Barbuda--Paradise Found
Feb 23rd, 2005, 07:11 AM
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Barbuda--Paradise Found
Part of our criteria for a Caribbean vacation is not touristy (No cruise ships etc ) which has taken us to the Bahamas out islands, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, Vieques etc. After reading several articles on Barbuda and some research we decided to give it a try. The Beach House Barbuda had a package on Luxury Link which I bid on and won. We were there 8-14 Feb and have discovered a hidden gem
Left Orlando and flew to San Juan and then Antigua. We were met and greated by a lovely young lady who whisked us thru immigration and customs and to Carib Aviation for our chartered flight to Barbuda. Flight was about 15 min in a 9 seater. Chartered flight both ways were in our package. Carib Aviation has two flights daily to Barbuda in a 17 seater-one leaves at about 7:30 AM and one at about 4:30 PM.--$42/person. You can also fly direct to the Beach House in a helicopter for $880 each way and someone actually did while we were there.
After a short taxi ride we arrived at The Beach House to a lovley warm welcome by the staff and cold towels and fruit punch. Met our Service Ambasador who showed us to our room for an orientation and how to use the espresso machine which is in every room. The room was a Junior ocean front suite and very nice. As you walk in the bath and closets are to the left and right. Up three steps to a living area with large couch, coffee table and desk. The bed looks out two large windows to the beach and ocean. The bed is appointed with premier linens, duvets etc and is like sleeping on a cloud. On the deck which fronts a man made pond ("lake"
there is a table and chairs and two padded loungers. Green tea oil massages by Alice on the deck were wonderful. Very nice accomodations !!!
Beach House was formerly Palmetto Point Hotel. Was bought by Caribbean Clubs and renovated. It has been open about a year. As you enter there is a large open lounge area with lots of couches a bar and a dining area. This faces a large deck with a salt water pool. No TV's in the rooms but there is a TV lounge if you need a fix. There is an on line computer for guests use. DvD players are available for the rooms and they have a good selection of movies. There is a large library and lots of board games. There is even a pool table and people were playing. They are building an air conditioned restaurant to the west but stopped construction so as not to disturb guests in season. If you walk down the path on the right to the beach there are eight palapas with lounges. Construction of a beach bar/restaurant there will start soon. There are 21 Junior suites and one one bedroom suite around the pond. Plan is to build an additional 21 cottages on the property and a large Spa and exercise facility. The Beach House has all the makings of a luxurious five star resort.
The chef , Andrea Coppola, is from the K Club. He is 29 and is excellent. In fact a lot of the staff is from K Club and the new resident manager was formerly the manager at K Club. The breakfast menu has everything from soup to nuts. There is an all day menu of sandwiches and salads. The lunch menu is three courses with a choice of one iten in each course. The dinner menu is four courses again with a choice of one item. We thought the food was excellent. At night the Beach House takes on a whole new personality. There are small blue lights in the "lake" which is cool. Lanterns around the pool and candles everywhere. Very romantic !!!
Barbuda isn't for everyone. Small island with a population of about 1200 and one town Codrington. There are two other resorts on the island K Club and Coco Point which is only open 5 months a year If you are stressed out at work, caught up in the rat race and need a place to bury your head in the sand where the sun comes up goes down and the stars come out The Beach House is for you. The biggest decision you'll have to make is what to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pure heaven. You can do snorkel trips, fish, go to the bird sanctuary and explore caves and that's about it. If you are looking for night life, gambling, shopping etc forget it.
You hear about island time being slower and slowest. Found it funny the clock in our room gained an hour every 24. Then again the clock in the departure lounge at the Antigus airport was a half hour slow but so were the planes
The night before we left the staff sang us some farewell songs and I sang one back to them. Everyone was teary eyed. The Beach House staff is one of the best we have ever seen in the islands. The next morning we had a quick breakfast before leaving at 7 AM to go to Antigua and Anguilla. Some of the staff had been there since 5AM decorating with red and white balloons for Valentines day. We got a heart shaped box of chocolates and a red rose when we left. The Beach House was truly a slice of heaven and we'll can't wait to return.
