Mandalay Estate, Mustique

The Mandalay Estate is a 6.2 acres (2.5 ha), Balinese style villa perched on the hills above Britannia Bay on the island of Mustique.[1]

The island

Lord Glenconner,[2] formerly 3rd Baron Glenconner Colin Tennant, bought the island in 1958 and he created the idyllic destination of Mustique [3] In 1960 media attention rose when Lord Glenconner gifted land to Princess Margaret as a wedding gift.[4]

David Bowie

‘Britannia Bay House’,[5] as it was originally named,[6] was built for the British rock legend David Bowie in 1989 in collaboration with renowned architects [7] Arne Hasselqvist [8] and New York designer Robert Litwiller.[9] Bowie craved a property on the picturesque Caribbean island that was far away from the expected, in fact he stated “I wanted something as unlike the Caribbean as possible”.[10]

At the centre of the villa is a koi pond with waterfalls and an infinity pool, surrounded by a series of Balinese pavilions. Bowie was fond of the villa's layout saying “The thing about Mandalay is that it is broken up into little areas that you can get lost in”. Bowie spent much time at his unique home on the island, attributing his lack of being able to work there to the outstanding views from the villa, explaining “The house is such a tranquil place that I have absolutely no motivation to write things when I’m there”.[11]

Felix Dennis

Bowie then sold the estate for $5m dollars to business tycoon and poet Felix Dennis in 1994.[12] Felix Dennis renamed the villa to a more suitable 'Mandalay'.[13]

Dennis was keen to preserve the villa as Bowie had intended [14] and through the years added numerous details reflecting his own style.

Dennis began writing poetry in 1999 [15] after a bout of illness and wrote "Island Dreams" - 99 poems from Mustique [16] with the Laughing Buddha being used on BBC Radio 4's Poetry Please in May 2015.[17]

Felix Dennis spent five months of the year on the island and wrote some of his most popular poetry whilst owning the Mandalay Estate.[18] Inspired by the scene as the sun goes down from Mandalay, Dennis wrote;.[19]

"A ball of fire is spilling in the sea
The empty sky flamingo-pink and grey
Cicada songs creak out the end of day
A choir of tree-frogs whistle: “Come to me!”

Dennis worked with the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines to give each of the 12,500 secondary school children a laptop in 2014.[20]

Present day

After the death of Felix Dennis [21] in June 2014, the Mandalay Estate was put up for sale and sold for a reported price of £14 million [22] to entrepreneur Simon Dolan. There have been numerous press articles to say that the estate is now available to rent for the first time ever,[23] for a reported $40k dollars a week.[24] The villa has five bedrooms including one in what was once David Bowie's recording studio and another in the Writers Cottage where Felix Dennis wrote his poetry [25]

References

  1. ↑ Costas, Kari (23 March 2016). "David Bowie's Mustique Villa for rent". Elle Decor.
  2. ↑ Crowley, Andrew (29 August 2010). "Lord Glenconner obituary". The Telegraph.
  3. ↑ Haslam, Nicky (3 November 2012). "The Wordling's Pleasure". The Spectator.
  4. ↑ "Mustique". Historic Royal Places.
  5. ↑ Buckley, Christopher (31 August 1992). "David Bowie's House on the Island of Mustique". Architectural Digest.
  6. ↑ Ekstein, Nikki (1 November 2016). "You can now rent David Bowie's Mustique villa for $40,000 a week". Bloomberg.
  7. ↑ Buckley, Christopher (31 August 1992). "David Bowie's House on the Island of Mustique". Architectural Digest.
  8. ↑ "Arne Hasselqvist; Architect Created Celebrity Homes". LA Times. 17 February 2001.
  9. ↑ Ramzi, Lilah (13 January 2016). "Fantasy Island: David Bowie and Iman's Former Mustique Retreat for Sale". Vogue.
  10. ↑ Middleton, Christopher (11 January 2016). "Inside David Bowie's holiday home". The Telegraph.
  11. ↑ Buckley, Christopher (31 August 1992). "David Bowie's House on the Island of Mustique". Architectural Digest.
  12. ↑ Middleton, Christopher (11 January 2016). "Inside David Bowie's holiday home". Telegraph.
  13. ↑ Ekstein, Nikki (1 November 2016). "You Can Now Rent David Bowie's Mustique Villa for $40,000 a Week". Telegraph.
  14. ↑ Brown, Mick (9 September 2016). "Inside Mandalay, David Bowie's magical Mustique holiday home". Telegraph.
  15. ↑ Wolfe, Tom. "About Felix Dennis". Poetry Archive.
  16. ↑ "Island of Dreams". Felix Dennis.
  17. ↑ "Poetry Please". BBC Radio 4.
  18. ↑ Burrell, Ian (7 April 2014). "The millionaire and the island nation:Eccentric mogul Felix Dennis to buy one laptop for every child in St Vincent and the Grenadines". The Independent.
  19. ↑ Dennis, Felix. "Sunset, Mustique".
  20. ↑ Burrell, Ian (7 April 2014). "The millionaire and the island nation: Eccentric mogul Felix Dennis to buy one laptop for every child in St Vincent and the Grenadines". The Independent.
  21. ↑ Rowe, Marsha (23 June 2014). "Felix Dennis obituary". The Guardian.
  22. ↑ Tonkin, Sam (12 January 2016). "Inside David Bowie's 'tranquil' Caribbean retreat: Stunning mansion built for him as a private getaway goes on sale for £14million". The Daily Mail- Mail Online.
  23. ↑ Agnew, Roisin (25 March 2016). "Can't afford $20 million for David Bowie's Caribbean house? Now you can rent it instead". Lonely Planet.
  24. ↑ Ekstein, Nikki (1 November 2016). "You Can Now Rent David Bowie's Mustique Villa for $40,000 a Week". Bloomberg.
  25. ↑ Brown, Mick (9 September 2016). "Inside Mandalay, David Bowie's magical Mustique holiday home". Telegraph.

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