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Constant Spring Hotel |
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The Constant Spring Hotel was built in 1888 by the American Hotels Company, two years before the Jamaican Hotel Law was passed. However, the Company seized upon the opportunity offered by the Law to erect several cottages on the hotel grounds. The hotel was the first building in Jamaica to be lit by electricity. The Constant Spring Post Office was set up as a facility for the guests. Among the attractions of the hotel were the extensive grounds with a unique collection of tropical plants and a vast variety of butterflies, moths, birds, etc. There were special arrangements for children ( special dining room, garden and amusements). In spite of the spacious dining room which could seat 350 people and the celebrated French chef - two French cooks and a Viennese baker, a guest complained that a "boiled egg" would apparently require three-quarters of an hour to prepare and the visitor would sometimes be told that 'de salt am all use up'. The staff were said to be uncouth and the hotel dirty. From the start, the Constant Spring Hotel was a Financial failure and in 1895 it was taken over by the Government, which had guaranteed the capital when it was built. As early as June 1891, "the Kingston folks" were saying the "hotel ventures are not always a Constant Spring of Wealth". In 1905, it was leased by Elder Dempster, the operators of a new steamship line to England, who hoped to attract tourist from that country, but the hotel still failed to make money and Elder Dempster abandoned their attempt in 1912. After further vicissitude as a hotel, in 1940 it was sold to the Franciscan Sisters, who were looking for a new home for their convent and school having lost their original location on Duke St in 1937 to fire. In 1941 Immaculate Conception Convent and High School opened with 99 students and 16 boarders, mostly daughters of wealthy Jamaican, Cuban, Haitian and Canadian Catholic families. |
