You must be a special person to know who Banksy really is -- an anonymous British graffiti artist known for his controversial artworks spread in cities around the world. Until today, only a few trusted people know the real identity of Banksy, like the owner of the famous Geejam Hotel in Jamaica.
Jon Baker apparently went to school with Banksy at the Chelsea School of Art in London, and as a favor, the famous artist left 11 stencils on the walls of the hotel, something guests have been impressed with for over ten years. The paintings include Banksy's three signature stencil rats, which were lined on the outside walls of one of the hotel's three-bedroom villas.
However, during a regular maintenance work for the five-star hotel, the workers accidentally painted over Banksy's works, thinking that they're part of the cleaning job since, for an outsider, the artworks looked like regular graffiti. The workers thought some rude guests painted on the hotel's walls illegally, thus prompting them to put thick slabs of white paint over the artworks.
Jon Baker was distraught, of course. After discovering what happened, he immediately called another company to try and undo the damage. However, $150,000 is expected to be shelled out for stripping out the paint, and it's even unlikely that the artworks will still look the same afterward.
In a statement, a hotel source said: "Banksy is friends with the owners, and has stayed a few times over the years. On an early visit in 2006 he left 11 stencils as a gift, and these proved a huge hit with guests."
"However, over the summer break builders were called into spruce up the place and didn't recognize Banksy's scrawl. They thought a rogue visitor had debased the walls, and promptly painted over the ones on the outside of the building. When the mistake was realized, they were mortified - as were the owners."
Geejam Hotel is famous for attracting famous guests. Aside from Banksy, Tom Cruise, Katy Perry, the Rolling Stones and Amy Winehouse have all stayed at the hotel.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
