Wed | Jan 7, 2026

Dream House | Magnificent Tamarind Hill estate has royal roots

Published:Sunday | January 21, 2024 | 12:05 AM
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The main feature of the architecture is this awesome, welcoming courtyard.
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The main feature of the architecture is this awesome, welcoming courtyard.
A bathroom luxuriating in the extensive use of marble, mirrors and glass.
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A bathroom luxuriating in the extensive use of marble, mirrors and glass.
The living room opens up completely to the glorious outdoors via an astounding 22 glass doors.
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The living room opens up completely to the glorious outdoors via an astounding 22 glass doors.
A dream residence designed by royalty, with its unique grand entry within a grand entrance.
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A dream residence designed by royalty, with its unique grand entry within a grand entrance.
An out-of-this-world bedroom with a wrap-around balcony, sitting atop the seascape.
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An out-of-this-world bedroom with a wrap-around balcony, sitting atop the seascape.
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We have quietly known about this dream house for years, and, despite our implorations to view it, the residence has politely distanced itself from the glare of the public spotlight. But there is an old adage that says, “good things come to those who wait”.

Our virtuous patience has ultimately obtained the desired result, and it is now our good fortune to cross the threshold of what can only be described as a fantastic monument to higher living standards.

A circular driveway steers us to the sprawling residence designed by royalty. Celebrated architect Prince Kasimir Korybut has been responsible for many a luxurious edifice on the island. This split-level one has a grand entrance within a grand entrance! An inner front entryway, being completely hidden and protected inside a walled-in, open-air garden oasis, with its separately roofed, gated, outer formal entrance. Oh my gosh! The cross-ventilated, sunlit living spaces enclosing this wondrous courtyard of several water fountains and cut-stone walkways are in concord with the natural outdoors in all its enormity.

The off-white, well-appointed living room opens entirely from east to west, with 22 glass doors. The dining room elevates your feasting experience, served by a fully equipped kitchen in white.

Each of the four respectable-size, white furnished bedrooms (with walk-in closets), benefit from en suite bathrooms of marble double sink counters, bath tubs, and glass-fronted showers. All rooms throughout face the sweeping, absorbing Caribbean waterscape. Terraces and balconies allow for the uncontrollable enjoyment of external, idyllic spaces.

An oil-based Jamaican art collection highlights exhaustively white and soft-coloured walls, inseparable from the cathedral and tray ceilings in sheer white. Floors underfoot shine splendiferously in rich marble and porcelain.

The fruited, terraced orchid gardens with additional effervescent water fountains make quite a splash, unfolding an infinity-edge, brick-surrounded, sparkling swimming pool in the company of a well-stocked premium bar. Not to mention the tennis court nearby.

The four-and-a-half-acre isolated estate in Tamarind Hill, Hanover, was bought by Elsado Schober, 10 years ago from its previous American owners, and comprehensively refurbished. She was born in St James, left Jamaica at age nine for England, eventually going to university in Canada and receiving a degree in international business. She met her husband, a patent lawyer, in Germany, where she has lived for over 40 years. Sadly, he passed away in a motor vehicle accident, leaving her with two sons. She comes to Jamaica four times a year and loves travelling, hiking and yoga.

Her friend, Eleanor Crighton, is the one who made it all possible, by entrusting us with the keys to the incontestable, bewitching environment.

Barry Rattray is a dream house designer and builder. Email feedback to barryrattray1@hotmail.com and lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.