Dream House | A sanctuary in the hills

Today, we eagerly take to the hills, 12 miles west of Montego Bay, to visit an extraordinary house that crowns the highest point of its environs. Here, luxury quietly envelops you, allowing you to experience a lifestyle that dreams are made of. 
Set on five acres, the single-storey structure gladdens you with tranquilising views of the sea, forested hills, and an 18-hole golf course. Colourful orchid gardens filled with rare, luxuriant blooms, are alive with exotic birds (including parrots), sit alongside orchards, coconut groves, a kitchen garden, and an apiary supplying fresh honey. 
The alluring pull of a chlorine-free, heated salt-water, infinity-edge pool, along with a garden hot tub, a cliff-edge gazebo, and a romantic firepit, overwhelms you. A small river below adds to the mystique of the place. 
The interior flaunts vaulted ceilings and five deluxe bedroom suites with viewing patios. En suite bathrooms come with premium fittings and fixtures, including double-vessel sink vanities, indoor-outdoor marble walk-in rain showers, and freestanding porcelain soaking tubs behind retractable walls. 
A living room, framed by several arched doorways, is furnished with plush sofas and sea views. A dining room and kitchen are mere footsteps away. The main verandah is the nucleus of the home’s dining and entertaining. There is also a fully equipped gym. 
High-level finishes make an impression with hardwood and cut-stone floors and coral stone walls in places. Artwork from renowned Jamaican masters embellishes the walls. A state-of-the-art speaker system brings music to your ears as you’ve never heard it before. 
As we reluctantly say goodbye and make our way back down the hill, we are left with one inescapable conclusion. This is not your regular Dream House. Words cannot begin to describe the feeling of being inside and experiencing it all. For architecture that moves the human spirit beyond and above the expected, we proudly include it in the Dream House series. 
Barry Rattray is a dream house designer and builder. Email feedback to barryrattray1@hotmail.com and lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.