Mona Great House Hotel

Mona Great House Hotel. Also known as Dunreath Castle in the 19th century. Elevation 575 feet (650 feet claimed). The great house for the former Mona Sugar Estate.

In July 1886 the contents of the house were auctioned off. Daily newspaper announcements of the auction started in May.
In February and April 1893 the resident, Captain W. Peploe Forwood, auctioned off the contents, and the place was put up for rent with immediate possession. From June 1893 to January 1894 the house was listed for rent.
On November 1, 1895 the house again became available for rent as a family residence. Major Norton RA moved in.
In March 1896, as Major Norton was leaving the island, the contents were auctioned off. The house was put up for rent.
The house became the residence of Chief Justice Sir Fielding Clark. He died, and the house was put up for rent in November 1911. Listings continued until February 1912, then resumed in February 1913 through April 1913.
The house was then restored at a cost of £1,500.
In March 1914, "The Mona Estate" (2,664 acres), including the great house and water rights, was put up for sale. It was purchased by the Kingston General Commissioners for £20,000.
In August 1914 the Great House and 10 acres of land was put up for lease for a period of one to three years.
In October 1921 the house was leased for three years to Miss M.B. Austin, on the understanding that she do the necessary improvements.
In April 1922 the new hotel is seeking employees.
In March 1923 the display ads for the Mona Great House Hotel begin. The house has been thoroughly remodelled. There is now a swimming pool, and hot and cold water in all bedrooms.
In March 1924 the rate for permanent guests was reduced.
In April 1925 Miss Austin still had lease.
In January 1926 Mrs. Harvey Clark was doing the hiring.
By October 1926 Mr. Monte Davis took over the hotel lease, and had the commissioners make some repairs.
By July 1931 Miss Austin was again the lessee, and she contributed to the Tourist Trade Fund.
On August 22, 1931 a fire did £100 damage to the roof. Employees were burning wasp nests, and a spark flew onto the roof of the main building. All the employees pitched in to fight the fire, while the fire brigade was on its way.
In March 1934, M.B. Austin is advertising that the hotel has been thoroughly renovated. Bath to nearly all the rooms. Electric hot water system. Tennis, swimming, dancing, riding.
In the winter of 1935 (through winter of 1936) the hotel was regularly advertising for guests in the newspaper.
In June 1935, M.B. Austin wrote a letter asking for a rent reduction. She had now been a tenant for 15 years. She lost the privilege of running her cattle on the common, and the income from selling the milk. She has to maintain the road to the hotel and it has been an expensive privilege. [Move the satellite photo a little to the right. The road leads from Mona Road to the cluster of housing.] She has expended more than £1,000 in permanent improvements: buildings and sanitary arrangements. It was approved the rent be fixed at £14 per month.
In August 1935, She asked for a further reduction in rent, as she still has to pay rates and taxes which amount to more than the reduction in July. It was further reduced to £12 10/ per month.
On February 1, 1936 an advertisement announced that the hotel was under new management. A photograph caption on February 8th lists Miss M. Austin as hostess of the hotel. She is standing next to Mrs. H.J. Ashwell. Advertisements for guests stop.
On February 10, 1936 the commission approved the rental of the Mona Great House to Miss Austin.
In April 1936 a liquor license for the hotel was granted to Maud B. Austin.
In May 1936 small ads start reappearing in the newspaper. In July, special rates for the summer months was added to the listing. In January 1937 it changes to special rates for the winter months.
On March 6, 1937 Miss Maud Blanche Austin dies at age 63, after a little over two weeks of illness. Mrs. Isobel Ashwell, a trained nurse who was living at the time at Mona, cared for Miss Austin during her illness. And Mrs. Ashwell attended the funeral.
Mr. and Mrs. Harold J. Ashwell took over the lease.
In May 1937 the hotel was advertising special rates for the coronation.
In February 1938 regular newspaper advertisements resume for a couple months.
In September 1940 the hotel's gardener and laundress each received sentences of three months with hard labor. They stole goods from the hotel, with evidence provided by Capt. Harold Ashwell.
In December 1945, the sale of the hotel, and other parts of the estate, was considered, but the commission preferred something to permanently improve revenue.
In September 1954, Mr. H.J. Ashwell, the lessee, offered to purchase the Great House on certain conditions. He proposed to purchase the land in front of the hotel for extension purposes if necessary and to ensure that it did not fall into the hands of speculative builders as this would lessen the value of the holding for hotel purposes. He would pay £9,600 to secure possession of the land; continue the present lease of £300 per annum until its expiration eight years time; enter into agreement that at the end of that period to purchase the hotel premises for a sum of £18,400. It was agreed to, and the commission took out a mortgage to turn the future payment into an income stream.
In the 1950s the hotel had 17 double bedrooms and eight single bedrooms, each with a private bath. It was very much a residential hotel for many Brits who would spend the winter there.
Effective January 1, 1963, Harold Ashwell buys the hotel and 6-3/4 acres for £33,841. He was also given the option to purchase the remaining 11 acres for £3,000 per acre. [The trapezoid that is behind the hotel's 6-3/4 acres that is now the Mona High School and the field behind it.]
It was the hotel of choice for the Royal party who attended the commonwealth games in 1966, and also Princess Alice and the Earl of Athlone on their regular visits, as she was the Chancellor of the nearby University of the West Indies.
In January 1967, 30 of 38 employees went on strike. (The hotel was hopelessly overstaffed.) Many letters and articles in the Kingston Gleaner. The hotel did not close.
In 1970 Harold Ashwell moved to Cape Town. He then went back for four months each year, until the hotel was sold.
In the fall of 1971 the house was stripped of its rampant vines on the southeast side and painted up.
In January 1972 a full page advertisement in Country Life has the hotel for sale.
In April 1972, a single advertisement that the hotel is for sale appears in The Kingston Gleaner. Accommodation for 65 guests in the Great House, Annex and Cottages. All bedrooms with private bathrooms and air-conditioning. Seven acres.
In 1973 the hotel was sold to Lincoln Properties Ltd.
In March 1974 the Mona Hotel & Country Club housing development was introduced. Club memberships were offered. The hotel continued to operate, and as a clubhouse.
In April 1975 Phase II of the development was introduced.
In summer 1975 the first units were being turned over to purchasers.
In April 1976 there was a developer's close out, and the Mona Hotel & Country Club was put up for sale. Club memberships included.
In December 1979 the contents of the hotel were auctioned off.
In January 1980 a furnished three-bedroom, two baths apartment in the great house is available for rent for J$1,200 per month. In March it was $1,250. In July it was unfurnished and $1,000 per month.
In March 1982 there were two apartments for rent. Each with three carpeted and air-conditioned bedrooms, three bathrooms, family room, separate living/dining rooms, private laundry, and enclosed courtyard and garden. This increase in apartment size would be when the balcony and porch were filled in to create more inside space. The view would have been turning into rooftops.
In May 1985 the apartments rented for J$3,000 per month.
In June 1986 the apartments were listed for sale for J$550,000.