Left Orlando and flew to San Juan and then Antigua. We were met and greated by a lovely young lady who whisked us thru immigration and customs and to Carib Aviation for our chartered flight to Barbuda. Flight was about 15 min in a 9 seater. Chartered flight both ways were in our package. Carib Aviation has two flights daily to Barbuda in a 17 seater-one leaves at about 7:30 AM and one at about 4:30 PM.--$42/person. You can also fly direct to the Beach House in a helicopter for $880 each way and someone actually did while we were there.
After a short taxi ride we arrived at The Beach House to a lovley warm welcome by the staff and cold towels and fruit punch. Met our Service Ambasador who showed us to our room for an orientation and how to use the espresso machine which is in every room. The room was a Junior ocean front suite and very nice. As you walk in the bath and closets are to the left and right. Up three steps to a living area with large couch, coffee table and desk. The bed looks out two large windows to the beach and ocean. The bed is appointed with premier linens, duvets etc and is like sleeping on a cloud. On the deck which fronts a man made pond ("lake"
there is a table and chairs and two padded loungers. Green tea oil massages by Alice on the deck were wonderful. Very nice accomodations !!!Beach House was formerly Palmetto Point Hotel. Was bought by Caribbean Clubs and renovated. It has been open about a year. As you enter there is a large open lounge area with lots of couches a bar and a dining area. This faces a large deck with a salt water pool. No TV's in the rooms but there is a TV lounge if you need a fix. There is an on line computer for guests use. DvD players are available for the rooms and they have a good selection of movies. There is a large library and lots of board games. There is even a pool table and people were playing. They are building an air conditioned restaurant to the west but stopped construction so as not to disturb guests in season. If you walk down the path on the right to the beach there are eight palapas with lounges. Construction of a beach bar/restaurant there will start soon. There are 21 Junior suites and one one bedroom suite around the pond. Plan is to build an additional 21 cottages on the property and a large Spa and exercise facility. The Beach House has all the makings of a luxurious five star resort.
The chef , Andrea Coppola, is from the K Club. He is 29 and is excellent. In fact a lot of the staff is from K Club and the new resident manager was formerly the manager at K Club. The breakfast menu has everything from soup to nuts. There is an all day menu of sandwiches and salads. The lunch menu is three courses with a choice of one iten in each course. The dinner menu is four courses again with a choice of one item. We thought the food was excellent. At night the Beach House takes on a whole new personality. There are small blue lights in the "lake" which is cool. Lanterns around the pool and candles everywhere. Very romantic !!!
Barbuda isn't for everyone. Small island with a population of about 1200 and one town Codrington. There are two other resorts on the island K Club and Coco Point which is only open 5 months a year If you are stressed out at work, caught up in the rat race and need a place to bury your head in the sand where the sun comes up goes down and the stars come out The Beach House is for you. The biggest decision you'll have to make is what to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pure heaven. You can do snorkel trips, fish, go to the bird sanctuary and explore caves and that's about it. If you are looking for night life, gambling, shopping etc forget it.
You hear about island time being slower and slowest. Found it funny the clock in our room gained an hour every 24. Then again the clock in the departure lounge at the Antigus airport was a half hour slow but so were the planes
The night before we left the staff sang us some farewell songs and I sang one back to them. Everyone was teary eyed. The Beach House staff is one of the best we have ever seen in the islands. The next morning we had a quick breakfast before leaving at 7 AM to go to Antigua and Anguilla. Some of the staff had been there since 5AM decorating with red and white balloons for Valentines day. We got a heart shaped box of chocolates and a red rose when we left. The Beach House was truly a slice of heaven and we'll can't wait to return.
