Bob Marley’s Jamaican hotel hideaway Strawberry Hill and tropical 47-acre property is on sale after being featured in One Love biopic
- Jamaica’s Strawberry Hill Hotel was built on a coffee plantation in the 18th century
- The resort was previously owned by a British royal family in the eighteenth century
- The hotel is on the market for an undisclosed price but tourists can still stay at the resort
The Strawberry Hill Hotel that was frequented by Bob Marley and depicted in the 2024 film ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ is officially on the market.
The 47-acre mountaintop resort was built on a coffee plantation and belonged to a British royal family in the eighteenth century.
It was named by its reputed original owner Horace Walpore, who was the son of Prime Minister Robert Walpore, who was in office from 1721 to 1742.
Despite the hotel being on the market for an undisclosed price, travelers who are looking to spend time St. Andrew, Jamaica, can still stay at the luxury resort while on vacation, the New York Post reported.
According to the hotel’s website, Horace discovered that ‘the property’s elevation was ideal for growing strawberries.’
It became a Foreign Officers’ Navel Hospital in the late eighteenth century and was later owned by prominent families such as the Cargills and the DaCostas.
The property was eventually purchased by its current owner and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell in the 1970s and became the location that Marley recuperated at after he was almost murdered on December 3, 1976.
‘I used to come here for Sunday tea with my mother when I was a little boy, and I’ve always had a sentimental feeling about this place,’ Blackwell told The Guardian back in 2000.
Jamaican architect Ann Hodges was hired by Blackwell after he started planning to develop the estate.
She used vernacular pitched roofs, decorative designs on wood and large roof overhands in her designs.
Today, the property has 13 all-white cottages and the potential to fit 16 more villas.
The amount of cottages the hotel has is convenient for vacationers who are looking to get married or host other events on the property.
Tourists who decide to explore the hotel will also find an infinity pool and a helipad.
Anyone in the property hoping to relax can also get access to one of five treatment rooms in the hotel spa.
They can also visit the hotel’s restaurant, which serves traditional Jamaican cuisine dishes like lamb curry and fish stew.
An even bigger way for visitors to connect to the history behind Strawberry Hill Hotel is to visit the on-site Coffee Plantation at the Craighton House Coffee Estate.
The hotel currently promotes a Craighton House Coffee Estate Hike and Tour, during which vacationers can either hike by themselves or pay $20 for a lecture and walking tour of the estate.
One of the first scenes of ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ shows the events of the attempted assassination of the singer, his wife, Rita Marley, his manager Don Taylor and a fellow band member Louis Griffiths.
All of them survived the shooting, and Marley retreated to the Strawberry Hill Hotel shortly afterward before recording new music.
Marley was one of many famous musicians to stay at the Strawberry Hill Hotel.
According to Island Outpost, other notable guests at the hotel include the Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithful, Grace Jones, Black Uhuru and Willie Nelson.
