Inside David Bowie's 'Tranquil' Caribbean Retreat: Stunning Mansion Built for Him as a Private Getaway Goes on Sale for £14million (US$21million)
- These photographs offer a glimpse inside the tropical holiday retreat David Bowie had built on a Caribbean island
- He once described the £14million five-bedroom mansion as a 'tranquil place' so relaxing he found it difficult to work
- Bowie later sold the peaceful hillside retreat on Mustique to British publisher and poet Felix Dennis for £3.5million
- Dennis passed away in 2014 and the private island villa is now thought to have been purchased by a mystery buyer
Daily Mail UK, 12 January 2016
Blissfully tranquil and idyllic, these photographs offer a rare glimpse inside the tropical holiday retreat he had built on a star-studded private Caribbean island shortly before he married his supermodel wife Iman.
It may be nearly 30 years old but the £14million ($21million) five-bedroom mansion still retains the same glamour, extravagance and lavishly colourful interiors Bowie envisioned when he chose the home's Indonesian look back in the Eighties.
The peaceful hillside hideaway, once described by the 69-year-old glam rock icon as a 'tranquil place' so relaxing he found it difficult to pen new music there, now appears to have been snapped up by a mystery buyer.
It is located on what Bowie called the 'fantasy island' of Mustique, a popular getaway spot with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
In one room there is an air hockey table, mini stage with guitars and bongo drums, and colourful models of birds hanging from the ceiling
Bowie (pictured left in the retreat in 1992) had it built shortly before he married supermodel wife Iman (right, pictured together in 1995)
Explaining the theme of his home, designed by Swedish architect Arne Hasselqvist as a series of pavilions, each sitting discreetly within the tropical garden, Bowie said in 1992:
'I wanted something as unlike the Caribbean as possible.
'It’s a whim personified. I love a good cliché, and this house, for me, is just the most delightful cliché. What you have to realise is that Mustique is a fantasy island.'
But Bowie is not the only celebrated owner of the property. He later sold the retreat to the millionaire British publisher and poet Felix Dennis for £3.5million ($5million), a man who possessed a past every bit as colourful as Bowie's.
Dennis passed away in 2014 and it now appears the villa, advertised by global real estate agency Knight Frank, will soon have a new owner. It is listed as 'under offer' on Knight Frank's website, after having an asking price of around £14million ($20million).
Bowie used the retreat as a private getaway in the Nineties, but once admitted that it was so relaxing he found it difficult to work while visiting.
Peaceful: The private hillside hideaway is located on the Caribbean island of Mustique, once described by David Bowie as a 'fantasy island'
Relaxing: It comes with its own bar area and a look-out spot over the hillside. The property has now been snapped up by a mystery buyer
The house was decorated in an Indonesian theme when Bowie had it built in 1989. It still retains much of the glamour and colourful interior
The home boasts a swimming pool with a wet bar. It was designed as a series of pavilions, each sitting discreetly within the tropical garden
He once said during a house tour: 'The house is such a tranquil place that I have absolutely no motivation to write things when I’m there.'
On why he chose Mustique, Bowie added: 'Frankly, it was quite odd. I went down to spend a couple of days with Mick [Jagger] and Jerry [Hall] in their house, and while waiting for the boat — I was going to take a trip up and down the Caribbean and it never happened because the propeller fell out or something — I was stranded.
'And I just went scouting one day, having nothing better to do, there being little else to do there, and I came across this area of land attached to Arne Hasselqvist’s. And we talked about it, and I thought, Why not?'
There are plenty of spots to lay back and enjoy views of the sea. Bowie once said that it was so relaxing he found it difficult to work there
Colourful: The 69-year-old glam rock icon later sold the retreat to the millionaire British publisher and poet Felix Dennis for £3.5million
It now appears to have been bought by a mystery buyer. The villa, which comes with a pool, is 'under offer' on an estate agents' website
The villa was built in 1989 on a sandy outcrop, measuring three miles by one-and-a-half miles, that had been bought by British aristocrat Lord Glenconner for £45,000 in 1958.
It features a card room decorated with mussel shells, a studio with bamboo ceiling (once used by Bowie to record in), and a stage for musical performances. There is also a veranda from which there are views of the sea and what estate agents call 'the mesmerising Mustique sunsets'.
Other celebrities attracted to Mustique, where there are only around 80 houses and you can pay up to $75,000 a week to rent a place, include Mick Jagger, Jeremy Clarkson and, more recently, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The couple visited the tiny island on a babymoon in 2013 - a holiday taken shortly before Prince George was born.
Shaded: One of the dining areas at the mansion is pictured. Such is the home's design that you are also never far from a refreshing dip
The property has five bedrooms, including this one, and was built on a sandy outcrop measuring three miles by one-and-a-half miles
Bowie used the retreat as a private getaway in the Nineties, but once admitted it was so relaxing he found it difficult to work while visiting
Such is the way the mansion has been designed that you can hop off a mattress in any one of the bedrooms and soon be in the pool