Feb 23rd, 2005, 07:25 AM
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Wow! Sounds like just my speed! When you did your explorations, did the hotel guide you, or were you on your own? Is this the type of place where you might explore with a rented car? Did you find 7 nights the right amount of time? It sounds like heaven.
Feb 23rd, 2005, 01:21 PM
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To Callaloo--We didn't do any excursions. I did have a snorkel trip in my package but waited until the last two days and the weather didn't cooperate. I was just saying what was available. You can get a snorkel trip by boat or off the beach. Need a boat for the frigate bird sanctuary and caves. Beach House will pack a lunch and set you up on a deserted beach for the day. They will arrange the trips for you. Wouldn't bother with a car. Hardly anything to see and roads are awful.
To Clear. Forgot to mention in my report that Frigate Beach was one of the top 50 beaches in the Caribbean in Caribbean Travel abd Life recently. Very deep beach. Roughness depends on where the wind is blowing from. Water is really nice but not as nice as Provo
Yes they have seafood on the menu at lunch and dinner. Have a very good lobster club sandwich. One night we had
sesame crusted tuna which was wonderful. Lobster two nights. They will prepare anything you want with enough notice just ask. Funny story--The owner of the Frangipani on Anguilla was looking for a new chef last fall and it was down to two one of which was from the K Club. He picked Matthias Fischer Anyway I asked The Beach House chef Andrea if he knew a Matthias Fischer from the K Club and he said he wasn't familiar with that fish but would ask around to see if he could get some. The whole staff bends over backwards to ensure you have a wonderful vacation and your requests are filled.
Also forgot to mention--in posts I read before going there wer complaints about bug bites. There were some people who got some nasty bites but we didn't have a problem. Sprayed liberally with Off Skintastic and Mosquito Milk and wore long pants in the evening. They do have deep woods off there. As on any Caribbean Island bug spray is the perfume of choice especially at night
The airport terminal is a hoot. Small concrete building with two doors--Arrivals and Departures. Could have easily said men and women it was so small
To Clear. Forgot to mention in my report that Frigate Beach was one of the top 50 beaches in the Caribbean in Caribbean Travel abd Life recently. Very deep beach. Roughness depends on where the wind is blowing from. Water is really nice but not as nice as Provo
Yes they have seafood on the menu at lunch and dinner. Have a very good lobster club sandwich. One night we had
sesame crusted tuna which was wonderful. Lobster two nights. They will prepare anything you want with enough notice just ask. Funny story--The owner of the Frangipani on Anguilla was looking for a new chef last fall and it was down to two one of which was from the K Club. He picked Matthias Fischer Anyway I asked The Beach House chef Andrea if he knew a Matthias Fischer from the K Club and he said he wasn't familiar with that fish but would ask around to see if he could get some. The whole staff bends over backwards to ensure you have a wonderful vacation and your requests are filled.
Also forgot to mention--in posts I read before going there wer complaints about bug bites. There were some people who got some nasty bites but we didn't have a problem. Sprayed liberally with Off Skintastic and Mosquito Milk and wore long pants in the evening. They do have deep woods off there. As on any Caribbean Island bug spray is the perfume of choice especially at night
The airport terminal is a hoot. Small concrete building with two doors--Arrivals and Departures. Could have easily said men and women it was so small
Mar 1st, 2005, 08:35 AM
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Howard:
Good to hear you had a nice time at the Beach House. (I think we may have chatted about Barbuda before.) Was the resort full at the time you were there? Were the guests mostly from US or Europe?
In September, we knew we were risking the hurricane season, but we were blessed with perfect weather. We were the ONLY guests except for a group doing a photo shoot for "Elegant Bride". (which can be seen in this months issue; unfortunately it really doesn't show much of the property, but the model is lovely) The whole process was fascinating to watch.
As for the beach...can you say PINK sand....incredible. I have never seen anything as pretty, ever! And, it goes on forever, endless miles of beautiful pink sand!! We had the place all to ourselves. The beaches were totally isolated.
