Barbados – Page 2 – The Discerning Travelers

The rainbow view from our varandah at The House. — The rainbow view from our verandah at The House.

Once upon a time, whenever you landed on a tropical island in the Caribbean in the middle of a long, cold, northern winter, you emerged from the plane into the bright sunshine, quickly feeling enveloped by the warmth of the breeze. You breathed deeply and immediately began to feel relaxed as you walked down the steps to the tarmac, rather than into an enclosed jet way. These days, with the airport improvements being enjoyed by the islands, this is a less common experience unless you’re traveling inter-island on the Caribbean’s own airlines in tiny planes. But there are some hold-outs.

Despite modern improvements, landing in Barbados a few weeks ago was still like the old days: we walked down those steps and into the terminal building, knowing at once that we were indeed on vacation.It’s been only two years since we were last in Barbados, when we stayed for three days at the Crane on the Atlantic coast en route to a cruise. And since we rarely like to repeat experiences, we decided that this year we’d try a property on the west coast, in an area that tourist brochures refer to as Barbados’ “Platinum Coast” in a property simply known as “The House.” The final detail that moved us in this direction was when Patty read on their web site that they are “adults only.” At this point in our lives, that’s a real selling point! And with only 34 suites, this was a property that might just meet our needs.

We arrived at The House in the early afternoon, and were greeted warmly by a striking, immaculately turned-out woman named Vanita, whose precise function was not yet clear to us – but it soon would be. She invited us in as one might invite a cherished guest into one’s personal domain. She immediately made us feel at home by installing us into deeply cushioned sofas in the lounge which was open to the outdoors both at the front and at the back which led directly to the pool and the beach beyond. We sipped rum punch, and she began to tell us about the property that would be our home for the next five days. The House has no front desk, no bellmen, no line-ups, no request that is impossible. What they do have is staff that is, to a person, there to help you with anything you desire.You see, Vanita was actually one of several personal concierges, and each of the employees was an ambassador. Everyone from the bar-tenders to the wait staff could be counted on to answer questions and to assist us with anything at all – and they did.

As soon as we were ready, Vanita showed us to our suite on the second floor of the three-story building. An oceanfront junior suite (all the ‘rooms’ are all suites), the room was more than adequate with its recent refurbishments that included a wonderful bathroom, fabulous terrace, and breathtaking views of the surf. We knew that at least the suite would make us happy for five days!

The romantic lounge area in the evening.

But the service was what really impressed us. We’ve often said that as discerning travelers who ourselves are in what can only be described as service industries (see our profile for details), we are focused on finding those places – hotels, airlines, cruises – where service is of the utmost priority. From the included champagne breakfasts, to the dining at their restaurant Daphne’s, to the wonderful beach with a lounge chair and umbrella for everyone, to the fantastic company (most of the guests were British), this Property did not disappoint in any way.

One day as we sat in our comfortable, cushioned lounge chairs, bottles of water that had just been delivered by the beach ambassador at hand, two women approached us (all beaches in Barbados are public). Evidently one of them had stayed in this hotel some years ago when it had a former incarnation. She wanted to know if it had been turned into condos. When we told her no, she asked, “It is reasonably priced?”

This is always a difficult question to answer, so Patty asked, “How would you define reasonable?”

“Under $200 a night?” she replied.

“Oh, well,” we said. “Perhaps not, then.”

But for us it was – because even at these prices (and it is a bit expensive in the high season), the value is truly there. It was a wonderful way to begin our three weeks in the islands. And we are likely to stray from our usual approach to not repeating experiences: we will go back. On to the Seabourn cruise next post.

If you’re interested in The House, their web site is http://www.thehousebarbados.com/ .

It was 2005 and we were on our way to Antigua for a week of relaxation at the St. James’s Club. Who knew that even in the early 21^st century the airport on this beautiful Caribbean island didn’t have a landing guidance system that would safely land an aircraft in the fog? In fact, who knew that Caribbean islands had fog?

After the third attempt and pull-up, it was clear to us that there was a problem. The first stop after that was the island of Guadeloupe for fuel. Sitting at the front of the aircraft, we got as far as the top of the steps to look out the open door and breathe in the warm, tropical air – and then we were off to Antigua again. But to no avail. The weather was just too bad so we would have to spend the night in Barbados. We could hear the groans all around us. Well, we thought, an adventure.

It was a credit to Air Canada that they were able to find overnight accommodation for everyone on a Saturday night in February within an hour or two. We were among the lucky – or at least we chose to think that!

We were taken to The Crane, a residential (read: condo) resort on the rugged east coast of the island. Since it was so late, the restaurant was closed – but the manager on duty roused the cook who got out of his bed and came to make hamburgers for the dozen or so of us who hadn’t eaten in so long we couldn’t quite remember at that point. In the dark it was difficult to tell what the resort was like – but the next morning, it was clear that this was a place we would want to return to at some later date. We made a promise to ourselves and kept it.

crane rugged coast — Overlooking the rugged Atlantic

Last winter’s cold temperatures here on the east coast of Canada sent us fleeing once again to a Caribbean cruise, and this time it was one that would leave from Bridgetown, Barbados. So, before we boarded the Silver Cloud, we spent three days exploring The Crane.

Built on a rugged bluff above an extraordinary white sand beach, The Crane is billed as the oldest resort in the Caribbean. Don’t be fooled, though. The old mansion that was expanded into a hotel that opened in 1887 is still part of its charm and houses the spa and a few rooms. But the rest of the place is a series of charming new buildings housing extraordinary suites/apartments – just the kind of place discerning travelers would love.

We booked ourselves into a one-bedroom suite because we had remembered the junior suite we had been housed in that fateful night years before. And the rooms were just as lovely as we remembered with their four-poster mahogany beds, breathtakingly spacious bathrooms, breezy white cotton-covered sofas, dining room, kitchen, laundry and the list goes on.

The property itself has several wonderful pools. The oldest pool overlooks the beach and is just the kind of place where, if you squint just a little, you can picture early 20^th century guests sitting about with parasols, fanning themselves daintily. Throughout the property there are several wonderful pieces of sculpture. One is a life-size bronze statue called Grande Jetee and if you know anything about ballet, you’ll recognize the form. As parents of a son who is a ballet dancer, we were quite taken with it the first time we saw it and even more so the second time around.

There is a series of little shops and restaurants around a kind of town square within the complex and it houses, among other boutiques, a convenience shop. We noted that many of the guests seemed to be buying stapes no doubt to use for their own meals in their residences. As a result, the restaurants were practically empty most of the time.

One of the restaurants on the property, Zen, offers a Japanese-Thai menu and was the #1 Zagat-rated restaurant in Barbados in 2009 and 2010. Its setting overlooking the Crane Beach, often counted among the world’s most beautiful, is something not to be missed. But don’t forget the pizzeria onsite as well!

crane pool — A series of connected pools

The pool area was practically deserted – many of the ground floor suites have their own plunge pools and it seemed that many guests simply stayed on their own lovely lanais. We had a sense of privacy and luxury everywhere we looked.

We truly enjoyed our three days at The Crane, but did think that a longer visit would be a bit too laid back for us. The resort isn’t within walking distance of anything and we do get a bit bored sitting around a pool all day! That said we could use a few pool days right about now and certainly would go back to the Crane if we ever take another cruise out of Barbados. We kept our promise to return – and The Crane kept its promise – the promise it offered on one brief encounter.

Crane Beach from the resort above (there is an elevator and a staircase leading down — an up!)