients to serve them at their own house during the time that we were closed.

Frenchman's Cove was like a sort of 'love story'. This spirit ended, however, in the early seventies and really never recovered thereafter. But, the property is still maintained in its original splendour (even though the buildings and facilities are a bit dilapidated and in need of a 'facelift') well attended by a capable and dedicated 'old-timer', Frank Lawrence, waiting for a Messiah to awaken this sleeping beauty!

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* Jean-Pierre Aubry went on to Nassau to operate two hotels, mainly Lyford Cay. He returned thereafter to his native Switzerland with his Jamaican wife (from Port Antonio) and son. He changed then his orientation to run his own farm with organic food production. He lives now in Rougemont/Gstaad and spends some winter months with his father-in-law in Jamaica and at Frenchman's Cove trying to finish his novel 'Lost Times'.

Frenchman's Cove years ago. FILE