I agree, the staff was the nicest ever and so eager to please and very personable, too. In fact, when we arrived at the “airport terminal” (and, yes, Howard, that was a hoot) the manager, Marcello, personally picked us up and gave us a thorough history of the island which was most interesting. We had no idea just how small the island was.
Another nice touch is the cell phone they give you with 30 min. of free time. (I think) It can be used to call from anywhere on the property, be in from your room or 1/2 mile down the beach to call for the smallest or greatest request. We bought additional minutes to call home. FYI: if you have an incoming call, it doesn't use up your minutes. So it is best to have family/friends call you back after you have given them your number. (There is not another phone in the room.)
It's nice to know they have added beach palapas; they were not available while we were there. But, it didn't stop the staff from setting up lounge chairs and frozen drinks for us on the beach.
The ONLY complaint I would have would be the bathrooms; they are not as luxurious you'd expect at a property of this caliber. I do remember hearing they have plans to update them to bring them up to par. They are just so-so, with older tub/shower combo and very little storage for toiletries. Now, I’m probably being too picky.
And, YES, I did get eaten alive by the bugs, while they didn't even touch my husband. I tried every repellant possible, but nothing seemed to work. Guess I'm just too sweet!
We would love to return, but next time it would be nice to have a few more guests. Don’t get me wrong, we loved the seclusion and the privacy. It’s just after a few days; it got a little too quite. I will be interested in following this property, for it’s one to surely get continued praise.
Good to hear you had a nice time at the Beach House. (I think we may have chatted about Barbuda before.) Was the resort full at the time you were there? Were the guests mostly from US or Europe?
In September, we knew we were risking the hurricane season, but we were blessed with perfect weather. We were the ONLY guests except for a group doing a photo shoot for "Elegant Bride". (which can be seen in this months issue; unfortunately it really doesn't show much of the property, but the model is lovely) The whole process was fascinating to watch.
As for the beach...can you say PINK sand....incredible. I have never seen anything as pretty, ever! And, it goes on forever, endless miles of beautiful pink sand!! We had the place all to ourselves. The beaches were totally isolated.
I agree, the staff was the nicest ever and so eager to please and very personable, too. In fact, when we arrived at the “airport terminal” (and, yes, Howard, that was a hoot) the manager, Marcello, personally picked us up and gave us a thorough history of the island which was most interesting. We had no idea just how small the island was.
Another nice touch is the cell phone they give you with 30 min. of free time. (I think) It can be used to call from anywhere on the property, be in from your room or 1/2 mile down the beach to call for the smallest or greatest request. We bought additional minutes to call home. FYI: if you have an incoming call, it doesn't use up your minutes. So it is best to have family/friends call you back after you have given them your number. (There is not another phone in the room.)
It's nice to know they have added beach palapas; they were not available while we were there. But, it didn't stop the staff from setting up lounge chairs and frozen drinks for us on the beach.
The ONLY complaint I would have would be the bathrooms; they are not as luxurious you'd expect at a property of this caliber. I do remember hearing they have plans to update them to bring them up to par. They are just so-so, with older tub/shower combo and very little storage for toiletries. Now, I’m probably being too picky.
And, YES, I did get eaten alive by the bugs, while they didn't even touch my husband. I tried every repellant possible, but nothing seemed to work. Guess I'm just too sweet!
We would love to return, but next time it would be nice to have a few more guests. Don’t get me wrong, we loved the seclusion and the privacy. It’s just after a few days; it got a little too quite. I will be interested in following this property, for it’s one to surely get continued praise.
Mar 1st, 2005, 12:12 PM
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The Beach house was full when we were there. Seemed to be about 50-50 US and British. Conde Nast was there doing a photo shoot so that should appear in a month or two. They just hired an on site resident manager. A woman from K Club. Caribbean Club who owns Beach house just bought a resort on Antigua --my guess is St James Club and one on St Lucia.
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