Casa Maria: A colourful history
PORT MARIA, St Mary: NE MILE west of St Mary’s capital, Port Maria, is a small community with a fascinatingly colourful history, which nevertheless remains largely forgotten.
The district of Castle Gordon is home to both a quaint little resort, the Casa Maria Hotel, and the ‘Look Out’, where Jamaica’s second lieutenant governor, the 17th-century pirate Henry Morgan, policed the coastal sea waters.
Morgan’s observation post, which can be found on the hill above the hotel, features remarkable views of the north coast, and in 1956 was developed by English playwright Noel Coward into a luxurious retreat, Firefly, which was visited by dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth II.
Similarly, throughout the 1950s and 1960, the resort, then known as Castle Gordon Hotel, enjoyed a reputation as one of the Caribbean’s trendiest celebrity chill-spots.
According to Casa Maria’s General Manager Maureen Cunningham-Johnson, James Bond actor Sean Connery dined regularly at the restaurant, and the venue routinely hosted parties attended by Hollywood stars such as Katharine Hepburn, Gregory Peck, and Errol Flynn, who allegedly drove a brand new Cadillac into the hotel swimming pool during one of his many alcohol-fuelled escapades.
While the 19-room hotel is no longer a hub for A-list celebrity action, it remains a popular destination for international holidaymakers and local missionary teams, and is fast earning a reputation as one of the island’s most picturesque pizzerias.
Cunningham-Johnson told Rural Xpress: “Our pizzas are very popular and every weekend for the past two months, we’ve
OFor the past two years, former school principal Maureen CunninghamJohnson has been general manager of the historic Casa Maria Hotel in Castle Gordon, St Mary.
been doing a special offer where you can call in and order a pizza with the toppings of your choice, and collect it within 20 minutes. We’ve got people from as far as Ocho Rios, Highgate, and Annotto Bay coming here for pizza and to hang out by the pool.”
Before entering the leisure and tourism industry in 2014, Cunningham-Johnson managed schools, students, and teachers in St Mary for more than 30 years, and believes the skills she learned at the Ministry of Education (MoE) are valuable assets that have helped streamline her shift into the new role.